(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The valley known as Sleepy Hollow hides from the world in the high hills of New York state. There are many stories told about the quiet valley. But the story that people believe most is about a man who rides a horse at night. The story says the man died many years ago during the American revolutionary war. His head was shot off. Every night he rises from his burial place, jumps on his horse and rides through the valley looking for his lost head. Near Sleepy Hollow is a village called Tarry Town. It was settled many years ago by people from Holland. The village had a small school. And one teacher, named Ichabod Crane. Ichabod Crane was a good name for him, because he looked like a tall bird, a crane. He was tall and thin like a crane. His shoulders were small, joined two long arms. His head was small, too, and flat on top. He had big ears, large glassy green eyes and a long nose.
Ichabod did not make much money as a teacher. And although he was tall and thin, he ate like a fat man. To help him pay for his food he earned extra money teaching young people to sing. Every Sunday after church Ichabod taught singing. Among the ladies Ichabod taught was one Katrina Van Tassel. She was the only daughter of a rich Dutch farmer. She was a girl in bloom…much like a round red, rosy apple. Ichabod had a soft and foolish heart for the ladies, and soon found himself interested in Miss Van Tassel. Ichabod's eyes opened wide when he saw the riches of Katrina's farm: the miles of apple trees and wheat fields, and hundreds of fat farm animals. He saw himself as master of the Van Tassel farm with Katrina as his wife. But there were many problems blocking the road to Katrina's heart. One was a strong young man named Brom Van Brunt. Brom was a hero to all the young ladies. His shoulders were big. His back was wide. And his hair was short and curly. He always won the horse races in Tarry Town and earned many prizes. Brom was never seen without a horse. Sometimes late at night Brom and his friends would rush through town shouting loudly from the backs of their horses. Tired old ladies would awaken from their sleep and say: "Why, there goes Brom Van Brunt leading his wild group again!"
Such was the enemy Ichabod had to defeat for Katrina's heart. Stronger and wiser men would not have tried. But Ichabod had a plan. He could not fight his enemy in the open. So he did it silently and secretly. He made many visits to Katrina's farm and made her think he was helping her to sing better. Time passed, and the town people thought Ichabod was winning. Brom's horse was never seen at Katrina's house on Sunday nights anymore. One day in autumn Ichabod was asked to come to a big party at the Van Tassel home. He dressed in his best clothes. A farmer loaned him an old horse for the long trip to the party. The house was filled with farmers and their wives, red-faced daughters and clean, washed sons. The tables were filled with different things to eat. Wine filled many glasses. Brom Van Brunt rode to the party on his fastest horse called Daredevil. All the young ladies smiled happily when they saw him. Soon music filled the rooms and everyone began to dance and sing. Ichabod was happy dancing with Katrina as Brom looked at them with a jealous heart. The night passed. The music stopped, and the young people sat together to tell stories about the revolutionary war.
Soon stories about Sleepy Hollow were told. The most feared story was about the rider looking for his lost head. One farmer told how he raced the headless man on a horse. The farmer ran his horse faster and faster. The horseman followed over bush and stone until they came to the end of the valley. There the headless horseman suddenly stopped. Gone were his clothes and his skin. All that was left was a man with white bones shining in the moonlight. The stories ended and time came to leave the party. Ichabod seemed very happy until he said goodnight to Katrina. Was she ending their romance? He left feeling very sad. Had Katrina been seeing Ichabod just to make Brom Van Brunt jealous so he would marry her?
Well, Ichabod began his long ride home on the hills that surround Tarry Town. He had never felt so lonely in his life. He began to whistle as he came close to the tree where a man had been killed years ago by rebels. He thought he saw something white move in the tree. But no, it was only the moonlight shining and moving on the tree. Then he heard a noise. His body shook. He kicked his horse faster. The old horse tried to run, but almost fell in the river, instead. Ichabod hit the horse again. The horse ran fast and then suddenly stopped, almost throwing Ichabod forward to the ground. There, in the dark woods on the side of the river where the bushes grow low, stood an ugly thing. Big and black. It did not move, but seemed ready to jump like a giant monster. Ichabod's hair stood straight up. It was too late to run, and in his fear, he did the only thing he could. His shaking voice broke the silent valley.
"Who are you?" The thing did not answer. Ichabod asked again. Still no answer. Ichabod's old horse began to move forward. The black thing began to move along the side of Ichabod's horse in the dark. Ichabod made his horse run faster. The black thing moved with them. Side by side they moved, slowly at first. And not a word was said. Ichabod felt his heart sink. Up a hill they moved above the shadow of the trees. For a moment the moon shown down and to Ichabod's horror he saw it was a horse. And it had a rider. But the rider's head was not on his body. It was in front of the rider, resting on the horse. Ichabod kicked and hit his old horse with all his power. Away they rushed through bushes and trees across the valley of Sleepy Hollow. Up ahead was the old church bridge where the headless horseman stops and returns to his burial place. "If only I can get there first, I am safe," thought Ichabod. He kicked his horse again. The horse jumped on to the bridge and raced over it like the sound of thunder. Ichabod looked back to see if the headless man had stopped. He saw the man pick up his head and throw it with a powerful force. The head hit Ichabod in the face and knocked him off his horse to the dirt below.
