第四章

在上一章中，我们看到天鹅之间的秀恩爱，并看到Sam拯救天鹅脱离狐狸之手以此获得了天鹅的信任和感激。在今天的章节中呢，我们将看到小天鹅的诞生。同时我们也能通过文字看到天鹅爸爸的个性，非常有趣，大家快来阅读吧。

感觉小天鹅就要出生了哟：

And in the hour just before dawn, she was sure she felt a slight movement under her breast, as though a tiny body were wiggling there.

a slight movement  - 微弱的动作

wiggle - 我希望大家先不要去查这个词，先往后看，在来感受这个动词的意思！

It never would get out if Nature had not provided it with two important things: a powerful neck-muscle and a small dagger-tooth on the tip of its bill.

这里是一个虚拟语气哈，it would never get out if Nature had not provided it with two important things - 如果上帝（自然）不给他提供两个重要的东西，他可能就出不来了...

a powerful neck-muscle - 健壮的颈部肌肉（大家可以想象一下为什么）

a small dagger-tooth on the tip of its bill - 喙上锋利的牙齿

The cob was expecting to become a father any minute now.

any minute - 随时

雄天鹅随时可能成为爸爸

我们来看一下雄天鹅知道自己要成为父亲时，是如何地激动：

The idea of fatherhood made him feel poetical and proud. He began to talk to his wife.

poetical- 有诗意的...这一章里，我们将慢慢看到天鹅爸爸的个性啦。

接下来这段就是他所谓的“Poetical”，我们把这些句子分个段，大家感受一下：

（有兴趣的同学不烦翻译一下）

Here I glide, swanlike,

while earth is bathed in wonder and beauty.

Now, slowly, the light of day comes into our sky.

A mist hangs low over the pond.

The mist rises slowly, like steam from a kettle,

while I glide, swanlike,

while eggs hatch,

while young swans come into existence.

I glide and glide.

The light strengthens.

The air becomes warmer.

Gradually the mist disappears.

I glide, I glide, swanlike.

Birds sing their early song.

Frogs that have croaked in the night stop croaking and are silent.

Still I glide, ceaselessly, like a swan.

come into existence - 诞生，出现

croak - 一个拟声词，这里指青蛙的叫声

大家发声朗读一下，感受一下是不是很有诗意！！！还记得昨天那几个描述雄天鹅的词吗？我们还会看到很多展现他个性的句子！

我们来看看在雄天鹅抒发了一番之后，雌天鹅说什么：

“Of course you glide like a swan,” said his wife. “How else could you glide? You couldn’t glide like a moose, could you?”

你飞起来肯定是像个天鹅呀，你还能像个麋鹿不成？

The cob felt taken aback by his mate’s commonsense remark.

雄天鹅才开始抒发情感，就被他老婆的话（commonsence remark 常识般的评价）感觉被拉回来了（the cob felt taken back)

He enjoyed speaking in fancy phrases and graceful language, and he liked to think of himself as gliding swanlike.

in fancy phrases and graceful language - 还记得前面描写天鹅的词吗？

It was an odd sensation. 好奇怪的感觉。

Late in the afternoon, the swan was rewarded for her patience.

the swan was rewarded for her patience - 耐心终于得到了回报

小天鹅出生了哟，大家来脑补一下长什么样：

It was soft and downy. Unlike its parents, it was gray.

软软的，毛茸茸的，灰灰的

Its feet and legs were the color of mustard.

腿和脚掌都是芥末黄

Its eyes were bright.

亮亮的眼睛

On unsteady legs, it pushed its way up until it stood beside its mother, looking around at the world it was seeing for the first time.

摇摇晃晃来到妈妈面前，张望着初次来到的这个世界

对比下面两句：

His heart leapt up with joy.

His heart thumped from excitement and joy.

这里的 leap up with 和 thump from 一个意思，都是表示心跳加速，激动呀

雄天鹅又来啦：看看他是怎么迎接他崽子的到来的：

“A cygnet!” he cried.

“A cygnet at last! I am a father, with all the pleasant duties and awesome responsibilities of fatherhood.

终于做爸爸了：pleasant duties/ awesome responsibilities of fatherhood 做爸爸虽然有duties 和 responsibilities 但是很开心，很棒呀

O blessed little son of mine, how good it is to see your face peering through the protecting feathers of your mother’s breast, under these fair skies, with the pond so quiet and peaceful in the long light of afternoon!

这句又如诗歌一般，小伙伴们能不能尝试去理解一下，又看不懂的我们来讨论！

Perhaps we’ll get a good hatch.

“I have every confidence that we will,” said the cob.

- 为何讲good hatch 呢？因为，一般来说孵蛋的时候，是可能出现死蛋或者坏蛋的，有些但是孵不出来的！

- I have every confidence 表示 信心十足！

Next morning very early, Sam Beaver crawled out of his bunk while his father was still asleep. Sam dressed and lit a fire in the stove. He fried a few strips of bacon, toasted two slices of bread, poured a glass of milk, and sat down and ate breakfast. When he was through, he found a pencil and paper and wrote a note.

when he was through 这里的 was through 表示“结束”，是说他结束了前面那一大串的事儿

Sam left the note where his father would find it; then he took his field glasses and his compass, fastened his hunting knife to his belt, and set out through the woods and over the swamp to the pond where the swans lived.

