飞箱1
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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

The Flying Trunk(1)

 

The Flying Trunk背景知识

(1839年)
这是一个阿拉伯的故事,在《一千零一夜》中可以找到它的原形。但安徒生却作了不同的处理,把它和现实的人生与世态结合了起来:那个商人的儿子的钱花光了,“他的朋友们再也不愿意跟他来往了,因为他再也不能跟他们一道逛街。”但是当他快要成为驸马时,他买了些焰火和炮竹,以及种种可以想象得到的鞭炮,使所有的人享受一番欢乐。这时大家都 称赞他说:“他的眼睛像一对发光的星星,他的胡须像起泡沫的水!”“他穿着一件火外套飞行”,“许多最美丽的天使藏在他的衣褶里向外窥望。”他成了土耳奇的神。但是乐极生悲,焰火的一颗星星落下来,点起一把火。箱子已经化成灰烬了。他再也飞不起来了,也没有办法到他的新娘那儿去。他和公主结婚的安排成了泡影。这个故事有许多东西值得人们深思。



By Hans Christian1 Andersen
(1838)
THERE was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved the whole street with gold, and would even then have had enough for a small alley2. But he did not do so; he knew the value of money better than to use it in this way. So clever was he, that every shilling he put out brought him a crown; and so he continued till he died. His son inherited his wealth, and he lived a merry life with it; he went to a masquerade every night, made kites out of five pound notes, and threw pieces of gold into the sea instead of stones, making ducks and drakes of them.

In this manner he soon lost all his money. At last he had nothing left but a pair of slippers3, an old dressing-gown, and four shillings. And now all his friends deserted4 him, they could not walk with him in the streets; but one of them, who was very good-natured, sent him an old trunk with this message, “Pack up!” “Yes,” he said, “it is all very well to say 'pack up,'” but he had nothing left to pack up, therefore he seated himself in the trunk.

It was a very wonderful trunk; no sooner did any one press on the lock than the trunk could fly. He shut the lid and pressed the lock, when away flew the trunk up the chimney with the merchant's son in it, right up into the clouds. Whenever the bottom of the trunk cracked, he was in a great fright, for if the trunk fell to pieces he would have made a tremendous Somerset over the trees. However, he got safely in his trunk to the land of Turkey. He hid the trunk in the wood under some dry leaves, and then went into the town: he could do this very well, for the Turks always go about dressed in dressing-gowns and slippers, as he was himself. He happened to meet a nurse with a little child. “I say, you Turkish nurse,” cried he, “what castle is that near the town, with the windows placed so high?”  

“The king's daughter lives there,” she replied; “it has been prophesied5 that she will be very unhappy about a lover, and therefore no one is allowed to visit her, unless the king and queen are present.”

“Thank you,” said the merchant's son. So he went back to the wood, seated himself in his trunk, flew up to the roof of the castle, and crept through the window into the princess's room. She lay on the sofa asleep, and she was so beautiful that the merchant's son could not help kissing her. Then she awoke, and was very much frightened; but he told her he was a Turkish angel, who had come down through the air to see her, which pleased her very much. He sat down by her side and talked to her: he said her eyes were like beautiful dark lakes, in which the thoughts swam about like little mermaids7, and he told her that her forehead was a snowy mountain, which contained splendid halls full of pictures. And then he related to her about the stork8 who brings the beautiful children from the rivers. These were delightful9 stories; and when he asked the princess if she would marry him, she consented immediately.

“But you must come on Saturday,” she said; “for then the king and queen will take tea with me. They will be very proud when they find that I am going to marry a Turkish angel; but you must think of some very pretty stories to tell them, for my parents like to hear stories better than anything. My mother prefers one that is deep and moral; but my father likes something funny, to make him laugh.”

“Very well,” he replied; “I shall bring you no other marriage portion than a story,” and so they parted. But the princess gave him a sword which was studded with gold coins, and these he could use.

Then he flew away to the town and bought a new dressing-gown, and afterwards returned to the wood, where he composed a story, so as to be ready for Saturday, which was no easy matter. It was ready however by Saturday, when he went to see the princess. The king, and queen, and the whole court, were at tea with the princess; and he was received with great politeness.

“Will you tell us a story?” said the queen, “one that is instructive and full of deep learning.”

“Yes, but with something in it to laugh at,” said the king.

“Certainly,” he replied, and commenced at once, asking them to listen attentively10. “There was once a bundle of matches that were exceedingly proud of their high descent. Their genealogical tree, that is, a large pine-tree from which they had been cut, was at one time a large, old tree in the wood. The matches now lay between a tinder-box and an old iron saucepan, and were talking about their youthful days.

'Ah! then we grew on the green boughs11, and were as green as they; every morning and evening we were fed with diamond drops of dew. Whenever the sun shone, we felt his warm rays, and the little birds would relate stories to us as they sung. We knew that we were rich, for the other trees only wore their green dress in summer, but our family were able to array themselves in green, summer and winter. But the wood-cutter came, like a great revolution, and our family fell under the axe12. The head of the house obtained a situation as mainmast in a very fine ship, and can sail round the world when he will. The other branches of the family were taken to different places, and our office now is to kindle13 a light for common people. This is how such high-born people as we came to be in a kitchen.'