They found Ichabod's horse the next day peacefully eating grass. They could not find Ichabod. They walked all across the valley. They saw the foot marks of Ichabod's horse as it had raced through the valley. They even found Ichabod's old hat in the dust near the bridge. But they did not find Ichabod. The only other thing they found was lying near Ichabod's hat. It was the broken pieces of a round orange pumpkin. The town people talked about Ichabod for many weeks. They remembered the frightening stories of the valley. And finally they came to believe that the headless horseman had carried Ichabod away. Much later an old farmer returned from a visit to New York City. He said he was sure he saw Ichabod there. He thought Ichabod silently left Sleepy Hollow because he had lost Katrina. As for Katrina, her mother and father gave her a big wedding when she married Brom Van Brunt. Many people who went to the wedding saw that Brom smiled whenever Ichabod's name was spoken. And they wondered why he laughed out loud when anyone talked about the broken orange pumpkin found lying near Ichabod's old dusty hat.
重点解析
1.look for 找寻；查找
We all need to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint.
我们都需要寻求降低碳排放量的方法。
2.be filled with 充满；装满
May your life be filled with love, happiness and inspiration.
祝愿你的生活充满爱、幸福和灵感。
3.look at 看着；注视
Isn't it fantastic? Just look at that!
这是不是棒极了？看看那个！
4.pick up 捡起；拿起
How dare you pick up the phone and listen in on my conversations!
你竟敢拿起电话偷听我的谈话！
参考译文
《沉睡谷》。这个山谷被称为“沉睡谷”，躲藏在纽约州高高的山丘上。有许多关于这个寂静山谷的故事。但是人们最相信的故事，是关于一个在黑夜中骑马的人。这个故事说，这个人多年前死于美国革命战争。他的头被打掉了。每天晚上，他会从坟墓里站起来，跳上他的马，穿过山谷寻找丢失的头颅。沉睡谷附近有一个叫塔里镇的村子。多年前，来自荷兰的人们定居在这里。这个村子里有一所小学校，还有一位叫伊卡博德·克莱恩的老师。伊卡博德·克莱恩对他来说是个好名字，因为他看上去像只高大的鸟，他又高又瘦，像鹤一样。他的肩膀很窄，手臂长长的。他的头也很小，头顶平坦。他长着大大的耳朵，玻璃一样绿色的眼睛和长长的鼻子。
