大学英语精读听力预备级 less5

[00:00.00]Lesson 5   The Little Man
[00:26.51] I once Knew a little man.
[00:30.56]He grew every day twenty-four hours older
[00:35.92]without becoming any taller or larger.
[00:40.99]This made him unhappy.
[00:44.51]For he wished very much to be tall and large like other men.
[00:50.76]He could not bear people say,"Good morning,my LITTLE man!"
[00:57.00]  One day a bright idea come into his mind.
[01:02.28]He would go to the shoemaker's
[01:06.04]and have a pair of high heels put on his shoes.
[01:11.21]That would make him taller,at least,he thought.
[01:15.57]And people would stop calling him "LITTLE man".
[01:21.03]   The shoemaker very kindly set to work.
[01:25.47]When he had finished and been paid,he said,
[01:30.04]"I hope that I have pleased you and you sill call again another day.
[01:36.00]Good-bye,my LITTLE man!"
[01:39.66]  The little gentleman walked away,greatly hurt.
[01:44.52]The shoemaker did not show much respect for his feelings.
[01:50.08]"It will be different with the doctor.
[01:53.74]Doctors know everything,"He thought.
[01:57.58]"He will open his eyes and greet me by another name."
[02:03.22]So he went at once to the doctor's.
[02:07.48]He kept himself all the time as straight as a young soldier on guard.
[02:14.24]  "Good morning,my LITTLE man,"said the doctor,"What can I do for you?"
[02:21.11]Just think how sad the little man must have felt.
[02:26.36]His high heels had done him so little good.
[02:31.22]He turned about and hurried away.
[02:35.19]  When he walked past a hat shop,
[02:39.14]he made up his mind to go in and buy the tallest hat in the shop.
[02:45.41]He was hardly inside the door when the shopkeeper greeted him with,
[02:51.05]"Good morning,my LITTLE man! What can I do for you today?"
[02:56.82]  "I want to buy a tall hat,as tall as possible,"he said.
[03:03.38]"It will make me so tall that people will stop calling me a LITTLE man."
[03:10.93]  When the shopkeeper gave him the tallest hat in the shop
[03:16.00]and got his money,he said,"Thank you.I'm glad you like it.
[03:22.06]Good day,my LITTLE man."
[03:25.58]  The little gentleman was very angry,but he said nothing.
[03:31.51]"Now it will be different with the doctor this tim."he thought.
[03:37.29]He wore his hat on the side of his head like an Englishman and hurried back
[03:43.95]  "Good morning,My LITTLE man,"
[03:47.50]the doctor smiled and said in a very friendly way.
[03:52.54]"What can I do for you now?"
[03:56.30]  You may imagine how terrible the blow was !
[04:01.45]What was the use of having such high heels and so tall a hat,
[04:07.82]when everybody seemed to turn a blind eye to them!
[04:13.07]He went up and down the street
[04:16.84]and asked why it was that he was still called LITTLE man
[04:22.87]although he had his high heels and his tall hat.
[04:27.91]No one could or would tell him.
[04:32.67]That made him all the more unhappy.
[04:36.92]  You know the answer,of course. He was a fool.
[04:42.28]But he is not the only one in the world.
[04:46.33]Have you never heard of anyone who thought of becoming great
[04:51.66]by wearing fine clothes?