(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Our story today is called "No Place to Hang the Lantern". It was written by John Wotarua. It is about a young farmer Nate and his wife Olive who is soon to become a mother. And their cow Maudie who is also going to be a mother. It is a story about the beauty of birth, the wonder of new life. Here is Shep O'Neal with our story. Olive Bowen made some hot coffee to bring to her husband Nate who was over in the barn. He was helping their cow Maudie to give birth. Olive herself was expecting a baby very soon. She felt heavy and moved around slowly. The coffee boiled on the stove and Olive poured some into a pot and carried it to the barn. It was black inside the barn. The darkness made Olive nervous and she stood at the door not sure what to do. Should she call Nate or go slowly and carefully through the darkness. Then she saw a light at the far end. Olive called out to Nate and was happy to see the light come toward her. Nate held his lantern high as he came up to Olive and said: "Where is your lamp? You shouldn't have some out when it's too cold."
"I brought you some hot coffee." Nate was happy that she did. But he did not want her to say. He took the things Olive carried and asked her to sit down. "Maybe for a minute to get warm," she said. Olive kept looking into the darkness of the barn to see where Maudie was. Maudie was ready to have her calf any minute now. "I don't want you to stay," her husband said. "Oh, no, Nate, I don't want to. If it begins to happen, I'll go back to the house." They walked slowly to the back of the barn to look at Maudie. Nate looked around for something Olive could sit on. "Would this be all right?" He helped Olive sit down on a small stool. He made the oil stove hotter so she could get warm. Then he told her again that he did not want her to stay when Maudie's calf came. It wasn't something a young wife should see, especially a young wife who would soon be a mother herself. Nate sat down on the floor near Olive. The cow lay quietly, chewing some hay. Husband and wife did not say much as they waited; words did not seem to some easily to them. But, after some time, Olive said she was sorry that she could not help Nate with the cow. Nate smiles and told her not to worry about him--after all, he said, Maudie was having the calf-not he. And Maudie would know what to do when the time came.
There was something else that was worrying Olive, and she did not know just how to begin to talk about it--At last, she spoke out, not sure what Nate's answer would be. "Momma says--I mean Momma thinks--maybe I should go to her house to have the baby ... After all, the doctor lives in town. If you couldn't get him here in time, I don't know what I would do." She had said it, and was glad that at last she got the word out. Nate was a quiet, thoughtful and gentle man. He knew that Olive was afraid and he wanted to calm her fears. "Of course," he answered. "That's a good idea. It would be much easier for you in your mother's house." Time seemed to be moving slowly--too slowly for Olive. She looked nervously at the cow. She asked Nate when the cow would begin. Nate answered that birth had already stared--Maudie had pain a short time ago. Then Nate began to rub the cow's head ...the cow turned its head away from his hands...and then Suddenly it came... a frightening bellow that gave Olive a violent. Olive could see it clearly--part of the head of the young calf slowly, painfully coming out.
Olive felt shaky. Her hands nervously touched her own body. She could feel the shape of her baby. Nate was worried, he told Olive to leave. But Olive could not go....she just could not pull herself away. She kept looking at Maudie as the cow made her great noises and struggled to push out the calf. Nate saw that the cow was in trouble. He knew she needed help. He looked for a nail in the wall where he could hang his lamp. There was none. He was angry, but did not know what to do. He had to have light. Olive said he should have asked another farmer to help him. This made Nate even more angry. He ordered Olive out of the barn. Suddenly, Olive saw that Nate was also afraid--fearful that the cow's struggle would be too much for him alone. And at that moment she decided that nothing could drive her from the barn. She demanded that Nate give her the lamp to hold so that he could have all the light he needed to help Maudie.
Nate said,"no," the birth would make her sick... "Please go," he said. Olive laughed and answered: "Nate, I think it is you who is going to be sick. Give me lamp!" The emergency strangely changed Olive. She no longer felt fearful. There was a sudden new strength in her...it surprised her. Nate looked at his wife. As she took the lamp from him, he smiled. He softly touched Olive's face with his hand. Olive had never before felt so close her husband. It was a wonderful moment. Now, Nate could see, and could work. He put fresh hay around Maudie and went to look for some old cloth. He needed the cloth, he said to hold the calf's wet head as he pulled it out. Nate and Olive joked and laughed as they waited. But soon they stopped. For the cow was now in violent pain, and they could see the calf's whole head. Olive held the lamp. Nate told her not to look. But she had to look. As she watched, Olive was afraid, but not for the cow or even for herself. She was fearful for the baby-for the little creature that was coming into the world. At last, it was done. Maudie was quiet. In the hay, lay a little wet calf. It tried to stand up, but could not.
