MWRP讀物推介|藍河上的熊The Bears of Blue River

《 藍河上的熊》（The Bears of Blue River）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ＩＩ輯之1，適合已掌握1500基本英語辭彙量（相當於初中畢業）的英語學習者閱讀。

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

本書描寫了19世紀初生活在印第安納州拓居地（settlement）的一個男孩的冒險事迹。小鮑爾澤跟父母、弟弟和小妹妹生活在藍河岸邊一座舒適的小木屋裡。儘管小鮑爾澤只有十三四歲，但是他對拓居地生活的艱辛和危險卻非常熟悉。當時，在拓居地流傳著火熊的故事，據說那隻火熊夜裡身體發光，見到火熊的人，如果不能打死火熊，就要在3月內死去。一個暴風雪之夜，鮑爾澤果真見到了那隻火熊……

原書作者查爾斯·梅傑（Charles Major 1856-1913）是美國著名作家。原書出版於1901年，是兒童和成年人喜愛的關於美國中西部早期拓荒者生活和自然的故事。

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 Bears of Blue River

藍河上的熊

Chapter 1. The Big Bear

第一章 大熊

Many years age, when Indiana was a young state, there stood on the east bank of Big Blue River a small log cabin. It was a mile or two north of the point where that stream crosses the Michigan road, and it had two rooms--one front and one back.

許多年以前，在印第安納還是一個剛剛建立的州時，在大藍河東岸坐落著一個小木屋。木屋在那條河流與密歇根國道交界處以北一兩英里的位置，有兩個房間——前面一個，後面一個。

The house faced the west. In front of the house was a blue-grass lawn, with a dozen or more trees. Close at the water』s edge was a steep slope of ten or twelve feet. Back of the house was the deep dark forest. In the forest, there lived deer, bears, wolves, squirrels and birds. And in the river, there were many fish of all kinds.

房子面朝西，前面是一片藍草地，長著十幾棵樹，靠近水邊是一道１０到１２英尺高的陡坡。房子後面是一個黑暗的密林，森林中生活著鹿、熊、狼、松鼠和小鳥，河裡有許多各種各樣的魚。

South of the house there was a log barn. It was large enough for three horses and two cows. Around the barn, there was a fence, eight or ten feet high. In this area, the farmer kept a few sheep and cattle. In the evening, he also drove the chickens, geese, and ducks here to save them from the animals.

房子的南面有一個原木畜棚，大小足以容納三匹馬和兩頭奶牛。畜棚周圍有一道籬笆，８到１０英尺高。在這塊空地內，農夫養了幾頭綿羊和牛。傍晚，他還把雞、鵝和鴨子都趕到這裡來，避免動物傷害。

The owner of this log hut and the land around was a man named Balser Brent. Balser was his name, and it was also the name of his boy, the hero of the bear stories I am about to tell you.

這個木屋和這片土地的主人是一個名叫鮑爾澤?布倫特的人。鮑爾澤是他的名字，也是他兒子的名字。兒子是我要給你們講的熊故事中的主人公。

Mr. Brent and his young wife had moved to this place from North Carolina, when young Balser was a little boy five or six. They had bought the land on which they lived. It had cost them one dollar per acre, which was then considered a good sum.

布倫特先生和他年輕的妻子在小鮑爾澤是個五六歲的小孩子時就從北卡羅來納州搬到這個地方來。他們買了現在生活的這片土地，每英畝花費他們一美元，當時人們覺得這筆錢可不少。

The house was made up of two large rooms. The back room was the kitchen, and the front room was living room, bedroom, sitting room and library all in one.

房子由兩個大房間構成。後面的房間是廚房，前面的房間是起居室、卧室、客廳和書房全在一起的。

When the story happened, young Balser was thirteen or fourteen years old. He had a younger brother, Jim, nine years old, and a little sister, one year old. Young Balser was very proud of them indeed.

故事發生的時候，小鮑爾澤有十三四歲。他有一個９歲的弟弟吉姆，和一個一歲大的小妹妹。小鮑爾澤真的為他們而自豪。

One day Little Balser was helping his father down in the field. Mrs. Brent called him into the house. When he reached the house, his mother said:

一天，小鮑爾澤正在地里幫爸爸幹活，布倫特夫人喊他到屋裡去。他到了屋裡的時候，他的媽媽說：

「Balser, go up to the river and catch some fish for dinner. Your father is tired of deer meat three times a day. I know he would like a nice dish of fried fish at noon.」

「鮑爾澤，你到河裡去釣些魚午飯吃吧。你爸爸一天三頓吃鹿肉都吃夠了。我知道中午的時候他想吃一盤不錯的煎魚。」

「All right, mother,」 said Balser. And he immediately took down his fishing-pole and line and was ready to go. Then, his mother said:

「好吧，媽媽，」鮑爾澤說。於是，他立即取下魚竿和魚線，準備去了。這時，他的媽媽說：

「You had better take a gun. You may meet a bear, but you must be careful with it.」

「你最好帶上槍。你也許會遇上熊的，但是你拿槍必須小心啊。」

The gun was heavy and much longer than himself. Balser took it and started toward the river, about a quarter of a mile away. There had been rain during the night and the ground near the river was soft.

