for Wild Things
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
After riding the estancia with the gauchos all day, Alejandro spotted an SUV parked in front of the main house.
亚历杭德罗在与"高雄"骑了一整天后,发现一辆SUV停在正殿前.
His mother, Melissa, appeared at the door next to a tall, fair-skinned man Alejandro didn’t know.
他的母亲Melissa出现在一个高个子,
“Please consider the offer, Señora Ortega.
“请考虑这一提议,奥特加女士。
I’ll return in two weeks to discuss our future plans,” the man said with a broad smile.
我将在两周后回来讨论我们的未来计划,
“Who was that?”
“那是谁? “
he asked his mother as the SUV sped away.
他问他的母亲,因为SUV 走了。
“Someone with an idea,” his mother replied, turning back inside.
他母亲回答说,“有一个想法的人”,他回到里面。
“Please go find Martín—we all need to have a talk.”
“请去找马丁——我们都需要谈谈。 “
When he and Martín returned to the house, his mother was sitting at the dining room table.
当他和马丁回到家里时,他的母亲正坐在餐厅的桌子上.
“I have received an offer to sell the estancia,” Melissa began.
Melissa开始说,“我收到了出售estancia的提议”。
Alejandro was surprised, not only by the offer but also that his mother was including him in the talk.
亚历杭德罗不仅对提议感到惊讶,而且对他的母亲将他包括在谈话中也感到惊讶.
Since his father’s death two years ago, she had relied only on Martín.
自从他父亲两年前去世以来,她只依靠马丁。
“I’ve always hoped to maintain our land in the true gaucho tradition and keep it in the family.
“我一直希望以真正的gaucho传统来维护我们的土地,
Sadly, as you both know, we’re losing money because the land is overgrazed.
可惜的是,你们都知道,我们输了钱,因为土地被过度放牧。
I’m just not sure how much longer we can keep the place going.”
我不知道我们还能维持多久。 “
Alejandro felt sad as he thought of his father.
亚历杭德罗认为他的父亲很伤心.
He had always said the estancia—the land, people, and animals—was a family.
他一直说,土地、人民和动物是一家人。
With a sigh, his mother explained more.
带着一口气,他的母亲解释得更多。
“Mr.
“本戈亚先生,
Somerset wants to build a resort.
萨默塞特想建个度假村
His idea is to create, in his words, ‘a destination for travelers to experience the legendary gaucho way of life.’
他的想法是用他的话创造出‘旅行者体验传说中的"高豪"生活方式的目的地. " ; "
“Not travelers— tourists!”
" 不是旅行者——游客! "
Martín almost spat the words.
马丁几乎吐出的话。
“Ha!
“哈! (掌声)
You thought I was just a tourist when Gerson brought me down from Santiago,” Melissa said.
Melissa说:“Gerson把我从圣地亚哥带下来时,
“Even so, I was amazed by you gauchos, with your traditional berets, bombacha pantaloons, and leather boots.
“即使如此,我还是对你们这些贱民感到惊奇,他们带着传统的贝雷帽、平底裤和皮靴。
Mr.
先生,请问...
Somerset just wants people to experience a bit of this culture, and I can’t say I blame him.”
我无法怪他。 “
“Other estancias have already gone under from overgrazing,” she continued.
她接着说,“其他农牧业者已经从过度放牧中脱身了”。
“This is a hard life.”
“这是艰难的生活。 “
She rubbed her forehead and sighed.
她擦了额头并叹了口气。
“Somerset said Alejandro and I could stay on for five years if we wanted, with me helping with the management.”
“萨默塞特说,如果我们愿意,我和亚历杭德罗可以继续工作五年,由我协助管理。 “
“What would we do after that?”
“此后我们该怎么办? “
Alejandro asked, trying not to raise his voice.
亚历杭德罗问,试图不提高他的声音。
“What would happen to Martín and the other gauchos?
“Martín和其他gauchos会怎么样?
Some of them have been here more than thirty years!”
他们中有些人在这里已经超过30年了!”
“I’m not sure,” his mother said quietly.
他的母亲悄悄地说,
“But Dad said—” Alejandro stopped himself.
