I. THE WHITE RABBIT.

Once upon¹ a time, there was a little girl called Alice: and she had a very curious² dream.

Would you like to hear what it was that she dreamed about?

Well, this was the first thing that happened. A White Rabbit came running by, in a great hurry; and, just as it passed Alice, it stopped, and took its watch out of its pocket.

Wasn’t that a funny thing? Did you ever see a Rabbit that had a watch, and a pocket to put it in? Of course, when a Rabbit has a watch, it must have a pocket to put it in: it would never do to carry it about in its mouth——and it wants its hands sometimes, to run about with.

Hasn’t it got pretty pink eyes (I think all White Rabbits have pink eyes); and pink ears; and a nice brown coat; and you can just see its red pocket-handkerchief peeping³ out of its coat-pocket: and, what with its blue neck-tie and its yellow waistcoat, it really is very nicely dressed.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” said the Rabbit. “I shall⁴ be too late!” What would it be too late for, I wonder? Well, you see, it had to go and visit the Duchess (you’ll see a picture of the Duchess, soon, sitting in her kitchen): and the Duchess was a very cross old lady: and the Rabbit knew she’d be very angry indeed⁵ if he kept her waiting. So the poor thing was as frightened as frightened could be (Don’t you see how he’s trembling⁶? Just shake the book a little,[3] from side to side, and you’ll soon see him tremble), because he thought the Duchess would have his head cut off, for a punishment⁷. That was what the Queen⁸ of Hearts used⁹ to do, when she was angry with people (you’ll see a picture of her, soon): at least she used to order their heads to be cut off, and she always thought it was done, though they never really did it.

And so, when the White Rabbit ran away, Alice wanted to see what would happen to it: so she ran after it: and she ran, and she ran, till she tumbled¹⁰ right down the rabbit-hole.

And then she had a very long fall indeed. Down, and down, and down, till she began to wonder if she was going right through the World, so as to come out on the other side!

It was just like a very deep well: only there was no water in it. If anybody really had such a fall as that, it would kill them, most likely¹¹: but you know it doesn’t hurt a bit to fall in a dream, because, all the time you think you’re falling, you really are lying somewhere, safe and sound, and fast asleep!

However, this terrible fall came to an end at last, and down came Alice on a heap¹² of sticks and dry leaves. But she wasn’t a bit hurt, and up she jumped, and ran after the Rabbit again.

And so that was the beginning of Alice’s curious dream. And, next time you see a White Rabbit, try and fancy¹³ you’re going to have a curious dream, just like dear little Alice.

1 upon   

prep.在……上面

参考例句：

• I hope that fortune may smile upon you.我希望幸运之神会向你微笑。
• I rely upon you to finish the work on time.我相信你会准时完成这项工作的。

2 curious   

adj.好奇的，求知的，古怪的

参考例句：

• I heard a curious sound in the room.我在房间里听到奇怪的声音。
• He puts forward so many curious questions.他提出这么多稀奇古怪的问题。

3 peeping   

窥视( peep的现在分词 )； 偷看； 隐现； 慢慢露出

参考例句：

• We caught her peeping through the keyhole. 她从锁孔偷看时，被我们撞着了。
• Look ! the child is peeping at us through the window. 瞧！那孩子在窗子里偷看我们呢。

4 shall   

v.aux.（主要用于第一人称）将

参考例句：

• I shall always love you.我将永远爱你。
• Which club shall we join?我们要参加哪个社团？

5 indeed   

adv.真正地，实际上；确实，实在；当然，固然；甚至；真的

参考例句：

• I thank you very much indeed for this interview.我十分感谢您这次接见。
• I didn't mind.Indeed,I was pleased.我不在意，甚至还很高兴。

6 trembling   

n.发抖adj.发抖的v.发抖( tremble的现在分词 )；焦虑；颤动；轻轻摇晃

参考例句：

• My legs were trembling with fear. 我吓得双腿直发抖。
• Daddy was trembling with anxiety as to how the talks would go. 爸爸为那些商谈的进展而焦虑不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 punishment   

n.处罚，刑罚，惩罚

参考例句：

• Punishment had very little effect on him.惩罚对他没有什么效果。
• He thinks to escape punishment.他企图逃脱惩罚。

8 queen   

n.女王，皇后；(纸牌、国际象棋中的)王后

参考例句：

• She sounds like a queen!她听起来像是一个王后！
• The evil queen is very angry.邪恶的皇后非常生气。

9 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

10 tumbled   

v.倒塌( tumble的过去式和过去分词 )；翻滚；突然摔倒；恍然大悟

参考例句：

• He slipped and tumbled down the stairs. 他脚一滑滚下了楼梯。
• A hundred and fifty empty bottles tumbled onto the floor. 150个空瓶子滚落到地板上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 likely   

adj.有可能的，合适的，前途有望的；adv.或许，可能

参考例句：

• Look at the sky.It's most likely going to rain.瞧！这天多半要下雨。
• It's so cloudy and cold that it's likely to snow.天气又阴又冷，大半要下雪。

12 heap   

n./vt.堆；一堆；堆积；许多，大量；装载

参考例句：

• The gardener began to heap up the fallen leaves.园丁开始把落叶堆起来。
• There was a big heap of stones in the road.路上有一大堆石头。

13 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。