夏洛特的网(笔记)

内容简介：

《夏洛的网》是美国作家E.B.怀特所著的三部被誉为“二十世纪读者最多、最受爱戴的童话”之一。

在朱克曼家的谷仓里，快乐地生活着一群动物，其中小猪威尔伯和蜘蛛夏洛建立了最真挚的友谊。然而，一个最丑恶的消息打破了谷仓的平静：威尔伯未来的命运竞是成为熏肉火腿。作为一只小猪，悲痛绝望的威尔伯似乎只能接受任人宰割的命运了，然而，看似渺小的夏洛却说：“我救你。”于是，夏洛用自己的丝在猪栏上织出了被人类视为奇迹的网上文字，彻底逆转了威尔伯的命运，终于让它在集市的大赛中赢得特别奖，和一个安享天命的未来。但，这时，蜘蛛夏洛的生命却走到了尽头……

作者简介：

E.B.怀特(1899-1985)生于纽约蒙特弗农，毕业于康奈尔大学。也许你对美国作家E.B. 怀特（E.B.White）感到陌生，也许你对《Charlotte's Web》（《夏洛的网》）不是很熟悉，但是一提起一部电影《精灵鼠小弟》，你马上就知道了，这部电影就是根据E.B. 怀特（E.B.White）的书改编拍摄的。他还有一部童话叫《吹小号的天鹅》。

Charlotte's Web by E.B.White

Chapter 1. Before Breakfast

№.1 - It's very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything.

【译文】它长得又小又弱，没有任何可留下来的价值了。

【短语笔记】amount to

【双语释义】(1)To add up in number or quantity: 总共，合计：数字或数量加在一起：

【例】The purchases amounted to 50 dollars.（买东西总共花了50美元。）

(2)To add up in import or effect: 等同，接近：重要性或效果相当于：

【例】That plan will never amount to anything.（那个计划无关紧要。）

(3)To be equivalent or tantamount: 等于，如同：

【例】accusations that amount to an indictment（等同于是起诉的控告）

№.2 - "But it's unfair," cried Fern. "The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"

【译文】"可是这不公平，"芬哭叫着。"这头猪愿意让自己生下来就小吗，它愿意吗？如果我生下来时也很瘦小，你就会杀死我吗？"

【小编评注】正是这句话触动了我们作为人类最敏感的神经，生命有其存在的权利——这样简单的道理，却是由一个小女孩讲给世界上的大人们。也不禁让人感叹：Why do people look at something and straight

away make a judgement? We may have heard the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover' but it's not so easy to do!

【短语笔记】couldn't help doing - 禁不住…；不得不…

【例】I couldn't help wondering, can we be friends with ex? （我不禁纳闷，我们可以和旧情人做朋友吗？）

№.3 - Fern couldn't take her eyes off the tiny pig.

【短语笔记】not take one's eyes off - 始终注视着，目不转睛地注视着

【小编评注】读《夏洛的网》，最大的感触就在于其直抵内心的纯净，真实与透彻。这个故事不需繁复的逻辑评判或是心理分析，它感动我们往往只在一举一动，一颦一笑的瞬间。You can see, hear, smell, taste and touch.

【例】I couldn't keep my eyes off her amazing hairdo.（我目不转睛地盯着她令人惊喜的发型。）Chapter 2. Wilbur

No.1 - He would stand and gaze up at her with adoring eyes.

【译文】他会站起来，用充满深情的眼睛注视她。

【重点词汇双语释义】adoring: liking and admiring someone very much

【短语笔记】gaze at - 凝视, 注视

【例】He sat a seat opposite me and gaze at me. （他坐在我对面的座位上，目不转睛地盯着我。）

No.2 - In a short time he had dug a tunnel in the straw. He crawled into the tunnel and disappeared from sight, completely covered with straw.

【译文】不一会儿，它便在稻草堆里挖出了一条通道。他钻进隧道里，整个儿被稻草埋住，不见了。

【小编评注】一连串动作描写，生动而形象，一直憨态可掬的小猪形象渐渐在读者心中明晰起来。这便是童话的魅力，给孩子们的眼睛插上翅膀，让大人们的目光落入这个世界柔软与安宁的景象中。

【短语笔记】in a short time - 不久，一会儿，少顷

【例】A new daily will appear in a short time in our town.（一份新的日报不久将在本市发行。）

No.3 - When he was five weeks old, Mr. Arable said he was now big enough to sell, and would have to be sold. Fern broke down and wept. But her father was firm about it.

