美国语文第六册 第38期:早晨的清唱剧(4)

 　　But at this later moment the purple martins have commenced their more melodious¹ chattering², 但是过了一会儿，紫色雨燕便开始更悦耳动听地歌唱，

　　so loud as to attract for a while the most of our attention. 声音高亢到足以引起我们最大程度的关注。

　　There is not a sound in nature so cheering and animating³ as the song of the purple martin, and none so well calculated to drive away melancholy⁴. 自然界里没有哪种雨燕的歌声如此欢快和容易模仿，没有谁听到这种美妙的歌声还能将忧愁挂在心上。

　　Though not one of the earliest voices to be heard, the chorus is perceptibly more loud and effective when this bird has united with the choir⁵. 尽管这不是我们听到的最早的声音，可是当这种鸟儿齐聚到一起放声合唱时，这一圣歌便更嘹亮和动人了。

　　When the flush of the morning has brightened into vermilion, 当清晨的阳光变成朱红色时，

　　and the place from which the sun is soon to emerge has attained⁶ a dazzling brilliancy, the robins⁷ are already less tuneful. 很快，在太阳升起的地方，光芒四射，正在歌唱的知更鸟停了下来。

　　They are now becoming busy in collecting food for their morning repast, 它们现在正忙着寻找自己的早餐，

　　and one by one they leave the trees, and may be seen hopping⁸ upon the tilled ground, 一只接只地离开树林。你能看到它们正在耕耘过的田地里来回跳跃，

　　in quest of the worms and insects that have crept out during the night from their subterranean⁹ retreats. 寻找小虫和昆虫。到了晚上，它们会悄悄地藏起来。

　　But as the robins grow silent, the bobolinks begin their vocal¹⁰ revelries; 然而，知更鸟刚一平静下来，食米鸟就开始狂欢了；

　　and to a fanciful mind it might seem that the robins had gradually resigned their part in the performance to the bobolinks, 对充满幻想的人而言，仿佛知更鸟渐渐放弃它们在合唱团里担任的角色，让给了食米鸟。

　　not one of which is heard until some of the former have concluded their songs. 不是一只而是很多知更鸟都停止了歌唱。

1 melodious   

adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的

参考例句：

• She spoke in a quietly melodious voice.她说话轻声细语，嗓音甜美。
• Everybody was attracted by her melodious voice.大家都被她悦耳的声音吸引住了。

2 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

3 animating   

v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
• They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

6 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

7 robins   

n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书）

参考例句：

• The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后，Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句

8 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

9 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。