The Cat's Tale猫的故事（下） | 原版英语童话故事

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「“I have a plan,” said Rat to Cat. “Ox can swim fast. Let's ride on his back. When he gets near the bank, we will jump off.”」

「“我有一个计划，”老鼠对猫说，“牛可以游得很快。不如我们骑到他的背上。当他靠近岸边时，我们就跳到岸上去。”」

「“Oh yes, that is a good plan,” said Cat, “We will win the race.”」

「“哦，是的，这是一个不错的计划，”猫说道，“我们会赢得比赛的。”」

「Cat and Rat went to see Ox.」

「猫和老鼠去见牛。」

「“Please, Ox,” said Rat, “my friend Cat does not like to swim. Can you help her across the river?”」

「“牛，拜托你了，”老鼠说，“我的朋友猫不喜欢游泳。你能帮助她过河吗？”」

「“Hmm...yes, I will help you.” Ox said to Cat.」

「“嗯……可以，我会帮助你的。”牛对猫说道。」

So this is their plan, to go on the back of the ox. And then they're going to jump off when it gets to the side. And the side of a river is called the river bank.

所以这就是他们的计划，跳到牛的背上去。然后等到牛靠近边上时，再跳到岸上去。河流的一侧，被叫做“riverbank（河岸）”。

Mmm...that sounds like a very fair plan? I don't think so. The emperor wants to see who can swim across. I think Rat and Cat will be cheating, and that's not a good idea.

嗯......这听起来是一个非常公平的计划吗？我不这么认为。皇帝想看看谁能游到河岸对面。我认为老鼠和猫会在比赛中作弊，这不是一个好主意。

「It was the day of the race. All the animals lined up along the river bank.」

「到了比赛当天。所有动物都在河岸边排好队。」

「“Ready, steady, go!” said the Emperor, and in jumped the animals.」

「“准备，预备，开始！”随着皇帝的口令，动物们都跳进了河里。」

「Cat and Rat looked at Ox. Hmm...now it was time for their plan. 」

「猫和鼠看了看牛。嗯……现在是执行他们计划的时候了。」

「Cat jumped onto Ox's back. Rat jumped on, too. They held ontight.」

「猫跳上了牛的背部。老鼠也跳了上去。他们紧紧地抓着。」

Can you see here, we've got that word “too” means “as well”. Rat jumped on too, T-O-O. Not I went to the shops. That's T-O. It's“too”, it means “as well” or “also”.

你能在这里看到“too”这个单词，它的意思是“as well（也）”。老鼠也跳了上去。T，O，O。不是“I went to the shops（我去了商店）”中的那个“to”。那是T-O。这是“too”，它和“aswell”或“also”一样表示“也”的意思。

And have a look, we got that apostrophe back again. Ox's back. The back belongs to the Ox, it's part of his body. Therefore we say “Ox’s”. And it looks a bit strange, doesn't it?

看哪，我们在这里又见到了一个撇号。Ox’s back。这个背部是属于牛的，是他身体的一部分。因此我们说“Ox's”。另外，这还有点奇怪，不是吗？

Because there’s an “x”. And “x” in English is a letter which isn't used very often, not like many of the other words or other letters. So we don't often see the word “x”. Not that often. It's like “z”, which is the last letter of the alphabet. We don't see many words in British English with the letter Z in.

因为这里有一个“x”。“x”在英语中是一个不经常被使用到的字母，不像许多其他单词或其他字母那样。所以我们不经常看到“x”的单词。没有那么频繁。这就像“z”，它是字母表里的最后一个字母。我们在英式英语中没有看到很多带有字母“z”的单词。

「All the animals were swimming fast. Each one wanted to win the race. 」

「所有的动物都游得很快，每只动物都想在比赛中获胜。」

「Ox swam and swam. Cat and Rat held onto his back.」

「牛游啊游。猫和老鼠紧紧地抓住他的背。」

「“We are going to win!” shouted Cat.」

「“我们要赢了！”猫喊道。」

Can you see all the other animals swimming? I'm not sure whether all of those animals would really like to swim. Chickens don't really like water very much, I know that. I'm not sure about a rabbit either.

你能看到正在游泳的其他动物们吗？我不确定这些动物是否真的都喜欢游泳。我知道鸡其实不怎么喜欢水。我也不确定兔子的情况。

Horses can swim, but you often don't see them in the water. I'm not sure about a pig. And I'm certainly not sure about a dragon.