Nate gently helped the calf to its feet. He brought it to Maudie. He opened the calf's mouth so that it could take milk from its mother. But Maudie made an angry noise and kicked the calf away. Nate Spoke to Maudie at though she could understand him: "Here now! A mother shouldn't do that to her baby!" Olive asked, "Doesn't she love her bably?" Nate said, "She still remembers her pain. But she'll love her calf in the morning." Olive and Nate were both tired. Olive remembered the coffee she had brought to the barn. She put it on the hot stove. Nate dried the calf with the cloth. As he worked, Olive looked through the barn window. She saw the apple trees with snow on them and the light in her kitchen and the first grace of the morning sun. It made her feel warm and happy. She was part of her husband's life. Suddenly, Olive heard the sound of the boiling coffee. She turned from the window. She laughed as she saw Nate trying to cover the long, kicking legs of the baby calf. And he laughed, too. Now, the calf was covered and quiet, sleeping near its mother. Nate and Olive sat in the hay. They held hands as they drank the hot coffee. They felt no need to speak as they looked at the beauty of the first baby in their lives.
重点解析
1.sit down 坐下；住定
Now sit down and make yourself comfortable. You must be very tired.
现在坐下来，让自己舒服些，你一定很累了。
2.worry about 担心；烦恼
I'll not worry about it. I'll let nature take its course.
我不再为此事发愁了，顺其自然吧。
3.at last 最后；终于
Look! It's snowing. Winter is here at last.
瞧，下雪了。终于是冬天了。
4.no longer 已不；再也
You will no longer have a use for the magazines.
你再也用不着这些杂志了。
参考译文
我们今天要讲的故事名叫《无处悬灯》，作者约翰·沃塔鲁。这是关于一个年轻的农民内特和他那快要做母亲的妻子奥利弗之间的故事。他们的母牛莫迪也要当妈妈了。这是一个有关出生之美，即新生命奇迹的故事。下面由夏普·奥尼尔为我们带来这个故事。奥利弗·伯恩煮了些热咖啡，给正在谷仓里干活的丈夫内特端了过去。他在帮他们的母牛莫迪接生，奥利弗不久要有孩子了。她觉得身体很沉，行走时很缓慢。咖啡在炉子上煮开，奥利弗往壶里倒了一些，然后端到谷仓。谷仓里很暗。黑暗使奥利弗紧张，她站在门口不知道该怎么办。她应该叫内特，还是要在黑暗中小心地慢慢行走。后来，她看到远处有一盏灯。奥利弗向内特喊了一声，高兴地看到了光。内特高高地举起灯笼，走到奥利弗跟前说：“你的灯在哪儿？天气太冷时，你不应该跑出来。”
