(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Our story today is called "The White Circle". It was written by John Bell Coliton. Here is Shep O'Neal to tell you the story. As soon as I saw Anvol sitting in the apple tree, I knew we would fight. I also knew he would win. But winning or losing was not important, at least not so important as getting him down from the tree. The tree was mine. It was a young tree. And it had 13 beautiful apples on it. Now my beautiful apples were under Anvol's shirt. The tree became mine the day I was 12 years old. Father called me to come to the barn to see the new young horses. When I got there, father lit a cigarette and placed one foot on the fence. He looked pleased and proud. "Toker", he finally said, "This is a big day. There, before you, are five of the finest horses in our Virginia. Now I would give you a gift for your birthday. Could you make a choice? " "Yes, " I said. "Which one?" he asked. "I would like to have an apple tree across the road. "
Father looked at me for a long time. You would have to know how much he loved horses to understand the look on his face. But I was 12 years old. How could I explain my choice? It was something about the apple tree. The color of the red apples as they hung among the green leaves. But it was more than this. It had something to do with being proud. I can give one of the apples to my friend Jenny. "Jenny, " I would say, "I want to give you this apple. It came from my tree. The tree grows on my father's land. " Before my father had the land, it belonged to his father. And before that, to his father. Now I owned the tree. Because of this, I am a tie to all my people of long ago way back to Moses and all of bible people. Father finally answered, "Now, right, son. If you want a tree more than a horse, the tree is yours. " I thanked him for the tree and he left. I picked up a stone and ran across the fields to protect my tree. "All right, Anvol. Climb down. " Anvol looked at me as if I wasn't there. "Yah. . . " he said, "You lead on nothing. Throw that stone at me and see what happens. " "Anvol, " I said again, "come down. They are my apples. " Anvol stopped eating and smiled at me with evil in his heart. "You want an apple? I'll give you one. "
And he threw one with all his strength and hit me in the head. I threw the stone at him, but missed and hit the tree. Anvol's face turned red. "Boy, you are going to get a hit. " I began to pull his feet. Down he came along with parts of the tree and young fresh leaves. He hit me as he fell. We both hit the ground. He jumped on top of me, and placed his knees on my arms. I could not move. "Stop kicking, " he said. And then calmly looked at the sky, and began to eat another one of my beautiful apples. "You, smelly cow, " I said to him, "I wish you were never born. I'm gonna tell my father. " I said. "Father, " Anvol said, trying to make his voice sound like mine, "Father, say, oh, man. You think your old man is very important, don't you? You think your old man is a king, don't you? Say, oh, man, go to hell. Say, oh, man, oh man, I wish you were dead. " He let me get up and stood over me. "Stop crying. " he said. "I am not crying. " I was lying on the ground with murder in my heart. There were times when I did not hate Anvol. I remembered the day his father came to school. He told the teacher he was going to hit Anvol to make him a good boy. His father was a bitter cruel man. He had a big stick. Anvol saw the stick, and hid under a table. He lay there, frightened until the teacher made his father go away.
I had no hate for Anvol that day. But another day, Anvol acted cruel like his father. He entered the school when everyone had gone and threw things all over the floor. Sometimes he was more cruel and hit little boys and made them cry. One day he came to me as I was sitting under a tree. "They all hate me, " he said, "They hate me because my father is cruel. "They don't hate you. " I said, "at least I don't. " That was true then, I did not hate him. I asked him to come home to eat with me. He did and threw stones at me all the way home. But today was different. He was stealing my apples. I had no soft feelings for him. He stood over me and kept telling me not to cry. "I'm not crying. " "All right, you not. But you are still angry. " "No, I'm not. There was a little. But I'm not anymore. " "Well, why do you look so funny around your eyes?" "I don't know. " "Let's go to the barn to play. " "Play what? " Anvol looked at me with surprise. He did not know if he should be a friend or enemy. "We play anything. " I said. "Come on, I'll race you to the barn. " We got to the barn. And the first thing Anvol saw was a white circle that my father had painted on the floor.
