Life on the island 荒岛生活

Mark Twain

汤姆和他的两位小伙伴一起来到了岛上，岛上的一切都散发着自由的

[难词探意]

1. wander /?w?nd?（r）/ v. 漫步;漫游

2. silly /?s?li/ adj. 愚蠢的;冒傻气的

气息。他们的荒岛生活也由此拉开序幕……

When Tom woke up， he didnt recognize where he was. It took him a few seconds to remember that he and his friends had run away. It was nice waking up outside， among the trees and the animals. Tom could hear the birds， both far and near， talking to each other. One bird， a Blue Jay， landed on a tree branch near the boys and looked at them curiously. It seemed as though this were the first time it had ever seen human beings before. At the same time， Tom noticed how similar animals and insects were to human beings. Some were busy working， some were eating， and some were playing.

This made Tom want to play， so he woke the other boys and they all ran into the river to swim and clean themselves up for the day. While they were playing， they noticed that the river had carried away their boat. But this didnt bother any of them. They had everything they needed.

They had the camp?fire blazing up again and then Tom and Huck went fishing. Joe was the cook， so he just rested until they returned with the fish. After breakfast， they all rested around the fire and it was agreed that this was the best breakfast theyd ever eaten.

Once their en?ergy had returned， they wandered aro?und the island for a while and then played some more in the river. At lunch time， Joe cooked up some meat for everyone， and they sat around the fire talking for a while.

They were happy all morning， but once they sat down to rest and the talking stopped， they started to feel differently. They began to think of their homes and this made them feel a little sad and lonely. But they didnt talk about these feelings with each other for fear that theyd be laughed at.

Then there suddenly came a loud noise from the direction of the village. They all jumped up and ran to the edge of the island to see what was going on. On their way to the shore they heard the loud noise again. Through the trees they could see a riverboat full of people. It was the boat that people used to cross the river every day. But it wasnt being used for that purpose now. It wasnt crossing the river; it was going down the river.

“Hey， I think theyre looking for someone whos drowned！ Theyre shooting that big gun to try and get the body to rise to the top of the water， just like they did last year，” shouted Huckleberry.

“Youre right， Huck. But I think were the ones they believe to be drowned，” said Tom.

Suddenly， the three boys started to feel great. The village must be terribly sad. Just to see all of those people looking for them on the boat， it made them realize how important they were to their village.

All of those sad feelings theyd had a few minutes ago were now forgotten. It was great being a pirate again.

When night came， the boats went back to the village and the boys went back to their fire. They all agreed that this had been a great day. It felt good to be missed. They wondered what the people of the village might be saying about them right now. They talked and laughed a lot thinking about this. But soon their laughter died down and they began to think about how this probably wasnt very funny for the people in the village， especially for their families.

Then Joe looked up from the fire and said， “Maybe we should think about going back.”

“Don't be silly， Joe，” Tom said， laughing.

“Yeah， don't be silly，” Huck repeated.

Soon， both Joe and Huckleberry were sleeping. Tom， however， had other plans. He left notes for both of them， putting one in Joes hat and the other in Hucks pocket so hed find it easily， and then he ran toward the river.

——From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

[Reading][Check]

1. Why did Tom think that animals were similar to human beings？

2. What does the underlined part “feel differently” refer to？

[Language][Study]

Sentence for writing

He left notes for both of them， putting one in Joes hat and the other in Hucks pocket so hed find it easily， and then he ran toward the river. 他給两个人都留了字条，一张放在乔伊的帽子里，另一张放在哈克的口袋里便于他找到，然后他跑向了河边。

【信息提取】putting在该句中作伴随状语，与主句中谓语动词left动作同时发生。

【句式仿写】这条狗跟着主人进了屋。