I don’t care to live in a burgeoning city. When a city burgeons too rapidly, it creates two unfortunately by-products, crime and pollution.
我不喜歡生活在一個(gè)日益發(fā)展的城市。如果一個(gè)城市發(fā)展過(guò)快,就將帶來(lái)兩大不幸的后果:犯罪與污染。
That’s why I live in a cabin in the woods. It’s miles away from the nearest bypass. It’s the perfect place for a retired cabinetmaker. It’s relatively quiet except for the buzz of the bees and the occasional cadence of horses galloping in the distance. Nobody comes to visit me, although a mouse did burrow into my cabin once. You can’t even get a cab here. The isolation has left me with plenty of time for hobbies. I’ve ever had time to sculpt a bust of my father and to burnish it.
所以我選擇住在樹林里的小木屋,這里距離最近的旁道有數(shù)里之遙,這里還是退休細(xì)木工人的最佳選擇。除了蜜蜂的嗡嗡聲和遠(yuǎn)處偶然疾馳而來(lái)的有節(jié)奏的馬蹄聲,樹林里相對(duì)安靜。沒(méi)有人來(lái)拜訪我,不過(guò)確實(shí)有一只耗子曾挖洞來(lái)過(guò)我的小木屋。這里甚至叫不到出租車。遠(yuǎn)離塵囂的我有充足的時(shí)間搞些業(yè)余愛好。我甚至花時(shí)間雕了一尊我父親的半身像,并把它擦得锃亮。
I don’t need to travel very far. The furthest I need to go is through the trees and bushes to collect a bundle of firewood and a bunch of fruit. I do wish I had some animals. Perhaps a cow for milk and some chickens for eggs. It would be interesting to make butter with the milk.
我不用走很遠(yuǎn),我最遠(yuǎn)只需穿過(guò)樹林和灌木叢,去找一堆柴火、摘一串水果。我真希望我能擁有一些動(dòng)物,也許是一頭能擠奶的母牛和幾只能下蛋的雞。用牛奶做奶油應(yīng)該很有趣。
The woods are a relative safe place, so calamities are rare. The closest misfortune I came to was the time a burglar broke into my cabin and tried to steal some food. It was late at night. Fortunately, the buzzer of my homemade burglar alarm woke me up. I bumped him on the head with my broom and he went running out the door.
樹林里相對(duì)安全,極少有災(zāi)難發(fā)生。我遇上的最能稱之為不幸的事就是一個(gè)試圖偷食物的夜賊闖進(jìn)我的小木屋。那是深夜,幸好我自制的警報(bào)器把我吵醒了。我用掃把猛抽了他腦袋一下,然后他奪門而出,逃之夭夭。
I didn’t get a clear look at his face because of his black mask. Although I was angry, I didn’t call the police. You don’t bother the police with these kinds of things in the woods, especially if your burglar is just a raccoon.
我沒(méi)有看清他的臉,因?yàn)樗芍谏拿嬲?。我盡管很生氣,但還是沒(méi)有叫警察。你不會(huì)為樹林里發(fā)生的這點(diǎn)小事麻煩警察的,尤其當(dāng)你遇到的夜賊不過(guò)是只浣熊。
Words:
bump n. 腫塊;突起;v. 碰(傷),撞(破);猛擊;沖撞
bunch n. 串,束;群;vi. 捆成一束;聚焦
bundle n. 捆,束,包;vt. 捆
burgeon vi. 迅速成長(zhǎng),發(fā)展
burgeoning adj. 迅速成長(zhǎng)的,發(fā)展的
burglar n. 夜盜,竊賊
burnish v. 磨光,使光滑,擦亮
burrow n. 洞穴;vi. 挖地洞
bush n. 矮樹叢
bust n. 半身(雕)像
butter n. 奶油
buzz n. 嗡嗡聲
buzzer n. 蜂鳴器
bypass vt. 繞過(guò),迂回;n. 旁道,旁路
by-product n. 副產(chǎn)品;附帶產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果
cab n. 出租馬車,出租汽車
cabin n. 小屋,船艙
cabinetmaker n. 家具師,細(xì)工木匠
cadence n. (音樂(lè)、舞蹈動(dòng)作步伐等的)節(jié)律,節(jié)拍,節(jié)奏;(說(shuō)話時(shí)語(yǔ)調(diào)的)抑揚(yáng)頓挫
calamity n. 災(zāi)難,不幸事件