北师大高中英语选修7讲义Unit 21 英美文化欣赏

【导读】《绿野仙踪》是美国作家莱·弗·鲍姆的优秀儿童文学作品。作者以奇特的想象力描述了一个小女孩因被旋风刮到奥芝国，和她的三个朋友：狮子，稻草人，铁皮人团结在一起，共同克服困难，战胜险恶，为了实现自己的愿望，不屈不挠地同恶魔斗争，最终如愿以偿的故事。

The Wizard of Oz(Excerpt)

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles.There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds.Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner.

There was no garret at all, and no cellar—except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path.It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side.Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions.

The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it.Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.

When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife.The sun and wind had changed her, too.They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also.She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now.

When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her

heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed.He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was.He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose.Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

Today, however, they were not playing.Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual.Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too.Aunt Em was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm.There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also.

Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.

“There's a cyclone coming, Em，”he called to his wife.“I'll go look after the stock.”Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door.One glance told her of the danger close at hand.

“Quick, Dorothy！” she screamed.“Run for the cellar！”

Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him.

Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole.Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt.When she was halfway across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

绿野仙踪(节选)

多萝茜与亨利叔叔、爱姆婶婶，一起住在堪萨斯州大草原中部的小木屋里。叔叔是个农民，他和婶婶长年在地里干活。因为建屋子的木材，要从很远的地方

用货车运过来，很不容易，因而他们住的一间屋子只是小小的、四垛板壁、一个屋顶和一堂地板构成的；屋子里有一个破旧的烧饭用的炉灶，一个放着盆碟的橱，一张桌子，三四把椅子，只有两张床。亨利叔叔和爱姆婶婶的大床，放在角落里，多萝茜的小床，放在另外一个角落里。

整幢屋子没有阁楼，也没有地下室——只有一个小洞，直通到地面下，这洞叫做“旋风的地洞”。在大旋风刮来时，全家人可以躲进里面去，因为凡是旋风经过的地方，不论什么屋子它都能够吹倒。在地板的中央，有一扇活动的木门，那里有一座梯子，走下去就进入了那又小又黑的地洞里。

多萝茜站在门口，向四周眺望，茫茫的灰色的大草原，望不到尽头。在那一片宽阔平坦的原野上没有一棵树，也没有一间小屋子。

那草原，似乎一直伸展到天边。那太阳炙烤着这耕作过的田地，使它变成一片灰色的有许多裂缝的荒野。甚至，原野上的草也不是绿色的，因为太阳灼烧着它们的顶部长叶，使得它们不论从何处看，都是灰色的。有一次，屋子油漆过了，太阳却把油漆晒起了泡，雨把它褪尽了，这屋子就像其他东西一样地暗淡了。

当初爱姆婶婶来到这里的时候，年轻而美丽。太阳和风使她变了样。它们带走了她的光辉，留下了一种沉重的灰色；她的面颊上和嘴唇上，失去了红润，也只剩灰色了。如今她消瘦而且憔悴，不再微笑。

多萝茜是一个孤女，当她第一次来到这个灰暗的世界。婶婶惊诧于女孩儿的笑声，无论何时，多萝茜的快活的声音，钻到婶婶的耳朵里，婶婶总会尖叫起来，并用手抚着她的心头；她带着惊奇，看着这个小女孩——因为她在任何东西上，都能够发现笑料来。

亨利叔叔不大爱笑。他从早到晚在地里干活儿，不知道什么是快乐。从他的长须直到他粗糙的鞋子，也全是灰色的，他稳重而严肃，很少说话。

让多萝茜笑的是托托，在四周一切事物都褪变成灰色的环境中，托托带来了不同的色彩；它是一只小黑狗，有着柔软滑顺的长毛，一对小黑眼睛，在它那逗人的极小的鼻子两边，快乐地眨着。多萝茜整天跟它在一块儿玩着，并且越来越喜欢它。

然而，今天他们没有玩。亨利叔叔坐在门口的阶沿上，烦恼地望着比平时更灰的天空。多萝茜抱着托托，站在门口，也望着那天空。爱姆婶婶正在洗着一叠盘子。

他们听到北风的低低的哀叫声，亨利叔叔和多萝茜看到风暴到来之前的草原，像波浪似的起伏着。接着，从南方的高空中，也传来了一种尖锐的呼啸声。他们转眼望去，只见在那个方向的草同样掀起了波浪。

亨利叔叔猛然站了起来。

“爱姆，旋风就要来了！”他向他的妻子说：“我要去照料家畜。”说着他就迅速奔向栏舍去，他们的牛和羊都关在那里。

爱姆婶婶立即放下洗着的盆子，跑到门口去。看了一眼之后，她知道危险马上就要来到了。

“多萝茜，快一点儿！”她高声尖叫着；“立刻到地洞里去！”

托托从多萝茜怀抱里跳下来，钻到床底下去，多萝茜便跑过去抓它。

爱姆婶婶非常害怕，打开地板上活动的门，爬下梯子，就躲到那又小又暗的地洞里去。多萝茜捉到了托托，就奔向屋子的中央，背后传来呼啸的风声，屋子猛然摇晃起来，她立刻摔倒在地板上。

[知识积累]

1．whirlwinds n．旋风

2．in all directions 从各个方向

3．sparkle n. 闪耀

4．twinkled v. 闪烁

[文化链接]

《绿野仙踪》是一部经典的儿童影片。全片极富想象力和活力，随处都是神奇有趣的童话角色和欢快的歌舞场面。《绿野仙踪》是一部老少皆宜的轻松作品，虽然从特技或是音效上该片都无法和21世纪的一些电影媲美，但是它的温情、真实、感人却给观众留下了难以磨灭的印象。