精美英文欣赏:第一场雪

First Snow

第一场雪

The first fall of snow is not only an event but it is a magical event.

第一场雪不仅是一件大事，而且是充满魔力的大事。

You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different,

入睡时世界是一个样子，醒来时发现你在一个完全不同世界里，

and if this is not enchantment,then where is it to be found?

假如不是魔法的作用，又能到哪儿找到这样的奇迹呢?

The very stealth, the eerie¹ quietness,of the thing makes it more magical.

它的诡秘和悄无声息更增添了它的神奇。

If all the snow fell at once in one shattering crash,awakening us in the middle of the night the event would be robbed of its wonder.

假如所有的雪“轰”地一下子落下，半夜把我们惊醒，也就失去了它神奇的魅力。

But it flutters down, soundless,hour after hour while we are asleep.

但是雪是悄悄地飘然而下，一个小时，又一个小时，而此时我们睡得正熟。

Outside the closed curtains of the bedroom a vast transformation² scene is taking place,just as if a myriad³ elves and brownies were at work,

在窗帘紧拉的卧室外面景色正发生着巨大的变化，就好像有无数小精灵和小仙童在工作，

and we turn and yawn and stretch and know nothing about it.

我们打呵欠，伸展腰腿却全然不知发生的一切。

And then, what an extraordinary change it is!

然而这是一个多么巨大的变化啊!

It is as if the house continent.

好像你所住的房子落到了另一块陆地上，

Even the inside, which has not been touched, seems different,every room appearing smaller and cosier,just as if some power were trying to turn it into a woodcutter's hut or a snug⁴ log cabin.

甚至不曾碰到的里面也似乎变了模样，每个房间都变小了，变温暖了，就好像是有一种力量正把它变成一座伐木工的棚屋或舒适的圆木小屋。

Outside, where the garden was yesterday,there is now a white and glistening⁵ level,and the village beyond is no longer your own familiar cluster of roofs but a village in an old German fairy-tale.

屋外昨日的花园，如今却是一片洁白，闪烁着光芒。远处的村庄不再是你热悉的一片片屋顶，而变成了德国古老神话中的村庄。

You would not be surprised to learn that all the people there,the specacled postmistress, the cobbler,the retired⁶ school master, and the rest,had suffered a change too and had become queer elvish beings,purveyors of invisible caps and magic shoes.

那里所有的人：戴眼镜的女邮政局长、补鞋工人、退休的小学校长以及其他的人也经历了一场变化，变成了奇怪的精灵般的人为你提供隐形帽和魔力鞋。

You yourselves do not feel quite the same people you were yesterday.

对这一切，你不会惊讶，你自己也觉得与昨日不同。

How could you not when so much has been changed?

当发生了这么大的变化之后，你怎么又能不变呢?

There is a curious stir, a little shiver of excitement,troubling the house, not unlike the feeling there is abroad when a journey has to be made.

屋内出现了一阵不同平日的小小的骚动，一种激动的微微颤动，这种感觉就好像要外出旅行时的莫名其妙的感觉。

The children, of course, are all excitement but even the adults hang about and talk to one another longer than usual before setting down to the day's work.

孩子当然是非常兴奋，甚至于大人们在开始一天工作之前逗留交谈的时间也比平日长了。

Nobody can resist the windows.

无人能抗拒窗子的诱惑，

It is like being on board a ship.

好像在船上一样。

1 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

2 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

3 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

4 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

5 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。