Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy department of a big store.Day after day he waited with all the other animals and dolls for somebody to come along and take him home.The store was always filled with shoppers buying all sorts of things,but no one ever seemed to want a small bear in green overalls.
小熊可杜罗以前住在大百货商店的玩具柜台里，和其他动物、洋娃娃们一样，每天他都期待着有人能把他带回家。商场里人来人往的顾客买着各种商品，但是却没有一个人愿意买一只穿着绿外套的小熊
小编注：“Corduroy”这个词直译过来就是灯芯绒的意思，可作者为什么给小熊起了这么一个名字呢？是因为小熊穿了一条绿色的灯芯绒背带裤，还是别的什么原因，这就不得而知了。千万别觉得小编罗嗦，又提到学会直接用“物”作主语了。巩固巩固再巩固，只有这样我们才能形成习惯，顺口而出The store was always filled with shoppers...
Then one morning a little girl stopped and looked straight into Corduroy's bright eyes."Oh,Mommy!"She said."Look!There's the very bear I've always wanted.""Not today,dear."Her mother sighed."I've spent too much already.Besides,he doesn't look new.He's lost the button to one of his shoulder straps."Corduroy watched them sadly as they walked away."I didn't know I'd lost a button,"he said to himself."Tonight I'll go and see if I can find it."
一天清晨，一个小女孩在小熊面前停住了，她盯着小熊的大眼睛。“喔！妈妈！快看！这儿有一只我一直想要的小熊。”她妈妈叹息道：“宝贝，今天就算了。我已经花了很多钱了。再说，它看起来挺旧的，一条背带上还丢了纽扣。”小熊伤心的看着母女俩走远。他自言自语道：“我都不知道我丢了一只纽扣，今天晚上我得出去找找看。”
小编注：被人指出缺点的滋味真不好受，不过既然渴望被人爱，那总得做出一点努力吧！不如晚上就去找找看。喜欢这个女孩和布偶的简单故事，因为更好像是看到了自己渴望被人爱的影子。我们的人生是不是一直都在不停的寻找那只纽扣呢？
Late that evening,when all the shoppers had gone and the doors were shut and locked,Corduroy climbed carefully down from his shelf and began searching everywhere on the floor for his lost button.Suddenly he felt the floor moving under him!Quite by accident he had stepped onto an escalstor--and up he went!"Could this be a mountain?"he wondered."I think I've always wanted to climb a mountain."He stepped off the escalator as it reached the next floor,and there, before his eyes,was a most amazing sight--tables and chairs and lamps and sofas,and rows and rows of beds."This must be a palace!"Corduroy gasped."I guess I've always wanted to live in a palace."
晚上，所有的售货员都回家了，商店的大门也锁得紧紧的，小熊小心的从柜台上爬下来，在地板上到处寻找丢失的纽扣。突然，他感觉地板在他下面移动，原来刚好他踩到了向上开的电梯上。“这也许是山吧？我刚好一直想爬山呢！”小熊猜想道。他沿着电梯拾阶而上，等到了下一阶电梯上，眼前突然一亮：桌子、椅子、台灯、沙发以及一排排的床。“这一定是宫殿，我可是一直想住在宫殿里呢！”小熊喘息道。
小编注：couch指供昼夜坐卧，似床一样的长沙发或睡椅。sofa指有扶手和靠背，可供多人坐或一个人睡的长沙发，也泛指沙发。如果你问一个中国学生单人沙发怎么说，他/她一定会说sofa， 殊不知sofa在英文中是长沙发,，单人沙发叫做armchair。如果是嵌入墙壁的衣柜叫closet，单独的大衣柜叫做armoire。茶几不是tea table, 正确的是coffee table。
He wandered around admiring the furniture."This must be a bed,"he said."I've always wanted to sleep in a bed."And up he crawled onto a large,thick mattress.All at once he saw something small and round."Why,here's my button!"he cried.And he tried to pick it up.But,like all the other buttons on the mattress,it was tied down tight.He yanked and pulled with both paws until POP!Off came the button--and off the mattress Corduroy toppled,bang into a tall floor lamp.Over it fell with a crash!
