时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:马克吐温最佳短篇小说


英语课

   [The following has been written at the instance of several literary friends, who thought that if the history of "The Bad Little Boy who Did not Come to Grief" (a moral sketch 1 which I published five or six years ago) was worthy 2 of preservation 3 several weeks in print, a fair and unprejudiced companion-piece to it would deserve a similar immortality 4. --EDITOR ME MORANDA.]


  Once there was a good little boy by the name of Jacob Blivens. He always obeyed his parents, no matter how absurd and unreasonable 5 their demands were; and he always learned his book, and never was late at Sabbath school. He would not play hookey, even when his sober judgment 6 told him it was the most profitable thing he could do. None of the other boys could ever make that boy out, he acted so strangely. He wouldn't lie, no matter how convenient it was. He just said it was wrong to lie, and that was sufficient for him. And he was so honest that he was simply ridiculous. The curious ways that that Jacob had surpassed everything. He wouldn't play marbles on Sunday, he wouldn't rob birds' nests, he wouldn't give hot pennies to organ-grinders' monkeys; he didn't seem to take any interest in any kind of rational amusement. So the other boys used to try to reason it out and come to an understanding of him, but they couldn't arrive at any satisfactory conclusion; as I said before, they could only figure out a sort of vague idea that he was "afflicted," and so they took him under their protection, and never allowed any harm to come to him.
  This good little boy read all the Sunday-school books; they were his greatest delight. This was the whole secret of it. He believed in the good little boys they put in the Sunday-school books; he had every confidence in them. He longed to come across one of them alive, once; but he never did. They all died before his time, maybe. Whenever he read about a particularly good one, he turned over quickly to the end to see what became of him, because he wanted to travel thousands of miles and gaze on him; but it wasn't any use; that good little boy always died in the last chapter, and there was a picture of the funeral, with all his relations and the Sunday-school children standing 7 around the grave in pantaloons that were too short, and bonnets 8 that were too large, and everybody crying into handkerchiefs that had as much as a yard and a half of stuff in them. He was always headed off in this way. He never could see one of those good little boys, on account of his always dying in the last chapter.
  Jacob had a noble ambition to be put in a Sunday-school book. He wanted to be put in, with pictures representing him gloriously declining to lie to his mother, and she weeping for joy about it; and pictures representing him standing on the doorstep giving a penny to a poor beggar-woman with six children, and telling her to spend it freely, but not to be extravagant 9, because extravagance is a sin; and pictures of him magnanimously refusing to tell on the bad boy who always lay in wait for him around the corner, as he carne from school, and welted him over the head with a lath, and then chased him home, saying "Hi! hi!" as he proceeded. That was the ambition of young Jacob. He wished to be put in a Sunday-school book. It made him feel a little uncomfortable sometimes when he reflected that the good little boys always died. He loved to live, you know, and this was the most unpleasant feature about being a Sunday-school-book boy. He knew it was not healthy to be good. He knew it was more fatal than consumption to be so supernaturally good as the boys in the books were; he knew that none of them had ever been able to stand it long, and it pained him to think that if they put him in a book he wouldn't ever see it, or even if they did get the book out before he died, it wouldn't be popular without any picture of his funeral in the back part of it. It couldn't be much of a Sunday-school book that couldn't tell about the advice he gave to the community when he was dying. So, at last, of course he had to make up his mind to do the best he could under the circumstances -- to live right, and hang on as long as he could, and have his dying speech all ready when his time came.
  But somehow, nothing ever went right with this good little boy; nothing ever turned out with him the way it turned out with the good little boys in the books. They always had a good time, and the bad boys had the broken legs; but in his case there was a screw loose somewhere, and it all happen, just the other way. When he found Jim Blake stealing apples and went under the tree to read to him about the bad little boy who fell out of a neighbor's apple tree, and broke his arm, Jim fell out of the tree too, but he fell on him, and broke his arm, and Jim wasn't hurt at all. Jacob couldn't understand that. There wasn't anything in the books like it.
  And once, when some bad boys pushed a blind man over in the mud, and Jacob ran to help him up and receive his blessing 10, the blind man did not give him any blessing at all, but whacked 12 him over the head with his stick and said he would like to catch him shoving him again and then pretending to help him up. This was not in accordance with any of the books. Jacob looked them all over to see.