"What is that for? " "Nothing, " I answered. I was not ready to use my plan yet. We jumped from the hay to the floor a few times. Later, I felt ready. "That's no fun. " I said, "Let's play prisoner circle. " "Oh, what's that? " Anvol asked as if he was too big to play foolish games. I was getting excited. I did not trust myself to look at the circle on the floor. Anvol might learn my plan if I did. Nor did I look up at the top of the barn just above the circle. I knew what was there. It was a big steel fork to pick up hay grass and placed on the truck. It had two long sharp points. A man had come to the barn to build it, for days he worked until he placed the fork up high out of the way. The fork could be led down by a rope and was tied to a pole. I remembered the first day it was tested. My father called all the workers from the field to watch. I did not remember the details, but something went wrong. The fork fell and buried itself in the back of one of the horses. Father said little. He simply painted a white circle on the barn floor where the fork fell. He pulled the big steel fork back up to the top and tied the rope up high where no one could reach it. Then he said quietly with a white face, "I do not want anyone to step inside the white circle or to touch the rope that holds the fork, never. "
"I do not want to play a foolish game. " said Anvol. "All right, " I said, "but play just one game of prisoner circle with me first. Get in the Circle, shut your eyes and begin to count. " "Oh all right. " Anvol agreed weakly. "One, two, three. . . " "Get right in the middle of the circle. " I told him, "and count slowly so I can hide. " Anvol counted slower, "Four. . . five. . . six. " I looked at him once again. Then climbed up to the floor above where the rope was tied. I pulled on the rope with all my power. The fork dropped with a whizzing sound. Anvol must felt something was wrong because he jumped out of the way in time. The heavy fork buried its sharp points deep in the barn floor. For a moment, Anvol stood very still. He turned around and saw the shining steel fork. His face turned a light green color. The muscles in his legs moved up and down. After a few quiet moments of surprised wonder, he reached into a shirt and pulled out my apples one by one. He dropped them on the barn floor. "You can have your smelly old apples. " he said, "You tried to kill me for a few smelly apples. Your old man owns everything around here. I haven't got a thing of my own. Go ahead and keep your old apples. " He got to his feet, and slowly walked out of the barn door. I had not moved or said one word. A moment later, I ran and picked the apples from the floor. "Anvol, Anvol" He continued to walk and crossed the field. I shouted louder, "Anvol, wait. You can have the apples. " Anvol climbed the fence and did not looked back. He walked toward the store down the road. Three birds flew out of the barn door, squeaking and squawking. Now only the great steel fork was left. There was a lone shining accusing me in the silence and emptiness of the barn.