【译文】当威尔伯五个星期大时，艾拉伯尔先生说，他现在已经够大了，可以拿去卖了。芬听后，放声大哭起来。但爸爸却很坚决。

【小编评注】孩子心灵的柔软因此而愈显纯净，而成人世界的道理总是有些坚硬，冰冷和无奈。

【短语笔记】break down - 彻底失败，崩溃，停止运转，坍塌，（数据、观点等）站不住脚

【例】Her health broke down under the pressure of work.（工作的压力把她的身体弄垮了。）

Chapter 3(1). Escape

No.1- One afternoon in June, when Wilbur was almost two months old, he wandered out into

his small yard outside the barn. Fern had not arrived for her usual visit. Wilbur stood in the sun feeling lonely and bored.

【译文】六月的一个下午，威尔伯差不多两个月大的时候，他晃到了牲口棚外面的小院子里。芬没有像平时那样到来。威尔伯在太阳底下站着，觉得寂寞而无聊。

【小编评注】用一个简洁的画面描写，把威尔伯失落的心情烘托了出来。

【短语笔记】wander out

【双语释义】漫步走；move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

【举一反三】类似用法有：wander through/about/over - 漫步，徘徊；wander off - 走开，走失，离题。

【例】Please don't wander off the point. （请不要离题。）

No.2 - He didn't feel like going to sleep, he didn't feel like digging, he was tired of standing still, tired of lying down.

【译文】他还不想睡，也不想挖东西，他讨厌静静地站着，也讨厌躺着。

【小编评注】用短句表意更明确，更具有感情色彩。

【短语笔记】feel like - 想要；be tired of - 对……感到厌烦，厌烦

【例】

I don't feel like a cup of tea.（我不想喝茶。）

I am tired of his constant complaints.（他经常性的抱怨令我厌烦。）

No.3 - In a minute he had squeezed through the fence and was standing in the long grass outside his yard.

【译文】不一会儿，他就挤过了围栏，站在了院子外面的草地上。

【小编评注】对于童话来说，最重要的就是以生动形象的描写来给读者留下深刻印象。

【短语笔记】squeeze through - 挤过去

【举一反三】squeeze的英英解释- "the act of gripping and pressing firmly" 对应的用法有"squeeze up".

【例】There'll be enough room if we all squeeze up a bit. （咱们大家挤一挤就够地方了。）

No.4 - He felt very happy. He had plowed up quite a piece of ground before anyone noticed

him. Mrs. Zuckerman was the first to see him. She saw him from the kitchen window, and she immediately shouted for the men.

【译文】他感到非常幸福。他犁了差不多一块地才有人注意到他。扎克门斯太太是第一个见到他的。她从厨房的窗户看到韦伯后马上大叫那个男人。

【小编评注】非常紧凑而又节奏感的句子，表意清晰，节奏明了。

【短语笔记】shout for - 大叫，呼喊

【例】Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.（今天由于不得不上班，我可以抱怨哭诉；但最少我还有工作可以往做，所以我可以高声欢呼。）

Chapter 3(2). Escape

No.1 - Lurvy, the hired man, heard the noise and came up from the asparagus patch where he was pulling weeds. 【译文】在龙须菜地里拔草的雇工鲁维，听到喊声，也赶紧跑了出来。

【小编评注】合理运用插入短语，使表达简洁，故事情节交代得很清晰。

【语法笔记】插入语大都是对一句话进行附加说明或解释，通常由一个词、一个短语或一个句子构成，常置于句首、句中或句末，一般用逗号或破折号与句子隔开。

【举一反三】

1)许多分词短语可以用作插入语，这样的分词短语有：strictly speaking（严格地说），generally considering（一般认为），judging from……（根据……判断）等；

