下雨天打乱了小猪威尔伯的计划，母鹅、小羊和老鼠都不愿和小猪玩。因为孤独，小猪不想吃东西，却被养猪人强行灌药吃。小猪觉得这是他生命中最糟的一天。就在这最糟的时候，意想不到的事情发生了。
现在先读原文：
Sadly, Wilbur lay down and listened to the rain. Soon he saw the rat climbing down a slanting board that he used as a stairway.
"Will you play with me, Templeton?" asked wilbur.
"Play?" said Templeton, twirling his whiskers. "Play? I hardly know the meaning of the word."
"Well," said Wilbur, "it means to have fun, to frolic, to run and skip and make merry."
"I never do those things if I can avoid them, " replied the rat, sourly. "I prefer to spend my time eating, gnawing, spying, and hiding. I am a glutton but not a merry-maker. Right now I am on my way to your trough to eat your breakfast, since you haven't got sense enough to eat it yourself." And Templeton, the rat, crept stealthily along the wall and dissapeared into a private tunnel that he had dug between the door and the trough in Wilbur's yard. Templeton was a crafty rat, and he had things pretty much his own way. The tunnel was an example of his skill and cunning. The tunnel enabled him to get from the barn to his hiding place under the pig trough without coming out into the open. He had tunnels and runways all over Mr. Zuckerman's farm and could get from one place to another without being seen. Usually he slept during the daytime and was abroad only after dark.
wilbur watched him disappear into his tunnel. In a moment he saw the rat's sharp nose poke out from underneath the wooden trough. Cautiously Templeton pulled himself up over the edge ot the trough. This was almost more than Wilbur could stand: on this dreary, rainy day to see his breakfast being eaten by somebody else. He knew Templeton was getting soaked , out there in the pouring rain, but even that didn't comfort him. Friendless, dejected, and hungry, he threw himself down in the manure and sobbed.
Late that afternoon, Lurvy went to Mr. zuckerman. "I think there's something wrong with that pig of yours. He hasn't touched his food."
"Give him two spoonfuls of sulphur and a little molasses," said Mr.Zuckerman.
Wilbur couldn't believe what was happening to him when Lurvy caught him and forced the medicine down his throat. This was certainly the worst day of his life. He didn't know whether he could endure the awful loneliness any more.
Darkness settled over everything. Soon there were only shadows and the noises of the sheep chewing their cuds, and occasionally the rattle of a cow-chain up overhead. You can imagine Wilbur's surprise when, out of the darkness, came a small voice he had never heard before. It sounded rather thin, but pleasant. "Do you want a friend, Wilbur?" it said. "I'll be a friend to you. I've watched you all day and I like you."
"But I can't see you," said Wilbur, jumping to his feet. "where are you? And who are you?"
"I'm right up here," said the voice. "Go to sleep. You'll see me in the morning."
原文中的动词：
twirl: to curl sth with your fingers 用手指卷
原文例句："Play?" said Templeton, twirling his whiskers. 用手指卷着胡须
frolic: 书面语 to play in an active happy way 嬉戏
动词变形：frolicked / frolicking
上学时总是听英语老师说动词的变化形式、现在分词、过去式和过去分词。
现在想弄清楚这些名词的英文是什么：
动词的变化形式：principal parts
现在分词：present participle
过去式：past
过去分词：past participle
动名词：gerund
gnaw: to keep biting sth hard 持续用力的咬 同义词：chew
例句：A rat had gnawed a hole in the box.
spy: if you spy on someone, you watch them secretly 秘密监视
settle over: 书面用语 if a quality or feeling settles over a place or person, it begins and has a strong effect
例句：An uneasy silence settled over the room.
原文中的形容词和副词：
slanding: 倾斜的
sourly: 不友好地
stealthily: 偷偷地
crafty: 狡猾的
dreary: 枯燥的 dull and making you feel sad or bored
soaked: 湿透的
原文中的名词：
stairway：楼梯，阶梯 a staircase, especially a large or impressive one
glutton: 贪吃者
cud: 反刍的食物
当英语学习资源铺天盖地，让人应接不暇的时候，筛选资源就变得更加重要。而筛选资源的前提是有目标作为参照。目标越清晰越好，越具体越好。
比如可以设定目标是：完整、一字不漏读完一本英文原著，然后写下自己学到的单词、词组、句子以及感想和收获。
