美国学生人类历史第1期:前言(1)

 　　When I was twelve or thirteen years old, an uncle of mine who gave me my love for books and pictures promised to take me upon a memorable¹ expedition.

　　当我十二三岁的时候，我的那位引导我爱上书籍和图画的舅舅，答应带我做一次永难忘怀的探险

　　I was to go with him to the top of the tower of Old Saint Lawrence in Rotterdam.

　　他要我跟他一起上到鹿特丹老圣劳伦斯教堂的塔楼顶上去。

　　And so, one fine day, a sexton with a key as large as that of Saint Peter opened a mysterious door.

　　于是，在一个风和日丽的日子里，教堂司事拿着一把足以与圣彼得的钥匙相媲美的大钥匙，给我俩打开了那扇通往塔楼的神秘大门。

　　"Ring the bell," he said, "when you come back and want to get out,"

　　“等你们下楼出来时”他说，“拉拉铃就行啦。”

　　and with a great grinding of rusty² old hinges he separated us from the noise of the busy street

　　说完，在生锈的铰链发出的吱吱声中，他关上了门，一下子将繁忙街道的喧嚣隔在我们身后，

　　and locked us into a world of new and strange experiences.

　　把我们锁进了一个崭新而陌生的世界里。

　　For the first time in my life I was confronted by the phenomenon of audible silence.

　　在我生命中的头一回，就发觉了“可听见的寂静”这种现象。

　　When we had climbed the first flight of stairs,

　　当我们踏上第一段楼梯时，

　　I added another discovery to my limited knowledge of natural phenomena-that of tangible³ darkness.

　　在我的自然现象的有限知 识里面又增加了另一种经验——可触摸得到的黑暗。

　　A match showed us where the upward road continued.

　　一根火柴为我们指引出向上的路。

　　We went to the next floor and then to the next and the next until I had lost count

　　我们上到第二层，第三层，第四层... ...一层层不断往上，数不清是第几层，前面的楼梯却仿佛无穷无尽。

　　and then there came still another floor, and suddenly we had plenty of light.

　　最后，我们猛然走进一片巨大的光泽之中。

　　This floor was on an even height with the roof of the church, and it was used as a storeroom.

　　塔楼的这一层与教堂的顶部齐平，用作储藏室，

　　Covered with many inches of dust, there lay the abandoned symbols of a venerable faith which had been discarded by the good people of the city many years ago.

　　散乱地堆放着许多古老信仰的圣像。这座城市的善良居民们在很多年前就弃绝了这种信仰，在被抛弃的圣像们身上，积满了厚厚的灰尘。

　　That which had meant life and death to our ancestors was here reduced to junk and rubbish.

　　那些对我们的先人意味着生和死的重要事物，在这里论为了尘埃和垃圾。

　　The industrious⁴ rat had built his nest among the carved images and the ever watchful⁵ spider had opened up shop between the outspread arms of a kindly⁶ saint.

　　勤劳的耗子在这些雕像间搭了窝，永远警觉的蜘蛛还在一尊仁慈的圣像伸出的双臂间结了网。

　　The next floor showed us from where we had derived⁷ our light.

　　再上一层楼梯，我们终于发现光亮来自这里敞开的窗户。

　　Enormous open windows with heavy iron bars made the high and barren room the roosting place of hundreds of pigeons.

　　沉重的铁条嵌在巨大的窗户上，其间出入的上百只鸽子把 这个高处不胜寒的地方当成了他们惬意的居所。

　　The wind blew through the iron bars and the air was filled with a weird⁸ and pleasing music.

　　风透过铁栅吹进来，空气中浸润着一种神秘而令人愉悦的音乐。

　　It was the noise of the town below us, but a noise which had been purified and cleansed⁹ by the distance.

　　仔细一听原来那是从我们脚下传来的城市的声音。遥远的距离将它们过滤得澄澈而干净了。

　　The rumbling¹⁰ of heavy carts and the clinking of horses' hoofs¹¹, the winding¹² of cranes and pulleys, the hissing¹³ sound of the patient steam

　　载重的大车的辚辚，马蹄的得得，起重机与滑车的辘辘，

　　which had been set to do the work of man in a thousand different ways-they had all been blended into a softly rustling¹⁴ whisper

　　--这些嘈杂的声音融成一片轻柔的沙沙声，

　　which provided a beautiful background for the trembling cooing of the pigeons.

　　给了鸽子的战栗的咕咕声一个美丽的背景。

　　Here the stairs came to an end and the ladders began.

　　楼梯到这一层就没有了，再往上必须爬梯子。

　　And after the first ladder (a slippery old thing which made one feel his way with a cautious foot) there was a new and even greater wonder, the town-clock.

　　爬完第一架梯子（它又旧又滑，你必须小心翼翼踩稳每一级）迎接我 们的是一个崭新而伟大的奇迹——城市的时钟。

1 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

2 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

3 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

4 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

5 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

6 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 cleansed   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
• The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有，许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。

10 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

11 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

14 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声