介绍:
学了这么多年的英语，你看过一本英文原著吗？
其实每天少刷10分钟的朋友圈，就能看完一本英文原著。
微信搜索公众号【知米阅读】并关注，跟着我从这里开始，读完你人生的第一本英文原著。
读书要趁早，成长要趁早，让我们在阅读中开始成长的每一天！
[ Chapter 4 ]
I had thus learned a second fact of great importance:
this was that the planet the little prince came from was scarcely any larger than a house!
But that did not really surprise me much.
I knew very well that in addition to the great planets-- such as the Earth, Jupiter（木星）, Mars（火星）, Venus（金星）--
to which we have given names, there are also hundreds of others, some of which are so small that one has a hard time seeing them through the telescope.
When an astronomer discovers one of these he does not give it a name, but only a number.
He might call it, for example, "Asteroid（小行星） 325."
I have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince came
is the asteroid known as B-612.
This asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish（土耳其的） astronomer, in 1909.
On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International
Astronomical Congress（国际天文学家代表大会）, in a great demonstration.
But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said.
Grown-ups are like that...
Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator
made a law that his subjects（臣民）, under pain of death, should change to European
costume.
So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed
with impressive style and elegance.
And this time everybody accepted his report.
If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number
for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways.
GROWN-UPS LOVE FIGURES.
When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.
They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does
he love best? Does he collect butterflies?"
Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?"
Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy（玫瑰色的）
brick, with geraniums（天竺葵） in the windows and doves on the roof,"
they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all.
You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000."
Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"
Just so, you might say to them:
"The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists."
And what good would it do to tell them that?
They would shrug their shoulders（耸肩）, and treat you like a child.
But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612," then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.
They are like that. One must not hold it against them.
Children should always show great forbearance（宽容） toward grown-up people.
But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference（冷漠）.
I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales.
I should have liked to say: "Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely any bigger than himself, and who had need of a sheep..."
To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth
to my story.
For I do not want any one to read my book carelessly，I have suffered too much
grief in setting down these memories.
Six years have already passed since my friend went away from me, with his sheep.
If I try to describe him here, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him.
To forget a friend is sad. Not every one has had a friend.
And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures...
It is for that purpose, again, that I have bought a box of paints and some pencils.
It is hard to take up drawing again at my age,
when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six.
I shall certainly try to make my portraits as true to life as possible.
But I am not at all sure of success.
One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject.
I make some errors, too, in the little prince’s height: in one place he is too tall and in another too short.
And I feel some doubts about the color of his costume.
So I fumble（摸索） along as best I can, now good, now bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.
In certain more important details I shall make mistakes, also.
But that is something that will not be my fault.
My friend never explained anything to me. He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself.
But I, alas, do not know how to see sheep through the walls of boxes.
Perhaps I am a little like the grown-ups. I have had to grow old.
好啦，英文原版的朗读到这里就结束了，下面我们一起来学习一下本章节的重点词汇和句型。
1. After a reflective silence he answered: "The thing that is so good about the box
you have given me is that at night he can use it as his house."
这个句子本身词汇非常简单，但是因为从句套着从句，很容易把人绕晕，我们先来抓主干。
The thing is that at night he can use it as his house. be动词后有一个that引导的从句，就是表语从句。但是thing本身是一个非常模糊意义的单词，这样并没有把话说清楚，所以在thing后面有一个定语从句：“that is good to about the box”箱子的好处在于…此时的thing可以处理为不翻译，而这个box又是你给我的，其实又隐晦地套了个定语从句，不过省略了引导词。这时候翻译就要注意调整好语序啦，切忌逐字逐句生搬硬套！“好在有你给我的那只箱子，夜晚可以给小羊当房子用”
2. Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume.
