中英文双语朗读:《蚂蚁和蚂蚱》

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content.
在一个夏日，一只蚱蜢在田野里蹦来蹦去，尽情地鸣叫歌唱。

An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
一只蚂蚁路过，费力地扛着一穗玉米往蚁巢走去。

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
“为什么不来和我聊聊呢？”蚱蜢说，“而不是那样辛苦忙碌。”

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
“我在帮忙为冬天储存食物，”蚂蚁说，“建议你也这样做。”

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of food at present."
“何必为冬天烦恼呢？”蚱蜢说，“我们现在有充足的食物。”

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
但蚂蚁继续赶路，继续劳作。

When winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the Ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
冬天来了，蚱蜢没有食物，发现自己快要饿死了，而它看到蚂蚁们每天都在分发它们夏天收集并储存起来的玉米和谷物。

Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.
这时蚱蜢明白了：最好为有需要的日子做好准备。英语口语总结：
故事中出现了一些常用的英语口语表达。例如“come and chat”（过来聊天），这是一种很自然的邀请他人交流的说法；“instead of”（而不是）用于表示对比和取舍；“bother about”（为……烦恼）常用来表达对某事的担忧或困扰；“plenty of”（大量的、充足的）用于形容数量较多；“continue its toil”（继续劳作）中的“continue”（继续）是常用的动词，“toil”（辛苦劳作）比较形象地描述了蚂蚁的工作状态；“dying of hunger”（饿死）是描述极度饥饿状态的常用表达。