" 但是爸爸说... " 亚历杭德罗自己停下来了.
He knew the situation was difficult for his mother, too.
他也知道他母亲的处境也很困难
“Do we have to decide right now?”
“我们必须现在就作出决定吗? “
Martín asked.
马丁问道.
“Two weeks,” Melissa replied.
Melissa回答说,“两个星期”。
“Then we have two weeks to find an answer,” Alejandro said, trying to sound confident.
亚历杭德罗说,“然后我们有两个星期的时间来寻找答案,”他试图表现出信心。
“ All right, then,” Martín said with a hard look on his face.
“...... " Martín说,
“Don’t be late tomorrow morning, Alejandro.”
“明天早上不要迟到,
The next few days were filled with the hardest work Alejandro had ever done.
接下来的几天充满了亚历杭德罗所做过的最艰苦的工作.
He saddled horses, herded sheep, fixed fences, and hauled feed.
他把马鞍、羊群、栅栏和饲料都装了起来。
He made friends with an old sheepdog named Lucinda that ran along next to him.
他和一只叫Lucinda的老牧羊犬结交了朋友 他身边到处跑
In the evenings, he would sit with his mother, who would ask, “What did you learn today?”
晚上,他和母亲坐在一起,母亲会问:“你今天学到了什么? “
Alejandro excitedly told her everything, but when he was done, his body grew tired and sadness filled his heart.
亚历杭德罗激动地告诉她一切,但完成后,他的身体变得疲惫并充满了悲伤.
He didn’t yet know how to save the estancia.
他还不知道如何拯救Estancia。
Patagonia PACIFIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN Patagonia is a rural region located at the southern tip of South America.
巴塔哥尼亚州 太平洋、大洋洲 巴塔哥尼亚是位于南美洲南端的一个农村地区.
The region is shared by Argentina and Chile, with the Andes Mountains as its dividing line.
该区域由阿根廷和智利共有,安第斯山脉为分界线.
The Argentine side features flat, wild grasslands and deserts, while the Chilean side has ice-covered mountains and rainforest.
阿根廷一侧以平地,野生草地和沙漠为特色,而智利一侧则有被冰覆盖的山脉和雨林.
On the fourth day, Alejandro and Martín came across a guanaco with its leg stuck in one of the fences.
第四天,亚历杭德罗和马丁碰到了一只被腿卡住的瓜纳克.
The wild animal was scared and worn out, weakly shaking its long neck and thin legs.
野生动物被吓倒并磨损,弱摇起长颈和细腿.
When Martín cut the guanaco loose, it limped away as fast as it could.
当Martín把瓜拿可割开时 它会尽可能快地瘸走
“In the old days, we didn’t have any fences on the estancia,” Martín said as he repaired the hole.
Martín在修复洞口时说,
“It was harder to protect the sheep, but at least there was always enough grass.”
“保护羊比较困难,但至少总是有足够的草地。 “
Alejandro was silent.
亚历杭德罗沉默了
Something churned in his mind, but he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.
他的脑海里有些事,
That afternoon, Alejandro listened as a gaucho told them about seeing a puma hunting one of the flocks.
当天下午, 亚历杭德罗听到一个大猩猩告诉他们 看到一只美洲狮猎杀一只羊群
“I frightened it away with a few shots,” he said.
他说,“我用几发子弹吓跑它。”
“It’s just hungry,” Martín said thoughtfully.
Martín深思熟虑地说,
“The changes to the land affect us all.”
“土地的变化影响到我们所有人。 “
When Alejandro’s mother asked him what he had learned that day, he told her about the puma and the guanaco.
当亚历杭德罗的母亲问他当天学到了什么时,他告诉她美洲狮和瓜纳克.
For some reason, though, he didn’t feel the usual excitement.
但出于某种原因,他并没有感受到通常的兴奋。
Something felt strange, as if his brain were trying to tie together two wires that weren’t quite long enough.
他的大脑试图将两条线绑在一起,
They did not have much time left to save the estancia.
他们没有多少时间去拯救Estancia。
Five days before Mr.
5天前,他刚离开
Somerset was due to return, Martín sent Alejandro out on his own.
