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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle杜立特医生航海记6部分 » THE SECOND CHAPTER I HEAR OF THE GREAT NATURALIST
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THE SECOND CHAPTER I HEAR OF THE GREAT NATURALIST
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 ONE early morning in the Springtime, when I was wandering among the hills at the back of the town, I happened to come upon a hawk1 with a squirrel2 in its claws. It was standing3 on a rock and the squirrel was fighting very hard for its life. The hawk was so frightened when I came upon it suddenly like this, that it dropped the poor creature and flew away. I picked the squirrel up and found that two of its legs were badly hurt. So I carried it in my arms back to the town.
 
When I came to the bridge I went into the mussel-man’s hut and asked him if he could do anything for it. Joe put on his spectacles4 and examined it carefully. Then he shook his head.
 
“Yon crittur’s got a broken leg,” he said—“and another badly cut an’ all. I can mend you your boats, Tom, but I haven’t the tools nor the learning5 to make a broken squirrel seaworthy. This is a job for a surgeon—and for a right smart one an’ all. There be only one man I know who could save yon crittur’s life. And that’s John Dolittle.”
 
 
“Who is John Dolittle?” I asked. “Is he a vet6?”
 
“No,” said the mussel-man. “He’s no vet. Doctor Dolittle is a nacheralist.”
 
“What’s a nacheralist?”
 
“A nacheralist,” said Joe, putting away his glasses and starting to fill his pipe, “is a man who knows all about animals and butterflies and plants and rocks an’ all. John Dolittle is a very great nacheralist. I’m surprised you never heard of him—and you daft over animals. He knows a whole lot about shellfish—that I know from my own knowledge. He’s a quiet man and don’t talk much; but there’s folks who do say he’s the greatest nacheralist in the world.”
 
“Where does he live?” I asked.
 
“Over on the Oxenthorpe Road, t’other side the town. Don’t know just which house it is, but ’most anyone ’cross there could tell you, I reckon7. Go and see him. He’s a great man.”
 
So I thanked the mussel-man, took up my squirrel again and started off towards the Oxenthorpe Road.
 
The first thing I heard as I came into the market-place was some one calling “Meat! M-E-A-T!”
 
“There’s Matthew Mugg,” I said to myself. “He’ll know where this Doctor lives. Matthew knows everyone.”
 
So I hurried across the market-place and caught him up.
 
 
“Matthew,” I said, “do you know Doctor Dolittle?”
 
“Do I know John Dolittle!” said he. “Well, I should think I do! I know him as well as I know my own wife—better, I sometimes think. He’s a great man—a very great man.”
 
“Can you show me where he lives?” I asked. “I want to take this squirrel to him. It has a broken leg.”
 
“Certainly,” said the cat’s-meat-man. “I’ll be going right by his house directly. Come along and I’ll show you.”
 
So off we went together.
 
“Oh, I’ve known John Dolittle for years and years,” said Matthew as we made our way out of the market-place. “But I’m pretty sure he ain’t home just now. He’s away on a voyage. But he’s liable8 to be back any day. I’ll show you his house and then you’ll know where to find him.”
 
All the way down the Oxenthorpe Road Matthew hardly stopped talking about his great friend, Doctor John Dolittle—“M. D.” He talked so much that he forgot all about calling out “Meat!” until we both suddenly noticed that we had a whole procession9 of dogs following us patiently.
 
“Where did the Doctor go to on this voyage?” I asked as Matthew handed round the meat to them.
 
“I couldn’t tell you,” he answered. “Nobody never knows where he goes, nor when he’s going, nor when he’s coming back. He lives all alone except for his pets. He’s made some great voyages and some wonderful discoveries. Last time he came back he told me he’d found a tribe10 of Red Indians in the Pacific Ocean—lived on two islands, they did. The husbands lived on one island and the wives lived on the other. Sensible11 people, some of them savages12. They only met once a year, when the husbands came over to visit the wives for a great feast—Christmas-time, most likely. Yes, he’s a wonderful man is the Doctor. And as for animals, well, there ain’t no one knows as much about ’em as what he does.”
 
“How did he get to know so much about animals?” I asked.
 
The cat’s-meat-man stopped and leant down to whisper in my ear.
 
“He talks their language,” he said in a hoarse13, mysterious voice.
 
“The animals’ language?” I cried.
 
“Why certainly,” said Matthew. “All animals have some kind of a language. Some sorts talk more than others; some only speak in sign-language, like deaf-and-dumb. But the Doctor, he understands them all—birds as well as animals. We keep it a secret though, him and me, because folks only laugh at you when you speak of it. Why, he can even write animal-language. He reads aloud to his pets. He’s wrote history-books in monkey-talk, poetry in canary language and comic songs for magpies14 to sing. It’s a fact. He’s now busy learning the language of the shellfish. But he says it’s hard work—and he has caught some terrible colds, holding his head under water so much. He’s a great man.”
 
“He certainly must be,” I said. “I do wish he were home so I could meet him.”
 
