四六级考试网

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping（舔） at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. ‘There’s my supper,’ thought he, ‘if only（只要，如果……多好） I can find some excuse to seize it.’ Then he called out to（呼唤，大叫） the Lamb, ‘How dare you muddle（同化，混浊） the water from which I am drinking?’‘Nay, master, nay,’ said Lambikin; ‘if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.’‘Well, then,’ said the Wolf, ‘why did you call me bad names（臭骂，乱骂） this time last year?’‘That cannot be,’ said the Lamb; ‘I am only six months old.’‘I don’t care,’ snarled（吼怒，缠结） the Wolf, ‘if it was not you it was your father;’ and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out（喘着气说出） . ‘Any excuse will serve a tyrant.’

Long ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy liked to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow…he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.Time went by…the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday.One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked. “Come and play with me ,” the tree told the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”"Sorry, but I don’t have money…but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me,” the tree said.”I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t have a house, but you can chop（砍） off my branches to build your house.”So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.”The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me,” the tree said.”I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail faraway and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat.He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you…” the tree said.”I don’t have teeth to bite,” the boy replied.”No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now.” the boy said.”I really want to give you something…the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears. “I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these year,” the boy replied.”Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come,come sit down with me and rest,” the boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…

The dreamworld, it carries her through the night on wings of gold. Above the clouds of cotton, they seem so fragile but they never let her fall. She woke up and carried the piece of paper in her hands, clutching（攫，抓住） it desperately（拼命地，掉看地） . She hoped that the words would bleed（渗出，榨取） out of the paper and into reality. If only that was possible. Her eyes were focused watching the paper as it fell to the floor from her hands. She layed back down in her bad, and slowly pulled the sheets over her. She began to cry; when she heard a noice coming from the ground. She quickly pushed the blankets off of her, got up, and saw that the paper was gone. All that was there was a white feather. She turned and ran to the window, and what she saw she would always remember. She saw a white dove（鸽子） in a tree staring back at her. It just stayed there for a while, perched（栖息） on the branch. Finally it looked up at the sky,as though it knew the freedom was there. When the girl began to speak the dove turned back to listen.”Close your eyes and imagine a world, where everything is right, where nothing can touch you, or hurt you; Everything is just simply beautiful.”The dove flew away, but instead of being sad, she wiped the tears away and smiled up at the sky.

In past times there were a king and a queen, who said every day, “Oh, if only we had a child!” but they never received one.Then it happened one day while the queen was sitting in her bath, that a frog crept out of the water onto the ground and said to her, “Your wish shall be fulfilled, and before a year passes you will bring a daughter into the world.”What the frog said did happen, and the queen gave birth to a girl who was so beautiful that the king could not contain himself for joy, and he ordered a great celebration. He invited not only his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women so that they would be kindly disposed toward the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but because he had only twelve golden plates from which they were to eat, one of them had to remain at home.The feast was celebrated with great splendor（光华，绚丽） , and at its conclusion the wise women presented the child with their magic gifts. The one gave her virtue, the second one beauty, the third one wealth, and so on with everything that one could wish for on earth.The eleventh one had just pronounced her blessing when the thirteenth one suddenly walked in. She wanted to avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting anyone or even looking at them she cried out with a loud voice, “In the princess’s fifteenth year she shall prick herself with a spindle（轴，纺锤） and fall over dead.” And without saying another word she turned around and left the hall.Everyone was horrified, and the twelfth wise woman, who had not yet offered her wish, stepped foreward. Because she was unable to undo the wicked wish, but only to soften it, she said, “It shall not be her death. The princess will only fall into a hundred-year deep sleep.”The king, wanting to rescue his dear child, issued an order that all spindles in the entire kingdom should be burned. The wise women’s gifts were all fulfilled on the girl, for she was so beautiful, well behaved, friendly, and intelligent that everyone who saw her had to love her.Now it happened that on the day when she turned fifteen years of age the king and the queen were not at home, and the girl was all alone in the castle. She walked around from one place to the next, looking into rooms and chambers as her heart desired. Finally she came to an old tower. She climbed up the narrow, winding stairs and arrived at a small door. In the lock there was a rusty key, and when she turned it the door sprang open. There in a small room sat an old woman with a spindle busily spinning her flax（亚麻） .”Good day, old woman,” said the princess. “What are you doing there?”"I am spinning,” said the old woman, nodding her head.”What is that thing that is so merrily bouncing about?” asked the girl, taking hold of the spindle, for she too wanted to spin.She had no sooner touched the spindle when the magic curse was fulfilled, and she pricked herself in the finger. The instant that she felt the prick she fell onto a bed that was standing there, and she lay there in a deep sleep. And this sleep spread throughout the entire castle. The king and queen, who had just returned home, walked into the hall and began falling asleep, and all of their attendants as well. The horses fell asleep in their stalls, the dogs in the courtyard, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the walls, and even the fire on the hearth flickered, stopped moving, and fell asleep. The roast stopped sizzling. The cook, who was about to pull kitchen boy´s hair for having done something wrong, let him loose and fell asleep. The wind stopped blowing, and outside the castle not a leaf was stirring in the trees.Round about the castle a thorn hedge began to grow, and every year it became higher, until it finally surrounded and covered the entire castle. Finally nothing at all could be seen of it, not even the flag on the roof.A legend circulated throughout the land about the beautiful sleeping Little Brier-Rose, for so the princess was called. Legends also told that from time to time princes came, wanting to force their way through the hedge into the castle. However, they did not succeed, for the thorns held firmly together, as though they had hands, and the young men became stuck in them, could not free themselves, and died miserably.Many long, long years later, once again a prince came to the country. He heard an old man telling about the thorn hedge. It was said that there was a castle behind it, in which a beautiful princess named Little Brier-Rose had been asleep for a hundred years, and with her the king and the queen and all the royal attendants were sleeping. He also knew from his grandfather that many princes had come and tried to penetrate the thorn hedge（树篱，障碍） , but they had become stuck in it and died a sorrowful death.Then the young man said, “I am not afraid. I will go there and see the beautiful Little Brier-Rose.”

