3级-《野性的呼唤》-第1课

背景知识 

关于《野性的呼唤》

在加利福尼亚的家里，巴克过着安逸舒适的生活。他是那儿最高大强壮的狗，地位举足轻重。他和孩子们一同散步，在水中嬉戏，冬天的时候他就坐在主人的炉火边取暖。

但是在1897年，人们在育空河发现了金矿，他们需要像巴克这样的狗。于是巴克被从家乡偷运到北方。他在那里学会了拉雪橇，在冰天雪地中日复一日地跋涉。他学会了偷食以慰饥肠，破冰取水解渴，还学会了反击来对付那些欺负他的狗。而且他学得很快。

不久巴克成为了北方所有著名的拉雪橇的狗之一。但是北部是狼群出没的森林，在那里他们对着明月长嗥。野性的呼唤在巴克的梦中回响，越来越响亮……

作者简介

杰克·伦敦，1876年生于旧金山一个破产农民的家庭，死于1916年，年仅40岁。因家境贫困，自幼从事体力劳动，后又在美国各地流浪。在短暂的一生中有着丰富的经历——海员、工人、育空河的淘金人、旅行家、记者和作家。他写了很多书，其中以《野性的呼唤》和另一本写狗的书《白芳》，最广为流传。

生命总是在不断挣扎求存的过程中获得意义与力量……

故事原文

The Call of the Wild 1

野性的呼唤 1 

1  To the north

1　北部之旅

Buck did not read the newspapers. He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California. Men had found gold in the Yukon, and these men wanted big, strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north.

巴克不曾读过报纸，他不知道灾难将降临在加州的每一条大狗身上。人们在育空河里发现了金子，他们需要能在北方严寒的冰雪环境中工作的高大强壮的狗。

Buck lived in Mr Miller's big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley. There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house, and a river nearby. In a big place like this, of course, there were many dogs. There were house dogs and farm dogs, but they were not important. Buck was chief(1) dog; he was born here, and this was his place. He was four years old and weighed(2) sixty kilos. He went swimming with Mr Miller's sons, and walking with his daughters. He carried the grandchildren on his back, and he sat at Mr Miller's feet in front of the fire in winter.

在阳光明媚的圣克拉拉山谷中，巴克的家就在米勒先生的大房子里。房子的周围是开阔的庄园和种满了果树的田野。一条小河从附近流过。这样一个辽阔的地方，有许许多多狗。诸如看门狗和牧羊犬，但他们是无足轻重的。真正的狗的首领是巴克；他生于斯长于斯。他4岁，体重60公斤。他同米勒先生的儿子一起游泳，也陪着他的女儿们一起去散步，有时还会给米勒先生的孙儿们当马骑。冬天到了，他就偎着炉火蹲坐在米勒先生的脚边。

But this was 1897, and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold. And he did not know that Manuel, one of Mr Miller's gardeners, needed money for(3) his large family. One day, when Mr Miller was out, Manuel and Buck left the garden together. It was just an evening walk, Buck thought. No one saw them go, and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station. This man talked to Manuel, and gave him some money. Then he tied a piece of rope around Buck's neck.

然而到了1897年，巴克不知道这一年人们都带着狗蜂涌到加拿大西北部寻找金矿。他更不知道，米勒先生的一个园丁曼纽尔需要钱养活他的一大家子。有一天，米勒先生出去了，曼纽尔带着巴克离开了庄园。对于巴克来说，他还以为这只是一次傍晚的散步。没有人看到他们离开，只有一个人看见他们到了火车站。这个人同曼纽尔说了些什么，然后塞给他一些钱，随后就将一条绳子系到巴克的脖子上。

Buck growled, and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neck. He jumped at the man. The man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth. For a few moments he was unable to(4) move, and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train.

巴克咆哮起来，却吃惊地发现脖子上的绳索勒得紧紧的。他跳起来直扑向那个人。那人一把抓住了巴克，突然间巴克已仰面朝天摔在地上，舌头都耷拉出来了。过了好一会儿他都动弹不得，于是两个人轻而易举地把他送上了火车。

When Buck woke up, the train was still moving. The man was sitting and watching him, but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man's hand hard. Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go.

当巴克醒过来的时候，火车仍然在行进着。那人坐在那儿注视着他，然而巴克却更加迅疾，狠狠地咬住了那人的手。但脖子上的绳索又一次勒住了他，巴克不得不松了口。

That evening, the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco. The barman looked at the man's hand and trousers covered in blood.

那天晚上，那个人把巴克带到旧金山一间酒吧的后屋里。酒吧老板看了看那人血迹斑斑的手和长裤。

'How much are they paying you for this?' he asked.

“他们付你多少钱？”他问。

'I only get fifty dollars.'

“我只挣50美元。”

'And the man who stole him—how much did he get?' asked the barman.

“那么那个偷狗的人——他赚多少？”酒吧老板问道。

'A hundred. He wouldn't take(5) less.'

“100美元。少一个子儿他都不干。”

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点

1. chief 首席的， 重要的

CEO - chief executive director 首席执行官

例句：

You must try to relax and not to worry. That's the chief thing.

你必须尽力放松， 不要担心， 这才是主要的事。

2. weigh 称重

weight 重量

例句：

You always weigh less in the morning.

你在早晨称重更轻。

I weigh 70kg and I am a bit on the heavy side.

我重 70 公斤， 有点胖了。

3. need money for... 需要钱做某事

例句：

We all need money for everyday lives.

我们的日常生活需要钱。

The school needs money for expanding the whole area.

学校需要钱来扩张整个区域。

4. be unable to do sth. 没能力做某事

able 有能力的

be able to do sth. 能够做某事

例句：

Being hard on yourself, feeling unable to let it go, may have a lot to do with your drive.

对自己这么苛刻， 觉得无法放手， 可能与你的动力有很大关系。

Children are unable to read until the age of three.

小孩到三岁才有阅读能力。

5. take = accept 接受， 收下（钱）

例句：

Do you take credit cards?

你接受信用卡吗？

The restaurant took an enormous amount of money in its first week of business.

这家餐馆在开业的第一周赚了很多钱。