“'Mine has been a very different fate,' said the iron pot, which stood by the matches; 'from my first entrance into the world I have been used to cooking and scouring15. I am the first in this house, when anything solid or useful is required. My only pleasure is to be made clean and shining after dinner, and to sit in my place and have a little sensible conversation with my neighbors. All of us, excepting the water-bucket, which is sometimes taken into the courtyard, live here together within these four walls. We get our news from the market-basket, but he sometimes tells us very unpleasant things about the people and the government. Yes, and one day an old pot was so alarmed, that he fell down and was broken to pieces. He was a liberal, I can tell you.'

“'You are talking too much,' said the tinder-box, and the steel struck against the flint till some sparks flew out, crying, 'We want a merry evening, don't we?'


I. Reference Version (参考译文) 


从前有一个商人,非常有钱,他的银元可以用来铺满一整条街,而且多余的还可以用来铺一条小巷。不过他没有这样作:他有别的方法使用他的钱,他拿出一个毫子,必定要赚回一些钱。他就是这样一个商人——后来他死了。他的儿子现在继承了全部的钱财;他生活得很愉快;他每晚去参加化装跳舞会,用纸币做风筝,用金币——而不用石片——在海边玩着打水漂的游戏。

这样,钱就很容易花光了;他的钱就真的这样花光了。最后他只剩下四个毫子,此外还有一双便鞋和一件旧睡衣。他的朋友们现在再也不愿意跟他来往了,因为他再也不能跟他们一道逛街。不过这些朋友中有一位心地很好的人,送给他一只箱子,说:“把你的东西收拾进去吧!”这意思是很好的,但是他并没有什么东西可以收拾进去,因此他就自己坐进箱子里去。

这是一只很滑稽的箱子。一个人只须把它的锁按一下,这箱子就可以飞起来。它真的飞起来了。嘘——箱子带着他从烟囱里飞出去了,高高地飞到云层里,越飞越远。箱子底发出响声,他非常害怕,怕它裂成碎片,因为这样一来,他的筋斗可就翻得不简单了!愿上帝保佑!他居然飞到土耳奇人住的国度里去了。他把箱子藏在树林里的枯叶子下面,然后就走进城里来。这倒不太困难,因为土耳奇人穿着跟他一样的衣服:一双拖鞋和一件睡衣。他碰到一个牵着孩子的奶妈。“喂,您——土耳奇的奶妈,”他说,“城边的那座宫殿的窗子开得那么高,究竟是怎么一回事啊?”

“那是国王的女儿居住的地方呀!”她说。“有人曾经作过预言,说她将要因为一个爱人而变得非常不幸,因此谁也不能去看她,除非国王和王后也在场。”

“谢谢您!”商人的儿子说。他回到树林里来,坐进箱子,飞到屋顶上,偷偷地从窗口爬进公主的房间。公主正躺在沙发上睡觉。她是那么美丽,商人的儿子忍不住吻了她一下。于是她醒来了,大吃一惊。不过他说他是土耳奇人的神,现在是从空中飞来看她的。这话她听来很舒服。这样,他们就挨在一起坐着。他讲了一些关于她的眼睛的故事。他告诉她说:这是一对最美丽的、乌黑的湖,思想像人鱼一样在里面游来游去。于是他又讲了一些关于她的前额的故事。他说它像一座雪山,上面有最华丽的大厅和图画。他又讲了一些关于鹳鸟的故事:它们送来可爱的婴儿。(注:鹳鸟是一种长腿的候鸟。它经常在屋顶上做窠。像燕子一样,它到冬天就飞走了,据说是飞到埃及去过冬。丹麦人非常喜欢这种鸟。根据它们的民间传说,小孩是鹳鸟从埃及送到世界来的。)是的,这都是些好听的故事!于是他向公主求婚。她马上就答应了。

“不过你在星期六一定要到这儿来,”她说。“那时国王和王后将会来和我一起吃茶!我能跟一位土耳奇人的神结婚,他们一定会感到骄傲。不过,请注意,你得准备一个好听的故事,因为我的父母都是喜欢听故事的。我的母亲喜欢听有教育意义和特殊的故事,但是我的父亲则喜欢听愉快的、逗人发笑的故事!”

