(
课件网) 名著选萃 Laurie Joined the Busy Bee Society Excerpt from Little Women 美国南北战争时期，一个普通家庭的四个姐妹的成长之路。 Laurie lay luxuriously① swinging② to and fro (来回地) in his hammock (吊床) one warm September afternoon, wondering what③ his neighbors were about, but too lazy to④ go and find out. He was in one of his moods, for the day had been both unprofitable (没好处的) and unsatisfactory, and he was wishing he could live it over again. The hot weather made him lazy, and he had avoided his studies, tried Mr. Brooke's patience to the utmost⑤， displeased⑥ his grandfather by frightening the maid and after high words⑦ with the stableman (马夫) about neglect⑧ of his horse, he had thrown himself into his hammock to be angry about himself. Then he heard the sound of voices. Peeping⑨ through the meshes (网) of the hammock, he saw the Marches⑩ coming out, as if on some expedition . “What in the world are those girls about now？” thought Laurie, opening his sleepy eyes to take a good look, for there was something rather peculiar in the appearance of his neighbors. Each wore a large hat. Meg had a cushion ， Jo a book, Beth a basket, and Amy a portfolio (画本). All walked quietly through the garden, out at the little back gate, and began to climb the hill that lay between the house and river. “Well, that's cool，” said Laurie to himself, “to have a picnic and never ask me! I'll follow them, and see what's going on.” Possessing of half a dozen hats, it took him some time to find one. Then there was a hunt for the key, which was at last discovered in his pocket. The girls were quite out of sight when he leaped the fence and ran after them. Taking the shortest way to the boathouse, he first waited for them to appear, but no one came. Then he went up the hill to take an observation . Laurie peeped through the bushes, and spotted the sisters sat together, with sun and shadow flickering (闪烁) over them ， the wind lifting their hair and cooling their hot cheeks. Meg sat upon her cushion, sewing gracefully with her white hands, and looking as fresh and sweet as a rose in her pink dress among the green. Beth was sorting the pine cones (松果), for she made pretty things with them. Amy was sketching a group of ferns (蕨类), and Jo was knitting as she read aloud. A shadow passed over the boy's face as he watched them, feeling that he ought to go away because uninvited ， yet lingering because home seemed very lonely and this quiet party in the woods most attractive to his restless spirit. He stood so still that a squirrel (松鼠), busy with its harvesting (收获), ran down a pine close beside him. But the squirrel saw him suddenly and skipped back. Beth looked up, found the face behind the trees, and signaled with a comforting smile. “May I come in, please Or shall I be a bother？” he asked, advancing slowly. Meg lifted her eyebrows ， but Jo glared at him and said at once, “ ... ...