A long time ago and far away there lived a King and a Queen. They were very happy, for their first child, a girl, had been born.”We must have a grand christening（浸礼） for her,” said the King , who was delighted to have a daughter.”We must invite all the fairies of the kingdom to bless her,” said the Queen.”How many are there now ?” asked the King.”Twelve or thirteen,” said his wife. “Send the invitations . We’ll soon find out .”There were twelve fairies, and they were all sent invitations. A thirteen fairy had not been heard of for so long that it was presumed（猜测） that she was dead. No invitation was sent. The day of the christening was sunny and bright. The Princes was named Briar Rose, and the fairies began to give their gifts.”She shall be beautiful, “said the first.”She shall be wise ,”said the second.”She shall be good,”said the third.”She shall be kind ,” said the fourth.The gifts continued in this way, wishing all that was good for Briar Rose. Eleven of the twelve fairies had given their gifts when the room suddenly went dark. After a great flash of light a small dark figure stood in front of the King and Queen.It was the thirteenth fairy.”why wasn’t I invited to the christening?” she screamed.She was furious at being left out.”All the fairies of the kingdom have given their blessings. Well, here’s mine for the Princess. On her sixteenth birthday she will prick（刺，戳） her finger on a spinning wheel and die.”Another flash of light and the fairy was gone.”But we thought she was dead,” said the King. “What can we do ?”The Queen was in tears.The twelfth fairy stepped forward.There is still my gift for Briar Rose,” she said. “The fairy’s curse cannot be undone, but I can change it a little. She will fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years,” There was a great hubbub（喧哗，纷扰） in the hall as everyone discussed the events.The following day the King issued a proclamation, ordering that all spinning wheels and spindles were to be destroyed. Throughout the land there were great fires as the spinning wheels（纺车） were burned.Over the years, the Princess grew into a lovely girl. All who met her were enchanted（使着魔） by her.Eventually, the bad fairy’s wish was forgotten. All spinning wheels and spindles had been destroyed ,so there was no reminder. And the fairy was not heard of again.And so, on Briar Rose’s sixteenth birthday, the King and Queen were due to arrive back from a far away visit. There was to be a large birthday party for the Princess.Briar Rose was wandering around the palace. Everyone was preparing for the party, so she could please herself where she went. As had never set foot in, she foot in, she decided to go exploring.”I wonder what is in the great South Tower,” she said. All the servants and courtiers wished her a happy birthday as she made her way across the palace.That part of the palace was very old, and there were very few people there. The base of the tower was in a corridor. The entrance was a small, very solid looking door. The key was on the outside.”It’s very stiff ,”said the Princess, as she turned the key. “There! It’s open!”Stairs led up the tower in front of her .She began to climb them.Meanwhile, her parents had arrived back at the palace.”Has anyone seen the Princess?” asked the King.”Today is her sixteenth birthday-the day when the curse may fall. Somebody must know where she is.”Nearly everyone had seen her, but nobody knew where she had been going.”She must be found,” said the Queen. “If the prophecy（预言） is to come true, today is the day.”A search of the palace and the grounds began.Meanwhile, the Princess had reached the top of the tower where there was another door . This time there was no key and the door was slightly open.”There must be a wonderful view of the rest of the palace and grounds from the window, “said the Princess . Then she heard a strange whirring sound. It was unlike anything that she had ever heard before.She pushed the door open and went into the room. There, in the middle, sat an old woman working at a spinning wheel. Behind her was an enormous bed.The wheel was making the noise.”What are you doing?” asked Briar Rose. “I have never seen one of those before, what is it?”"It is a spinning wheel, “said the old women, “Would you like to try it my dear?”"Oh. may I?” asked Briar Rose.