马是会游泳的，但你不经常能看到它们在水里。我不确定猪的情况。我当然也不确定龙的情况。

「“We are almost there!” said Rat. “Get ready to jump!”」

「“我们快到了！”老鼠说，“准备跳过去吧！”」

「Cat was excited. She and Rat were going to winthe race by cheating!」

「猫很兴奋。她和老鼠就要以作弊的方式赢得比赛了！」

Oh, dear.

噢，天哪。

「Ox swam closer and closer to the riverbank. And Cat got ready to jump.」

「牛游得越来越靠近河岸了。猫准备跳到河岸上。」

So this word here, cheating. To cheat is not to do something fairly. It's to break the rules of a game. Nobody ever likes people who cheat. It's one of those horrible things.

所以在这里有一个单词，cheating（作弊）。作弊的意思是不公平地做某事。它是指违反了游戏规则。没有人喜欢作弊的人。这是一件令人讨厌的事情。

I wonder if you've ever played a game like a card game or a board game, and somebody cheats. And you just say, “Oh, I'm not going to play anymore! It's not worth playing if you cheat!” So it's never ever a good idea to cheat. And people don't like people who cheat.

我想知道你是否曾经玩过一个游戏，比如纸牌游戏或是棋盘游戏，是否遇到过有人作弊呢。这时候你会说：”哦，我不会再玩了！如果你作弊，它就不值得玩了！” 因此，作弊从来都不是一个好主意。而且人们不喜欢作弊的人。

「Splash! Suddenly, Cat was in the water. Rat had pushed her in. He had tricked her! 」

「哗啦！突然间，猫掉进了水里。老鼠把她推了下去。他欺骗了她！」

「Cat did not like to swim. She did not like the water. She splashed and splashed as she tried to swim to the riverbank.」

「猫不喜欢游泳。她不喜欢水。她在水里扑腾着，试图游向河岸。」

「Ox swam on. He reached the river bank first. But Rat jumped off his back and onto the land.」

「牛继续游啊游。他首先到达了河岸。但老鼠从他的背上跳到了陆地上。」

「“I'm the winner!” shouted Rat.」

「“我是冠军！”老鼠大喊道。」

「“Oh, you cheated!” said Ox.」

「“噢，你作弊了！”牛说。」

Oh, dear.

噢，天哪。

「Rat came first. Ox came second. The Emperor named the first New Year ‘The Year of the Rat’. He named the next New Year ‘The year of the Ox’. 」

「老鼠是第一个到达河岸的。牛是第二名。因此，皇帝将第一个新年命名为“鼠年”。然后，他把下一个新年命名为“牛年”。」

「He named a New Year after the next ten animals to finish the race. But where was Cat?」

「接着，他为接下来完成比赛的十只动物，按照顺序为新年命了名。但是猫去哪里了呢？」

「At last, Cat reached the riverbank. She was very wet and very tired. The Emperor shook his head at Cat.」

「最后，猫到达了河岸。她浑身湿透，疲累不堪。皇帝对猫摇了摇头。」

「“Oh, I am sorry,” he said, “But you are too late. The first twelve animals will have a New Year. You are number thirteen. There is no New Year left for you.”」

「“噢，我很抱歉，”皇帝说道，“但是你来得太晚了。前十二名动物都有名列新年的资格。而你是第十三名。没有办法以你命名了。”」

Oh, I think I can hear some animals. They're my dogs, and they're barking because the postman has been to deliver the letters. And they like to bark. I don't think they would be in the New Year list. They are too naughty.

哦，我想我听到了一些动物的叫声。它们是我的狗狗，它们在叫，因为邮差来送信了。它们喜欢吠叫。我不认为它们会出现在新年命名名单中。它们太顽皮了。

「So that is why there is no Year of the Cat. And that is why cats are never friends with rats!」

「所以这就是没有猫年的原因。这也是猫从来不和老鼠做朋友的原因！」

That was a rather lovely story, wasn't it? And I like this story because it gives a story behind something that we know something about. And although it is a made up story, it's quite fun. I quite like this one.

那是一个相当可爱的故事，不是吗？我喜欢这个故事，因为它提供了一个我们知道的东西背后的故事。虽然它是一个编造的故事，但它相当有趣。我很喜欢这个故事。

So poor cat didn't get to have a Year of the Cat. And because all cats now are so angry, that's why they chase rats. I don't have a cat, but I do have two dogs. And I think if there's a rat in my garden, they would chase them as well.

可怜的猫没能成为十二生肖之一。正因为所有的猫都为此感到生气，所以现在它们才会追着老鼠跑。我没有养猫，但我有两只狗狗。而且我想如果我的花园里有一只老鼠出现，狗狗们也会去追赶它们的。