在这个句子当中呢，可能有个小词语 field glasses 大家会有些疑惑，这两个单词分开，都认识，田野，眼镜嘛，那么加在一起是什么呢？别急着查，先看：

- his fieldglasses slung over his shoulder 首先，这个眼镜是带绳子的，可以挂脖子上

- Sam sat down and adjusted his glasses 然后呢，眼镜是可以调节焦距的

- “I think those big eyes are actually a pair of field glasses,” replied the swan. “I’m not sure, but I think that when a person looks through field glasses, everything

appears closer and bigger.”最后天鹅有补了一句，说从这个眼镜里看东西会比现实的大...

此时如果你还想知道它到底是什么，就用图片查词法，图片查词法，图片查词法！！不知道怎么查，自己用笔戳大腿，然后再来找我！

来看看作者怎么描写早晨的：

It was still only a little after seven o’clock;

才七点多

the sun was pale, the air was chill.

太阳刚出来，有些阴冷（pale原意是苍白，就是表示太阳还没有温度，air is chill 很冷）

The morning smelled delicious.

字面意思：早晨闻起来很好吃...其实就可以理解成是一个美好的早晨，空气里除了刚刚早餐的味道，还有清新的泥土和植物的芬芳。自己去感受哈！

在前文中，我们通过雄天鹅的言语和作者的用词，大概知道了他的性格，可是每次当他高高在上或者大言不惭的时候呀，总有个人能制住他！就是他老婆，哈哈哈

You’d better not get too graceful—it might go to your head. You’re quite a vain bird.

你小子别太骄傲了，真是太虚荣了！go to your head - 冲昏了头脑；vain - 虚荣的，自负的

Sam could not make out what the swans were saying; he merely knew they were having a conversation, and just hearing them talk stirred his blood.

could not make out - 搞不明白，搞不清楚

stirred his blood- 字面意思是“搅动他的鲜血”，可以理解成：热血沸腾，很激动

In midmorning, when the sun had gained the sky, Sam lifted his glasses again and focused them on the nest.

when the sun had gained the sky - 对应前面那句描写早晨的句子：the sun was pale，那个时候太阳刚出来。现在呢？the sun gained the sky 字面意思：太阳获得了天空，也就是日光很强，烈日当空...类似这种感觉

Sam眼中看到的小天鹅的样子，大家可以想象这个画面：

At last he saw what he had come to see: a tiny head, thrusting through the mother’s feathers, the head of a baby Trumpeter. The youngster scrambled up onto the edge of the nest. Sam could see its gray head and neck, its body covered with soft down, its yellow legs and feet with their webs for swimming. Soon another cygnet appeared. Then another. Then the first one worked his way down into his mother’s feathers again, for warmth. Then one tried to climb up his mother’s back, but her feathers were slippery, and he slid off and settled himself neatly at her side. The swan just sat and sat, enjoying her babies, watching them gain the use of their legs.

句子里面没什么单词，如果理解不了，记得问我！鼓励先自己理解，发挥想象！

Note carefully what I do. Then you do the same. Swimming is easy.

Note carefully what I do. Then you do the same. 仔细看着我，然后照做！

Five cygnets, just as sure as I’m alive!

as sure as I'm alive... 千真万确！（就跟我确信我活着一样滴肯定）

The cob, as he saw his children approach the water, felt that he should act like a father. He began by making a speech.

这里用的是：make a speech...大家可以感受到这个雄天鹅的个性了吗？请尝试总结这几次我们学习过的能体现雄天鹅性格的句子...

Beware of lead pellets that lie on the bottom of all ponds, left there by the guns of hunters.

这里lead 是指 铅，pellet就是那种小小的子弹

Be vigilant, be strong, be brave, be graceful, and always follow me!

vigilant / careful/ cautious ...都表示小心谨慎，大家一定要尝试单词联想法，看到差不多意思，差不多读音，差不多拼写的都去翻翻，别得过且过！

I will go first, then you will come along in single file, and your devoted mother will bring up the rear.

a single file 和后面句子中的 in line 都是表示 排成一排或者一列的意思

devote本意是 奉献，付出的意思，在这里 devoted mother可以理解成：伟大的妈妈

bring up the rear - 垫后

“What a sight!” Sam said to himself. “What a terrific sight! Seven Trumpeters all in line, five of them just out of the egg.

what a sight! What a teriffic sight! 多么壮观的景象！what a +一个名词，表示一种感叹！其内在意思可以根据上下文理解。比如我说：What a day! 单独看是看不出来我到底要表达什么的，我可能说：真是劳碌的一天！或者，真是开心的一天！所以一定要联系上下文!

He hardly noticed how stiff he had become from sitting so long on the log.

这个stiff 表示"僵硬的"，在这表示 Sam呆在那，一动不动，和昨天学习的 hardly moving a muscle 还记得吗？不记得自己戳大腿！

同样，落枕 你可以说 I got a stiff neck. 我脖子僵了（我落枕了）

“Hello!” said Sam, who hadn’t expected anything like this and hardly dared breathe.

这一句也是表示 激动的心情，hardly dared breathe - 几乎连呼吸都不敢...

还记得前面几句表示激动的句子吗？快去翻！

The cob now looked worried. He ran his long white neck between the cygnets and the boy and guided the babies back to the water and to their mother.

这个大天鹅保护小天鹅的样子，也很形象！

They grabbed their duffel bags.

以下这类包，就叫duffel bag

Sam and his father were late arriving home at the ranch, but late as it was, Sam got out his diary before he turned in for the night.

but late as it was - 虽然很晚

turn in - 上床睡觉

He switched off the light, pulled the sheet up over his head, and fell asleep wondering what he was going to be when he grew up.

最后这几个动词：switch off the light 关灯/ pull the sheet up over his head 把被子拉起来盖过头顶/ fall asleep 入睡

睡觉还不忘思考：长大做什么呢？哈哈