中国故事（双语）90：The Tortoise and the Hare 龟兔赛跑

兔子向动物们吹嘘自己的奔跑速度，动物们有的为它喝彩，有的感到十分无聊。这时，乌龟却说，自己能在跑步上打败兔子，并邀请兔子与之一战。比赛开始了，兔子跑得很快，一会儿乌龟就落在了后面，兔子便在一棵树下打起盹来。乌龟爬啊爬，它能战胜兔子吗？

HOP! HOP! HOP! Rabbit jumped very fast.

HIPPITY! HOPPITY! HOP! HOP! Rabbit jumped even faster.

“Look at me,” bragged Rabbit. “I am the fastest!”

His animal friends watched. Some cheered. Some were bored. They had seen Rabbit run many times before.

“Here he goes again,” said Cat. “Rabbit is always running.”

“And he is always bragging about being the fastest runner,” said Owl.

“He does run fast,” said Monkey.

Tortoise walked up slowly to the other animals.

Tortoise spoke slowly. “Is Rabbit bragging about being the fastest runner again?” he asked.

The animals nodded their heads yes.

“I will challenge Rabbit to a race. I can beat him,” said Tortoise calmly.

All the animals got excited. “A race!” they cried.

Rabbit laughed. “All right. Let’s race. I will win anyway.”

Tortoise and Rabbit went to the starting line.

“On your mark. Get set. Go!” cried Owl. He flapped his wings! Rabbit and Tortoise crossed the starting line. The race began!

Rabbit ran fast. He hopped, and he ran. He hopped again. He ran even faster.

Rabbit was far ahead of Tortoise. He kept running. He kept hopping.

He stopped by a tree. He looked behind him. Where was Tortoise?

Tortoise walked slowly. He was far behind.

Rabbit yelled, “Hey, how do you expect to beat me? You are walking so slowly! You will never beat me. You will never win!”

Rabbit sat down under the tree.

“I will take a rest,” said Rabbit. “Tortoise is slow. He will never catch up. I have plenty of time to relax.”

Rabbit rested under the tree. He got comfortable. Then he stretched out.

Soon he was lying flat on the ground. He fell asleep. He snored loudly.

Tortoise walked slowly. He kept walking. And walking. And walking.

He walked to the tree where Rabbit was sleeping. He did not stop. He kept walking and walking and walking.

Tortoise never stopped. He didn’t take a rest. He just walked.

He kept walking until he got to the finish line.

All the animals cheered. They were amazed that Tortoise won. He never gave up. He just kept walking and walking and walking.

The cheering was very loud. It woke Rabbit. He jumped up from his sleep!

“What happened? What’s that noise?” asked Rabbit. He began to run.

He ran faster and faster and faster. But he was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line. Tortoise won the race.

The End

Question: Why did Tortoise win the race?

1. Tortoise ran faster than Rabbit.

2. Tortoise never gave up and kept walking while Rabbit was sleeping.

3. Rabbit wanted Tortoise to win the race while he took a nap.

4. Tortoise took a nap before the race.

核心词汇

brag v. 吹嘘; 自夸，夸口说; 自夸

tortoise n. 乌龟

challenge v. 向…挑战; 提出挑战，要求竞赛

calmly adv. 平静地; 冷静地; 沉着地

on your mark 各就各位

get set 预备开始

flap v. 上下或左右移动、摆动;轻拍;振翅而飞

hop v. 跳上[下]; 单足蹦跳; 齐足跳行

yell v. 叫喊，大声叫; 叫喊着说

catch up 追上

plenty of 很多，大量的

rest v. 休息;静止;停止

comfortable adj. 舒适的; 安逸的

stretch v. 伸展; 延伸

lie (lying) v. 躺

flat adv 平得

snore v. 打呼噜，打鼾

amazed adj. 吃惊的，惊奇的

I will challenge Rabbit to a race. 我将要向兔子提出挑战，邀请它

参加比赛。本句中 challenge sb. to sth. 的意思是挑战某人去做某

事。

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

单足蹦跳单足蹦跳单足蹦跳兔子跳得很快。

嬉皮士！希望怜悯！单足蹦跳单足蹦跳兔子跳得更快。

“看看我，”兔子自夸道。“我跑得最快！”

他的动物朋友们看着他。一些人欢呼起来。有些人感到无聊。他们以前见过兔子跑很多次。

“他又来了，”猫说。“兔子总是在跑。”

“他总是吹嘘自己跑得最快，”猫头鹰说。

“他确实跑得很快，”猴子说。

乌龟慢慢地向其他动物走去。

乌龟说话很慢。“兔子又在吹嘘自己跑得最快了吗？”他问道。

动物们点头表示同意。

乌龟平静地说：“我要和兔子赛跑，我能打败它。”。

所有的动物都兴奋起来。“比赛！”他们喊道。

兔子笑了。“好吧。我们比赛吧。反正我会赢的。”

乌龟和兔子去了起跑线。

猫头鹰叫道：“按你的指示，准备好，走！”。他拍打着翅膀！兔子和乌龟越过了起跑线。比赛开始了！

兔子跑得很快。他跳了起来，然后跑了。他又跳了起来。他跑得更快。

兔子远远领先于乌龟。他一直在跑。他不停地跳。

他在一棵树旁停了下来。他回头看了看。乌龟在哪里？

乌龟走得很慢。他远远落后了。

兔子喊道：“嘿，你怎么能打败我？你走得这么慢！你永远也赢不了我。你永远也赢不了！”

兔子在树下坐了下来。

“我要休息一下，”兔子说。“乌龟很慢。他永远也赶不上。我有足够的时间放松。”

兔子在树下休息。他感到很舒服。然后他伸了伸懒腰。

很快他就平躺在地上。他睡着了。他鼾声很大。

乌龟走得很慢。他继续走。还有走路。还有走路。

他走到兔子睡觉的树旁。他没有停下来。他不停地走啊走啊走。

乌龟从不停下来。他没有休息。他只是走路。

他一直走到终点线。

所有的动物都欢呼起来。他们很惊讶乌龟赢了。他从未放弃。他一直走啊走啊走。

欢呼声非常响亮。它惊醒了兔子。他从睡梦中跳了起来！

“怎么回事？那是什么声音？”兔子问。他开始奔跑。

他跑得越来越快。但是他太晚了。乌龟已经过了终点线。乌龟赢得了比赛。