評論
打印
THE SPANISH BOOTBLACK Caroline Mabry
西班牙擦鞋童 卡羅琳·馬布里
When you studied the history of America, you read a great deal about Spain and the Spaniards.
你在學習美國歷史時，要讀很多關于西班牙和西班牙人的書。
You remember those great explorers—De Soto, de Leon, and Coronado.
你記得那些偉大的探險家—德索托、德萊昂和科羅納多。
Perhaps you remember also that when we won our freedom, Spain owned nearly all the land from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
也許你也記得，當我們贏得自由時，西班牙幾乎擁有從密西西比河到太平洋的所有土地。
Even today there are thousands of Spanish-speaking people in our country.
就連到了今天，我國仍有成千上萬講西班牙語的人。
The story you will now read tells something of life in Spain today.
你現在要讀到的故事講述了西班牙今天的生活。
In the company of Pepin, the bootblack, you will travel to Seville and Granada, two of the most famous cities in the world.
在擦鞋童佩平的陪伴下，你將前往塞維利亞和格拉納達這兩個世界上最著名的城市。
NO WORK IN RONDA
隆達沒生意
Pepin was a bootblack in Spain. He lived in Ronda near the great bridge which stretches across a chasm so deep
佩平是西班牙的一個擦鞋童。他住在隆達的一座大橋附近，大橋橫跨一個很深的峽谷，
that on one side four hundred steps are carved in the rock leading down to the valley.
深到在峽谷的一側，有四百級臺階刻在巖石上，一直通向峽谷。
They are old steps, cut in an early day when the Romans had besieged Ronda,
這些臺階年頭很久了，是羅馬人在早期包圍隆達時鑿成的，
and they were made so that the water carriers could slip down them secretly and bring water from the stream to the thirsty town.
以便讓運水的人偷偷地從臺階上滑下來，把水從小溪帶到缺水的城鎮。
Now Ronda lay peacefully in the sunshine, and boys played on the steps, hiding in the caves along the way.
現在隆達安靜地躺在陽光下，孩子們在臺階上玩耍，躲在路邊的洞穴里。
Pepin, usually the joiliest of them all, had not joined the boys today.
佩平通常是他們當中最快樂的一個，今天卻沒有和孩子們在一起。
His heart was heavy.
他的心情很沉重。
He stood leaning over the high bridge looking out across the valley where the river turned the wheels of the grist mills.
他站在高高的橋上，俯下身子，望著山谷，河水使磨粉機的輪子轉動了起來。
In his pocket was only one little dog, which is a small coin with a lion on it.
他的口袋里只有一只“小狗”了，那是一枚小硬幣，上面印有獅子圖案。
It was the last one Pepin had, for there had not been many boots to black lately in Ronda.
這是佩平剩下的最后一枚硬幣了，因為最近隆達沒有多少擦鞋的生意可做。
They needed blacking just as they had before, for the paths of Spain are dusty and rough with pebbles.
西班牙的道路塵土飛揚，布滿卵石，所以人們還像以前一樣需要擦鞋。
But the crops had not been good this summer, and everyone was poor, too poor even to pay Pepin a few pennies to shine dusty shoes
但是今年夏天莊稼不太好，每個人都很窮，窮得連擦鞋的錢都付不起了。
