牛津书虫系列《风雨河岸柳》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

2 The open road
2 宽敞的公路
One bright summer morning the Mole and the Rat were out on the river bank, watching the world go by. The Rat was writing a song and was singing quietly to himself as he tried different words.
一个灿烂的夏日早晨，鼹鼠和水鼠在河岸边散步，欣赏着世界的变幻。水鼠正在写一首歌，他试着用不同的词轻声地自哼自唱。
'Ratty, 'said the Mole, 'could I ask you something?'
“阿鼠，”鼹鼠说，“我能问你一些事吗？”
'Mmm, 'the Rat said, not really listening. 'Sky, fly, high, die, why…Oh dear! What did you say, Mole?'
“呣，”水鼠似听非听地说着，“天空、飞翔、高潮、死亡，为什么……噢，亲爱的！你说什么，鼹鼠？”
'Will you take me to visit Mr Toad? I've heard so much about him, and I do want to meet him. '
“你能带我去拜访癞蛤蟆先生吗？我已听了许多有关他的事，我确实想见他。”
'Why, of course, 'said the Rat kindly. 'Get the boat out, and we'll row up there now. Toad's always happy to see his friends. '
“呃，当然，”水鼠和善地说，“把船拉出来，我们现在就划过去，蛤蟆一直都很乐意见他的朋友。”
'He must be a very nice animal, 'said the Mole, as he got into the boat and took the oars.
“他一定是只很不错的动物，”鼹鼠边说边走上船拿起双桨。
'He's the best of animals, 'replied the Rat. 'Kind, friendly-not very clever, perhaps, and sometimes he's just a little bit boastful, but he's a good fellow really. '
“他是动物中最好的，”水鼠回答道。“善良，友好——也许不很聪明，有时他仅仅有点爱吹牛，但是他确实是个好人。”
The Mole rowed hard up the river and in a while they came to a large red house, with beautiful gardens reaching down to the water's edge.
鼹鼠吃力地向上游划着，不一会儿他们到了一所大大的红房子前面，那儿美丽的花园一直延伸到河的边缘。
'There's Toad Hall, 'said the Rat. 'It's a lovely old house-Toad is very rich, you know, and this is really one of the nicest houses on the river. But we never say that to Toad, of course. '
“那是蛤蟆宅第，”水鼠说，“一所可爱的老宅——癞蛤蟆很富有，你知道吧，这是河边最好的房子之一。当然我们从来没有对蛤蟆这样说过。”
They left their boat by the boathouse at the end of the gar den. The boathouse was full of expensive boats, which looked new and mostly unused.
他们把船停在花园尽头的船室里，船室内停满了昂贵而崭新的船，看上去大多没用过。
The Rat looked around him. 'I see that all the boats are out of the water, 'he said. 'I suppose Toad has finished with boating now and has some new interest to amuse him. '
水鼠看了看他的周围，说：“我发现所有的船都没停在水里，我猜蛤蟆现在不再玩船了，肯定又有什么新鲜有趣的东西吸引着他。”
They walked over the grass towards the house and soon found Toad, resting in a garden-chair and carefully studying a large map.
他们穿过草坪向房子走去，很快便看见了癞蛤蟆，他正坐在花园椅里仔细地研究着地图。
'Wonderful! 'he cried, as he saw them. 'You're just the fellow that I wanted to see, Ratty. 'He jumped up and came towards them, talking all the time, and gave the Rat no time to introduce the Mole. 'I need you very much-both of you. You've got to help me. It's most important! '
“太棒了！”癞蛤蟆一看到他们就叫了起来。“我正想见你呢，阿鼠，”他跳了起来，向他们走去，嘴里说个不停，根本不给水鼠时间来介绍鼹鼠。“我非常需要你——你们俩。你们得帮我，这是最最重要的！”
'It's about your rowing, I suppose, 'said the Rat, keeping his face very serious. 'You will learn to do it in the end, you know, if you're patient and work hard and----'
“我想，是关于划船吧，”水鼠一本正经地说。“你总算要学了，你知道吧，如果你耐心点，刻苦点，再——”
'Oh, bother boats! 'the Toad said crossly. 'I've finished with boats. Silly way to pass the time. No, I've discovered the real thing-the best way, the only way, to spend one's life. Come with me, dear Ratty, and your kind friend too, and I will show you! '
“噢，讨厌的船！”癞蛤蟆气恼地说。“我不再划船了，简直是打发日子的傻办法。是的，我已发现了一个真正的活法——最好的，唯一的活法。跟我来，亲爱的阿鼠，还有你好心的朋友，我要带你们去看看！”
He took them round to the other side of the house, and there they saw a shiny new gipsy caravan. It had yellow and green sides, and red wheels.
他带他们绕到了房子的另一头，那儿他们看见一辆锃亮崭新的吉普赛大篷车，镶滚着黄绿边，轮子是红色的。