精美英文欣赏:密西西比河上夏天的日出

Summer Sunrises on the Mississippi

密西西比河上夏天的日出

One can never see too many summer sunrises on the Mississippi.

夏天，密西西比河上的日出奇美无比，

They are enchanting¹.

令人百看不厌。

First, there is the eloquence² of silence;for a deep hush³ broods everywhere.

日出伊始，河面一片宁静，仿佛世界都陷入了沉思当中。

Next, there is the haunting sense of loneliness, isolation,remoteness from the worry and bustle⁴ of the world.

随后，孤寂、隔绝的气息弥漫四周，丝毫没有尘世的烦恼与喧嚣。

The dawn creeps in stealthily;

跟着黎明悄然而至；

the solid walls of the black forest soften⁵ to grey,and vast stretches of the river open up and reveal themselves;

那一片黑压压的森林，如城垣一般坚不可摧，也缓缓地被日光融化成灰色，广阔的水域也渐渐清晰，映入眼帘；

the water is smooth,gives off spectral⁶ little wreaths of white-mist,there is not the faintest breath of wind, nor stir of leaf;

河水如玻璃一般明净，在光谱的映照下泛出一圈一圈的白晕，河面上风平浪静，落叶仿佛也受到感染，纹丝不动；

the tranquility is profound and infinitely⁷ satisfying.

一切是如此的静谧，如此的赏心悦目！

Then a bird pipes up, another follows,and soon the pipings develop into a jubilant riot of music.

接着，一只鸟儿叫出声来，其它鸟儿也陆续鸣叫，很快，鸟儿们的叫声俨然变成一首欢快的歌曲。

You see none of the birds,you simply move through an atmosphere of song which seems to sing itself.

但你丝毫见不着它们的身影；你只感觉动听的歌声如天籁般从四处传来。

When the light has become a little stronger,you have one of the fairest and softest pictures imaginable.

当光线稍微变强时，一切如梦如幻，柔和淡雅，美不胜收。

You have the intense green of the massed and crowded foliage⁸ near by;you see it paling shade by shade in front of you;

河的附近，树木枝繁叶茂，郁郁葱葱；放眼望去，一排厚似一排，直至暗无踪影；

upon the next projecting cape⁹,a mile off or more,the tint¹⁰ has lightened to the tender young green of spring;

沿着河岸走一英里左右，来到下一个河岬，这周围的色调比之前稍淡，宛似春天的翠绿色；

the cape beyond that one has almost lost colour,and the furthest one, miles away under the horizon,sleeps upon the water a mere¹¹ dim vapour,and hardly separable from the sky above it and about it.

再前一处的河岬更淡，若有似无，最远的那个河岬，低于地平线数尺，朦朦胧胧，依稀可见，仿佛枕在水面上，与天相接，不分彼此。

And all this stretch of river is a mirror,and you have shadowy reflections of the leafage and the curving shores and the receding¹² capes¹³ pictured in it.

广阔的河面好似一面明镜，淡淡地映照着丛集的枝叶、蜿蜒的河岸和渐行渐远的河岬。

Well, this is all beautiful; soft and rich and beautiful;

一切都是那么美；或淡雅、或浓郁，无一不美；

and when the sun gets well up,and distributes a pink flush here and a powder of gold yonder and a purple haze¹⁴ where it will yield the best effect,you grant that you have something that is worth remembering.

太阳高高升起时，从此处看，它的周围泛着粉红色的晕围，从彼处看，它又洒着一粒粒的金光，最妙不可言的，是它周围若隐若现的紫色。这一切，能不令人怀想？

1 enchanting   

a.讨人喜欢的

参考例句：

• His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑，活脱儿象他父亲。
• Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方，我又向往又害怕。

2 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

3 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

4 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

5 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

6 spectral   

adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的

参考例句：

• At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常，有时又难以捉摸，甚至像个幽灵。
• She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力，清幽如鬼魅，令人着迷，令人难忘，是个独具特色的演员。

7 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

8 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

9 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

10 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

11 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

13 capes   

碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬

参考例句：

• It was cool and they were putting on their capes. 夜里阴冷，他们都穿上了披风。
• The pastor smiled to give son's two Capes five cents money. 牧师微笑着给了儿子二角五分钱。

14 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。