MWRP讀物推介|叢林之書The Jungle Book

《叢林之書》（The Jungle Book）是「百萬英語閱讀計劃」MWRP叢書——英漢對照中級英語系列讀物第I輯之7，適合已掌握1500基本英語辭彙量（相當於初中畢業）的讀者閱讀。

百萬英語閱讀計劃是為專門為中國學生設計的英語閱讀提高計劃，讀者對象為已具有初中英語水平的讀者，通過２年、每天約15分鐘的閱讀能達到中級英語水平，掌握3000多單詞和大量的短語，熟練掌握英語的各種句子結構，並能閱讀一般英語原著。詳見：《百萬英語閱讀計劃讀者手冊》。

內容簡介

毛格利嬰兒時，在森林裡受到老虎希瑞·坎追逐，誤入狼穴，被母狼收養，成為狼群中的一員。在叢林中，他學會了生活的智慧和謀生的本領，以及叢林動物必須遵守的叢林法則。毛格利在叢林中是如何生存的呢？老虎希瑞·坎會放手嗎？毛格利能回到人類中間嗎？

原書作者是羅德亞德·吉卜林（Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936），是諾貝爾文學獎得主，二十世紀英國享有盛譽的重要作家之一，於1894年出版，多次被改編為電影。

文本信息

本書文本統計信息詳見下表，供選擇時參考：

說明:

1. 關於可讀性：這是根據美國Rudolf Flesch博士的統計方法計算出的Flesch Reading Ease（弗萊士易讀度），計算根據是句子的字數和100個字內音節個數等，數值在0和100之間，數目越大，文章越容易讀。

2. 1500基本辭彙外的單詞不包括由這些詞構成的合成詞 （如：schoolboy<=school +boy）和派生詞 （如：proudly <= proud + ly）。

3. 專有名詞（人名地名）或由專有名詞派生的辭彙以及感嘆詞不計入生詞。

4. 1500詞外詞數（生詞數）包含重複詞數。比如一個單詞以不同形式出現3次，則按3次統計。

5. 在1500詞外詞條數中，重複的單詞或者一個單詞的不同形式統計為1次。

6. 正文每一千字處都有字數標誌，便於讀者掌握閱讀進度。

7. 1500基本辭彙外的詞在原文部分用粗體顯示，譯文部分用深色粗體，由於翻譯的緣故，兩部分的詞性和意義並不完全對應，僅供參考。

8. 本系列讀物的前三本生詞全部標註，以後只標註兩次，出現兩次以後生詞就不再標註。

第一章試讀

The Jungle Book

叢林之書

Chapter 1. The Man Cub

第一章　人的幼兒

There was a family of wolves in India. One evening they were visited by a jackal. The jackal sat down and started eating a bone. 「Do you know, Shere Khan, the Big One, is coming to this area?」 said the jackal.

在印度，有一個狼的家族。一天晚上，一隻胡狼來拜訪他們。胡狼坐下來開始啃一塊骨頭。「你知道嗎？老大希瑞?坎要來這個地區了，」胡狼說。

Shere Khan was a large tiger that lived thirty kilometres away.

希瑞?坎是生活在30公里外的一隻大老虎。

「But that』s not fair!」 cried Father Wolf. 「He will frighten away the animals! I have to hunt for two!」

「可那不公平！」狼爸爸喊道。「他會把動物都嚇跑的！我得捕到夠兩個吃的啊！」

But they could hear Shere Khan. He was hunting - but not for animals. He was hunting man!

但是，他們聽得見希瑞?坎的聲音了。他正在捕獵——但不是捕獵動物。他在捕人！

Then they heard a cry. Shere Khan had jumped into a fire and burnt his feet!

然後，他們聽到一聲吼。希瑞?坎跳進了火堆里，把爪子燒著了！

Father Wolf saw something move in the bushes. He jumped - then he got the biggest surprise of his life… 「Man! Look! A man cub!」

狼爸爸看見有個東西在叢林裡面動。他跳了起來，然後大吃一驚——他一生從沒這麼吃驚過……「人！看！一個人的幼兒！」

There, in front of him, was a young brown boy. The boy saw Father Wolf and he laughed.

在他的前方，是一個棕色皮膚的小男孩。男孩看見了狼爸爸，就大笑起來。

「Is that a man cub?」 asked Mother Wolf. 「I have never seen one. Bring it here!」

「那是人的幼兒嗎？」狼媽媽問。「我從來都沒見過。把他帶過來！」

Father Wolf picked up the young boy with his mouth and carried him to Mother Wolf.

