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51. Family Matters Part 1 宝莲灯1 沉香与舅舅二郎神在山中最危险的道上激烈打斗。为什么会这样呢？沉香曾与玉帝和西王母在天宫中生活，但他十分孤独。沉香从未见过自己的母亲。每当他询问长辈时，大家总是闪烁其词。直到有一天，舅舅二郎无意间说出沉香母亲被贬下凡的故事，这个沉寂多年的故事终将露出水面。 Uncle Erlang squints all three eyes and frowns. He points his spear at my stomach. Then he advances toward me along the narrow path carved into the side of the cliff. I back away from him and the path becomes even narrower.Uncle Erlang jabs the spear at my stomach! I swing my stone axe. Our weapons clash against each other with a loud clang. I lose my balance.My left foot hangs over nothingness. I swing my axe into the mountainside. It pierces the rocky cliff, and I hang for a moment. Then I scramble and regain my footing.I pull my stone axe from the cliff. Then I flip it into the air, spinning it toward my uncle. Its sharp blade makes a wicked hiss as it reaches for him. He jerks to the side, dodging my attack. I crook my finger and the axe flips back toward me. I catch it in one hand.Uncle Erlang puts his spear in his teeth and crawls up the cliff. I spin the axe over my head, just missing him. I hear his dog on the path ahead of me. Erlang hits the boulders above me with his spear.I duck under an overhang as huge stones tumble past.“You never thanked me!” he yells. “I gave you birthday gifts!” Then his third eye shoots at me! It burns my elbow before I crouch under the overhang.“Really?” I yell back. “That’s what has you upset? Birthday gifts?” It’s true. I never thanked him. So, shoot me! Preferably not with a third eye.You might wonder how I, Chen Xiang, came to be fighting my uncle on the most dangerous path in the world. I once lived in a heavenly palace on Kunlun Mountain with my great-uncle and aunt. My great-uncle is the Jade Emperor and my great-aunt is the Queen Mother of the West. It sounds fabulous, but it was actually pretty boring. Maybe I would have enjoyed the luxe life more if I hadn’t been so lonely. Those two had many noble duties, which didn’t leave much time for me.My dad lived in the woods near Kunlun Mountain. I rarely saw him. My mom? I wasn’t sure where my mom was. When I asked my great-aunt and uncle, they said, “She’s far away. But I know she’d be very happy to have such a hardworking son!” and other weird compliments relatives say when they want you to stop asking questions.But all that changed one evening a few years ago. Uncle Erlang was over for dinner and brought his dog with him. They were never apart, which would have been fine if the dog didn’t growl at everyone else.It had a tail like a whip and a very bad case of doggy breath. While we ate, the dog whined outside. To quiet him, I tossed him a bite of my dessert—peaches with cloud topping.Then I took a deep breath and turned to Uncle Erlang. “What was my mom like when she was my age?” I asked.My great-uncle coughed. My great-aunt loudly blew her nose. Sparks flew off Uncle Erlang’s third eye. (Just in case you’re wondering—a sparking eyeball looks very uncomfortable. Yee-ouch!)