书城外语每天都是精彩:英语诵读美文240篇(英汉对照)
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第26章

Antelope and Lion

Guidance for Reciting

This tale reminds us of“the law of jungle”,i.e.“Survival of the fittest”. Believe it or not,you have to admit that it is a common phenomenon in modern world. Anyway,we should take a positive attitude toward any competition,for“The human race,as a race,has to race”.

In Africa,when the antelope wakes up every morning,the first thing that comes to his mind is,“I must be able to run faster than the fastest lion,or I will be killed by a lion.”And at just the same time,the lion wakes out of his dream,and the first thing flashing into his mind is,“I must be able to catch up with the slowest antelope;otherwise I will starve to death.”So,almost at the same moment both the antelope and the lion jump to their feet and start running toward the rising sun.

Such is life―whether you are an antelope or a lion,you ought to dash forward without hesitation when the sun rises.

Notes

1.antelope [5AntilEup] n. 羚羊;羚羊皮革

2.dash [dAF] v. 猛掷;冲撞

羚羊与狮子

诵读导言

本段话很容易让人想起“丛林法则”,即弱肉强食、适者生存的自然规律,不管你承认与否,这都是现代生活的普遍现象。我们的生活态度都应该是积极应对,奔向前方的。套用一句时髦的小品台词,“生活,生活,生下来就得干活”。

在非洲,每天早晨当羚羊睁开眼睛时,脑海里想到的第一件事就是:“我必须跑得比最快的狮子还要快,不然就会被狮子吃掉。”而此时此刻,狮子也从睡梦中醒来,闪现在他脑海里的第一件事是:“我必须追上跑得最慢的羚羊,不然我就要饿死。”于是,几乎在同时,羚羊和狮子一跃而起,迎着太阳奔去。

生活就是这样――无论你是羚羊还是狮子,当太阳升起时,就得毫不犹豫地奔向前方。

口语点津

狮子在英语中享有很高的声誉,汉语中的“智勇双全”、“有勇有谋”,可译为英语中的“the lion and the fox”。类似地,“regal as a lion”表示“狮子般庄严”,“majestic as a lion”表示“像狮子般雄伟”。难怪英国人选狮子作为自己国家的象征了。对英国和大部分西方人来说,狮子是“the king of the beasts”,而对中国人来说,老虎则可能代替狮子的位置,“山中无老虎,猴子称大王”便暗示了这一点。