狼爸爸用嘴巴叼著小男孩，把他叼到狼媽媽跟前。

「How little! How naked, and how bold!」 said Mother Wolf softly.

「多麼小啊！光溜溜的，那麼大膽啊！」狼媽媽輕輕地說。

The young boy moved between the wolf cubs to keep warm.

幼兒擠進狼崽中間來取暖。

「And he is not afraid,」 said Father Wolf. 「I could kill him with a touch of my foot, but he is not frightened.」

「他不害怕呢，」狼爸爸說。「我用爪子一碰就能要他的命，但是他卻不害怕。」

Suddenly, Shere Khan was at the entrance of the wolves』 cave.

突然，希瑞?坎出現在狼的山洞入口。

「He went in there, my lord,」 said the jackal. 「In there!」

「他進去了，大王，」胡狼說。「進去了！」

The wolves looked at Shere Khan. 「Shere Khan does us a great honour,」 said Father Wolf, but his eyes were angry. 「What does Shere Khan need?」

兩隻狼看了看希瑞?坎。「希瑞?坎到來讓我們深感榮幸，」狼爸爸說，但是他的眼神卻很氣憤。「希瑞?坎需要什麼？」

「A man cub came this way,」 said Shere Khan. 「Its parents ran away. Give it to me.」

「一個人的幼兒朝這裡來了，」希瑞?坎說。「他的父母跑了。把他給我。」

Father Wolf knew that the cave was too small for Shere Khan. He couldn』t get inside. 「The wolves are a free people,」 said Father Wolf. 「We take orders from the head of the pack, not from a striped cattle-killer. The man』s cub is ours - to kill if we choose.」

狼爸爸知道這個山洞對於希瑞?坎來說太小了，他沒法進來。「狼是自由的，」狼爸爸說。「我們服從狼群首領的命令，不服從帶條紋的牛群獵殺者的命令。這個人幼兒是我們的——如果我們願意的話就可以殺掉。」

Shere Khan was not a happy tiger. He roared into the cave. Mother Wolf stood between Shere Khan and her cubs. 「The man』s cub is mine! He will not be killed! He will live with the pack, run with the pack, hunt with the pack, and one day, he will hunt you! Now leave us, you frog-eater, you fish-killer!」

老虎希瑞?坎不高興了，他朝山洞裡面吼叫。狼媽媽站在希瑞?坎和她的幼崽中間。「這個人類的幼兒是我的！不能殺死他！他要跟狼群一起生活，跟狼群一起奔跑，跟狼群一起打獵，將來有一天，他會捕殺你！快滾開，你這個吃青蛙的東西，你這個殺魚的東西！」

Father Wolf was amazed. He had forgotten what a strong wolf Mother Wolf was. Shere Khan left the cave, growling. 「The man cub is mine! One day he will be between my teeth!」

狼爸爸很吃驚，他忘記狼媽媽是多麼健壯的狼了。希瑞?坎吼叫著離開了山洞。「那個人幼兒是我的！總有一天，我會用牙咬死他的！」

「Do you still want to keep him?」 asked Father Wolf.

「你還想留著他嗎？」狼爸爸問。

「Keep him? Of course I will keep him. Lie still little frog. Mowgli the frog I will call you. One day you will hunt Shere Khan as he has hunted you.」

「留他？當然我要留著他了。小青蛙，躺著別動。我要把你叫做青蛙毛格利。將來有一天，你會去獵殺希瑞?坎，就像他獵殺你一樣。

Some time later there was a meeting of the wolves. The young cubs were presented to Akela, the great Lone Wolf, the leader of the pack. Finally, Father Wolf pushed Mowgli the frog into the middle of the meeting. Mowgli just played with some stones on the ground.

過了些時間，狼開了一個會。所有的幼崽都被送到狼群的首領獨身大狼阿克拉面前。最後，狼爸爸把青蛙毛格利推到會場中央。毛格利只是在地上玩一些石子。

Suddenly there was a roar. It was Shere Khan. 「Give me my man cub! Why are wolves looking after a man cub?」

突然傳來一聲吼，原來是希瑞?坎。「把我的人幼兒還給我！狼為什麼要照管人幼兒呢？」

It was a good question. Another wolf asked Akela the same question. 「Why are we looking after a man cub?」

這倒是個好問題。另一隻狼問了阿克拉同樣的問題。「我們為什麼要照管一個人幼兒呢？」

「Who supports the man cub?」 asked Akela. 「Do we have two supporters for the man cub?」