  One thing that Jacob wanted to do was to find a lame 13 dog that hadn't any place to stay, and was hungry and persecuted 14, and bring him home and pet him and have that dog's imperishable gratitude 15. And at last he found one, and was happy; and he brought him home and fed him, but when he was going to pet him the dog flew at him and tore all the clothes off him except those that were in front, and made a spectacle of him that was astonishing. He examined authorities, but he could not understand the matter. It was of the same breed of dogs that was in the books, but it acted very differently. Whatever this boy did, he got into trouble. The very things the boys in the books got rewarded for turned out to be about the most unprofitable things he could invest in.
  Once when he was on his way to Sunday school he saw some bad boys starting off pleasuring in a sail-boat. He was filled with consternation 16, because he knew from his reading that boys who went sailing on Sunday invariably got drowned. So he ran out on a raft to warn them, but a log turned with him and slid him into the river. A man got him out pretty soon, and the doctor pumped the water out of him and gave him a fresh start with his bellows 17, but he caught cold and lay sick abed nine weeks. But the most unaccountable thing about it was that the bad boys in the boat had a good time all day, and then reached home alive and well. in the most surprising manner. Jacob Blivens said there was nothing like these things in the books. He was perfectly 18 dumbfounded.
  When he got well he was a little discouraged, but he resolved to keep on trying, anyhow. He knew that so far his experiences wouldn't do to go in a book, but he hadn't yet reached the allotted 19 term of life for good little boys, and he hoped to be able to make a record yet, if he could hold on till his time was fully 20 up. If everything else failed, he had his dying speech to fall back on.
  He examined his authorities, and found that it was now time for him to go to sea as a cabin boy. He called on a ship captain and made his application, and when the captain asked for his recommendations he proudly drew out a tract 21 and pointed 22 to the words: "To Jacob Blivens, from his affectionate teacher." But the captain was a coarse, vulgar man, and he said, "Oh, that be blowed! that wasn't any proof that he knew how to wash dishes or handle a slush-bucket, and he guessed he didn't want him." This was altogether the most extraordinary thing that ever had happened to Jacob in all his life. A compliment from a teacher, on a tract, had never failed to move the tenderest of emotions of ship captains and open the way to all offices of honor and profit in their gift -- it never had in any book that ever he had read. He could hardly believe his senses.
  This boy always had a hard time of it. Nothing ever came out according to the authorities with him. At last, one day, when he was around hunting up bad little boys to admonish 23, he found a lot of them in the old iron foundry fixing up a little joke on fourteen or fifteen dogs, which they had tied together in long procession and were going to ornament 24 with empty nitro-glycerine cans made fast to their tails. Jacob's heart was touched. He sat down on one of those cans -- for he never minded grease when duty was before him -- and he took hold of the foremost dog by the collar, and turned his reproving eye upon wicked Tom Jones. But just at that moment Alderman McWelter, full of wrath 25, stepped in. All the bad boys ran away; but Jacob Blivens rose in conscious innocence 26 and began one of those stately little Sunday-school book speeches which always commence with "Oh, Sir!" in dead opposition 27 to the fact that no boy, good or bad, ever starts a remark with "Oh, Sir!" But the Alderman never waited to hear the rest. He took Jacob Blivens by the ear and turned him around, and hit him a whack 11 in the rear with the flat of his hand; and in an instant that good little boy shot out through the roof and soared away toward the sun, with the fragments of those fifteen dogs stringing after him like the tail of a kite. And there wasn't a sign of that Alderman or that old iron foundry left on the face of the earth; and as for young Jacob Blivens, he never got a chance to make his last dying speech after all his trouble fixing it up, unless he made it to the birds; because, although the bulk of him came down all right in a tree-top in an adjoining county, the rest of him was apportioned 28 around among four townships, and so they had to hold five inquests on him to find out whether he was dead or not, and how it occurred. You never saw a boy scattered 29 so.*Thus perished the good little boy who did the best he could, but didn't come out according to the books. Every boy who ever did as he did prospered 30, except him. His case is truly remarkable 31. It will probably never be accounted for.
