萤火虫是怎么发光的？

2020-12-28向红

中学生英语·阅读与写作 2020年9期

向红

Many years ago， the sun and the moon were always in the sky. There was no nighttime， and there was no daytime. The sun and moon were quite good in the sky together.

很多年以前，太阳和月亮总是挂在天空中。世上没有夜间，也没有白天。太阳和月亮在天空中相处融洽。

After a while， the animals called up the sun and the moon and asked them to come and listen to their ideas. The moon came and was followed by the sun.

过了不久，动物们把太阳和月亮叫来，请它们过来听听它们的想法。月亮来了，接着是太阳。

“We do not know when to start sleeping，” said the elephant to the moon， “because you are always so full in the sky.”

大象对月亮说：“我们不知道什么时候该去睡觉，因为你总是挂在天空中，那么圆。”

“And we do not know when to wake，” said the zebra2 to the sun， “because you are always out and never rising.”

斑馬对太阳说：“而且我们不知道什么时候该醒，因为你一直在外面，从不升起（落下）。”

All but the sleepy-headed bug3. were there to complain4. The sleepy-headed bug looked like a firefly， but he did not glow5. His body was dark and dull6.

除了瞌睡虫，其他人都在那里抱怨。瞌睡虫长得像萤火虫，但它不会发光，身体黯淡无光。

The sun， because he was always a little brighter than the moon， thought hard about what to do. “I will stay in the sky half of the time，” said the sun， “and the moon will stay in the sky when I am not， so that you may know when to sleep. But one of you will have to signal7 when it is time for us to switch8. If not， we wont know.”

因为太阳总是比月亮明亮一点，它苦苦思索着该怎么做。“我会用一半的时间待在天上，”太阳说，“当我不在时，月亮会待在天上，这样你们便可以知道何时入睡。但是你们中的一个人必须通知我们该何时替换，不然的话，我们将不知道换班的时间。”

“It cannot be me，” said the lion. “I am too far and busy.”

狮子说：“我不行，我离得太远，而且太忙了。”

“It cannot be me，” said the monkey. “I am too busy picking fruit from the trees.”

猴子说：“我不行，我忙着从树上采摘水果。”

One by one， all the animals told why they could not be the one to help the moon and the sun. One by one， until only the sleepy-headed bug left.

所有动物都一一解释了为什么它们不能帮月亮和太阳这个忙。一个接一个地说完后，只剩下瞌睡虫。

“Wake up， bug！” called the sun.

“小飞虫，醒来！”太阳大喊。

“Why do you excuse me？” asked the sleepy-headed bug.

“你为什么打扰我？”瞌睡虫问。

The sun answered， “My friend the moon and I must part ways， and this makes me unhappy. But it is the only way that the animals can sleep well. So， once a day， you will signal me to rise， and the moon will know that it is time to fall， and we will call it dawn9. And once more， you signal the moon to rise， and I will know that it is time for me to set， and we will call it dusk10.”

太阳回答说：“我的朋友月亮和我必须分开，这让我很难过。但这是让动物们能够睡好的唯一途径。因此，每天一次，你要发信号通知我升起，月亮就知道是时候降落了，我们称之为黎明。然后你再发出月亮升起的信号，我会知道现在是我落下的时候了，我们称之为黄昏。”

“I couldnt do that！” said the sleepy-headed bug. “How could I signal someone， as large as you， when I am so small？ You will not see me！”

“我不行！”瞌睡虫说道，“我这么小，怎么能发信号给和你一样大的人？你都看不到我！”

The sun breathed11 in slowly and then sent a burst12 of light right into the bugs behind where it stayed glowing brightly.

太阳缓慢地吸一口气，然后放出一阵光，直接射进小飞虫身后，然后它身后发出了明亮的光。

“Oww！” shouted the sleepy-headed bug who was now very scared of the sun.

“哦！”瞌睡虫尖叫着，它现在非常害怕太阳。

The sun told him in a loud voice， “You will fly around and light at dusk and dawn， and the moon and I will know that it is time to switch. The rest13 of the time you may sleep.”

太阳大声命令它：“你要在黄昏和黎明的时候飞来飞去发着光，这样月亮和我就会知道该换班了。剩下的时间你就可以睡觉了。”

Ever since that day， the sleepy-headed bug has been known as the firefly， and the sun and the moon have risen and set without fail14 because he does his job well.

从那天起，瞌睡虫就被称为萤火虫，太阳和月亮的升起和落下完成得无懈可击，因为它做得很好。

And so， if you are outside at dawn or dusk and you happen to catch a firefly， you must be sure to let him go because even though he is small， it is he who decides when the sun rises and sets.

因此，如果黎明或黄昏时，你在外面碰巧捉住了萤火虫，一定要放了它，因为即使它很小，也能决定太阳何时升起和落下。

（英语原文选自：gutenberg.org）

【Notes】

1. firefly n. 萤火虫

2. zebra n. 斑马

3. sleepy-headed bug瞌睡虫

4. complain v. 投诉;发牢骚;诉说

5. glow v. 发出微弱而稳定的光

6. dull adj. 钝的;迟钝的;无趣的

7. signal v. 标志;用信号通知;表示

8. switch v. 替换;转换

9. dawn n. 黎明