Pre-reading

Question: How did the goat die?

Intensive Reading

It was eleven years since my first moment on the island. One day, I noticed that I didn’t have much gunpowder. It started to worry me. I needed gunpowder to kill animals.

从我来到岛上的那刻起，已经过去11年了。有一天，我注意到我的枪火不多了。这开始让我担忧。我需要枪火来杀死动物。

My first goat was very old. It was too late to try to find a male for her. I wanted meat but I didn’t have the heart to kill her. One day, she died a natural death. I thought, “With less and less gunpowder I will have to find another way to get meat. I will make some trap. Tomorrow, I will start to make the trap.”

我的第一只山羊太老了。现在找一只公羊给她为时已晚。我想要吃肉，但是我不忍心杀死她。有一天，她自然死去了。我想，“我的枪火越来越少，我需要找到另外一种方式来获得肉类。我要做一些陷阱。第二天，我将开始做陷阱。”

I wasn’t successful at the beginning. But then I caught three young goats. They were one male and two females. I took the goats home with me.

一开始我没有成功。但之后我抓住了三只年轻的山羊。它们是一只公羊和两只母羊。我把它们带回家。

I kept the goats inside a small area with a fence around it. But it was too small for three goats. I made a fence for them around a big area.

我把山羊养在周围有栅栏的一小块地方。但是这里对三只山羊来说太小了。我在大一些的一块地方为它们建了栅栏。

Notes:

1. not have the heart to: 不忍心做某事，只用于否定。

2. died a natural death: 自然死亡，die a ... death可用来形容怎样死亡，如die a painful death，“痛苦地死去”。

3. trap: 陷阱，也可以表达抽象的“困境”，作动词可以表示“困住”。

Exercise:

Where did Robinson keep the three goats?