VIII TURNING TURTLE

 So Timothy Turtle struggled up the steep face of the bluff¹. And as he neared the top Mr. Crow began to hop² up and down upon the old pine stump³. He was almost bursting with silent laughter. But he succeeded in keeping quiet. And now and then he made threatening motions toward Jasper Jay and his friends, who stuck their heads from behind limbs of trees and hummocks⁵ and bushes, lest they miss any of the fun.

 

Once on top of the great rock that capped the bluff and hung out over the creek⁶, Timothy Turtle clung there andp. 37 peered down at the gently flowing water below.

 

"What a long way it is down there!" he called to Mr. Crow.

 

"Don't think about that!" Mr. Crow cautioned him.

 

"Is this the way Mr. Alligator⁷ learned to fly?" Timothy Turtle demanded.

 

"Don't think about him!" Mr. Crow shouted. "Just jump out as far as you can!"

 

"I believe I don't care to fly to-day," Timothy Turtle faltered⁸, drawing back from the edge of the rock. "I——I'll wait till some other time. You know, I'm older than you are."

 

"Tut, tut!" said Mr. Crow. "When I'm your age I shall still be flying as well as I do now. It's nothing, when you know how. Nothing at all!"

 

Urged by Mr. Crow, Timothy Turtlep. 38 once more crept to the very edge of the cliff and stretched his neck out as far as he could, to gaze down at the black water. And at last, after making several false starts and drawing back to a place of safety, he stood up on his hind⁴ legs, shut his eyes, and hopped⁹ off into space.

 

Now, the moment Timothy Turtle leaped from the top of the bluff a deafening¹⁰ squawk broke the silence. Old Mr. Crow cawed as loud as he knew how. But the racket he made was as nothing compared with the uproar¹¹ of Jasper Jay and the noisy crew he had brought with him. They squalled with delight as Timothy Turtle plunged¹² through the air like a stone. And when he landed upside down in the creek, striking the water with a great splash, the whole company shrieked¹³ louder than ever.

 

"Ha! ha! ha!" Mr. Crow cried, holdingp. 39 his sides and rocking backwards¹⁴ and forwards upon the old stump.

 

"Jay! jay! jay!" Jasper and his friends bawled¹⁵, hopping¹⁶ up and down and cutting capers¹⁷ in the air.

 

As for Timothy Turtle, he made no sound at all. And neither did he make the slightest motion. The current of Black Creek caught him and bore him away down the stream. But at last he managed to paddle ashore¹⁸. And he pulled himself slowly out of the water, and lay upon the sand and groaned¹⁹.

 

Mr. Crow and his cronies gathered quickly about him.

 

"What's the matter?" Mr. Crow inquired. "Don't you like flying?"

 

It was some time before Timothy could answer.

 

"I've had an awful fall," he moaned finally.p. 40

 

"Where are you hurt?" Mr. Crow asked him.

 

"Everywhere!" Timothy Turtle told him. "I thought you said that water was soft to fall into."

 

"Well, isn't it?"

 

"It certainly is not," Timothy Turtle declared. "I believe there's nothing harder in the whole world.... I've heard, sir, that you are very wise. But for once, anyhow, you've made a great mistake."

 

Old Mr. Crow coughed—and winked²⁰ at his friends. "The trouble was"—he explained—"the trouble was, you lost your balance and landed in the creek upside down. And of course you couldn't fly in that position. It's what's called 'turning turtle,'" he added, "and I might have known—if I had stopped to think—that you'd be sure to do it."p. 41

 

"Well," said Timothy Turtle, drawing a long breath, "I'll tell you right now that I'll never, never, turn turtle again."

 

1 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

4 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

5 hummocks   

n.小丘，岗( hummock的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Interesting hummocks swirls and are found on the surface of the landslide. 在山体滑坡的表面，我们能够看到有趣的山包，盘绕的丘陵和悬崖。 来自互联网

6 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

7 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

8 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

9 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

10 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

11 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

12 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

13 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

14 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

15 bawled   

v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物）

参考例句：

• She bawled at him in front of everyone. 她当着大家的面冲他大喊大叫。
• My boss bawled me out for being late. 我迟到，给老板训斥了一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

17 capers   

n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I like to fly about and cut capers. 我喜欢跳跳蹦蹦闹着玩儿。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

18 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

19 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》