❶The clever boy

By Emily/陈传光（译）

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◆语篇导读

一群健壮的大人都做不到的事情，却被一个十三岁的小男孩轻易地解决了，这让人们感到非常吃惊。这就是智慧的力量。那么这个十三岁的小男孩到底做了什么，让人们对他刮目相看呢？让我们一起阅读下文了解一下吧！

Jim is thirteen years old.He lives in a small town.One day there was an earthquake.Nothing wasdestroyedand no one was hurt.But a big rock fell down from the hill near the town and stopped in the middle of the road.

When the earthquake stopped，many people came to the road and saw the big rock.Some of the stronger men tried toliftthe rock out of the road.But the rock was too heavy，and they couldn't move it.Then they tried topushit andpullit withropes.They used all kinds ofmethodsto move the rock，but they couldn't.

“Well，”they said，“There's nothing we can do about it.We'll have to change the road.”

At this time，Jim said，“I think I can help you move the rock.”

“You？”the men alllaughed atthe little boy，“What are you talking about？”

The next morning，some people came to the road.One of them shouted，“The rock isn't here！”A lot of people ran to see.It was true.The rock wasn't on the road any more，and they even couldn't see the rock.

“This is impossible，”they said，“Where is the rock？”

Jim stood on the road，smiling.He walked to where the rock had been and said，“You see，I dug a deep hole next to the rock and a smallinclineup to the rock.The rockrolleddown into the hole by itself.Then I covered it withdirt.So the rock can't be seen.”

The people shouted，“Clever boy！Clever boy！”

And some of them said，“Why can't we think of this good method？”

◆词语积淀

destroy/dɪ΄strɔɪ/v.破坏；摧毁

lift/lɪft/v.举起；抬高；吊起

push/pʊ∫/v.移动；推动

pull/pʊl/v.拉；扯

rope/rəup/n.绳索；粗绳

method/΄meθəd/n.方法；办法

laugh at嘲笑；讥笑

incline/΄ɪnklaɪn/n.倾斜；斜度；斜坡

roll/rəʊl/v.（使）翻滚；滚动

dirt/dзːt/n.泥土；烂泥

◆典句赏析

1.Some of the stronger men tried to lift the rock out of the road.一些较健壮的人试着把石头从路上挪开。

try to do sth.是固定句型结构，意为“尽全力做某事”，do后面可以接名词，也可以接代词。

【即时尝试】我们应该尽全力学好英语。

2.They used all kinds of methods to move the rock，but they couldn't.他们尝试了所有能挪开石头的方法，但是都没有成功。

use sth.to do sth.是固定句型结构，意为“使用某物做某事”，该结构可用with进行转换，原句可以转换为“They moved the rock with all kinds of methods.”。

【即时尝试】他用他的零花钱买了两支钢笔。

3.The rock wasn't on the road any more.石头不再在路上。

not...any more是固定词组，意为“不再……”，该结构可用no more转换，原句可转换为“The rock was no more on the road.”。

【即时尝试】他不再吃甜的零食了。

4.Jim stood on the road，smiling.吉姆笑着站在路上。

句中的smiling是现在分词作状语，表示的动作与谓语动词所表示的动作是同时发生的，属伴随动作。

【即时尝试】张华一路上唱着歌跑回家。

译文助读

吉姆十三岁了，他住在一个小镇上。一天，小镇上发生了地震。没有东西被损坏，也没有人受伤。但是，有一块巨大的石头从小镇附近的山上滚落下来，停在了路的中间。

地震结束了，许多人来到路上，看见了这块大石头。一些较健壮的人试着把石头从路上挪开，但是石头太重了，他们根本搬不动。他们又试着推动石头或用绳子拖走石头。他们尝试了所有能挪开石头的方法，但是都没有成功。

“好吧。”他们说，“我们实在无能为力了，我们不得不改道了。”

这时，吉姆对他们说：“我想我能帮你们挪开石头。”

“你？”大人们都嘲笑这个小男孩，“你在说什么呀？”

第二天早上，一些人来到了路上。其中一个人突然叫起来：“石头不见了！”许多人跑过来看。是真的，石头不再在路上，他们甚至都找不到那块石头了。

“这不可能！”他们说，“石头呢？”

吉姆笑着站在路上，他走到石头原待的地方说：“你们看，我在石头附近挖了一个很深的坑，又在石头旁挖了条斜坡，石头就顺着斜坡自动滚进了坑。然后，我用一些土把上面填平，所以石头就看不见了。”

人们惊叹道：“多么聪明的孩子呀！”

也有些人说：“为什么我们没能想到这个好方法呢？”