精美英文欣赏:睡谷经历

Part 2 At the Sleepy Hollow

第二部分 睡谷经历

August 12, 1841

1841年8月12日

After leaving the book at Mr. Emerson's, I returned through the woods, and entering Sleepy Hollow, I perceived a lady reclining near the path which bends along its verge¹. It was Margaret herself. She had been there the whole afternoon, meditating² or reading; for she had a book in her hand, with some strange title, which I did not understand and have forgotten. She said that nobody had broken her solitude³, and was just giving utterance⁴ to a theory that no inhabitant of Concord⁵ ever visited Sleep Hollow, when we saw a whole group of people entering the sacred precincts. Most of them followed a path which led them remote from us; but an old man passed near us, and smiled to see Margaret lying on the ground, and me sitting by her side. He made some remark about the beauty of the afternoon, and withdrew himself into the shadow of the wood. Then we talked about Autumn-and about the pleasures of getting lost in the woods-and about the crows, whose voices Margaret had heard-and about the experiences of early childhood. whose influence remains⁶ upon the character after the recollection of them has passes away-and about the sight of mountains from a distance, and the view from their summits-and about other matters of high and low philosophy. In the midst of our talk, we heard footsteps above us, on the high bank; and while the intruder was still hidden among the trees, he called to Margaret, of whom he had gotten a glimpse. Then he emerged from the green shade; and, behold⁷, it was Mr. Emerson, who, in spite of his clerical consecration⁸, had found no better way of spending the Sabbath than to ramble⁹ among the woods. He appeared to have had a pleasant time; for he said that there were Muses¹⁰ in the woods today, and whispers to be heard in the breezes. It being now nearly six o'clock, we separated, Mr. Emerson and Margaret towards his home, and I towards mine, where my little wife was very busy getting tea.

把书放到爱默生先生家后，我穿过树林往回走。走进睡谷，我发现一位女士斜躺在顺着山沿崎岖蜿蜒的小路旁。那是玛格丽特。她已经待在那里整整一下午了，或在沉思或在阅读。因为她手边有本书，书名有此怪异，我不明白，也就忘记了。她说没有人打断她的独处，正当她高谈阔论说康科德的居民没人进过睡谷时，我们看见一大群人走进了这个神圣的区域。大部分人走了一条使他们远离我们的小道，但是一位老人从我们身旁经过，当他看到玛格丽特躺在地上，我坐在她身边的时候，脸上泛起了微笑。他说了几句午后景色优美之类的活，便消失在树荫里。之后我们谈起了秋天，谈到林间迷路的乐趣，谈到乌鸦，因为玛格丽特听到了它们的叫声，谈到幼年的经历，即使那些儿时的记忆已经消逝，但它对人性格的影响还持续着。我们谈远处的群山和从山顶俯瞰的景象，谈有关高限、低限哲学的问题。在我们交谈的时候，我们听到了上面的脚步声，声音从高处的斜坡上传来。当这位不速之客还藏没在树丛之中时，他喊了玛格丽特的名字，因为他瞥见了她的身影。之后他从绿色的树荫下走出来，是爱默生先生。尽管他身担圣职，但他觉得过休息日的最好的办法莫过于在林中漫步。他看起来度过了一段快乐的时光，因为他说今天树林里有缪斯，微风中能够听到她们的窃窃私语，现在几乎6点了，我们分手道别，爱默生先生和玛格丽特到他家去，我回我家，家里的小妻子正忙着沏茶呢。

Last evening there was the most beautiful moonlight that ever hallowed this earthly world; and when I went to bathe in the river, which was as calm as death, it seemed like plunging¹¹ down into the sky. But I would rather be on earth than even in the seventh heaven, just now.

昨天晚上的月色最美，使整个尘世变得圣洁起来。当我去河中洗澡时，河水死一般的沉寂，我仿佛跳入了空中。但是现在我却宁愿留在尘世，也不愿进到那七重天。

1 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

2 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

4 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

5 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

8 consecration   

n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式

参考例句：

• "What we did had a consecration of its own. “我们的所作所为其本身是一种神圣的贡献。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• If you do add Consecration or healing, your mana drop down lower. 如果你用了奉献或者治疗，你的蓝将会慢慢下降。 来自互联网

9 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

10 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

11 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》