MEADOW FIDDLERS

The red-legged locust¹. Oh, my, oh, my!
He plays all day. But why? But why?
You rub your legs with your dusty wings;
Your fiddle² shrieks³ till the welkin rings;
On meadow green, through the livelong day,
You saw and eat till they’re bare and gray
Zee-e-e, zee-e-, zee-e-e!
The green katydid. Dear me, dear me!
The finest chap. Just see, just see;
You play so hard and you trill so long,
Your midget wife ne’er can sing a song,
Still you rub your wings in the drollest way
While dancing clover blossoms swing and sway
Zig, zig, z-i-g, zig, zig, z-i-g!
212Cone-headed grasshopper⁴, zip-zee, zip-zee,
The insects’ clown is he, is he!
From Maine o’er plains to the Rockies found,
With foolscap forehead and shrilling⁶ sound,
From bush and bramble your roundelay
Comes sharp and clear through the summer day,
Z-szip-zee. Z-szip, z-szip-zee!
The wee tree cricket. So free, so free!
Sings night and day! What glee, what glee!
Your high held wings make such presto⁷ fine
No human skill can compare with thine;
So fast, so shrill⁵, and so wondrous⁸ gay,
Such tunes⁹ are joy to a dancing fay,
T-ree-ee, t-re-ee, t-re-ee! T-re-ee, t-re-ee, t-re-ee!
Sweet meadow fiddlers, zip, zee, zip, zee!
They fill the earth with glee, with glee!
We greet your coming with fond delight
And gayly hie in the sunshine bright,
Where bees and blossoms and birds all day
Wing, swing, and sing to your joyful¹⁰ lay.
Zip-zip-z-ee! zip-zip-z-ee!

1 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

2 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

3 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 shrilling   

（声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的现在分词 )； 凄厉

参考例句：

• The music of the pearl was shrilling with triumph in Kino. 珍珠之歌在基诺心里奏出胜利的旋律。

7 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

8 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

9 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。