2)副词或副词短语作插入语，常用的有：indeed（的确），surely（无疑），however（然而），frankly （坦率地说），obviously（显然），naturally（天然地），luckily （happily）for sb.（算某人幸运），

fortunately（幸好），strangely（奇怪），briefly（简单地说）等；

3)介词短语作插入语，常用的有：in conclusion（总之），in a word（简而言之），in short（简而言之），in general（一般说来），in a sense（在某种意义上），in my view（在我看来），in his opinion（按照他的看法），in fact（事实上），at first（首先），in addition（此外），of course（当然），to my surprise（使我惊奇的），to her regret（使她遗憾的），for example（例如）等；

4)简短的句子结构作插入语，它们常置于句中或句末。这类简短的句子有：I am sure（我可以肯定地说），

I believe（我相信），do you know（你知道吗），you see（你明白），I’m afraid（恐怕），it is said （据说），I suppose（我想），what’s more（而且），what’s worse（更糟糕的是），that is（也就是说），what is important（重要的是）等；

5)不定式短语作插入语，常用的有：to be sure（无疑地），to sum up（概括地说），to tell the truth （老实说）等；

6)形容词或其短语作插入语，常用的有：true（真的），funny（真可笑），needless to say（不用说），most important of all（最为重要），worse still（更糟糕的），even better（更好）等。

No.2 - The news of Wilbur's escape spread rapidly among the animals on the place.

【译文】威伯逃跑的消息在这里的动物中间迅速传开了。

【短语笔记】spread among... - 蔓延，流传

【例】Users connect to the database and issue queries as usual without the need to know the database is spread among several partitions.

用户像往常一样连接到数据库发出查询时，并不需要知道数据库已经扩展到了几个分区上面。

【举一反三】spread from ... to ... 从某处蔓延到……

No.3 - He didn't like being the center of all this fuss.

【译文】他可不喜欢成为这一片混乱的焦点。

【短语笔记】fuss - n.紧张不安，大惊小怪，忙乱

【例】James said he'd better be getting back or there'd be a fuss.（詹姆斯说他最好被人弄回来，不然一定出乱子。）

№.4 - He's appealing to your stomach.

【译文】他正在用好吃的诱惑你的胃。

【小编评注】这句的手法，要比我们平常所讲的fall into temptation有趣得多了。

【短语笔记】appeal to - 对...产生吸引力，对...有吸引力

【例】On balance, joint ventures appeal to me more than state-owned enterprises.（总的来说，合资企业比国有企业更吸引我。）

Chapter 4. Loneliness

No.1- When the sheep tired of standing in the rain, they walked slowly up the lane and into the fold.

【译文】当绵羊们在雨中站得腻了，便慢吞吞地沿着小路回到了羊圈里。

【短语笔记】be tired of - 厌烦，对……厌倦

【例】It never be tired of solving my puzzles.（它从不疲倦地解决我的问题。）

【举一反三】近义短语- be tired with / get tired of

1) You may be tired with reading, but you should not be tired of it.（看书可能使你疲劳，但不应该对看书感到厌烦。）

2) But I suspect that a man who is not satisfied with one moon will also get tired of a dozen moons.（可是我相信一个人如果对一个月亮感不到满足，对十二个月亮也会感到厌倦。）

No.2 - Talking with Templeton was not the most interesting occupation in the world but it

was better than nothing.

【译文】虽然和坦普尔曼谈天不是这世上最有趣的事情，但至少比什么都不做要好。

【短语笔记】be better than nothing - 比没有……要好

【例】Something is better than nothing.（聊胜于无。）

【举一反三】在了解了something和nothing之外，anything用法列举如下：

1) 表示“某事”、“某东西”，主要用于否定句，疑问句及条件句中，用以代替something (常译为：什么…)；表示“任何事”、“任何东西”，主要用于肯定句(有时也可用于其它句型)：

Has anything interesting happened? 发生了什么有趣的事吗?

We can’t believe anything he says. 无论他说什么，我们都不能相信。

I asked if anything was the matter. 我问是不是出了什么问题。

I want something to eat, and anything will do. 我想弄点东西吃，什么都行。

I am tired of his constant complaints.（他经常性的抱怨令我厌烦。）

2)用作主语，谓语用单数；用代词时也用单数(it)：

Anything is better than nothing, isn’t it? 有点总比什么都没有要好，不是吗?

