精美英文欣赏:山谷

A Valley

山谷

I came, one evening before sunset,

一天傍晚，我在日落之前走下了一个山谷，

down into a valley, where I was to rest.

准备在那里休息。

In the course of my descent to it,by the winding¹ track along the mountain-side,from which I saw it shining far below,

当我沿着山麓上蜿蜒的小路下山时，我看到山谷在远处闪光；

I think some long-unwonted sense of beauty and tranquility,

这时，我觉得一种久违的对美和静的感受袭来，

some softening² influence awakened³ by its peace,moved faintly in my breast.

一种被这安宁唤醒的柔情隐隐在心头升起。

I remember pausing once,with a kind of sorrow that was not all oppressive, not quite despairing.

我记得，我怀着一种并不完全让人苦恼、也并不让人完全失望的悲哀停了一会儿。

I remember almost hoping that some better change was possible within me.

我记得，当时我几乎希望我的内心深处可以有较好的变化了。

I came into the valley,as the evening sun was shining on the remote heights of snow,that closed it in, like eternal clouds.

当夕阳像永远缭绕在山谷四周那些远远的山峰上的云朵一样环绕着众山时，我走入了谷地。

The bases of the mountains forming the gorge⁴ in which the little village lay, were richly green;

小村为延入山谷的山麓部分所形成，一片青葱碧绿；

and high above this gentler vegetation,grew forests of dark fir,cleaving the wintry snowdrift,wedge-like and stemming the avalanche⁵.

在那些柔软的草木之上，黑色的枞树丛像楔子一样伸出雪堆而挡住了崩落的雪。

Above these, were range upon range of craggy steeps,grey rock, bright ice, and smooth verdure specks⁶ of pasture,all gradually blending with the crowning snow.

再往上便是一行高于一行的峭壁，灰色的石头，光亮亮的冰，还有一片片绿茵茵的牧场，所有这一切都渐溶入山顶的白雪。

Dotted here and there on the mountain's side,each tiny dot a home, were lonely wooden cottages,so dwarfed⁷ by the towering heights that they appeared too small for toys.

山坡上稀稀落落的小木屋显得孤单，每一个小点就是一个人家，和上面那些巨峰相映，它们小得似乎连玩具都不如。

So did even the clustered village in the valley,with its wooden bridge across the stream,where the stream tumbled over broken rocks,and roared away among the trees.

就是谷地中人口集聚的村子也是这样。村庄所在地有一条小溪，它在零乱的石头上滚越而过，喧闹着在树木之间流远。

In the quiet air,there was a sound of distant singing-shepherd voices;

村中有座小桥横溪而立。在那安静的空气中，远处传来一种歌声，那是牧人的歌声；

but, as one bright evening cloud floated midway along the mountain's side,I could almost have believed it came from there,and was not earthly music.

可是，当一片熣灿绚丽的晚霞在半山腰飘过时，我却几乎认为那乐音来自云中，决非尘世之音。

All at once, in this serenity⁸, great Nature spoke⁹ to me;

在这样的一片宁静中，大自然突然对我说话了；

and soothed¹⁰ me to lay down my weary head upon the grass,and weep as I had not wept yet, since Dora died!

它安慰我，使我把我那疲倦的头枕到草上，然后哭了起来—这是朵拉去后我第一次哭。

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

3 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

5 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

6 specks   

n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Minutes later Brown spotted two specks in the ocean. 几分钟后布朗发现海洋中有两个小点。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• Do you ever seem to see specks in front of your eyes? 你眼睛前面曾似乎看见过小点吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》