萨默塞特要回来,马丁派来了 亚历杭德罗一个人出去
He told Alejandro to seek out a sheep that had wandered away.
他告诉亚历杭德罗寻找一只已经走走的羊.
After a while, Alejandro saw the sheep moving through an opening in a rocky outcropping.
过了一段时间后,亚历杭德罗看到羊在一片多岩石的外生地上穿过了开口.
“How did she get on the other side of that fence?”
“她是如何进入围栏的另一边的? “
he asked Lucinda.
他问了露辛达
She barked and panted happily, bounding back and forth.
她叫了又喘地 欢快地 不停地绕来绕去
When they reached the big rocks, Lucinda suddenly refused to go through the opening.
当他们到达了大石头后,露辛达突然拒绝通过开口.
“Fine,” Alejandro said.
“很好,”亚历杭德罗说。
“You wait here.”
“你在这里等。 “
The space was narrow, but he could easily squeeze through by turning to the side.
空间很窄,但他可以轻而易举地靠边挤过去.
He saw what had attracted the sheep: a small area of deep green grass dotted with wildflowers.
他看到了吸引了羊的事物:用野花点缀了一小片深绿色草地.
The sheep was unhappy to leave her feast, but Alejandro managed to get her back through the tunnel.
羊不高兴地离开了她的宴会,但亚历杭德罗设法让她从地道回来.
Before he followed, he stopped to pick one of the flowers—a yellow-tongued porcelain orchid.
在他追随之前,他停下来取出一朵花——一朵黄色的瓷花兰.
He remembered his father bringing them to his mother after working on the estancia.
他回忆起他父亲在做Estancia后带给母亲的.
The orchids had once been very common, but these were the first Alejandro had seen since his father died.
兰花曾一度非常常见,但这些是亚历杭德罗自他父亲去世后所见到的第一个.
He was about to leave when he noticed a sudden movement.
当他注意到突然的动向时,他正要离开.
A puma stood on a flat rock overlooking the patch of grass, staring at him with big yellow eyes.
一个美洲狮站在平地的岩石上,俯瞰着一束草地,用大黄的眼睛盯着他.
Alejandro returned the hunter’s gaze, slowly backing toward the opening.
Alejandro回放猎人的眼睛,
Then, as if giving up, the cat lay down with a low sigh, its eyes lazily half closing.
然后,仿佛放弃,猫会低声地躺下,眼睛懒得半闭.
Alejandro almost felt sorry for the beast.
亚历杭德罗几乎为野兽感到难过.
After all, he had ruined its meal.
毕竟,他毁了它的食物。
With his heart still pounding, Alejandro placed the flower in his pouch and lifted the bleating sheep over the fence.
心还一跳,亚历杭德罗将花放入口袋,将出血的羊抬过栅栏.
He finally felt safe when he reached the other side.
当他到达另一边时,他终于感到安全.
As he nudged his horse forward, he couldn’t push the blooming pasture and the puma from his mind.
他无法将开花的牧场和美洲狮推出脑海。
They were wild, strong, and healthy.
他们是野生的,强壮的,健康的。
The estancia was no longer a place for wild things, but instead a land controlled.
斯坦西亚不再是一个野生事物的地方,而是一块被控制的土地.
The fences were keeping the sheep from the rich pastures beyond.
栅栏把羊挡在外边的富牧场上
Alejandro imagined an estancia with no fences.
亚历杭德罗想象出一个没有栅栏的estancia.
Some of the sheep might die from puma attacks, but the flock as a whole would survive and grow stronger.
有些羊可能死于美洲狮的攻击,但整个羊群会活下来并变得更强大.
He realized that he could tell his mother that he had truly learned something today.
他意识到他可以告诉他的母亲,他今天真的学到了一些东西.
Alejandro urged his horse into a gallop.
亚历杭德罗催促他的马骑入了跑道.
He had to talk to Martín and the other gauchos.
他只好和马丁和其他的食人族交谈.
It was time to return to the old ways.
今已回向旧道.
They could fix this.
他们可以解决这个问题。
There was still time.
还有时间呢