之前，那个土耳其天文学家发现了B-612，却在展示成果时因为穿的自己的民族服饰就没有受到重视。还好（fortunately），土耳其的统治者，为了挽回B－612的荣誉（for the reputation of），规定所有民众都穿上欧洲那边的衣服，感觉是要洋气多了（impressive style and elegance），因此这次大家都接受了他的报告。
「subjects 」：表示“所有的民众”。「under pain of death」：表示“就是如果违抗就以死刑处置”。
这里有什么深层含义呢？其实还是作者在嘲讽成人世界那一套莫名其妙的套路，大家总是要制定种种规则，把每个人都改造的和其他人大同小异，不遵从主流，主流就不会看重你（即使你发现了一颗小行星）。
那么，这个神秘的小行星B-612是什么样子的呢，通过以后的阅读，大家会逐渐深入对它的了解。
3. Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything
about him. 大人们觉得只有通过数字才能了解一个人。这句内容比较简单，不过需要注意一个重要的点，就是only置于句首，且修饰状语时，主句需要用到部分倒装-部分位于动词提前。本句就是only+from短语
比如: Only when we lose health will we understand its value.
只有当我们失去健康的时候，我们才明白它的价值。
当然啦 ，Only you are my best friend. 这种修饰名词时，肯定是不需要倒装的了。
4. I should have liked to begin this story in the fashion of the fairy-tales. I should have
liked to say…
in the fashion of 不是表示用流行的方式，而是“以…的风格“
这几段内容读来是有些淡淡的心疼的，甚至可以映射到我们如今的生活中。你兴高采烈地告诉父母自己交了个新朋友，他画画非常好，他喜欢运动，但是大人往往会想知道他成绩好不好，爸妈是做什么的，摊手～
这几个段落中出现了2处should have done和1处would have done，这两个结构均表示虚拟语气，
should have done是对过去的虚拟，表示“本应该做某事但是没有” ，含有自责的含义，所以作者说，“我真愿意象讲神话那样来开始这个故事，我真想这样说”，但是你们知道的，他并没有这样开始讲述小王子的故事。
而“To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story”中出现了“would have done”的结构，表示“对过去事情的假设”
“give an air of”的意思是“显得”，
所以这句话可以理解为：对懂得生活的人来说，这样说就显得我的故事真实。
5.To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story.
前一段里，作者说：我想像讲童话一样讲述小王子的故事， 说到这里，作者又说，对于真正懂得生命意义的人来说，他们会觉得我这样的方式（that）也会为我的故事（to my story）带来很强的真实性（given a much greater air of truth）。
「air of sth.」此处大家可以想象一下，空气就是一种看不见摸不到的感觉吧，所以air其实就是feel，air of sth.就是“某物带来的感觉”。
6. One drawing goes along all right, and another has no resemblance to its subject.
「go along」原意是“进行”，放在这里就是绘画的进程了。
「have resemblance to sth.」:“与某物相像”，这里加了no，表示不像，its subject 表示原物，也就是画者想要画的东西，花瓶或者雕像或者山水什么的，当然这里指的就是小王子啦。
整句的大意就是，第一幅画画得的还不错，第二幅就根本不像了。
7. So I fumble along as best I can, not good, not bad, and I hope generally fair-to-middling.
「fumble along」: “摸索前进”的意思，和上一条tip同理，也是指画画的过程。
「fair-to-middling」: 意为“差强人意，还过得去”。
整句的大意是，我尽量摸索着画，时好时坏，希望它能算及格吧。
好啦，这就是我们Chapter 4的学习内容，不知道大家都听懂了没有呢？那么在节目中呢我们也会给出大家英文原文还有这些重点句子的解析内容，希望大家在听完之后一定要再自己读一遍，同时呢记住这些重点的词汇和句型，这对英语学习是非常重要的，一定一定要自己再读一遍哦。好啦，我们本期的讲解就到这里啦，如果大家有什么意见和问题的话欢迎大家随时跟我联系，如果你喜欢我们的节目的话也请点赞和分享哦。今天就这样啦，我们下期再会喽。
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