槍很重，而且比他自己長多了。鮑爾澤拿了槍，朝河邊走去。河邊大約四分之一英里遠，夜裡下了雨，河邊的地面非常軟。

Here, Little Balser noticed fresh bear tracks, and his breath began to come quickly. He opened his eyes wide and looked carefully round. Then he walked on carefully, until he reached the river.

在這兒，小鮑爾澤注意到有熊留下的新足印，他的呼吸加快了。他睜大眼睛，小心地朝四周看了看，然後，他小心翼翼地往前走，一直來到河邊。

Balser was just a little fellow, but his father had taught him how to use a gun. Although Balser had never killed a bear, he had shot seven deer, and had once killed a wildcat.

鮑爾澤只是個小孩子，但是他的爸爸已經教他如何用槍了。儘管鮑爾澤從來沒有打死過熊，他已經打死過７頭鹿，而且還打死過一隻野貓呢。

Although Balser had never met a bear face to face and alone, yet he had said that there wasn』t a bear in the world big enough to frighten him, if he only had his gun.

儘管鮑爾澤從來沒有一個人同熊面對面相遇過，但是他說過，只要自己有槍，世界上再大的熊都嚇不倒他。

He had often told his parents and little brother just what he would do if he should meet a bear. He would wait calmly and quietly until the bear should come within a few yards of him. Then he would slowly lift his gun. Bang! And Mr. Bear would be dead with a bullet in his heart.

他經常跟父母和小弟弟說過如果萬一遇到熊，自己會怎麼辦。他會平靜地等待著，一直等熊來到離自己只有幾碼遠的地方。然後，他會慢慢地舉起槍。砰！一顆子彈射入熊先生的心臟，它就死了。

When he saw the fresh bear tracks, he began to realize that he would probably have a chance to put his theories into practice. But then, he began to wonder if he would become frightened and miss his aim. And he thought of how the bear, then, would come very politely up to him, and make him a very nice dinner. But as he walked on and no bear appeared, he became braver and was sure that he would not meet the enemy. And he again began saying to himself that no bear could frighten him, because he had his gun and he could and would kill it.

當他看見熊的新腳印時，就開始意識到自己可能會有一個機會來把自己的理論付諸於實踐了。可這時，他開始懷疑自己會不會害怕而打不中目標。然後他想到，這時熊會怎麼非常禮貌地走到他的跟前，把他變成一頓美餐。但是他繼續往前走，沒有熊出現的時候，他就變得大膽起來，覺得肯定自己不會遇見敵人的。他又開始對自己說任何熊都嚇不倒他，因為他有槍，有能力而且會打死它的。

So Balser reached the river. He looked carefully about him, and put his gun against a tree. He walked out of the end of a log that extended into the river twenty or thirty feet.

就這樣，鮑爾澤來到河邊。他朝周圍小心地望了望，把槍靠在一棵樹上。他走到了伸到水中二三十英尺遠的一根原木頭上。

Here he threw in his line, and was soon so busy drawing out fish that all thought of the bear went out of his mind.

在這裡，他把魚線拋進去，不久就在忙著收線取魚，結果關於熊的所有念頭都從腦子中消失了。

After he had caught enough fish for a rich dinner, he decided to go home. Imagine how astonished he was when he turned toward the shore and saw, on the bank, quietly watching him, a huge black bear.

他釣到的魚足夠做一頓豐盛的午餐時，便決定回家。一轉身朝向岸邊，看到岸上有一隻大黑熊正在靜靜地望著他，你想他是多麼驚訝啊。

The bear had a strange, determined expression about him that seemed to say:

黑熊對他有一種奇怪而堅定的表情，似乎在說：

「That boy can』t get away. If he jumps into the deep river, I can easily jump in after him and catch him. He』ll have to come off the log in a short time, and then I』ll go and eat him.」

「那個孩子跑不了了。如果他跳進很深的河水裡，我可以能容易地跟著他跳進去，然後抓住他。不久，他就得從原木上走下來，那時我就去把他吃掉。」

This thought had also been passing rapidly through Balser』s mind. His gun was on the bank where he had left it. In order to reach it he would have to pass the bear. He dared not jump into the water. If he tried to run away, the bear would jump upon him at once. He was very much frightened but, after all, he was a cool-headed little fellow for his age. So he decided that so long as the bear remained watching him on the bank, he would stay on the log where he was. He would allow the enemy to watch him as much as he liked.