3) 与否定词连用时，否定词应置于其前，而不是其后(参见any 的有关用法)：

什么也不能阻挡我去。

正：Nothing can prevent me from going.

误：Anything cannot prevent me from going.

4) 修饰anything的形容词应置于其后：

Did you hear anything interesting there? 你在那儿听到什么有趣的事了吗?

5) 用于be anything but, 意为“根本不是”、“一点不是”，可用于人和物：

He’s anything but a hero. 他绝不是英雄。

John is anything but (=far from) a good loser. 约翰完全输不起。

Your answer is anything but perfect. 你的答复一点儿也不完美。

6) 用于if anything, 意为“若有什么不同的话”：

If anything, this coat is more expensive than that one. 如果有什么不同的话，那就是这件衣服比那件更贵些。

He seems to have little, if anything, to do with this. 若要说他和这事有什么相关的话，那也似乎是很少的。

No.3 - He knew Templeton was getting soaked, out there in the pouring rain, but even that

didn't comfort him. Friendless, dejected, and hungry, he threw himself down in the manure and sobbed.

【译文】他知道外面的雨水正浇着在那里大嚼的坦普尔曼，可这也不会使他感到有所安慰。无助，失意，饥饿……他趴在牛粪堆里啜泣起来。

【短语笔记】get soaked - 打湿

【例】A bicycle cape will protect you in wet weather.（自行车雨披可以使你在雨天骑车也不致淋湿。）【举一反三】be soaked to the skin (=be soaked through) - 浑身湿透

No.4 - Darkness settled over everything.

【译文】黑暗朦胧了一切。

【小编评注】这句很短，但意味深长。

【短语笔记】settle over - 笼罩

【例】An air of sadness settled over the group.（悲伤的气氛笼罩了整个团队。）

【举一反三】Darkness settled over the fields. Dust settled in the road. （黑暗笼罩田野。灰尘飘落在路上。）

Chapter 5. Charlotte

No.1 - And then, just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap, he heard again the thin voice that had addressed him the night before.

【译文】就在威伯准备躺下来睡个早觉时，他又听到了昨夜曾呼唤过他的那个微弱声音。

【小编评注】“just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap”作为插入语在本句中出现，清楚地交代了威尔伯听到声响的时间点。

【短语笔记】address sb. - 称呼某人(speak or write to using a particular title of rank)

【例】I didn't know he was addressing me until he repeated my name.（直到他又重复了我的名字,我才知道他是和我说话。）

No.2 - She was about the size of a gumdrop. She had eight legs, and she was waving one of them at Wilbur in friendly greeting.

【译文】她有一粒树胶糖丸那么大。她长着八条腿，正挥舞着其中一条腿友好地对威伯致意。

【小编评注】大家会发现，西方文学中十分强调人物个性的突出，西方文学中的人物往往个性鲜明，作家的笔触也很生动活泼，它通过一些外貌特征和描写来展现人物的个性。比如法国文学家莫泊桑就是一个很典型的代表，读过他作品的读者都应该知道，他来展现人物的个性就是通过外貌描写，很典型——这是西方文学作品与中国传统文学作品的差异。比较而言，中国传统文学更注重精神面貌的描写，可能我们读完一个场景了都还不知道主人公穿什么，长得怎样，但我们却一定了解这个人物的特点，并且这个人物形象也会活生生地在读者眼前浮现。

【短语笔记】 be about the size of - 约摸……般大小

【例】The committee laid down rule about the size of tennis court.（委员会对于网球场面积的大小作出了规定。）

No.3 - Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts and fears that often go with finding a new friend. In good time he was to discover that he was mistaken about Charlotte.Underneath her rather bold and cruel exterior, she had a kind heart, and she was to prove loyal and true to the very end.

