英语名篇诵读 在黑暗中步行

Hiking in the Dark

在黑暗中步行

Miriam C. Daum(米里亚姆·C. 多姆)

It is dark now when I begin my early morning walk in the woods. And now that autumn has

marched resolutely¹ into winter, darkness persists well beyond my 6 a.m. start time.

Trails that have become familiar after years of hiking are disfigured by eerie² shapes

and outlines. Rocks and tree roots have magically sprouted³ from previously⁴ level ground.

Inevitably⁵, I stub my toe or trip on some unseen obstacle. Fallen branches from last

night's storm lie in wait. Layers of autumn leaves create a false floor through which my

unsuspecting footsteps sink. Sometimes a piece of the moon donates a few streaks⁶ of light to the

mystery trail. But when skies are dark, there are no visual clues for where I step.

My very first night hike was during summer camp on a warm August night in the Connecticut

woods. Our leader forbade bright flashlights so we would not scare away the nocturnal

creatures we hoped to find.

“See with your feet,” he told us over and over again.

Amazingly, that advice worked. With concentration — and a chunk⁷ of courage — it didn't

take long before our feet became sensitive to the ground's gradations , textures⁸ and

irregularities. Toes learned to explore for obstacles before trusting full weight on feet. Holes, dips,

and depressions in the ground were detected in advance of potential stumbles... but mistakes still

happen. My foot gets snagged into a trip and I fall. Since the pace is slow, there is little damage

except to pride. Once down, I pause to feel the firmness of earth beneath me, to imagine its

solidity all the way to core.

On my way home, as dawn makes way for day, I think about how similar night hikes are to

journeys through life.

The same rules often work for both： Slow down, concentrate, “see” with new senses — and

don't be scared. Despite uncertainties⁹ of the trail — hidden obstacles, false surfaces, slippery floor

— the earth is solid and firm underneath¹⁰. It is the nature of nocturnal ground. It is the nature of

life.

清晨，我开始在树林里散步的时候，天还黑着。秋天已远去，冬天来临了，我六点钟

开始散步，很久之后天还没亮。

多年步行熟悉了的小道，影影绰绰，甚为怪异。石块和树根着魔似的从原先平整的地

面冒了出来。

不可避免地，一些看不见的障碍物，被我踢到或把我绊倒。昨夜暴风雨中折断的树枝

掉落在小路上，得时时提防。一层层秋叶铺在小路上，形成错觉的表面，脚步踏上去，便

深陷其中。时而，月亮露出脸，在神秘的小道上洒下几缕亮光。而当天空一片漆黑时，我

便看不清该朝哪里迈步了。

我第一次夜行是在康涅狄格州森林里，那是八月里一个暖和的夜晚，我们在那里举行

夏令营。我们的领队不让我们使用明亮的手电筒，以免吓跑我们希望发现的夜间活动的动

物。

“用脚看路。”他一遍遍地对我们说。

真奇怪，他的劝告奏效了。集中注意力——加上鼓足勇气——没用多久，我们的脚便

能觉察出地面的高低、软硬和不平坦的地方。脚趾学会了先探查障碍物，然后才移步向

前。地面上的坑坑洼洼，在没有把我们绊倒之前就被探明了……但也有出错的时候。我的

脚一不小心被绊了一下，我跌倒了。因为步速很慢，并无损伤，只是觉得有点不好意思。

一旦跌倒，我便停下来摸摸脚下泥土的硬度，想象着一直到地心的坚硬程度。

在回家的路上，天已大亮，我思考着，夜间步行与人生之旅多么相似。

同样的规则，往往对两者都适用。放慢速度，集中注意力，用新的感官去“看”——不

要害怕。尽管小路上充满了不确定因素——隐藏的障碍，造成错觉的表面，湿滑的路面

——可是脚下的土地坚实牢固。夜晚的地面是这样，人生原来也是如此。

1 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

2 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。

3 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

6 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

8 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网

9 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。