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原文版

Benjamin West,the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In htose days ,a brush was made from camel’s hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did nott last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the catbegan to look ragged. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

The cat’s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr.Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings by an artist. These were the forst pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747，when Benjamin was nine years old，Mr.Pennington retured for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift.He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, Mr.Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings.The boy began a landscape painting.Wiliams ,a well-known painter,came to see him work . Wiliams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home .The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little,having been a poor student.But he later said,”Those two books were my companions by day,and under my pillow at night.”While it is likely that he understood very little of the books,they were his introduction to classical paintings.The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.

分析版

Benjamin West, the father of American painting（the father of...在这里明显不是“谁的爹”，而是“... ...之父”）, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age（天才！）. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one（brush就是画画用的“刷子”，BW自己一开始是不知道画画可以用刷子，是一个朋友跟他说了这事儿。那么，BW难怪是用手蘸着颜料画的？）. In those days , a brush was made from camel’s hair（中国毛笔有羊毫、狼毫，人家是骆驼毫！）. There were no camels nearby（看来BW是没地方薅骆驼毛）. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead（我们的好朋友猫咪上线了）. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged（ragged就是“破破烂烂的”意思，这里的意思就是... ...秃猫）. His father said that the cat must be sick（must be就是“估计”的意思，表示一种比较有把握的推测）. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing（猫为什么不挠他？）.

The cat’s lot（这里是不好理解的，因为我们无法理解什么是“猫的很多”，更重要的是，这里的lot显然是一个名词，那么是什么意思呢？反正我们知道，就是说猫的什么发生了变化。看看后文，大概可以推测出，就是猫的这种被薅毛的局面变化了，所以lot的意思估计就是“命运”之类的。其实呢，猜对了，lot的名词意思就是“命运”） was about to（be about to表示将来时态） improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr.Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes（猫之救星！）. He also sent six engravings by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747，when Benjamin was nine years old，Mr.Pennington returned for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin’s parents if（这里的if是“如果”吗？不是，因为如果是“如果”，时态上就会出现所谓“主将从现”，所以这里的if是“是否”） he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit（至少猫一定是同意的）.

In the city, Mr.Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings.The boy began a landscape painting（landscape是“景色”，所以landscape painting就是“风景画”）. Wiliams ,a well-known painter,came to see him work . Wiliams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books（classic是“经典的”意思，classic book就是经典书籍，估计是《少林七十二绝技》之类的） on painting（on这个介词后面可以跟主题，所以如果表示“关于... ...主题”这个意思，介词就可以用on） to take home .The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said,“Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night（under my pillow at night在这里不是指“藏在枕头底下”，而是指“枕边书”）.”While（while在这里出现了一个非常不常见的意思，就是“虽然”。我们通常认为while的意思是“当”，但是别忘了，如果是“当”的话，一般而言时态上是进行时） it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings.The nine-year-old（表示几岁的时候，如果中间有了小杠杠，也就是连字符，year的后面就不需要加上s了） boy decided then that he would be an artist.