The travelers and the bear

旅人与熊

Once upon a time， two friends were traveling together in a forest. Suddenly， a bear jumped out onto the path.

One friend saw the bear first. He quickly climbed up a tree and hid. He did not stop to help his friend.

The other friend was left alone with the bear. He had to think fast. The bear moved closer to the man.

The man fell down to the ground and did not move. The bear came up to the man and began to smell him.

The man held his breath and lay perfectly still. Soon， the bear lost interest in the man and left. When it was clear that the bear was gone， the man in the tree came down to the ground.

He was very happy to see that his friend was safe. “That bear was so close that it looked like it was talking to you!” he joked. “What did it say?”

“The bear gave me this advice，” said the man. “Never travel with a friend who deserts you when there is trouble.”

Vocabulary

1.travel v 旅行

2.path n 小路，路径

3.alone adv 单独地;孤单地

4.clear adj 清楚的;明显的

5.joke v 开玩笑

6.desert v 抛弃;遗弃

7.trouble n 麻烦;问题

英语补给站

Language Notes

stop to v.停下来去做某事

解析

Stop指停止，有两种用法：

Stop to v.停下手边的事去做另外一件事

Stop v-ing 停止做某事

Jim was tired and stopped to take a break.吉姆累了，所以停下来休息一下。

Jim had to stop taking so many breaks.吉姆不能再这么偷懒了。

Hold(one’s)breath摒住呼吸

解析

Breath表示呼吸，而hold(one’s)breath就是摒住呼吸的意思

Jen held her breath and then jumped into the swimming pool.珍摒住呼吸，然后跳进游泳池里。

这个片语还可以指带着紧张或期待的心情等待某事发生，也就是屏息以待的意思。

I held my breath and waited to hear my test score.我屏息等待听到我的考试成绩。