“Well, there’s his house, look,” said the cat’s-meat-man—“that little one at the bend in the road there—the one high up—like it was sitting on the wall above the street.”
 
We were now come beyond the edge of the town. And the house that Matthew pointed15 out was quite a small one standing by itself. There seemed to be a big garden around it; and this garden was much higher than the road, so you had to go up a flight of steps in the wall before you reached the front gate at the top. I could see that there were many fine fruit trees in the garden, for their branches hung down over the wall in places. But the wall was so high I could not see anything else.
 
When we reached the house Matthew went up the steps to the front gate and I followed him. I thought he was going to go into the garden; but the gate was locked. A dog came running down from the house; and he took several pieces of meat which the cat’s-meat-man pushed through the bars of the gate, and some paper bags full of corn and bran. I noticed that this dog did not stop to eat the meat, as any ordinary dog would have done, but he took all the things back to the house and disappeared. He had a curious wide collar round his neck which looked as though it were made of brass16 or something. Then we came away.
 
“The Doctor isn’t back yet,” said Matthew, “or the gate wouldn’t be locked.”
 
“What were all those things in paper-bags you gave the dog?” I asked.
 
“Oh, those were provisions,” said Matthew—“things for the animals to eat. The Doctor’s house is simply full of pets. I give the things to the dog, while the Doctor’s away, and the dog gives them to the other animals.”
 
“And what was that curious collar he was wearing round his neck?”
 
“That’s a solid gold dog-collar,” said Matthew. “It was given to him when he was with the Doctor on one of his voyages long ago. He saved a man’s life.”
 
“How long has the Doctor had him?” I asked.
 
“Oh, a long time. Jip’s getting pretty old now. That’s why the Doctor doesn’t take him on his voyages any more. He leaves him behind to take care of the house. Every Monday and Thursday I bring the food to the gate here and give it him through the bars. He never lets any one come inside the garden while the Doctor’s away—not even[14] me, though he knows me well. But you’ll always be able to tell if the Doctor’s back or not—because if he is, the gate will surely be open.”
 
So I went off home to my father’s house and put my squirrel to bed in an old wooden box full of straw. And there I nursed him myself and took care of him as best I could till the time should come when the Doctor would return. And every day I went to the little house with the big garden on the edge of the town and tried the gate to see if it were locked. Sometimes the dog, Jip, would come down to the gate to meet me. But though he always wagged17 his tail and seemed glad to see me, he never let me come inside the garden.

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1 hawk NeKxY     
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员
参考例句:
  • The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
  • The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。
2 squirrel oGyzl     
n.松鼠,松鼠的毛皮;vt.贮藏以备用
参考例句:
  • The squirrel makes a store of nuts for the winter.松鼠贮藏坚果以备过冬。
  • A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。
3 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
4 spectacles ohkzvV     
n.眼镜
参考例句:
  • a pair of spectacles 一副眼镜
  • People wear spectacles so that they can see better. 人们戴眼镜是为了看得更清楚。
5 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
6 vet 2HfyG     
n.兽医,退役军人;vt.检查
参考例句:
  • I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
  • Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。
7 reckon VAwzK     
vt.计算,估计,认为;vi.计(算),判断,依靠
参考例句:
  • Don't reckon upon your relatives to help you out of trouble.不要指望你的亲戚会帮助你摆脱困境。
  • I reckon that he is rather too old to marry again.我认为他的年龄太大,不太适于再婚。
8 liable Ck6yN     
adj.有...倾向的,有法律责任的
参考例句:
  • We are all liable to make mistakes when we're tired.我们疲劳的时候都容易出错。
  • He is liable for the fault of his son.他应该为他儿子的过失负责。
9 procession IQ7xL     
n.队伍,行列;v.列队行进
参考例句:
  • The students entered the school in procession.学生们排队进入学校。
  • The grand procession moves slowly out of the temple.这支庄严的队伍缓缓地走出庙堂。
10 tribe XJ2zS     
n.部落,种族,一伙人
参考例句:
  • This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
  • Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。
11 sensible 9zAwg     
adj.可察觉的,意识到的,实用的;n.可感知物
参考例句:
  • Are you sensible of the dangers of your position? 你觉察到你处境中的危险了吗?
  • He was sensible enough to mind his own business.他颇有见识,不去管闲事。
12 savages 2ea43ddb53dad99ea1c80de05d21d1e5     
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
  • That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。
13 hoarse 5dqzA     
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的
参考例句:
  • He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
  • He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动,嗓子都喊哑了。
14 magpies c4dd28bd67cb2da8dafd330afe2524c5     
喜鹊(magpie的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • They set forth chattering like magpies. 他们叽叽喳喳地出发了。
  • James: besides, we can take some pied magpies home, for BBQ. 此外,我们还可以打些喜鹊回家,用来烧烤。
15 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
16 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
17 wagged 60283031c63ec779719fd6c0e9e67a65     
v.(使)摇动,摇摆( wag的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The dog wagged its tail with pleasure. 那条狗高兴得直摇尾巴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She wagged her finger with mock severity. 她故作严厉地摆了摆手指。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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