精美英文欣赏:一个农民

I ago Prytherch his name, though, be allowed,

Just an ordinary man of the bald Welsh hill

Who pens a few sheep in a gap of cloud.

Docking mangel chipping the green skin

From the yellow bones with a half-witted grin

Of satisfaction, or churning the crude earth

To a stiff sea of clods that glint in the wind--

So are his days spent, his spittled mirth

Rarer than the sun that cracks the cheeks

Of the gaunt sky perhaps once in a week.

And then at night see him fixed¹ in his chair

Motionless except when he leans to gob in the fire.

There is something frightening in the vacancy² of his mind.

His clothe sour with years of sweat

And animal contact, shock the refined,

But affected³, sense with their stark⁴ naturalness.

Yet this is your prototype, who season by season

Against siege of rain and the wind’s attrition,

Preserves his stock, an impregnable fortress⁵

Not to be stormed even in death’s confusion.

Remember him then, for he, too, is a winner of wars

Enduring like a tree under the curious stars.

且说他名叫埃古·普莱瑟奇，尽管他

只是光秃秃的威尔士丘陵中的一个普通人，

他在云雾弥漫的山谷里圈养了几只绵羊。

割掉甜菜叶，削去青皮，

露出黄色的甜菜头，他就傻乎乎地咧开嘴笑，

很满足，或者把一块荒地

开凿成许多硬邦邦的土块，散落在风中发亮——

他就这样过着日子，他的放声大笑

很少见，还不如太阳穿透当地阴沉天空的次数，

一星期太阳或许还能露出一次笑脸。

到了夜晚，你可以看见他坐在自己的椅子上

一动不动，除非要起身朝炉火吐口痰。

他脑子空白，这一点有些令人恐惧。

他的衣服，散发着陈年的汗臭

和牲口的气味，以赤裸裸的自然面貌，

吓坏了那些自命高雅而虚伪的人。

然而这就是你的原型，一季复一季

抵抗雨的围攻，风的销蚀，

他保卫着他的畜群，一个坚不可摧的堡垒，

即便在受死亡威胁的慌乱中也不会被突袭。

那么记住他吧，因为他也是战斗中的一个胜利者，

如好奇的群星下的一棵树那样不朽。

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。