CHAPTER XXX OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

 

 

“My good friends,” said Mr. Atwater, “Shakespeare tells us that some are born great and some have greatness thrust upon them. The Rotary¹ Club seems to have greatness thrust upon it. In an evil moment, one of our members suggested giving a trip to the Yellowstone Park as a reward for the best scout² good turn performed in this county during the past summer. Through the press scout troops were invited to elect members eligible³, by reason of their deeds, to compete for this award. The Rotary Club had no expectation of being dragged into the light of day and fulfilling its promise before the multitude——”

“Don’t you be scared,” shouted Pee-wee.

“I think I can get through with it,” laughed Mr. Atwater, amid much laughter. “I have seen much to-night and it is my pleasure and pride to put one boy scout in the way of seeing more—that great, vast wonderland of the west, the Yellowstone National Park! (Great applause.) To him that hath shall be given, as the Bible tells us. The Rotary Club cannot make a hero. But I think it can pick one. And that it has tried to do impartially⁴, fairly. (Applause.)

“The trouble with the Boy Scouts⁵ in Rockvale County is that they have too many heroes; it isn’t a question of finding one, but more a question of weeding them out. (Laughter.)

“When I was a boy I got a medal for washing my hands and face each day (including under my ears) and twice on Sundays. I kept up with that ordeal⁶ for a period of weeks and then I got the cleanliness medal—and lost it. I have always been sorry that I washed my hands and face each day—including under my ears. (Great laughter.) Because now I have nothing to show for it. (Cheers and uproarious laughter.)

“So when this proposition of an award came up I said, ‘If we’re going to give an award at all, let’s give something that can’t fall out of a boy’s pocket. (Laughter.) Let’s give something that he can’t swap⁷ off for a jack-knife—something that the teacher can’t take away from him.’”

“You said it!” shouted Pee-wee.

“When I was a kid (anticipatory laughter), a century or two ago, everything I had sooner or later fell into the hands of my teacher. (Broad smile from Principal Starky on the platform.) So I said let’s give this young hero something he’ll always have! Let’s give him mountains, and geysers and forests and grizzly⁸ bears, and lots to eat——”

“Oh, boy!” said Pee-wee.

“And if anybody can get those things away from him let them have them.”

If every laughing face in that audience had not been directed at the genial⁹ speaker who had captivated all, perhaps some might have noticed the boy who sat in silence looking wistfully at the speaker and listening intently.

As Mr. Atwater passed on to more serious talk, that boy’s attention seemed to concentrate and become tense. He saw neither Roy on his right hand, nor Warde Hollister on his left, only the stage and the speaker, and he seemed to be in a sort of trance. Only once did he speak and that was when (under the spell of some alluring¹⁰ phrase of the speaker’s) he said to Warde, “I hope you do get it, it’s our troop.” Then he said to himself. “If it isn’t my trip it’s my troop.” Further than this, no one, not even the restless and whispering Pee-wee, could draw his attention from the speaker.

“The Yellowstone National Park,” Mr. Atwater continued, “is Uncle Sam’s great playground. There you are welcome. The geysers jump up when they see you coming; the grizzly bears hug you to death. (Laughter.) You can shoot the rapids but you can’t shoot anything else. You can leave your gun at home, young fellow, because that wonderland belongs to the deer just as much as it belongs to you. You can’t kill deer in the Yellowstone.”

Westy winced¹¹. Was the speaker looking at him? Of course not—foolish, sensitive boy....

“Now, one of you scouts is going out to the Yellowstone next summer, on the Rotary Club of Bridgeboro. The amount of money you will have to take is just not one cent! You’re going to stay there for a month and bang around—all expenses paid. You’re going to come back and say that old Uncle Sam has some back-yard to play in. (Laughter.) You’re going to get onto a friendly basis with forest rangers¹² and bears, and deer, and trout¹³ fishing and what all. No medal! No gewgaw to sew on your sleeve! No gold piece to buy candy with! Just a trip to Uncle Sam’s Wonderland, the Yellowstone National Park! (Great applause.)

“Now who is going to have this trip? Six gentlemen and four ladies have decided¹⁴ and they’re all here on the platform. (Applause.) And they did the best they could to decide. It becomes my duty now to announce the winner of this award. Edwin Carlisle of the Second Westboro Troop will please stand up.”

1 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

2 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

3 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

4 impartially   

adv.公平地，无私地

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• We hope that they're going to administer justice impartially. 我们希望他们能主持正义，不偏不倚。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

7 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

8 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

9 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

10 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

11 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

12 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

13 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。