Chapter12 The Story of My Life-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《假如给我三天光明Three Days to See》

The Story ofMy Cife CHAPTER 12 FTER MY FIRsT visit to Boston. I spent almost every winter in the North Once I went on a visit to a New England village with its frozen lakes and vast snow fields. It was then that I had opportunities such as had never been mine to enter into the treasures of the snow I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped{① the trees and bushes, leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown, and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed{②} by his icy touch, and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots, and there, curled up in the dark lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away③, and even when the sun shone the day was Shrunk and cold As if her veins were sapless^{④ and old, And she rose up decrepitly{ For a last dim look at earth and sea The withered grass and the bushes were transformed into a forest of icicles{ Then came a day when the chill air portended{} a snow storm. We rushed .118. 我的生活 第十二章 自第一次到波士顿参观以来,以后的每年冬天我差 不多都是在北方度过的。我曾经游览过新英格兰地区的 一个村庄,那里有冰冻的湖泊和广衰的雪原。那一次让 我亲身体验了与雪融为一体的奇妙感受;如果没有那次 ① strip [striplv剥去 机会,我将永远也体会不到那种美妙的感觉 我还记得当我发现大树和灌木被一只神秘的大手 剥去枝叶,只剩下一些皱巴巴枯叶时的惊奇。鸟儿早已 ② benumb [bi'namlv 使麻 飞绝,空留巢穴在秃树上任大雪覆盖。山头和田野也吴 本 现出一派冬日气象,大地在寒冰之触下变得僵硬麻木, ③ebb away衰弱,衰退 大树的生气也被冻得缩回了根部,它们攀缩在黑暗的地 下沉睡;好像世间的所有生物都在渐渐消退,即使是有 阳光,天气依然 ④ sapless ['saeplis]a. 无生 短暂而寒冷, 气的 如同血脉已老迈枯萎, decrepitly [di'krepitli] ad 地 她要同衰老拼死一搏, 为了再看一眼她心中的大地和海洋。 icicle [aisikl]n. 冰柱 枯竭的草丛和灌木变成了一片冰锥森林。 portend [px:'tend]v: 预兆 然后有一天强冷空气突然降临,这预示着暴风雪 ·119· The Story ofMy Cife out of doors to feel the first few tiny flakes^{①} descending. Hour by hour the flakes dropped silently, softly from their airy height to the earth, and the country became more and more level{②. A snowy night closed upon the world. and in the morning one could scarcely recognize a feature of the landscape. All the roads were hidden, not a single landmark was visible, only a waste of snow with trees rising out of it. In the evening a wind from the northeast sprang up, and the flakes rushed hither and thither in furious{③} melee{. Around the great fire we sat and told merry tales, and frolicked, and quite forgot that we were in the midst of desolate{} solitude, shut in from all communication with the outside world. But during the night the fury of the wind increased to such a degree that it thrilled us with a vague terror. The rafters^{} creaked and strained, and the branches of the trees surrounding the house rattled{} and beat against the windows, as the winds rioted{ up and down the country. On the third day after the beginning of the storm the snow ceased. The sun broke through the clouds and shone upon a vast, undulating{} white plain. High mounds^{, pyramids heaped in fantastic shapes, and impenetrable drifts lay