请求给个胆子

曲永华

Once there was a dog and he used to be timid. He did not dare to bite any other animals;he did not dare to hear a beast howling，either.

The dog worried about his own cowardice. One day，he went to the Animal God for help and asked him for courage.

“That’s easy！” said the Animal God. “But first you must kill a vicious tiger，and then I’ll give you courage.”

Kill a tiger？ That was too difficult. But was there any other way to get courage？ Finally，the dog had to fight against the tiger.

When a hunter was searching the hill for a tiger，the dog rushed over and bit the tiger’s hind leg. What a wonder！ The hunter shot the tiger with the dog’s help.

The hunter carried away the dead tiger. The dog hurried to the Animal God for his courage. “Haven’t I given it to you already？” said the God.

“What？” cried the dog，and he felt puzzled. “If you don’t have your courage，how could you help the hunter kill that tiger？”

The dog went home happily. He told his master that he had his courage now and that he would be afraid of nothing. He asked his master to give him a name. His master thought for a while and then said，“Since you are afraid of nothing，you can be named Danda，OK？” The dog nodded，wagged his nail and rolled over on the ground happily. However，“Danda” was often pronounced “dangda” by some children. Later，people all called him Dangda.

精彩譯文

从前，有一只狗，他曾经很胆小。他不敢咬别的动物，也不敢听到野兽的嚎叫。

这只狗为他的胆小而发愁。有一天，他到动物神那里求助，请求给他一个胆子。

“那很容易！”动物神说，“但是，首先你必须杀死一只凶猛的老虎，然后我就给你一个胆子。”

杀死一只老虎？ 那太难了。但有别的办法得到胆子吗？最后，这只狗不得不与老虎对抗。

当一位猎人搜山打老虎的时候，这只狗冲过去咬住老虎的后腿。真是个奇迹！猎人在狗的帮助下一枪打中了那只老虎。

猎人带走了那只死老虎。狗为了得到胆子而赶往动物神那里。“我不是已经把它给你了吗？”动物神说。

“什么？”狗叫喊起来，他感到迷惑不解。“如果你没有胆子，你怎能够帮助猎人杀死了那只老虎？”

狗高兴地回到家里。他告诉主人他现在有了胆子，他将什么也不怕。他要求主人给他取个名字。主人想了一会儿后，说：“既然你什么都不怕，你就名叫‘胆大’，好吗？”狗点点头，摇摇尾巴，高兴地在地上打了个滚儿。但是，“胆大”常常被一些孩子们念成“裆瘩”，后来，人们都叫他“裆瘩”了。

【新鲜词】

courage /'kʌrɪdʒ/ n. 勇气，胆量

timid /'tɪmɪd/ adj. 胆小的

beast /biːst/ n. 野兽

howl /haʊl/ v. 嚎叫，吼叫

cowardice /'kaʊədɪs/ n. 胆怯，懦弱

God /ɡɒd/ n. 神，上帝

vicious /'vɪʃəs/ adj. 凶残的

wonder /'wʌndə/ n. 奇迹，惊奇

puzzled /'pʌzld/ adj. 困惑的，搞糊涂的

nod /nɒd/ v. 点头

wag /wæɡ/ v. 摆动，摇摆

句型解读

1. used to do /be：过去曾经做/是……

例如：

He used to work in the White House.

他过去曾经在白宫工作。

2. 情态动词的被动语态由“情态动词+be+过去分词”构成。例如：

Water can be changed into ice.

水能够被转变成冰。

The work must be finished today.

这项工作必须在今天完成。

练习 （EXERCISE）

一、选择题

1. The dog was once when he heard a beast howling.

A. frightened B. excited

C. surprised D. sad

2. What did the dog asked the God for？

A. A tiger’s help

B. His courage

C. His cowardice

D. A hunter’s help

3. The dog had to fight against the tiger     .

A. because the tiger was vicious

B. to make the God happy

C. to get his courage

D. to make his master happy

二、判断题（正确的写T，错误的写F）

4. The dog killed the tiger by himself.

5. The dog told his master that he would be afraid of nothing.

6. The dog didn’t like his name at all.