散文：夜莺与玫瑰Part 8

 【英文原文】

  And when the moon shone in the heavens the nightingale flew to the rose-tree, and set her breast against the thorn. All night long she sang, with her breast against the thorn, and the cold crystal moon leaned down and listened. All night long she sang, and the thorn went deeper and deeper into her breast, and her life-blood ebbed² away from her.

  She sang first of the birth of love in the heart of a boy and a girl. And on the topmost spray of the rose-tree there blossomed a marvelous rose, petal³ following petal, as song followed song. Pale was it, at first, as the mist that hangs over the river—pale as the feet of the morning, and silver as the wings of the dawn. As the shadow of a rose in a mirror of silver, as the shadow of a rose in a water-pool, so was the

rose that blossomed on the topmost spray of the tree.

　But the tree cried to the nightingale to press closer against the thorn. "Press closer, little nightingale," cried the tree, "or the day will come before the rose is finished."

 

【词汇简析】

crystal n. 水晶的

ebb¹ away 消逝，渐渐衰退

topmost adj. 最高的

spray n. 小树枝

petal n. 花瓣

1 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

2 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

3 petal   

n.花瓣

参考例句：

• Each white petal had a stripe of red.每一片白色的花瓣上都有一条红色的条纹。
• A petal fluttered to the ground.一片花瓣飘落到地上。