“She was rude!” roared Uncle Erlang. “She laughed during your greataunt’s birthday party. Laughed!” The way he said it, you would think it was the worst thing in the world. He turned back to me. “After your mom was sent to the human world in punishment—”“Erlang Shen!” whispered my great-aunt fiercely, using his full name.“After she went to the human world, she fell in love with one of them,” shouted Uncle Erlang. “A human!” He banged the table with his fist.“Oh, here we go,” sighed my great-uncle. “Again.” He rolled his eyes at Uncle Erlang.“I’ll explain the rest, dear,” said my great-aunt, patting Erlang on the arm. She turned to me. “You’re almost fifteen, you’re old enough to know the truth about your mother.”Question: What do you think Chen Xiang’s great-aunt will tell him? 核心词汇 squint v. 患斜视 jab v. 刺，捅，戳 clang n. （金属相击的）锵锵声 scramble v. 爬，争夺，仓促行动 flip v. 转动，使翻转 spin v. 使旋转 blade n. 刀身，刀片 hiss n. 嘶嘶声，（表示嘲弄、厌恶等的）嘘声 jerk v. 急拉，急推 dodge v. 躲避 crook v. （使）弯曲 crawl v. 爬，匍匐前进 boulder n. （由于气候或水侵蚀而形成的）卵石 duck v. 忽地低下头，忽地弯下身 overhang n. 悬垂物 tumble v. 滚下，坠落 crouch v. 蹲，蹲伏 preferably adv. 更可取地，更好地，更合意地 Jade Emperor 玉帝 Queen Mother of the West 西王母 fabulous adj. 难以置信的，（口）极好的 luxe adj. 富丽堂皇的，奢华的 weird adj. 奇特的，怪诞的 compliment n. 赞美 growl v. 发低沉的怒声，咆哮 whip n. 鞭子 whine v. 发哀叫（或哀诉）声，哼哼唧唧地诉说 toss v. 扔，抛，掷 topping n. 构成顶部的东西 punishment n. 惩罚 bang v. （砰砰）猛击 lean v. 屈身，靠，倚 Maybe I would have enjoyed the luxe life more if I hadn’t beenso lonely.如果我不是这么孤独，也许我将会更加享受我的奢侈生活。本句使用虚拟语气，用过去完成时表示对于过去情况的虚拟。other weird compliments relatives say when they want you tostop asking questions 当亲戚们想让你停止提问时候说的其他的奇怪赞语。本句中 relatives say when they want you stop asking questions 是定语从句，修饰前边的 compliments。They were never apart, which would have been fine if the dog didn’t growl at everyone else.他们从来没分开过，如果这只狗不是对着每个人咆哮的话，这还好。本句使用过去时表示对于过去情况的虚拟。“Oh, here we go,” sighed my great-uncle. “Again.” “哦，咱们又开始了”我的叔祖父说。本句中 again 补充修饰前面的 here we go，表示又一次开始，表达了说话者的不耐烦。二郎叔叔眯着三只眼睛，皱着眉头。他用长矛指着我的肚子。然后他沿着刻在悬崖边上的狭窄小路向我走来。我离开了他，路变得更窄了。二郎叔叔用长矛戳我的肚子！我挥动我的石斧。我们的武器相互碰撞，发出响亮的叮当声。我失去了平衡。我的左脚悬在虚无之上。我把斧头挥进山腰。它穿过岩石峭壁，我悬了一会儿。然后我爬起来重新站稳。我从悬崖上拔出石斧。然后我把它抛向空中，朝我叔叔的方向旋转。当它伸手去抓他时，锋利的刀刃发出邪恶的嘶嘶声。他猛冲到一边，躲避我的攻击。我弯曲手指，斧头朝我弹了回来。我用一只手接住它。二郎叔叔把长矛插进牙齿，爬上悬崖。我把斧头在头上旋转，只是想不到他。我听见他的狗在我前面的路上。埃尔朗用他的长矛击中我上方的巨石。“你从没谢过我！”他喊道。“我给了你生日礼物！”然后他的第三只眼睛朝我射来！它灼伤了我的胳膊肘，然后我就蹲在悬垂下。“真的吗？”我大声回应。“这就是你不高兴的地方？生日礼物？”这是真的。我从未感谢过他。那么，杀了我！最好不要用第三只眼睛。你可能想知道，我陈翔是如何在世界上最危险的道路上与我叔叔作战的。我曾经和我的伯公伯母住在昆仑山的一座天宫里。我的伯公是玉皇大帝，我的伯母是西方的王母。听起来很棒，但实际上很无聊。如果我不是那么孤独的话，也许我会更享受奢华的生活。那两个人有许多崇高的职责，这并没有给我留下多少时间。我爸爸住在昆仑山附近的树林里。我很少见到他。我妈妈？我不知道我妈妈在哪里。当我问我的姑姑和舅舅时，他们说：“她离我很远。但我知道她会很高兴有一个如此勤劳的儿子！”亲戚们还说了一些奇怪的恭维话，他们希望你不要再问问题了。但几年前的一个晚上，一切都变了。厄朗叔叔过来吃晚饭，把他的狗带来了。他们从来没有分开过，如果狗没有对其他人咆哮，那就好了。它有一条像鞭子一样的尾巴和一种非常难闻的狗呼吸。我们吃饭时，狗在外面呜咽。为了让他安静下来，我扔给他一口我的甜点桃子和云朵。然后我深吸了一口气，转向二郎叔叔。“我妈妈在我这个年龄时是什么样子的？”我问。我叔叔咳嗽了。我的姑姑大声擤鼻涕。厄朗叔叔的第三只眼睛上迸出火花。（以防万一，你会想——一颗闪闪发光的眼球看起来很不舒服。哎哟！）“她太粗鲁了！”二郎叔叔吼道。“在你伟大的演讲中，她笑了阿姨的生日聚会。哈哈大笑！”他这样说，你会认为这是世界上最糟糕的事情。他转向我。“在你妈妈被送去人间受罚之后——”“在她进入人类世界后，她爱上了其中的一个，”二郎叔叔喊道。“一个人！”他用拳头猛击桌子。“哦，我们走吧，”我的叔公叹了口气。“又来了。”他对二郎叔叔翻白眼。“我会解释其余的，亲爱的，”我的姑姑拍拍埃尔朗的手臂说。她转向我。“你快十五岁了，你已经足够了解你母亲的真相了。”
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