小熊带着羡慕的眼光围着家具转来转去。他爬上一块又大又厚的床垫说道：“这一定是床。我可是一直想睡在床上呀！”。站在床垫上，他马上就感到周围的东西都变小了，看到的也多了。“为什么这儿有我的纽扣呢？”他大叫，并且试图捡起来。不过和床垫上其他的纽扣一样，这只纽扣被绑得紧紧的。他两只手掌拼命用力拉，直到砰的一声。纽扣虽然掉下来了，同时小熊也被掀倒，掉下了沙发，重重的摔到落地灯那里，紧接着灯就碎了。
小编注：chandelier, pendant lamp 吊灯、fluorescent lamp 日光灯、desk lamp 台灯、bedside lamp 床头灯、floor lamp 落地灯、wall lamp 壁灯等等这些可是有专门说法的喔！
Corduroy didn't know it,but there was someone else awake in the store.The night watchman was going his rounds on the floor above.When he heard the crash he came dashing down the escalator."Now who in the world did that?"he exclaimed."Somebody must be hiding around here!"He flashed his light under and over sofas and beds until he came to the biggest bed of all.And there he saw two fuzzy brown ears sticking up from under the cover."Hello!"he said."How did you get upstairs?"The watchman tucked Corduroy under his arm and carried him down the escalator and set him on the shelf in the toy department with the other animals and dolls.
小熊并不知道商店里其实还是有人没睡觉。晚上保安正在楼上四处巡视，突然他听到了碰撞声就匆匆赶下电梯。他大叫道：“现在还有谁在呀！一定有人藏在这周围！”他打着电筒在沙发和床上下照着，等到走近最大的那张床，他看到了两只棕色的毛茸茸的耳朵从下面竖起来。“你好！”保安和蔼的说道：“你怎么到了楼上呢？”接着他用胳膊夹着小熊，把小熊带到了电梯下，重新放回到了玩具柜台的架子上，和其他动物以及布娃娃们在一起。
小编注：torchlight手电筒，是英国的叫法，美国称手电筒为flashlight，这样打着手电也就顺理成章用flash his light了。How did you get upstairs?这句中的you用斜体字可不是小编的想法，而是原文就这么特别标明了。纵观整个故事，除了开头一句“Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy department of a big store”说到小熊是一个玩具之外，故事里再也没有出现过“玩具”、“布偶”一类的字眼儿。不仅如此，即使是这个在深夜里抓住他的警卫都没有管他叫过 “Corduroy”，而是用的“你”（you）。只有一种解释，就是作者始终把小熊当成了人来描写。
Corduroy was just waking up when the first customers came into the store in the morning.And there,looking at him with a wide,warm smile,was the same little girl he'd seen only the day before."I'm Lisa,"she said,"and you're going to be my very own bear.Last night I counted what I've saved in my piggy bank and my mother said I could bring you home.""Shall I put him in a box for you?"the saleslady asked."Oh,no thank you,"Lisa answered.And she carried Corduroy home in her arms.
早晨，当第一位顾客走近商店的时候，小熊才刚刚醒来。他看到的是一张写满微笑的脸，正是之前他看到的那个小女孩。“我叫莉莎。你就要变成我的小熊了。昨天晚上我算了一下小猪储蓄罐里面的钱，妈妈说我可以把你带回家。"小女孩对小熊说道。“我帮你把他放到盒子里，好吗？”女售货员问道。“哦，不必了，谢谢你。”莉莎回答道，她抱着小熊就往家跑。
小编注：经常看到piggy、horsey的用法吗？这可是爱称喔！小猪，小马多可爱呀！另外piglet也是指小猪。
She ran all the way up four flights of stairs,into her family's apartment,and straight to her own room.Corduroy blinked.There was a chair and a chest of drawers,and alongside a girl-size bed stood a little bed just the right size for him.The room was small,nothing like that enormous palace in the department store."This must be home,"he said."I know I've always wanted a home!"Lisa sat down with Corduroy on her lap and began to sew a button on his overalls."I like you the way you are,"she said,"but you'll be more comfortable with your shoulder strap fastened.""You must be a friend,"said Corduroy."I've always wanted a friend.""Me too!"said Lisa,and gave him a big hug.
小女孩疾步如飞的往家奔去，到家后就直接进了自己的房间。小熊眨着眼睛，房间里有一把椅子和一个有抽屉的柜子，和女孩床并列的还有一张刚好容得下他的小床。房间非常小，根本就不像商店的那个大宫殿。"这一定是我的家了，”小熊说道：“我知道我一直想有个家！”莉莎让小熊坐在她的膝盖上，然后自己再坐下，开始缝小熊外套上的纽扣。“我喜欢这样的你，”她说道：“不过如果你肩膀上的带子紧一点的话，你会更加舒服。 ”“你应该就是朋友了，我一直想要一个朋友。”小熊感动道。“我也是。”莉莎一边说，一边给小熊一个大大的拥抱。
小编注：I like you the way you are.小编非常喜欢这句话，因为家就是宽容，家就是接纳，即使你有这样或者那样的缺点，我还是喜欢你。能找到真正愿意接纳自己缺点的人才算真正找到了家，家与能不能找到纽扣无关，抱抱吧！
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