Starcap the 1)Elf

by Hans Christian Andersen翻譯：抱樸子

All elves, as you know, are very strange; there is one, however, who is even stranger than the others, and his name is Starcap. He is no taller than your2)thumb, and always wears a silk jacket which changes color very often, now green, then red, now blue, then yellow. On his head he always wears a huge star top hat. He is always3)barefootand walks right up on his4)tiptoes,so thatno one ever hears him coming. In fact, there are very few people who can honestly5)boastthat, before theyfall asleep, they havecaught a glimpseof him.

Starcap does a very important job: he is the elf who makes children go to sleep at night. He steals up to each child quietly, puts a drop of honey on each eye to6)sealit, and then blows on each child’s head, making it heavier and heavier until the child falls asleep. Then Starcap opens out one of the two huge umbrellas he carries round with him, and he holds it over the sleeping child for a moment. If he opens up the black umbrella the child will have a dreamless sleep; the other umbrella is covered in7)fantasticpictures and if Starcap opens that one, then the child will have beautiful dreams.

詞組加油站

★top hat大禮帽

★catch a glimpse瞥見

1) elf [elf] n. 小精靈（復數：elves）

2) thumb [θ?m] n. 拇指

3) barefoot ['be?f?t] adj. 赤腳的

4) tiptoe ['t?pt??] n. 腳尖

5) boast [b??st] v. 夸口

6) seal [si?l] v. 封上

7) fantastic [f?n't?st?k] adj. 極好的

參考譯文

眾所周知，所有小精靈的樣子都非常古怪；其中一個叫星帽的小精靈卻更古怪。他個頭僅比你的拇指大點，總是穿著一件經常變色的絲質夾克，時而綠色，時而紅，時而藍色，時而黃；頭上總戴著一頂巨大的布滿星形圖案的禮帽。他總是光著腳踮起腳尖走路，這樣就沒人會知道他的到來。其實，真會夸口說自己在睡著前見過他的人寥寥無幾。

小精靈星帽做著一項非常重要的工作：他負責在晚上讓孩子們進入夢鄉。他隨身攜帶兩把巨傘。他會悄悄地來到每個孩子身旁，在他們的每只眼睛上各滴上一滴蜂蜜“粘住”他們的眼睛，然后再往他們頭上吹口氣，這樣孩子就會覺得頭越來越沉，直至睡著。接著，星帽會在孩子頭頂撐開巨傘片刻。假如他撐開的是黑色的巨傘，孩子便會一夜無夢；如果是另一把圖案漂亮的傘，孩子則會美夢不斷。

名師考點小結

1.so that意為“以便，為了”，引導目的狀語從句，相當于in order that結構。so that引導目的狀語從句，通常和情態動詞can、could、may、might等連用。例如：

My old father began to study computer at the age of sixty so that he might keep up with times.

我的老父親六十歲開始學習電腦，以便跟上時代。

I spend more time learning English every day so that I can make greater progress this year.

為了今年取得更大進步，我每天花更多的時間學英語。

2.fall asleep為系表結構，意為“睡著”。be asleep表示入睡的狀態，而fall asleep表示入睡的動作。例如：

The baby was sound asleep. 嬰兒睡得很熟。

He soon fell asleep. 他很快就睡著了。