Day after day the spider waited, head-down, for an idea to come to her. Hour by hour she sat motionless, deep in thought. Having promised Wilbur that she would save his life, she was determined¹ to keep her promise.

　　Charlotte was naturally patient. She knew from experience that if she waited long enough, a fly would come to her web; and she felt sure that if she thought long enough about Wilbur’s problem, and idea would come to her mind.

　　Finally, one morning toward the middle of July, the idea came. “Why, how perfectly² simple!” she said to herself. “The way to save Wilbur’s life is to play a trick on Zuckerman. If I can fool a bug³,” thought Charlotte, “I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs⁴.”

　　Wilbur walked into his yard just at that moment.

　　“What are you thinking about, Charlotte?” he asked.

　　“I was just thinking,” said the spider, “that people are very gullible⁵.”

　　“What does ‘gullible’ mean?”

　　“Easy to fool,” said Charlotte.

　　“That’s a mercy,” replied Wilbur, and he lay down in the shade of his fence and went fast asleep. The spider, however, stayed wide awake, gazing affectionately at him and making plans for his future. Summer was half gone. She knew she didn’t have much time.

　　That morning, just as Wilbur fell asleep, Avery Arable⁶ wandered into the Zuckerman’s front yard, followed by Fern. Avery carried a live frog in his hand. Fern had a crown of daisies in her hair. The children ran for the kitchen.

　　“Just in time for a piece of blueberry pie,” said Mrs. Zuckerman.

　　“Look at my frog!” said Avery, placing the frog on the drainboard and holding out his hand for pie.

　　“Take that thing out of here!” said Mrs. Zuckerman.

　　“He’s hot,” said Fern. “He’s almost dead, that frog.”

　　“He is not,” said Avery. “He lets me scratch him between the eyes.” The frog jumped and landed in Mrs. Zuckerman’s dishpan full of soapy water.

点击收听单词发音  

1 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 bug
n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器
参考例句：
There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。 The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

4 bugs
adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误
参考例句：
All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 gullible
adj.易受骗的；轻信的
参考例句：
The swindlers had roped into a number of gullible persons.骗子们已使一些轻信的人上了当。 The advertisement is aimed at gullible young women worried about their weight.这则广告专门针对担心自己肥胖而易受骗的年轻女士。

6 arable
adj.可耕的，适合种植的
参考例句：
The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。 Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

7 scooped
v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）
参考例句：
They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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》

9 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

10 zoom
n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升
参考例句：
The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。 I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

11 itches
n.痒( itch的名词复数 )；渴望，热望v.发痒( itch的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
His wool shirt always itches him. 他的羊毛内衣总是使他发痒。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 This wool shirt itches my back. 这件羊毛衫使我背上发痒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 catching
adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
参考例句：
There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。 Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 underneath
adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面
参考例句：
Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。 She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

14 scuttled
v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走
参考例句：
She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。 The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 stink
vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭
参考例句：
The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。 The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

16 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

17 unbearable
adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的
参考例句：
It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。 The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

18 sniffed
v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说
参考例句：
When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 pried
v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开
参考例句：
We pried open the locked door with an iron bar. 我们用铁棍把锁着的门撬开。 来自《简明英汉词典》 So Tom pried his mouth open and poured down the Pain-killer. 因此汤姆撬开它的嘴，把止痛药灌下去。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

20 grunted
（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说
参考例句：
She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。 She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

21 gulped
v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住
参考例句：
He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out. 他把剩下的茶一饮而尽便出去了。 She gulped nervously, as if the question bothered her. 她紧张地咽了一下，似乎那问题把她难住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 leftover
n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的
参考例句：
These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。 Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

23 lining
n.衬里，衬料
参考例句：
The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。 Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

24 jello
n.凝胶物，果冻
参考例句：
We have ice cream,pie,cake or jello.我们要冰淇淋、馅饼、蛋糕或是果冻。 She likes jello very much.她很喜欢吃果冻。

25 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

26 lengthened
（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。 He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

27 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

28 moodily
adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地
参考例句：
Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来，留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句 He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车，既松了一口气，又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网

29 descended
a.为...后裔的，出身于...的
参考例句：
A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。 The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

30 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。