這個念頭也在鮑爾澤腦海中快速閃過。他的槍在岸上他放的那個位置。要拿到槍，他就不得不經過熊。他不敢跳進水裡，如果他想逃跑，熊會馬上撲向他。他非常恐慌，但是對他那個年齡的孩子來說，他畢竟是個頭腦冷靜的小傢伙，於是他決定，只要熊在岸上看著他，他就呆在原木上自己所處的位置。敵人願意看多久，就讓它看多久好了。

So the boy and the bear watched the other as though they were the best friends and would like to eat each other.

於是，男孩和熊對望著，好像他們是最好的朋友，都想吃掉對方一樣。

Time passed very slowly for Balser. It seemed to him that he had been standing almost a year in the middle of Blue River on that shaking log, when he heard his mother』s dinner horn. It was time for him to go home.

對於鮑爾澤來說，時間過得非常慢。他覺得自己似乎在藍河中間那個顫抖的原木上已經站了幾乎一年了似的，這時他聽見媽媽吹響了午飯的號角。到了他應該回家的時候了。

Balser would have gladly gone, but there stood the bear, patient, determined, and fierce. Little Balser was sure that his time had come to die.

鮑爾澤很願意走，但是熊站在那裡，很有耐心，堅決而又兇猛。小鮑爾澤確信自己的死期到了。

He hoped that when his father went home to dinner and found him still absent, he would come up the river in search of him and frighten away the bear. At this time, the bear began to move down toward the end of the log on which Balser was standing.

他希望爸爸回家吃午飯的時候，發現自己還沒回來，他會到河邊來找自己，然後把熊嚇跑。這時，熊開始朝鮑爾澤站著的原木頭上移動。

The bear came slowly until he reached the end of the log. He examined it for a moment, and then, to Balser』s great alarm, he carefully stepped out on it and began to walk toward him.

熊慢慢地走過來，一直到了原木的頭上。它查看了一會兒，然後，讓鮑爾澤大為驚恐的是，它小心地走上去，然後向他走來。

Balser thought of the folks at home, and, above all, of his baby sister. When he felt that he should never see them again, he began to grow sad and so frightened that he could hardly move.

鮑爾澤想到了家裡的人，而最重要的是他的小妹妹。當他感覺自己再也不能見到他們的時候，他變得很難過，而且嚇得幾乎不能動了。

On came the bear, watching Balser closely with his little black eyes. His tongue hung out, and his great red mouth was wide open, showing the sharp, long, shining teeth.

熊越來越近，用它那黑色的小眼睛密切地注視著他。它的舌頭垂了出來，紅紅的大嘴大張著，露出閃亮的鋒利長牙。

When the bear got within a few feet of Balser, the boy grew so frightened that he struck at the bear with the only weapon he had--his string of fish.

當熊來到離鮑爾澤只有幾英尺遠的地方時，孩子太害怕了，就用自己僅有的武器——那串魚去打熊。

Now, bears love fish more than all other food. So when Balser』s fish struck the bear in the mouth, he grabbed at them. And in doing so, he fell into the water.

哦，熊喜歡吃魚，勝過其他任何食物，於是，當鮑爾澤的魚打到熊的嘴時，它就去抓魚。這樣一抓，熊就掉進了水中。

This was Balser』s chance for life, so he threw the fish to the bear, and ran for the bank as fast as he could.

這是鮑爾澤逃命的機會，於是，他把魚扔給了熊，然後拚命地朝河岸跑去。

When he reached the bank his self-confidence returned, and he remembered what he had said he would do if he should meet a bear.

等他到達岸邊，他的自信心又回來了，想起了自己說過的萬一遇上一頭熊要怎麼做的話來。

The bear had caught the fish, and again had climbed upon the log. Now, he was eating the fish.

熊抓住了魚，又爬上了原木。現在，它正在吃魚。

This was Little Balser』s chance to kill the bear. He quickly picked up the gun and took careful aim at the bear, which was not five yards away. He fired and shot him through the heart. The bear dropped into the water and died.

這是小鮑爾澤殺死熊的機會。他馬上拿起槍來，小心地對不足５碼遠的熊瞄準。他開了槍，子彈穿透了熊的心臟。熊倒在水中死了。

After he had killed the bear, Balser became more frightened than ever. He ran home crying. That afternoon his father went to the riverside and took the bear out of the water. It was very fat and large. Mr. Brent said it weighed over six hundred pounds.

鮑爾澤打死了熊之後，變得比以前更加害怕了。他喊著跑回了家。那天下午，他的爸爸去了河邊，把熊從水裡拉了出來。熊又肥又大，布倫特先生說它有６００多磅重。

The news of Balser』s adventure soon spread among the neighbours and he became quite a hero. The bear he had killed was one of the largest that had ever been seen in that area. And there were three or four hundred pounds of bear meat for winter.

鮑爾澤歷險的消息很快在鄰居們中間傳開了，他成了一個了不起的英雄。他打死的那頭熊是在那一片所見到的最大的熊之一。現在他們有三四百磅的熊肉過冬了。