scattered in every direction. Narrow paths were shoveled^{} through the drifts. I put on my cloak and hood and went out. The air stung^{} my cheeks like fire. Half walking in the paths, hal working our way through the lesser drifts^{}, we succeeded in reaching a pine grove just outside a broad pasture. The trees stood motionless and white like figures in a marble frieze^{④. There was no odor of pine-needles. The rays of the sun fell upon the trees, so that the twigs sparkled like diamonds and dropped in showers when we touched them. So dazzling was the light, it penetrated even the darkness that veils my eyes. As the days wore on, the drifts gradually shrunk, but before they were wholly gone another storm came, so that I scarcely felt the earth under my feet once all winter. At intervals the trees lost their icy covering, and the bulrushes{ and underbrush{} were bare: but the lake lay frozen and hard beneath the sun .120· 我的生活 ① flake [fleik]n. 雪花 的到来。我们冲出屋子去感受最初飘落的几片雪花。 随着时间慢慢流逝,雪片悄无声息地、轻快地从高空 ② level levolla. 平坦的 落下,软软地撒到地面上,整个村庄都变成白茫茫一 片。雪下了整整一夜,到了第二天早上你几乎辨认不 出眼前的景物:所有的道路都隐匿不见了,甚至连一个 标记性的建筑也找不到,只剩下一片高耸的白花花的 森林。 夜晚刮起一阵东北风,雪花被吹得漫天飞舞。我 ③ furious I'fjuris]a. 猛烈 的 们围坐在熊熊燃烧的炉火旁,一边讲逗笑的故事,一 ④ melee ['melei]n. 混乱, 边尽情嘻戏打闹,全然忘记自已被大雪隔绝在孤寂的 这里指“雪花乱飞” 深潭中,与外界毫无交流。夜晚,狂风逐渐加剧,我 desolate ['desolot] a. 孤 寂的 们也隐约感到了恐惧。房橡吱吱作响,房子周围的树 枝不停地摇晃击打着窗户,一切都在狂风的咆哮中苟 rafter ['rarfta]n.椽(子) 延残喘。 rattle |ratll:发出嘎嘎声 到了第三天,暴风雪终于停了。太阳冲破云层照 ⑧ riot ['raiot]:骚乱 耀在绵延起伏的白色旷野上,高高的山丘如金字塔般 undulating I'andjuleitin] 堆积出万千的姿态向四面八方散播开来,真是令人难 a.波浪起伏的 以置信。 mound [maund] n. 土堆 人们在积雪上踩出了一条条狭窄的小径。我穿上斗 shovel ['fAvallv 用铲挖 篷系上围巾走出屋外。冷空气打到我脸上,刺得我火烧 stung [stan](sting 的过 火烧地疼。我们一边试探一边行走,最后终于来到了大 去分词)v刺 牧场外的那片松树林。挂满积雪的松树一动不动地站立 drift n.雪堆 着,就像大理石雕刻的柱子一样。林子里没有了松针的 味道,只要轻轻一碰那些洒满阳光的松树,其上的积雪 ④ frieze [fri:z]n.【建筑】 就会像钻石一样纷纷坠落。那里的光线耀眼刺目,甚至 (柱)中 能穿透那蒙住我双眼的漆黑 一天天过去了,积雪也开始渐渐融化。但在它们消 bulrush 'bulraf]n. 芦芊 融殆尽前,另一场风暴来了,所以整个冬天我几乎感受 不到实实在在的大地。在大雪停歇期间,树木丢弃了身 underbrush ['Andobraf门] 上的冰衣,芦苇和灌木丛也现出了身形,唯有冻结的冰 n.灌木 湖在阳光下闪烁着。 .121· The Story ofMy Cife Our favorite amusement during that winter was tobogganing{①}. In places the shore of the lake rises abruptly from the water's edge. Down these steep slopes we used to coast{②. We would get on our toboggan, a boy would give us a shove, and off we went! Plunging through drifts, leaping hollows, swooping down upon the lake, we would shoot across its gleaming surface to the opposite bank. What joy! What exhilarating③} madness! For one wild. glad moment we snapped the chain that binds us to earth, and joining hands with the winds we felt ourselyes divine! .122. 我的生活 ① toboggan [ta'bogan]v 乘 冬日里我们最喜欢的娱乐活动是平底雪撬运动。湖 平底雪&滑行 岸突兀地立在水面之上,我们跨过陆峭的斜坡来到湖 ② coast lkoustlv. 滑行 面,我们过去常常在那斜坡上滑行。坐上雪橘,一个小 男孩在我们背后用力一推,我们就嗖地滑了出去!雪 穿过积雪,越过凹坑,在湖面上猛冲前行,一直穿过晶 ③ exhilarating Iig'zilareitin] 莹闪烁的冰面直到对岸。这多么有趣呀!令人高兴得发 a.令人振奋的 狂!记得有一次,在那狂野兴奋的一刻,我们雪撬上的 防护链啪地折断了,于是我们的手紧紧地握在一起感受 疾风的吹打,就像驾云飞翔的神灵一样。 ·123·