01 The First Snow
The First Snow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line acrossthe landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more ratting wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.
Notes:
1. meadows: 草地、牧場
2. the living: 活著的人 (定冠詞 the +形容詞,表示某一類人或事物)。下面的 the dead 與此同
3. save:(adj.) 除了......以外 ex: All had gone save his mother.
4. leaden:(adj.) 鉛灰色的
5. intricacies: (n.) 原指錯綜復(fù)雜,這里指樹枝盤結(jié)交錯
6. seclusion:寧靜、遠離喧囂
7. was muffled: 被壓抑而低沉
8. tramping:此處形容馬蹄踏地發(fā)出的的聲的樣子
9. rattling:此處形容車輪發(fā)出格格聲的樣子
10. chiming: 由動詞 chime(和諧的奏鳴、敲打)得來
11. sleigh-bells:雪橇的鈴
初 雪
亨利。沃茲沃思。朗費羅
初雪飄臨。多么美啊!它整日整夜那么靜靜地飄著,落在山嶺上,落在草地上, 落在世人的屋頂上,落在死者的墳?zāi)股?!在一片白茫茫之中,只有河流在美麗的畫面上劃出一道曲曲彎彎的黑線;還有那葉兒落凈的樹木,映襯著鉛灰色的天空,此刻更顯得枝丫交錯,姿態(tài)萬千。初雪飄落時,是何等的寧,何等的幽靜!一切聲響都趨沉寂,一切噪音都化作柔和的音樂。再也聽不到馬蹄得得,再也聽不見車輪轔轔!唯有雪橇的鈴鐺,奏出和諧的樂聲,那明快歡樂的節(jié)拍猶如孩子們心房的博動。