It’s cold and damp in this kingdom of darkness. It covers us like a disease on our skin. They hold us hostage, the ones who call themselves the royals. Little Alana stared（凝睇，谛视） across the swampy（池沼的，湿地的） desolate（萧瑟的，无火食的） waters of the river. Back and forth（几次地，来回地） on her rusty（生锈的，腐蚀的） old swingset, on the shattered polluted earth she stared and stared at the little boy looking out of the window of the Hoffmen Castle. The handsome young boy with his dark eyes and dark hair hypnotized（使沉迷，使恍忽） Alana. She loved him then as she always will. “How could I love my own enemy?” The one question that she will ask forever. It will end up being the one that would never be answered.This young prince, who captured her heart has now become the King of Dark Haven. King Mathias Hoffmen. The evil king, the one who she will forever love and hate, the one who had all the power to make her world colorful and bright again. One day the flowers grew back and the waters were clean and the only reason for this was that she showed this evil king how to love his kingdom once again.

Once upon a time there was a forester（林务官，护林员） . He went into the woods to hunt, and after entering the woods he heard a sound of crying, as though it were a little child. Following the sound, he finally came to a tall tree, at the top of which a little child was sitting. His mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child. A bird of prey had seen him in her arms, flown down, picked him up in its beak, and then set him on the tall tree.The forester climbed the tree, brought the child down, and thought, “I will take the child home with me, and bring him up with my Lenchen.”So he took him home, and the two children grew up together. The child whom he had found on the tree was called Foundling-Bird, because a bird had carried him away. Foundling-Bird and Lenchen loved each other so much, ever so much, that whenever they did not see one another they were sad.Now the forester had an old cook. One evening she took two buckets and began to fetch water. She did not go out to the well just once, but many times.Lenchen saw this and said, “Listen, old Sanna, why are you fetching so much water?”"If you won’t tell anyone, I will tell you.”So Lenchen said that she would not tell anyone, and then the cook said, “Early tomorrow morning when the forester is out hunting I will heat the water, and when it is boiling in the kettle I will throw Foundling-Bird into it and cook him.The forester got up very early the next morning and went out hunting. When he left, the children were still in bed.Then Lenchen said to Foundling-Bird, “If you will never leave me, I will never leave you either.”Foundling-Bird said, “Never, ever.”Then Lenchen said, “Then I will tell you that last night old Sanna carried so many buckets of water into the house that I asked her why she was doing that. She said that if I would not tell anyone she would tell me. I said that I would be sure not to tell anyone, and she said that early tomorrow morning when father was out hunting, she would boil a kettle full of water, throw you into it, and cook you. But let us hurry and get up, get dressed, and run away together.So the two children got up, hurriedly got dressed, and went away.When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook went into the bedroom to get Foundling-Bird and throw him into it. But when she went to their room and to their beds, both the children were gone.Then she became terribly frightened and said to herself, “What will I say when the forester comes home and sees that the children are gone. I must hurry and follow them and get them back again.”Then the cook sent out three servants who were to run after the children and bring them back. The children were sitting at the edge of the woods when they saw the three servants running toward them from afar.Lenchen said to Foundling-Bird, “Never leave me, and I will never leave you.”Foundling-Bird said, “Never, ever.”Then Lenchen said, “You, turn into a rosebush, and I to a rose on it.”When the three servants reached the edge of the woods nothing was there but a rosebush with one rose on it, but the children were nowhere.”Then they said, “There is nothing to be done here,” and they went home and told the cook that they had seen nothing out there but a little rosebush with one rose on it.Then the old cook scolded them, saying, “You simpletons（傻子，笨伯） , you should have cut the rosebush in two and then broken off the rose and brought it home with you. Hurry up and do it.”So they had to go out and look for the second time. The children, however, saw them coming from afar.Lenchen said, “Foundling-Bird, never leave me, and I will never leave you.”Foundling-Bird said, “Never, ever.”Lenchen said, “You, turn into a church, and I to the chandelier（枝形吊灯） in it.”When the three servants arrived, nothing was there but a church with a chandelier in it. So they said to one another, “What can we do here? Let us go home.”When they reached home, the cook asked if they had found them, and they said that they had found nothing but a church with a chandelier in it.The cook scolded them, saying, “You fools, why didn’t you break down the church and bring the chandelier home with you?”This time the old cook herself got up and with the three servants went out after the children.The children, however, saw from afar that the three servants were coming, with the cook tottering（盘跚的） after them.Then Lenchen said, “Foundling-Bird, never leave me, and I will never leave you.”Foundling-Bird said, “Never, ever.”Lenchen said, “Turn into a pond, and I to a duck upon it.”

