經典英語閱讀短文及翻譯
要提高英語閱讀能力，離不開平時的英語閱讀訓練，下面本站小編爲大家帶來英語閱讀短文翻譯，歡迎大家閱讀!
We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cup board '. At some dramatic moment in the story the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very proud of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spent an uncomfortable week-end which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided to hang in the cupboard one of the two suits I had brought with me. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than 'a terrible secret'; this was a real skeleton ! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'
在小說中，我們經常讀到一個表面上受人尊重的人物或家庭，卻有着某種多年不爲人所知的駭人聽聞的祕密。英語中有一個生動的說法來形容這種情況。驚人的祕密稱作"櫃中骷髏"。在小說的某個戲劇性時刻，可怕的祕密泄漏出來，接着便是某人的聲譽掃地。當讀者到小說最後幾頁瞭解到書中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可愛的老婦人年輕時一連毒死了她的5個丈夫時，不禁會毛骨悚然。
這種事發生在小說中是無可非議的。儘管我們人人都有各種大小祕密。連最親密的朋友都不願讓他們知道， 但我們當中極少有人有櫃中骷髏。我所認識的唯一的在櫃中藏骷嶁的人便是喬治.卡爾頓，他甚至引以爲自豪。喬治年輕時學過醫，然而，他後來沒當上醫生，卻成了一位成功的偵探小說作家。有一次，我在他家裏度週末，過得很不愉快。這事我永遠不會忘記。喬治把我領進客房，說這間很少使用。他讓我打開行裝後下樓吃飯。我將襯衫、內衣放進兩個空抽屜裏，然後我想把隨身帶來的兩套西服中的一套掛到大衣櫃裏去。我打開櫃門，站在櫃門前一下驚呆了。一具骷髏懸掛在眼前，由於櫃門突然打開，它也隨之輕微搖晃起來，讓我覺得它好像馬上要跳出櫃門朝我撲過來似的。我扔下西服衝下樓去告訴喬治。這是比"駭人聽聞的祕密"更加驚人的東西，這是一具真正的骷髏啊!但喬治卻無動於衷。"噢，是它呀!他笑着說道，儼然在談論一位老朋友。"那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是學醫的了。"
英語閱讀短文翻譯篇二：People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten. If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy. You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive. On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat-- the normally accepted practice in many northern countries. The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.
No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world. There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food. My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are despised. As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own. For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him. The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants. Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert. Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift. I left the bag in the
hall and Robert and I went into the living-room where we talked for a couple of hours. I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner. Snails would, of course, be the main dish. I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room. To our dismay, we saw that there were snails everywhere: they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall! I have never been able to look at a snail since then.
在決定什麼能吃而什麼不能吃的時候，人們往往變得不合情理。比如，如果你住在地中海地區，你會把章魚視作是美味佳餚，同時不能理解爲什麼有人一見章魚就噁心。另一方面，你一想到動物油炸土豆就會反胃，但這在北方許多國家卻是一種普通的烹任方法。不無遺憾的是， 我們中的大部分人，生來就只吃某幾種食品，而且一輩子都這樣。
沒有一種生物所受到的讚美和厭惡會超過花園裏常見的蝸牛了。蝸牛加酒燒煮後，便成了世界上許多地方的一道珍奇的名菜。有不計其數的人們從小就知道蝸牛可做菜。但我的朋友羅伯特卻住在一個厭惡蝸牛的國家中。他住在大城市裏的一所公寓裏，沒有自己的花園。多年來，他一直讓我把我園子裏的蝸牛收集起來給他捎去。一開始，他的這一想法沒有引起我多大興趣。後來有一天，一場大雨後，我在花園裏漫無目的散步，突然注意到許許多多蝸牛在我的一些心愛的花木上慢悠悠的蠕動着。我一時衝動，逮了幾十只，裝進一隻紙袋裏，帶着去找羅伯特。羅伯特見到我很高興，對我的薄禮也感到滿意。我把紙袋放在門廳裏，與羅伯特一起進了起居室，在那裏聊了好幾個鐘頭。我把蝸牛的事已忘得一乾二淨，羅伯特突然提出一定要我留下來吃晚飯，這才提醒了我。蝸牛當然是道主菜。我並不喜歡這個主意，所以我勉強跟着羅伯特走進了起居室。使我們驚愕的是門廳裏到處爬滿了蝸牛：它們從紙袋裏逃了出來，爬得滿廳都是!從那以後，我再也不能看一眼蝸牛了。
英語閱讀短文翻譯篇三：Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to
the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full. One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow-actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me.' And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire. I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
有些劇目十分成功，以致連續上演好幾年。這樣一來，可憐的演員們可倒黴了。因爲他們需要一夜連着一夜地重複同樣的臺詞。人們以爲，這些演員一定會把臺詞背得爛熟，絕不會臨場結巴的，但情況卻並不總是這樣。
有一位名演員曾在一出極爲成功的劇目中扮演一個貴族角色，這個貴族已在巴士底獄被關押了20年。在最後一幕中，獄卒手持一封信上場，然後將信交給獄中那位貴族。儘管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。
一天晚上，獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑，看看他反覆演出這麼多場之後，是否已將信的內容記熟了。大幕拉開，最後一幕戲開演，貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗後陰暗的牢房裏。這時獄卒上場，手裏拿着那封珍貴的信。獄卒走進牢房，將信交給貴族。但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全，而是一張白紙。獄卒熱切地觀察着，急於想了解他的同事是否記熟了臺詞。貴族盯着紙看了幾秒鐘，然後，眼珠一轉，說道："光線太暗，請給我讀一下這封信。"說完，他一下子把信遞給獄卒。獄卒發現自己連一個字也記不住，於是便說："陛下，這兒光線的確太暗了，我得去眼鏡拿來。"他一邊說着，一邊匆匆下臺。貴族感到非常好笑的是：一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然後爲那囚犯唸了起來。
英語閱讀短文及翻譯