 

1 sketch
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
2 worthy
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
3 preservation
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持
  • The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
  • The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。
4 immortality
n.不死,不朽
  • belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
  • It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。
5 unreasonable
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
6 judgment
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
7 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
8 bonnets
n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 );(烟囱等的)覆盖物;(苏格兰男子的)无边呢帽;(女子戴的)任何一种帽子
  • All the best bonnets of the city were there. 城里戴最漂亮的无边女帽的妇女全都到场了。 来自辞典例句
  • I am tempting you with bonnets and bangles and leading you into a pit. 我是在用帽子和镯子引诱你,引你上钩。 来自飘(部分)
9 extravagant
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
10 blessing
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
11 whack
v.敲击,重打,瓜分;n.重击,重打,尝试,一份
  • After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食,卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
  • He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒,在我背上猛拍一下。
12 whacked
a.精疲力尽的
  • She whacked him with her handbag. 她用手提包狠狠地打他。
  • He whacked me on the back and I held both his arms. 他用力拍拍我的背,我抱住他的双臂。
13 lame
adj.跛的,(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
  • The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
  • I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。
14 persecuted
(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人
  • Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
  • Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。
15 gratitude
adj.感激,感谢
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
16 consternation
n.大为吃惊,惊骇
  • He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害,感到非常震惊。
  • Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。
17 bellows
n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
  • His job is to blow the bellows for the blacksmith. 他的工作是给铁匠拉风箱。 来自辞典例句
  • You could, I suppose, compare me to a blacksmith's bellows. 我想,你可能把我比作铁匠的风箱。 来自辞典例句
18 perfectly
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
19 allotted
分配,拨给,摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )
  • I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
  • Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。
20 fully
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
21 tract
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林)
  • He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
  • He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。
22 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
23 admonish
v.训戒;警告;劝告
  • I will tactfully admonish him not to behave like this again.我会婉转的规诫他不要再这样做。
  • Admonish your friends privately,but praise them openly.要私下告戒朋友,但是要公开夸奖朋友。
24 ornament
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物
  • The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
  • She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。
25 wrath
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
26 innocence
n.无罪;天真;无害
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
27 opposition
n.反对,敌对
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
28 apportioned
vt.分摊,分配(apportion的过去式与过去分词形式)
  • They apportioned the land among members of the family. 他们把土地分给了家中各人。
  • The group leader apportioned them the duties for the week. 组长给他们分派了这星期的任务。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
29 scattered
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
30 prospered
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认,这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
  • Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。
31 remarkable
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
学英语单词
ad hoc diplomacy
alveolar rhabdosarcoma
amarin(e)
Anamirta cocculus Wight et Arnott
antecedent rights
arverni
ASPR
betterton
Biblezine
blue feather
Burnet Cove
Cayley numbers
chackle
Charter Dist.
color centre
colour fastness to resin finishing
computer imaging
cumulative basis
dear shop
defamers
degaetano
deglove operation
difference in groups
DPL
eglomerate
ejector type dredger
equivalent space charge
erection equipment
frontal ganglion
fundamental flux density
genus Micruroides
go far with
high-manganese steel
hot-asphalt plant
imvic characters
in rank
Indianian
informativeness
inhibitor dye
inner part/voice
internal modulated laser
Karatau
lacuscular
leased immovables
liquid ecstasies
liquified chemical gas
Maltesian cross
meal plan
micrographics/computer information-display system
minor salivary glands
Mrkopalj
multiparton
Nepaleses
nyct-
octahydro retene
order wire (call wire)
ovariectomised
packing compact
Pakxébangfai
pantonal
paper tape and transmission code
poesch
poetic image
polemically
pontile fillet
portfolio premium
pressure oxidation
projection nucleus
pseudalbuminuria
pyloric
Pym, John
quasi ordering
radiation dostmeter satellite
radio spark suppressor
Ramsgate
reading public
relieving of
ronaldinho
Royal Dutch Shell Group
Schizosaccharomycetaceae
semielliptic
service bureaus
short-fall
sickeningnesses
skeleton crews
soil particle
sorrel-tree
sound-conducting apparatus
spiral mode divergence
squattage
stale debt
start stop printing telegraph
streamline picture
Tangstedt
telegraph distortion set
three-phase five-limb core
throw it
unfinished businesses
waiting lines
was of little value
washing classifier
welding set