重点解析
1.at least 起码；最少
I hope at least my daughter was able to offer you some useful pointers.
我希望至少我的女儿为你提供了一些有用的建议。
2.belong to 归于；归属
I used to belong to a youth club.
我过去是一个青年俱乐部的成员。
3.come on 来吧；快点
Come on, George, we'd better get back now.
快点，乔治，我们最好现在就回去。
4.continue to 继续；持续到
Continue to ask for feedback on your work.
继续征求对你的工作的反馈意见。
参考译文
我们今天要讲述的故事叫《白色圆圈》，作者约翰·贝尔·科利顿，讲述人夏普·奥尼尔。我一看到安沃尔坐在苹果树上，就知道我们要打斗了。我也知道他会赢。但输赢并不重要，至少不如比把他从树上弄下来更重要。那棵树是我的，是一棵小树，上面结了13个漂亮的苹果。现在，那些美丽的苹果都在安沃尔的衬衫下。我12岁那一天，它成了我的树。父亲叫我到马厩去看新来的小马驹，我过去后，父亲点了一支香烟，把一只脚放在栅栏上，他看起来高兴又自豪。他终于说话了：“托克，今天真是个重要的日子。在你面前，有五匹咱们弗吉尼亚州最好的骏马。现在，我要送你一份生日礼物。你能做出选择吗？”“是的，”我说 。“哪一匹？”他问。“我想在马路对面有一棵苹果树。”
父亲看了我很久，你得知道他有多爱马，才能理解他脸上的表情。但我那时12岁，我怎么解释自己的选择呢？那是有关苹果树的，红苹果挂在绿叶中时的颜色，但不仅仅是这个。这与骄傲有关。我可以把一个苹果给朋友珍妮。“珍妮，”我会说，“我想把这个苹果送给你，是我自己的树上长的，这棵树长在我父亲的土地上。”在我父亲拥有这片土地之前，它属于他的父亲。在那之前，又属于他父亲的父亲。现在，我拥有这棵树。正因为如此，我与家族中的前辈，与摩西和所有的圣经子民结下了不解之缘。父亲终于回答：“好吧，儿子，如果你想要树胜过想要马，那棵树就是你的了。”我谢过他给了我那棵树后，他就走了。我捡起一块石头，穿过田野，去保护我的树。“好吧，安沃尔，爬下来。”安沃尔看着我，好像我不在那儿一样。“好的......”他说，“你什么都不要做，把那块石头扔给我，看看会发生什么。”我再次说道：“安沃尔，下来，那些是我的苹果。”安沃尔不吃了，对我笑了笑，心里充满了邪恶。“你想要个苹果吗？我给你一个。”
他使劲扔了一个，打在我的头上。我向他扔石头，但没击中他，打到了树。安沃尔的脸变红了。“小子，你找打呢吧。”我开始拉他的脚，他下来时，还拽下一些树枝和新鲜的嫩叶。他跌落下来时碰到了我，我们一起撞到在地。他跳到我身上，把膝盖压到我的胳膊上，我没法动弹。“别踢了，”他说。然后，平静地看着天空，开始吃我的另一个美丽的苹果。“你这个兔崽子，”我对他说，“我真希望你没有被生出来过，我要告诉我父亲。”我说。“父亲，”安沃尔说，试图让他的声音听起来像我一样，“父亲，说，哦，天啊。你认为你的老爹很重要，是吗？你认为他是国王，是吗？哦，伙计，去见鬼吧。哦，天啊，哦，天啊，我真希望你死翘翘。”他让我站起来，然后站到我的旁边。“别哭了。”他说。“我没哭。”我躺在地上，心里想着要杀了他。有时候我并不恨安沃尔。我记得他父亲来学校的那天，他告诉老师他要揍安沃尔一顿，让他成为一个好孩子。他父亲是个冷酷无情的人，他有一根大棒，安沃尔看见那根大棒，就藏到桌子底下了。他躺在那儿，害怕得要死，直到老师把他父亲赶走。
那天我不恨安沃。但有一天，安沃尔表现得像他父亲一样残忍。当所有人都走后他来到学校，把东西扔得满地都是。有时，他会更加残忍，殴打小男孩，把他们弄哭。有一天，我坐在树下，他来找我。“他们都恨我，”他说，“他们恨我，因为我父亲很残忍。”“他们不恨你。”我说，“至少我没有。”那是真的，我不恨他，我让他和我一起回家去吃饭。他和我走了，一路向我扔石头。但今天不同，他在偷我的苹果，我对他没有丝毫的感情。他站在我旁边，还不停地告诉我不要哭。“我没哭。”“好吧，你没哭。但你还是很生气。”“不，我没有，有一点生气，但我已经没事了。”“好吧，为什么你的眼睛看起来这么怪异？”“我不知道。” “我们去谷仓玩吧。”“玩什么？”安沃尔惊讶地看着我，他不知道自己是朋友还是敌人。“我们玩什么都行。”我说。“来吧，我要和你比赛跑到谷仓。”我们到了谷仓，安沃尔先看到的是我父亲在地板上画的一个白色圆圈。
“这是干嘛用的？”“没什么用，”我回答，我还没准备好动用我的计划。我们从干草上跳到地板上几次，后来，我觉得自己准备好了。“这可不好玩。”我说，“我们来玩囚犯圈的游戏吧。”“哦，那是什么游戏？”安沃尔问，好像他太大了，不能玩傻游戏。我兴奋起来，我不希望自己看地板上的圆圈，如果我那样做的话，安沃尔可能会知道我的计划。我也不能抬头看谷仓顶上的圆圈，我知道那儿放着什么。那是一把用来捡干草的大钢叉，就放在卡车上，它有两个长尖儿。有一个人修整谷仓，他干了好几天，把叉子高高的放在那。可以用绳子把叉子放下来，系在杆子上。我记得第一天试用的时候，父亲把所有在地里干活的人都叫来看。我不记得细节，但出了点问题。叉子掉下来，叉到了一匹马的背上。父亲没说什么，他只是在叉子掉下来的谷仓地板上画了一个白色的圆圈。他把大钢叉拉回到谷仓顶端，把绳子绑在没人够得着的地方。然后，脸色苍白，平静地说道：“我不希望任何人踏进白色的圆圈，也不想让任何人触碰叉子的绳子，永远不要这么做。”
“我不想玩傻游戏。”安沃尔说。“好吧，”我说，“但先和我玩一个囚犯圈的游戏。进到圆圈里，闭上眼睛，开始数数。”“哦，好吧。”安沃尔勉强同意了。“一，二，三......”“站在圆圈中间。”我告诉他，“慢慢数数，这样我就可以躲起来了。”安沃尔数得更慢了，“四......五......六。”我又看了他一眼，然后爬到地板上面，绑着绳子的地方。我用尽全力去拉绳子，叉子啪的一声掉了下来。安沃尔一定是觉得有什么不对劲，因为他恰好就在那时跳了出来，沉重的叉子带着叉尖深深地埋在谷仓地板上。安沃尔一动不动地站了一会儿，他转过身来，看着那闪亮的钢叉。他的脸变成了浅绿色，腿上的肌肉上下窜动。他惊奇地沉默了一会儿，然后把手伸进衬衫，把我的苹果一个一个地掏了出来，把它们掉在谷仓地板上。“你吃你的臭苹果吧。”他说，“你为了几个臭苹果，想把我杀死。你爸爸拥有这里的一切，我自己什么都没有，留下你的老苹果吧。”他站起来，慢慢地走出谷仓门。我没有动，也没有说一句话。过了一会儿，我跑过去，从地上捡起苹果。“安沃尔，安沃尔”他继续走着，穿过了田野。我大声喊道：“安沃尔，等等。你可以吃这些苹果。”安沃尔爬过篱笆，没有回头。他朝街上的商店走去。三只鸟飞出谷仓门，吱吱嘎嘎地叫着。现在，只剩下那把大钢叉了。在谷仓的寂静和空旷中，有一个人在指责我。