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her parents in a cottage on the edge of the forest. Her father was a woodcutter. He worked all day long in the forest, chopping down（砍下） trees with his huge axe.Right in the middle of the forest was another cottage. It belonged to the little girl’s grandmother.The kind old lady loved her granddaughter very much, and one day decided to make her a present. It was a red cloak with a red hood（头巾，兜帽） to match.The cloak looked so nice that the little girl wore it all the time. And that is why everybody called her Red Riding Hood.One day Grandmother fell ill, so Red Riding Hood’s mother baked her a cake and made her some fresh butter, just to make her feel better.”Red Riding Hood,” called her mother. “Take this cake and butter to Grandmother’s cottage, a visit from you will cheer her up!”So Red Riding Hood picked up the basket, waved goodbye to her mother and went off down the path.She hadn’t gone very far when she met a wolf. He trotted（小跑） up, pretending to be friendly. “Good morning, Red Riding Hood. What have you got in your basket today?”"I have some fresh butter and a cake,” replied the little girl. “They are for my grandmother, who lives in the middle of the forest. She is ill and needs cheering up.”The wolf licked his lips. “How I would love to gobble up（风卷残云） this little girl. But is I am clever, I can eat her grandmother as well,” he sniggered.”Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf slyly. “We will both go to visit your grandmother and cheer her up. I’ll race you there!”Then the clever wolf said to Red Riding Hood, “You follow this path and I will find another one. Then we’ll see who reaches Grandmother’s cottage first.”No sooner was Red Riding Hood out of sight, than the wolf ran off at top speed.As for Red Riding Hood, she wandered slowly along the path picking flowers and wild strawberries for her grandmother. She had forgotten all about the race.The wicked wolf knew every secret path and short cut in the forest. He ran so fast, the animals and birds didn’t even notice him.Quietly he crept round a clearing in the trees where the woodcutter was chopping wood. On and on he raced until he came to the middle of the forest.The wolf reached Grandmother’s cottage in next to no time（很快，立即） . He ran up the path and knocked on the door.”Who is that?” cried Grandmother from her bed.”It is Red Riding Hood,” replied the wolf, in his softest voice.”Lift the latch and come right in,” the old lady called, “the door isn’t locked, my dear.”The wolf bounded in and gobbled poor Grandmother whole!”That was delicious,” sighed the wicked wolf, smacking his lips. “Now for Red Riding Hood!”The wolf looked around the bedroom. He found one of Grandmother’s spare nightdresses and her nightcap（睡帽） , so he put them on as fast as he could.Then the wolf jumped into bed and waited for Red Riding Hood.At last the little girl reached the cottage door and tapped very gently. “Who it it?” asked the wolf, trying to sound like Grandmother.”It’s Red Riding Hood and I’ve bought you some cake and fresh butter.”The wolf grinned. “Lift the latch and walk right in,” he croaked. So Red Riding Hood opened the door and came inside.”You sound very strange,” called Red Riding Hood.”I have a cold my dear!” the wolf replied. “Come here so that I can see you.”Little Red Riding Hood was shocked when she saw her grandmother. “Why Grandmother, what strong arms you have!” she said.”All the better to hug you with!” replied the wolf.”Why Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” said Red Riding Hood staring at him.”All the better to see you with!” the wolf grinned.”Why Grandmother, what big teeth you have!”"All the better to EAT you with!” snarled（吼怒） the wolf.And with that, he threw back the bedclothes and leapt out of bed. Poor Red Riding Hood screamed at the top of her voice as the wolf tried to grab her and gobble her up. She escaped from the bedroom and dashed out of the house, the hungry wolf close behind!Now Red Riding Hood’s father was chopping wood nearby and he heard the little girl’s screams.He grabbed his huge axe and ran towards the cottage. He saw the wolf chasing Red Riding Hood and guessed what had happened. The brave woodcutter raised his axe and chopped the wolf in two with one blow. The wolf fell dead and Red Riding Hood was saved.The frightened little girl ran to her father and kissed and hugged him.

