Mr. Popper’s Penguins（Ⅱ）波普先生的企鹅（二）

Richard and Florence Atwater

波普先生喜欢南极，更喜欢南极的企鹅，觉得它们可真是世界上最有趣的动物了，他时常感叹“如果能弄只企鹅来当宠物不知该有多好”，为此他写了封信给在南极的探险家杜雷克上将，你能猜到杜雷克上将回信提到的“惊喜”是什么吗？

Mr. Popper put down his book of Antarctic Adventures and moved 1）hastily to the radio.

“What of it ！” he repeated， pushing the switch. “Why， this is the night the Drake Antarctic Expedition is going to start broadcasting.”

“That’s nothing，” said Mrs. Popper. “Just a lot of men at the bottom of the world saying ‘Hello， Mamma. Hello， Papa.’”

“Shh！” commanded Mr. Popper， laying his ear close to the radio.

There was a 2）buzz， and then suddenly， from the South Pole， a 3）faintvoice 4）floated out into the Popper’s living room.

“This is Admiral Drake speaking. Hello， Mamma. Hello， Papa. Hello， Mr.Popper.”

“Gracious goodness，” exclaimed Mrs. Popper. “Did he say ‘Papa’ or‘Popper’？”

“Hello， Mr. Popper， up there in Stillwater. Thanks for your nice letter about the pictures of our last expedition. Watch for an answer. But not byletter， Mr. Popper. Watch for a surprise. Signing off. Signing off.”

“You wrote to Admiral Drake？”

“Yes， I did，” Mr. Popper admitted. “I wrote and told him how funny Ithought the penguins were.”

“Well， I never，” said Mrs. Popper， very much impressed.

Mr. Popper picked up his little globe and found the Antarctic. “And tothink he spoke to me all the way from there. And he even mentioned myname. Mamma， what do you suppose he means by a surprise？”

1） hastily adv. 匆忙地

2） buzz n. 嗡嗡聲；蜂鸣声

3） faint adj. 微弱的；微小的

4） float v. （使）漂浮；（使）浮动

波普先生放下《南极奇遇记》一书，火速冲到收音机旁。

“怎么样！”他重复道，按下收音机的开关，“告诉你，今天晚上杜雷克的《南极奇遇记》节目马上要开始了！”

“有什么大不了的，”波普太太说道，“不就是那么些人在地球的底端说‘嗨，妈妈！嗨，爸爸！’”

“嘘！”波普先生喝令着，把耳朵贴近收音机。

一阵嗡嗡声传来，突然，一个来自南极的微弱的声音传进了波普家的客厅。

“杜雷克上将空中与您相会。嗨，妈妈！嗨，爸爸！嗨，波普先生！”

“老天哪！”波普太太尖叫着，“他说的是‘爸爸’还是‘波普’？”

“嗨，静水镇的波普先生！谢谢您来信对我们上次历险所拍摄的照片提出诸多见解。请您等候回音，但我们不是回信噢，请您守候一份惊喜吧。广播结束，广播结束。”

“你写信给杜雷克上将了？！”

“是啊，我写了。”波普承认道，“我写信跟他说我觉得那些企鹅十分有趣。”

“呃，我可不会干出这种事。”波普太太说。波普先生的举动可真让她一辈子也理解不了。

波普先生又拿起他的小地球仪找到南极：“他居然大老远从南极跟我喊话，而且还提到我的名字。孩子他妈，你说他口中所说的‘惊喜’到底是什么？”