4. AT THE SHOW.

 1. "No, I have nothing to amuse me," said Betty, "but the thought of how handsome I am. It is nice to think of that, and yet I am almost tired of hearing it."

 

2. Betty would have given one of the best feathers in her tail for a good race after a beetle¹, or for a good scratch for grubs down by the manure² heap, which was the best place.[Pg 118]

 

3. But she had hardly yet begun her trials. On the next day, the coachman took her in a hamper³ to the show. Betty screamed as she was put into it, for she did not like it at all.

 

4. "I will behave well, no matter what happens," said poor Betty. But she felt afraid of the noise, the pushing, and the crowd of people and poultry⁴ at the Palace.

 

5. There were Spanish cocks and hens, who were lofty and silent. There were little silver bantams who chuckled⁵. Some hens were tiny dwarfs⁶ like the bantams, others were giants like the Cochin China fowls⁷.

 

6. There were gamecocks, too, looking like fierce soldiers. Among all the smart poultry Betty found herself passed over and called "only a pullet."

 

7. All the other fowls were called "loves" and "dears," while hardly any people took notice of her plain white dress and rosy⁸ head-dress. But one gentle lady came by, who stopped near Betty.

 

8. She pointed⁹ Betty out to a child who was with her, saying that she was one of[Pg 119] the best hens of her kind which she had ever seen.

 

9. The lady added, "No fowls lay better eggs than these pretty Dorkings.

 

"They make the best mothers, they are English in their habits, and therefore stronger than birds from foreign lands."

 

 

 

10. The air at the Crystal Palace was hot and close. Betty began to wish herself at home again. She could not eat, though food was there.

 

11. And though her feathers were all[Pg 120] ruffled¹⁰ and in a mess, she did not feel able to put them to rights. Yet she knew that she ought to tidy herself.

 

12. One of the hens near began to mock at her. She said with a pretence¹¹ of being polite: "May I put your tail tidy for you, madam, since it seems too much trouble for you to do it yourself?"

 

13. And then the sly thing gave a tweak and pulled out Betty's longest feather.

 

14. A hen near gave a dab¹² with her beak¹³ at Betty's pink comb, and made it bleed. And though she said after that she did not mean to hurt her, that did not heal the sore place.

 

Write: At the show Betty found it hot and close. She did not care to eat. The other hens played tricks with her. She wished herself at home.

 

Questions: 1. When Betty was in the coop what did she long for? 2. When she got to the show what did she see? 3. How did she feel? 4. How did the other hens behave to Betty? 5. What did the lady say about her? 6. What happened to her comb?

1 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

2 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

3 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

4 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

5 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

6 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

7 fowls   

鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马

参考例句：

• A great number of water fowls dwell on the island. 许多水鸟在岛上栖息。
• We keep a few fowls and some goats. 我们养了几只鸡和一些山羊。

8 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

9 pointed   

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。

10 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

11 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

12 dab   

v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂

参考例句：

• She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
• She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

13 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。