A king had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all measure, but at the same time so proud and arrogant that no suitor was good enough for her. She rejected one after the other, ridiculing them as well.Once the king sponsored a great feast and invited from far and near all the men wanting to get married. They were all placed in a row according to their rank and standing. First came the kings, then the grand dukes, then the princes, the earls（伯爵） , the barons（男爵） , and the aristocracy（贵族） . Then the king’s daughter was led through the ranks, but she objected to something about each one. One was too fat: “The wine barrel,” she said. Another was too tall: “Thin and tall, no good at all.” The third was too short: “Short and thick is never quick.” The fourth was too pale: “As pale as death.” The fifth too red: “A prize rooster.” The sixth was not straight enough: “Green wood, dried behind the stove.”And thus she had some objection to each one, but she ridiculed especially one good king who stood at the very top of the row, and whose chin had grown a little crooked. “Look!” she cried out, laughing, “He has a chin like a thrush（画眉） ‘s beak.” And from that time he was called Thrushbeard.Now the old king, seeing that his daughter did nothing but ridicule the people, making fun of all the suitors who were gathered there, became very angry, and he swore that she should have for her husband the very first beggar to come to his door.A few days later a minstrel（歌手，艺人） came and sang beneath the window, trying to earn a small handout.When the king heard him he said, “Let him come up.”So the minstrel, in his dirty, ragged clothes, came in and sang before the king and his daughter, and when he was finished he asked for a small gift.The king said, “I liked your song so much that I will give you my daughter for a wife.”The king’s daughter took fright, but the king said, “I have taken an oath to give you to the very first beggar, and I will keep it.”Her protests did not help. The priest was called in, and she had to marry the minstrel at once. After that had happened the king said, “It is not proper for you, a beggar’s wife, to stay in my palace any longer. All you can do now is to go away with your husband.”The beggar led her out by the hand, and she had to leave with him, walking on foot.They came to a large forest, and she asked, “Who owns this beautiful forest?”"It belongs to King Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would be yours.”"Oh, I am a miserable thing; If only I’d taken the Thrushbeard King.”Afterwards they crossed a meadow（草地） , and she asked again, “Who owns this beautiful green meadow?”"It belongs to king Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would be yours.”"Oh, I am a miserable thing; If only I’d taken the Thrushbeard King.”Then they walked through a large town, and she asked again, “Who owns this beautiful large town?”"It belongs to king Thrushbeard. If you had taken him, it would be yours.”"Oh, I am a miserable thing; If only I’d taken the Thrushbeard King.”"I do not like you to always be wishing for another husband,” said the minstrel. “Am I not good enough for you?”At last they came to a very little hut, and she said, “Oh goodness. What a small house. Who owns this miserable tiny hut?”The minstrel answered, “This is my house and yours, where we shall live together.”She had to stoop（哈腰，屈就） in order to get in the low door.”Where are the servants?” said the king’s daughter.”What servants?” answered the beggar. “You must do for yourself what you want to have done. Now make a fire at once, put some water on to boil, so you can cook me something to eat. I am very tired.”But the king’s daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking, and the beggar had to lend a hand himself to get anything done at all. When they had finished their scanty（贫乏的，鄙吝的） meal they went to bed. But he made her get up very early the next morning in order to do the housework.For a few days they lived in this way, as well as they could, but they finally came to the end of their provisions（规定，食品） .Then the man said, “Wife, we cannot go on any longer eating and drinking here and earning nothing. You must weave baskets.” He went out, cut some willows, and brought them home. Then she began to weave baskets, but the hard willows cut into her delicate hands.”I see that this will not do,” said the man. “You had better spin. Perhaps you can do that better.” She sat down and tried to spin, but the hard thread soon cut into her soft fingers until they bled.