“我给你带了些热咖啡。”内特很高兴她这么做，但是他不想让她说出来，他拿过奥利弗带来的东西，让她坐下。她说：“也许可以暖和一会儿，”。奥利弗不停地往黑暗的谷仓里看，想看看莫迪在哪儿，莫迪现在随时都会生小牛。“我不想你留在这，”她丈夫说。“哦，不，内特，我不想待在这。如果它开始生了，我就回屋里去。”他们慢慢地走到谷仓后面去看莫迪，内特四处寻找能让奥利弗坐下的东西。“这样行吗？”他帮助奥利弗坐在小凳子上，他把油炉烧得更热，这样她就能取暖了。然后，他又告诉她，他不想在莫迪生小牛的时候，她还留在这。这不是一个年轻的妻子应该看到的，尤其是一个即将成为母亲的年轻的妻子。内特坐在奥利弗旁边的地板上。奶牛静静地躺着，嚼着干草。夫妻俩等待的时候，并没怎么说话，似乎说话不是很容易。但是，过了一段时间，奥利弗说她很抱歉，她不能帮助内特给奶牛接生。奈特笑着告诉她，不要为他担心——毕竟是莫迪生小牛，不是他。时候到了，莫迪就知道该怎么办了。
还有别的事情让奥利弗担心,她不知道该怎么开始谈这个问题。最后，她说了出来，她不知道内特会怎么回答。“妈妈说，我是说妈妈想，也许我应该去她家生孩子。毕竟，医生住在镇上。如果你不能及时把他送到这里，我不知道该怎么办。”她说了这话，很高兴她终于把它说了出来。内特是一个安静、体贴、温柔的人，他知道奥利弗害怕，他想平息她的恐惧。 “当然，”他回答说，“这是个好主意，你在母亲家里生会容易得多。”时间似乎在慢慢流逝，对奥利弗来说太慢了。她紧张地看着奶牛，她问内特奶牛什么时候开始生。内特回答说，已经开始了，莫迪不久前就开始痛了。然后，内特开始搓牛头，牛把头从他的手上移开......接着，突然开始了......一声可怕的吼叫，让奥利弗吓了一跳。奥利弗看得很清楚，小牛头部的一部分缓慢又痛苦地露了出来。
奥利弗觉得浑身发抖，她的手紧张地抚摸着自己的身体。她能感觉到自己孩子的形状。内特很担心，他叫奥利弗离开。但是，奥利弗不能走......她没办法让自己离开。当母牛发出很大的声音，挣扎着把小牛推出来时，她一直看着莫迪。内特看到那头牛遇到了麻烦，他知道它需要帮助。他想在墙上找到一个能挂灯的钉子，但是没找到。他很生气，但不知道该怎么办。他需要光。奥利夫说，他应该请个农夫来帮他，这让内特更加生气。他命令奥利弗离开谷仓。突然，奥利弗发现内特也很害怕，害怕母牛的挣扎会让他一个人受不了。就在那一刻，她决定什么也不能把她赶出谷仓。她要求内特把灯给她拿着，这样内特就有了帮助莫迪所需要的所有光线。
内特说，“不，”生产会让她生病......“请走吧，”他说。奥利弗笑着回答：“内特，我想是你要生病了，把灯给我！”紧急情况奇怪地改变了奥利弗，她不再感到害怕了。她突然有了新的力量......这让她很吃惊。内特看着妻子。当她从他手里接过灯时，他笑了。他用手轻轻地碰了碰奥利弗的脸，奥利弗以前从未感觉到和丈夫如此亲密，那是一个美妙的时刻。现在，内特可以看到，也能工作了。他把新鲜的干草放在莫迪周围，然后去找一些旧布。他需要那块布，他说把小牛湿漉漉的头拿出来时，要用这块布托着牛头。内特和奥利弗在等待时，开着玩笑大笑。但很快，他们就停了下来。因为母牛现在正处于剧烈痛中，他们能看到小牛的整个头部。奥利弗拿着灯。内特叫她别看，但她要看。在她注视着的时候，奥利弗感到害怕，但不是为母牛担心，甚至不是为了她自己。她是为那个即将来到这个世界的小生命感到害怕。最后，一切都结束了。莫迪很安静。在干草里躺着一只湿漉漉的小牛犊。它想站起来，但却不行。
内特轻轻地把小牛扶起来，带着它去见莫迪。他打开小牛的嘴，这样它就能从母亲那里喝奶。但是，莫迪发出愤怒的声音，把小牛踢开了。内特对莫迪说着话，就像她能听懂一样：“给你！母亲不应该那样对待孩子！”奥利弗问：“她不爱自己的宝贝吗？”内特说，“它仍然记得自己的痛苦，但它上午就会喜欢自己的孩子了。”奥利弗和内特都累了，奥利弗记起了她带到谷仓的咖啡。她把它放在热炉子上。内特用布擦干小牛，在他忙活时，奥利弗从谷仓的窗户向外看。她看到落满雪的苹果树，厨房里的灯光和清晨的第一缕阳光。这使她感到温暖和快乐，她是丈夫生活的一部分。突然，奥利弗听到煮咖啡的声音。她从窗口转过身来。当她看到内特试图盖住小牛犊不断踢蹬的长腿时，她笑了，他也笑了。现在，小牛身上盖着东西，安静地睡在母亲身边。内特和奥利弗坐在干草上，他们边喝热咖啡边握着手。当他们看到生命中第一个婴儿的美丽时，觉得没有必要说话。
