精美英文欣赏:乡村客栈一个阴雨的星期天

A Wet Sunday In A Country Inn

A wet Sunday in a country inn !

Whoever has had the luck to experience one can alone judge of my situation.

The rain pattered against the casements¹;

the bells tolled² for church with a melancholy³ sound.

I went to the windows in quest of something to amuse the eye;

but it seemed as if I had been placed completely out of the reach of ail⁴ amusement.

The windows of my bed-room looked out among tiled roofs and stacks of chimneys,

while those of my sitting-room⁵ commanded a full view of the stable yard.

I know of nothing more calculated to make a man sick of this world than a stable yard on a rainy day.

The place was littered with wet straw that had been kicked about by travellers and stable-boys.

In one corner was a stagnant⁶ pool of water, surrounding an island of muck;

there were several half-drowned fowls⁷ crowded together under a cart,

among which was a miserable⁸, crest-fallen cock, drenched⁹ out of ail life and spirit;

his drooping¹⁰ tail matted, as it were, into a single feather,

along which the water trickled¹¹ from his hack¹²;

near the cart was a half- dozing¹³ cow, chewing her cud,

and standing¹⁴ patiently to be rained on, with wreaths of vapour rising from her reekinghide;

a wall-eyed horse, tired of the loneliness of the stable,

was poking¹⁵ his spectral¹⁶ head out of a window, with the rain dripping on it from the eaves;

an unhappy cur, chained to a dog-house hard by,

uttered something every now and then between a bark and a yelp¹⁷;

a drab of a kitchen wench tramped backwards¹⁸ and forwards through the yard in pat- tens,

looking as sulky as the weather itself;

everything, iq short, was comfortless and forlorn, excepting a crew of hardened ducks,

assembled like boon¹⁹ companions round a puddle²⁰ and making a riotous²¹ noise over their liquor.

乡村客栈一个阴雨的星期天

乡村客栈一个阴雨的星期天!凡有幸度过这样一天的人，都能体会我现在的处境。雨点子噼噼啪啪地打在窗子上，教堂里传来沉重的钟声，召唤人们去做礼拜．我走到窗前，想找一些赏心悦目的东西，但看来我已完全被摒于一切欢乐之外．从卧室的窗口望出去，是一片砖瓦的屋顶和林立的烟囱，而从起居室的窗口往下看，则能望见整个马厩院子。我觉得再电没有比雨天的马厩院子更令人厌舸的了．遍地是淋湿了的稻草，被 旅客和小马倌们踢得凌乱不堪。在院子的一角，一潭污水围着孤岛似的粪堆，几只几平被雨水淋透的鸡簇拥在一辆马车底下，其中一只可怜的公鸡，倒垂着鸡冠，被淋得没精打彩，毫无生气，它那耷拉着的尾巴粘结在一起，仿佛只成了一根羽毛，雨水顺着它从背脊往下直淌，高马车不远处．有一头睡跟惺忪的奶牛，嘴里嚼着反刍的食物，默默地站在那里，任凭雨水打在身上，湿淋琳的背上日出缭绕的水气；一匹眼珠小而眼白特大的马厌倦了马厩里的寂寞，把它那幽灵似的脑袋从窗口探了出来，屋檐上的雨水漓沥滴沥地落在它头上；一只不幸的杂种狗被链条拴在近旁的狗窝里，时时发出似吠似嗥的声音；一个邋遢厨娘拖着木屐，迈着沉重的步子在院子里进进出出，她那郁郁不乐的神色，就象阴沉的天气一样；总之，除了一群饱经风雨的鸭子，象饮酒作乐的朋友那样聚集在污水潭的四周呷呷嬉水而外，这儿的一切都令人感到凄凉的沮丧。

华盛顿·欧文

1 casements   

n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are two casements in this room. 这间屋子有两扇窗户。 来自互联网
• The rain pattered against the casements; the bells tolled for church with a melancholy sound. 雨点噼噼啪啪地打在窗子上；教堂里传来沉重的钟声，召唤人们去做礼拜。 来自互联网

2 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

3 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

4 ail   

v.生病，折磨，苦恼

参考例句：

• It may provide answers to some of the problems that ail America.这一点可能解答困扰美国的某些问题。
• Seek your sauce where you get your ail.心痛还须心药治。

5 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

6 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

7 fowls   

鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马

参考例句：

• A great number of water fowls dwell on the island. 许多水鸟在岛上栖息。
• We keep a few fowls and some goats. 我们养了几只鸡和一些山羊。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

11 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

13 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

16 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。

17 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

18 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

19 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

20 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

21 riotous   

adj.骚乱的；狂欢的

参考例句：

• Summer is in riotous profusion.盛夏的大地热闹纷繁。
• We spent a riotous night at Christmas.我们度过了一个狂欢之夜。