【译文】威伯像那些初交新朋友的人一样，被猜疑和恐惧困绕着。但他很及时地发现自己误解了夏洛。其实，在她那可怕冷漠的外表下，有着一颗善良的心，并且，后来发生的事情证明，她对朋友是忠实而真诚的，每一刻都是如此。

【小编评注】故事另外一个主人公“夏洛”终于出现了，通过这段描写，这个“长得有点丑”的蜘蛛已经初步具备形象，但正如作者所说，她有着一颗善良的心。就像我们中国有句俗话叫做“人不可貌相”一样——这句中国古语也是中高级口译学习中翻译的重点例句，通常译作

“Appearances are often deceptive.”

或是

“ Never judge a look by its cover.”

请朋友们举一反三，借此机会扩充自己的语句积累。

【短语笔记】in good time - 及时地, 迅速地

【例】We sent the letter by air mail in order that it might reach them in good time .（这封信我们航空寄去以便他们能及时收到。）

Chapter 6. Summer Days

No.1- She knew that they were in a desperately cramped position inside the shell and were most anxious to break through and get out.

【译文】她知道他们已经在里面呆不安稳，急着打破蛋壳出来走走了。

【短语笔记】break through - (太阳或月亮从云层后面)露出，出现；出来，长出；穿过，透过；突破，冲破(障碍)

【英英释义】break through -

1.vi. [intr] to penetrate

2.vi. [intr, adverb] to achieve success, make a discovery, etc, esp after lengthy efforts

3.n. a significant development or discovery, esp in science

4.n. the penetration of an enemy's defensive position or line in depth and strength

【例】They broke through the skull by using a chisel.（他们用凿子凿穿头骨。）

No.2 - He glanced at Fern, then crept cautiously toward the goose, keeping close to the wall. Everyone watched him, for he was not well liked, not trusted.

【译文】他偷看了芬一眼，然后贴着墙小心地朝母鹅这边溜过来。大家都警惕地看着他，因为他既不讨人喜欢，也不被人相信。

【小编评注】一连串的动词短语构成的动作描写，外加我们已经十分熟悉的分词短语修饰成分，让人不得不喜欢上作者亲切可人的写作手法。

【短语笔记】creep toward - 朝着……爬过去；glance at - v. + prep朝……看一眼，匆匆一瞥

【举一反三】creep相关的短语有：

1. to creep up/down/into sth 蹑手蹑脚地走上/下/进某处

2. to creep in 不知不觉地到来

【词义辨析】creep, climb, crawl这些动词都有“爬”之意：

1. creep: 多指人或四足动物匍匐爬行，尤指偷偷地或不出声地缓慢向前爬行。也指植物的蔓延生长等。

2. climb: 通常指用手或足爬上或爬下，也指飞机、日、月的上升，还可用作比喻。

3. crawl: 指人或动物以身躯贴着地面缓慢地移动。

【例】

1. If you both creep down to the reeds and then keep still as statues, maybe the moorhen will come back with her chicks and you can see them close up.（如果你俩轻手轻脚地爬进芦苇丛，一动也不动地趴在那里，也许黑水鸡会带着她的小鸡回来的，这样，你们就可以在离得很近的地方观察这些小动物了。）

2. Something in his tone made Carole glance at him sharply.（他话中带话，使卡罗严厉地看着他。）

No.3 - "What are you going to do with it?" continued Templeton, his little round beady eyes fixed on the goose.

【译文】“你将怎么处理它？”坦普尔曼那圆溜溜的小眼珠盯向母鹅，继续说道。

【短语笔记】fix on - 把……固定在……上；把……集中在……上

【英英释义】

(phrasal verb) if you fix your eyes or your attention on someone or something, you look strai ght at them and at nothing else

【例】All our engineers carry spare parts to enable any faults to be fixed on the spot.（我们所有的工程师利用空闲时间发现错误。）

No.4 -

That afternoon, when the wind had died down and the barnyard was quiet and warm, the g rey goose led her seven goslings off the nest and out into the world.

【译文】那天下午，当风渐弱，谷仓里变得又静又暖的时，灰色的母鹅把她的七只小鹅领到了巢外的世界。【短语笔记】die down - 停止；熄灭；平息

【英英释义】

（phrasal verb） if something dies down, it becomes much less noisy, powerful, or active

【例】He thought that the criticism that had followed his announcement would die down.（他以为他的声明招来的批评会慢慢地平息下来。）