「誰支持這個人幼兒？」阿克拉問。「有兩位支持這個人幼兒的嗎？」

The wolves said nothing. Mother and Father Wolf were worried. There could be a fight to the death… Then another animal spoke. It was Baloo, a sleepy brown bear that teaches the young wolf-cubs the laws of the jungle. 「The man』s cub?」 he said. 「I support the man』s cub. There is no harm in a man』s cub. I speak the truth. Let him run with the pack. I myself will teach him.」

狼沒有說話。狼媽媽和狼爸爸著急了。可能會發生一場殊死搏鬥……這時另一個動物說話了。是給狼幼崽教授叢林法則的昏睡棕熊巴洛。「人的幼兒？」他說。「我支持這個人的幼兒。人的幼兒沒有危害。我說的是實話。讓他隨著狼群奔跑吧。我要親自教他。」

「We need another,」 said Akela. 「Baloo has spoken, and he is our teacher of young cubs. Who else supports the man cub?」

「還需要一位，」阿克拉說。「巴洛說話了。他是我們幼崽的老師。還有誰支持這個人的幼兒？」

Then an animal moved into the circle. It was Bagheera, the Black Panther. He was very intelligent and very strong. But his voice was as soft as wild honey. 「I don』t have the right to be with you,」 he purred. 「But I will pay to keep the man cub. You should not kill a young, naked cub. He will be better sport for you when he is grown. Baloo supports the man cub. Now I will add one fat bull, newly killed, just one kilometre from here.」

這時一隻動物來到圈子中。這是黑豹巴希拉。他非常聰明，也非常強壯，但是他的聲音跟野蜂蜜一樣溫柔。「我沒有權利跟你們在一起，」他嘟嚕道。「但是我要出錢來養活這個人幼兒。你們不應該把一個赤身裸體的小幼兒殺掉。等他長大了，會給你們提供更多的樂趣。巴洛支持這個人幼兒。現在，我再添上一頭肥公牛，是剛殺死的，離這兒只有一公里遠。」

Many of the wolves spoke at once. 「It doesn』t matter! He will die in the winter rains. Or he will die in the summer sun. A naked frog is not dangerous for us. Let him run with the pack. Where is the bull, Bagheera?」

許多狼一齊說話了。「沒關係！他會在冬天的雨中死去，或者在夏日的陽光下死掉的。一隻赤裸的青蛙對我們沒有危險。讓他隨著狼群奔跑吧。公牛在哪兒呢，巴希拉？」

Mowgli was still playing with small stones. He didn』t see the wolves come and look at him one by one. At last the wolves went down the hill for the dead bull. Only Akela, Bagheera, Baloo and Mowgli』s own wolves were left. Shere Khan roared in the night. He was still angry that the wolves had not given Mowgli to him.

毛格利仍然在玩著小石子，他沒有注意到狼一個個地過來看他。最後，狼都下山去找那頭死公牛了，只剩下阿克拉、巴希拉、巴洛和毛格利自家的狼了。希瑞?坎還在黑夜中怒吼。他還因為這些狼沒有把毛格利還給他而發怒。

「You can roar,」 said Bagheera. 「One day this naked cub will make you roar in a very different way.」

「你吼叫吧，」巴希拉說。「總有一天，這個赤裸的幼兒會讓你用非常不同的方式吼叫的。」

「It was a good meeting,」 said Akela. 「Men and their cubs are very wise. He may be able to help us one day.」

「這次會開得好，」阿克拉說。「人和他們的幼兒都非常聰明。將來有一天他能夠幫助我們的。」

「I am sure he will be a great help,」 said Bagheera. 「No one can hope to lead the pack forever.」

「我敢肯定他會幫大忙的，」巴希拉說。「誰都不能指望永遠領導狼群。」

Akela said nothing. He thought about the time that comes to the leader of every pack. He thought about getting older and weaker. One day, he would be killed by the other wolves and there would be a new leader.

阿克拉什麼話都沒說。他想到每個狼群的首領都會有那麼一天。他想到自己變得越來越老，越來越弱。總有一天，他會被其他的狼殺掉，然後會有一個新的首領。

「Take him away,」 Akela said to Father Wolf. 「And train him in the ways of the Jungle.」

「把他帶走吧，」阿克拉對狼爸爸說。「按照叢林的方式來訓練他。」

And that is how Mowgli entered the Seeonee wolf pack - for the price of a bull and Baloo』s good words.

就這樣，毛格利加入了賽歐尼狼群——代價是一頭公牛的價格加上巴洛的美言。