英國語文第五冊(雙語):云層之上(1)

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LESSON 3 Above the clouds

第三課 云層之上

In 1856 an attempt was made, under the auspices of the British Government, to commence a series of observations in some region "above the clouds," where the serene and quiet air would be specially favourable for viewing the heavenly bodies. The island of Teneriffe was selected for this purpose, as combining more of the required advantages than any other mountain within easy reach of Europe.

1856年，在英國政府的贊助下，人們試圖對“云層之上”的某些領(lǐng)域開始一系列的探索，那片寧靜安詳?shù)奶炜帐且挥[天體的絕佳之處。特里芬島嶼也因此被選為（探索之地），因為它除了容易到達歐洲之外，比起其他山脈具備觀測的更多優(yōu)勢。

The expedition was under the direction of Piazzi Smyth, the distinguished astronomer at Edinburgh; who, in a remarkable and interesting work, has since published a narrative of the expedition. In an article contributed to a popular magazine he thus graphically describes the ascent of Teneriffe to a point high "above the clouds:"

考察隊是來自愛丁堡的著名天文學家Piazzi Smyth的指導下進行的，這位從事非凡且有趣的工作的人曾發(fā)表了關(guān)于這次考察的文章。在為一本流行雜志撰寫的一篇文章中，他生動地描述了攀登特里芬島嶼的一定高度——稱為“云層之上”:

It was only a few days after—on a morning also cloudy, and with north-east cloud too—that the little party set forth from the town of Orotava, on the northern coast of Teneriffe, to climb the great mountain, and put to the only true test of actual practice their hopes of getting "above the clouds." Through long, winding, stony pathways, between vineyards and cactus plantations, between orange groves and fig-trees, they proceeded, always ascending; past gardens, and then past orchards, still ever ascending; past corn-fields and oat-fields, ascending yet higher, and then amongst natural vegetation only—ferns and heath and some few wild laurels; and now, at a height of 3,000 feet vertical, they are close under the cloud.

僅僅在幾天以后——也是一個多云的早晨，同時東北方也是布滿云——一支隊伍從位于特里芬北部海岸邊的Orotava小鎮(zhèn)出發(fā)，向宏偉的山脈邁進，將“云層之上”的希望付諸實踐。經(jīng)過長長的，蜿蜒的石徑，在葡萄園和仙人掌種植園之間穿行，漫步橘子園與無花果樹林間，他們向前進，一直向上攀登；穿過花園后，經(jīng)過果園；經(jīng)過了玉米地與燕麥地，向更高處攀登，身處天然蕨類植被與許多野生桂樹中?，F(xiàn)在，他們到達了垂直高度3000尺的地方，那里已接近云層之下了。

Before entering therein, let us pause for a moment and survey the beauties of creation in the region we are leaving behind. If, for that one purpose of severe astronomy, a position below the clouds is unsuitable, yet what an infinite amount of benefit for man to enjoy, and of beauty for him to contemplate, is connected therewith! Beneath the clouds are kindly rains and gentle dews; and these, assisted by a warm climate, encourage all those exquisite forms of vegetation which we have admired clothing the lower slopes of the mountain. Without these, where were the fruits to support human life; where the buds and blossoms and fading flowers which teach us many a lesson useful to life eternal?

在到達那之前，讓我們稍作停留，欣賞一下那些我們留在身后的美麗風景。如果僅僅是出于嚴謹?shù)奶煳膶W的目的去探索，那么在未到達云層之上的觀賞是不合適的，一路上無數(shù)的美景與收益對觀測者而言也是不合適的！然而，云層之下溫柔的雨與輕柔的水珠，以及在溫暖的氣候下形成的精致的植被，那些我們已經(jīng)欣賞過的覆蓋在再山脈下斜坡處的植物，沒有它們，哪來的水果供人類生存；沒有它們，我們?nèi)绾文軓幕ǖ拿妊俊⒕`放到凋零中學會生命的永恒？

But duty now calls us on our upward way. Before many more seconds are passed, first comes one cold hurrying blast, with mist upon its wings, and then another, and another. Then, in the midst of a constant dense wet fog, all creation is shut out of our view, except the few feet of sloping earth on which we are treading, and that appears of a dull gray; and the occasional spiders' webs seen across our path are loaded with heavy drops of moisture.

但是肩上的責任召喚著我們繼續(xù)向上。過了一會兒，一陣冷風襲來，風中夾雜著薄霧，接著一陣一陣寒風吹向我們。然后，在不斷的濃霧中，所有美景都從視野里消失了，除了我們腳下的那片土地，呈現(xiàn)出暗灰色，偶爾有蜘蛛網(wǎng)橫在我們行走的小道上，上面掛著許多欲墜的水滴。