伊卡博德当老师赚不了多少钱。尽管他又高又瘦，但食量却像个胖子。为了支付饭钱，他教年轻人唱歌，挣些外快。每个星期日，教堂礼拜结束后，伊卡伯德都会教唱歌。伊卡博德教授的女人中，有一位叫卡特里娜·凡·塔塞尔。她是一位荷兰富农的独生女。她含苞待放，就像一个红苹果。伊卡博德对这些唱歌的女人有了非份之想，很快他发现自己喜欢上了凡·塔塞尔小姐。伊卡博德看到卡特里娜家农场的富饶景象时，睁大了双眼：绵延数英里的苹果树和麦田，以及数百只肥壮的家畜。他把自己看作是凡·塔塞尔家农场的主人，而卡特里娜则是他的妻子。但是，要夺取卡特里娜的芳心并没有那么容易，其中一个问题是个名叫布罗姆·范·布伦特的强壮的年轻人。布罗姆是所有年轻女子的英雄。他的肩膀硕大，背部很宽，头发短而卷曲。他总是在塔里镇的赛马比赛中夺冠，并赢得许多奖品。布罗姆从来没有离开过马。有时在深夜，布罗姆和他的朋友们会骑在马背上，大声地喊叫穿过城镇。疲倦的老太太会从睡梦中醒来，说道：“嗨，布罗姆·范·布伦特又带着他的野人团来了！”
这就是伊卡博德为获得卡特里娜的芳心，不得不击败的敌人。身体更强壮，头脑更聪明的人都不会去尝试，但是伊卡博德想出一个计划。他无法公开对抗敌人。因此，他悄悄地做这件事。他多次造访卡特里娜家的农场，让她觉得他在帮她提高歌唱技巧。时光流逝，镇上的人都以为伊卡博德赢了。在周日晚上，布罗姆的马再也没有在卡特里娜的家边出现过。秋天的一天，伊卡博德受邀到凡·塔塞尔家中参加一个盛大的聚会。他穿上最好的衣服，一位农夫借给他一匹老马，骑着它长途跋涉去参加聚会。房子里挤满了农民和他们的妻子，脸蛋儿红扑扑的女儿们和穿戴干净整洁的儿子们。桌子上摆满了不同的食物，玻璃杯里盛满了酒。布罗姆·范·布伦特骑着他最快的那匹叫做“夜魔侠”的马，来参加聚会。所有的年轻女人看到他时，都开心地微笑。很快，音乐弥漫在房间里，每个人都开始又唱又跳起来。伊卡博德高兴地和卡特里娜跳舞时，布罗姆嫉妒地看着他们。时间飞逝，很快音乐停了，年轻人聚在一起，互相聊起了革命战争的话题。
很快就有人讲起了沉睡谷的故事，最可怕的故事是关于一个骑马人寻找他丢失的头颅。一个农夫讲述了他是如何骑着马与无头人赛跑的。农夫骑着马越跑越快。无头骑士越过灌木丛和石头，一直尾随其后，直到他们来到山谷的尽头。在那里，无头骑士突然停下来。他的衣服和皮肤都不见了，仅剩一堆白骨，在月光下闪闪发亮。故事讲完了，大家该走了。伊卡博德对卡特里娜道晚安之前，看起来都很高兴。她会让他们的浪漫终结吗？他伤心地离开了。卡特里娜只是为了让布罗姆·范·布伦特嫉妒，好娶她，才一直和伊卡博德见面吗？
伊卡博德踏上了漫长的归家之路，在塔里镇周围的山丘上骑行。他一生从未如此孤单过。当他靠近一棵树时，开始吹口哨。几年前，有个人在这儿被叛军杀害了。他感觉看见树上有个白色的东西在动。但不是，只有月光照耀在树上，不停地移动着。然后，他听到一个声音。他的身体颤抖起来，他快速地踢着马。那匹老马想跑，但却差点栽进河里。伊卡博德又踢了老马一次，马飞快地跑起来，然后突然停了下来，几乎把伊卡博德扔到地上。在河边漆黑的树林里，灌木长得很低的地方，出现了一个又高又黑的怪物，它一动不动，但似乎已经准备好像个巨大的怪兽一样跃出。伊卡博德的头发都竖立起来。跑已经来不及了，他在恐惧中，做了唯一能做的事。他颤抖的声音打破了寂静的山谷。
“你是谁？”那东西没有回答。伊卡博德又问了一遍，仍然没有回答。伊卡博德的老马开始向前移动。那黑色的东西在黑暗中，跟在伊卡博德的马的一侧前行。伊卡博德让他的马跑得更快，黑色的东西随他们而动。他们并排移动，起初速度很慢。没有人说话。伊卡博德感到自己的心在下沉。他们爬上一座小山，越过树荫。有一会的功夫，月光撒落下来。令伊卡博德惊恐的是，他看见那是一匹马。马上有一位骑士，但是骑士却没有头。他的头在骑士前面，靠在马上。伊卡博德用尽全力踢打他的老马，他们冲出灌木丛和树林，穿过沉睡谷。前面是一座古老的教堂桥，无头骑士在那儿停下来，返回他的墓地。“如果我能先到那儿，就安全了，”伊卡博德想着。他又踢了马一下。那匹马跳上桥，像雷声一样从桥上奔过。伊卡博德回头去看那个无头人是否停了下来。他看见那人把头提起来，用力把它扔了出去。那个头撞到伊卡博德的脸上，把他从马上撞到地上。
第二天，人们找到了伊卡博德的马，它正在安静地吃草。但他们却找不到伊卡博德。他们穿过山谷，看到了伊卡博德的马在山谷中奔跑时留下的脚印，甚至在桥边的尘土中发现了伊卡博德的旧帽子。但他们没有找到伊卡博德。他们唯一发现的另外一件东西，就是放在伊卡博德的帽子旁边的几块圆形碎南瓜片。镇上的人好几个星期都在谈论伊卡博德的事，他们记起了沉睡谷的可怕故事。最后，他们认为，无头骑士把伊卡博德带走了。很久以后，一位老农夫从纽约市回来了。他说他确定在那儿见过伊卡博德。他认为，伊卡博德因为失去了卡特里娜，所以默默地离开了沉睡谷。至于卡特里娜，她和布罗姆结婚时，父母为她举行了盛大的婚礼。很多去参加婚礼的人都看到，每当提到伊卡博德的名字，布罗姆就会微笑。当有人说起放在伊卡博德那顶满是灰尘的旧帽子旁的碎南瓜片时，他们不禁纳闷，他为什么会放声大笑。