“对,我将不带什么订婚的礼物,而带一个故事来,”他说。这样他们就分手了。但是公主送给他一把剑,上面镶着金币,而这对他特别有用处。

他飞走了,买了一件新的睡衣。于是他坐在树林里,想编出一个故事。这故事得在星期六编好,而这却不是一件容易的事儿啦。他总算把故事编好了,这已经是星期六。国王、王后和全体大臣们都到公主的地方来吃茶。他受到非常客气的招待。

“请您讲一个故事好吗?”王后说,“讲一个高深而富有教育意义的故事。”

“是的,讲一个使我们发笑的故事!”国王说。

“当然的,”他说。于是他就开始讲起故事来。现在请你好好地听吧:从前有一捆柴火,这些柴火对自己的高贵出身特别感到骄傲。它们的始祖,那就是说一株大枞树,原是树林里一株又大又老的树。这些柴火每一根就是它身上的一块碎片。这捆柴火现在躺在打火匣和老铁罐中间的一个架子上。它们谈起自己年轻时代的那些日子来。

“是的,”它们说,“当我们在绿枝上的时候,那才真算是在绿枝上啦!每天早上和晚间我们总有珍珠茶喝——这是露珠。太阳只要一出来,我们整天就有太阳光照着,所有的小鸟都来讲故事给我们听。我们可以看得很清楚,我们是非常富有的,因为一般的宽叶树只是在夏天才有衣服穿,而我们家里的人在冬天和夏天都有办法穿上绿衣服。不过,伐木人一来,就要发生一次大的变革:我们的家庭就要破裂。我们的家长成了一条漂亮的船上的主桅——这条船只要它愿意,可以走遍世界。别的枝子就到别的地方去了。而我们的工作却只是一些为平凡的人点火。因此我们这些出自名门的人就到厨房里来了。”

“我的命运可不同,”站在柴火旁边的老铁罐说。“我一出生到这世界上来,就受到了不少的摩擦和煎熬!我做的是一件实际工作——严格地讲,是这屋子里的第一件工作。我唯一的快乐是在饭后干干净净地,整整齐齐地,躺在架子上,同我的朋友们扯些有道理的闲天。除了那个水罐偶尔到院子里去一下以外,我们老是待在家里的。我们唯一的新闻贩子是那位到市场去买菜的篮子。他常常像煞有介事地报告一些关于政治和老百姓的消息。是的,前天有一个老罐子吓了一跳,跌下来打得粉碎。我可以告诉你,他可是一位喜欢乱讲话的人啦!”

“你的话讲得未免太多了一点,”打火匣说。这时一块铁在燧石上擦了一下,火星散发出来。“我们不能把这个晚上弄得愉快一点么?”

 

II. Exercise Choose the correct answer to the following questions.
1. After he had lost all his money, he left some things except _______.
   A. a pair of slippers
   B. an old dressing-gown
   C. four shillings
   D. a diamond

2. Which was send by one of his friends?
   A. an old trunk
   B. some clothes
   C. some money
   D. a new dressing-gown

3. Who lived in the castle near the town with the windows placed so high?
   A. The queen.
   B. The king.
   C. The princess.
   D. The merchant's son.

4. When should the merchant's son go to meet the queen, the king and their daughter?
   A. On Saturday.
   B. On Sunday.
   C. On Monday.
   D. Not have been mentioned in the story.

5. Who was the first in the house?
   A. The matches.
   B. The iron pot.
   C. The tinder-box.
   D. The old quill-pen.

 

III. New Words and Expressions 生词和词组 
1. masquerade n. 化装舞会
2. dressing-gown n. 睡衣
3. Somerset n. 筋斗
4. prophesy16 v. 预言
5. mermaid6 n. 美人鱼
6. stork n. 鹳鸟
7. stud v. 散布,点缀
8. instructive a. 有教益的,有启发的
9. descent n. 血统,遗传
10.saucepan n. 长柄有盖的深平底锅
11.dew n. 露水
12.mainmast n. 主桅
13.scour14 v. 擦净,冲刷
14.liberal n. 开朗的人,自由主义者

 

Key to Exercise(练习答案)
1.D  2.A  3.C  4.A  5.B



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
2 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
3 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
4 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
5 prophesied 27251c478db94482eeb550fc2b08e011     
v.预告,预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
  • She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 mermaid pCbxH     
n.美人鱼
参考例句:
  • How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起,那个女孩会有多受欢迎!
  • The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴,因为她等不及了。
7 mermaids b00bb04c7ae7aa2a22172d2bf61ca849     
n.(传说中的)美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The high stern castle was a riot or carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs. 其尾部高耸的船楼上雕满了神仙、妖魔鬼怪、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼、天使。 来自辞典例句
  • This is why mermaids should never come on land. 这就是为什么人鱼不应该上岸的原因。 来自电影对白
8 stork hGWzF     
n.鹳
参考例句:
  • A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
  • He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。
9 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
10 attentively AyQzjz     
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神
参考例句:
  • She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 boughs 95e9deca9a2fb4bbbe66832caa8e63e0     
大树枝( bough的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
  • A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。
12 axe 2oVyI     
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减
参考例句:
  • Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利,你要当心。
  • The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。
13 kindle n2Gxu     
v.点燃,着火
参考例句:
  • This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
  • A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。
14 scour oDvzj     
v.搜索;擦,洗,腹泻,冲刷
参考例句:
  • Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
  • We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。
15 scouring 02d824effe8b78d21ec133da3651c677     
擦[洗]净,冲刷,洗涤
参考例句:
  • The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
  • This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。
16 prophesy 00Czr     
v.预言;预示
参考例句:
  • He dares to prophesy what will happen in the future.他敢预言未来将发生什么事。
  • I prophesy that he'll be back in the old job.我预言他将重操旧业。
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