记冬日泛舟于佩河之上

英语学习杂志 2016-12-26 17:27

分享到

 

冬日,却残留着许多秋日的清爽。
我泛舟于佩河之上,碰到另一位泛舟者。
我们驶近对方,抓住对方的舷缘——泛舟者之间独有的拥抱。
"这难道不是个奇迹吗?"
"这样的机会确是难得!"
难忘的泛舟之旅,人生能有几次机会?

记冬日泛舟于佩河之上

By Robert Klose

文玮 选注

In all my years in Maine I have never experienced a winter like this. Where there should be snow, there is green grass. When I should be bundled to the hilt, I am outside in shirtsleeves. And where the river behind my house should be frozen from bank to bank, it runs freely.

I took what I thought was my last canoe ride in October, when the bordering woods were embroidered with reds and golds and the cool air still bore a hint of warmth when the breeze died down. Reaching over the gunwale, I dipped my hand into the water and one thought occurred to me: "swimmable." But I resisted temptation and, with November's advent, put the canoe up for the season.

As it turned out, I was premature. These early winter days have been nothing short of gracious, perhaps an attempt by nature to reset the balance by rewarding us for what we endured last winter, when snow fell upon snow until there was no place for the plows to put it.

And so, seizing the moment late last month, I untarped the canoe, grabbed my paddles and life jacket, slipped the old girl into the water, and set out.

Having paddled the Penobscot only during the warmer, more cooperative seasons, I was immediately struck by how different this winter world on the river was. In summer the trees are full of leaves and the banks thick with sedge, forming soft borders that give me a sense of embrace. Winter is different. The abrupt leaf-fall of autumn was like a curtain rising, exposing actors - trees - stripped to their bare bones, giving the woods a transparency that made me feel connected to a much wider world. How could I not think of Robert Frost's iconic poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," with my canoe the steed and I the observer? The woods are lovely, dark and deep...

I paddled on. My strokes were sure and smooth, but every so often, when I'd get mesmerized by the sheer silence and the gift of having the river all to myself, the paddle blade would slap the water and throw spray up onto my hand. I felt the chill from a river that, by all rights, should have been frozen solid by now. In fact, the cold told me that it was willing to freeze, if only the temperature would dip and give it a chance.

I paddled on, and two of my neighbors, a couple, strolled down to the riverbank. "Good for you!" the man called, waving, as if cheering a heroic deed. And farther down, an unanticipated moment - another canoeist, plying his languid way upriver. We drew close and grabbed hold of each other's gunwales, a fraternal clasp peculiar to canoeists.

"Isn't this something?" he remarked as we bobbed under a slate-gray sky. "We won't see many more opportunities like this," I replied.

It was idle banter, but heartfelt, and appropriate, for what more could be said? We let go and the river separated us again.

The rest of my ride was solitary. The river was moving so slowly that it was more like a lake on which I felt I could commit myself to a good, long stay. I checked the time and realized that I needed to meet a class at the university where I teach. But then again, if I didn't go, would my students protest? And, the next day, given the excuse that I didn't come to class because the day was so beautiful and I just had to be on the river, would they understand?

I reached over the side of the canoe, ran my hand through the water, and thought: The river's lovely, dark and deep, but I have a promise to keep....

And so I put in to shore, pulled the canoe onto the bank, and turned it over, its slick, wet belly shiny in the weak light of a winter day. I ran my hand over it, as if lulling it to sleep. This had surely been my last opportunity for a canoe ride until spring.

But then, again, who knows?

Vocabulary

1. Penobscot: 佩诺布斯科特河,美国缅因州中部河流。

2. Maine: 缅因州,美国东北部新英格兰的一个州,北临加拿大魁北克省,东临加拿大新不伦瑞克省及大西洋。

3. bundle: 束,捆,这里指裹着厚厚的衣服;to the hilt: 完全地,彻底地;in shirtsleeves: 只穿衬衣(不穿外套)。

4. 我上一次泛舟是在十月,当时秋叶黄如金、红如火,星星般点缀着沿河的树林,微风吹过,空气中尚有一丝暖意。我以为那会是我今年最后一次泛舟了。embroider: (在……上)刺绣;bear: 吹动,传送。

5. gunwale: 舷缘,舷边。

6. premature: (做事)过早的,过快的。

7. 这段早冬日子简直是天赐的仁慈,这也许是大自然的一种补偿方式,为了平衡我们去年所经历的冷酷无情的严冬。那时漫天鹅毛大雪,下个不停,直至铲雪机也无处安置它们了。nothing short of: 毫不逊于……,简直就是……(用于强调)。

8. untarp: 揭开盖在……上的防水帆布;paddle: 短桨;the old girl: 此处指的是作者的划艇。

9. sedge: (生长于潮湿处的)苔草;embrace: 拥抱。

10. 出其不意的秋日落叶就像升起的帷幕,将演员——树木——光秃秃的骨架裸露在外,整片树林变得透明,使我恍惚接触到了一个更为广阔的世界。abrupt: 突然的,出其不意的;transparency: 透明,透明度。

11. Robert Frost: 罗伯特•弗罗斯特(1874-1963),美国诗人,善用传统诗歌形式和口语表达新内容和现代感情名字、作品主要描写新英格兰的风土人情,四度获得普利策奖。名作有《雪夜林边小驻》、《未选的路》和《白桦树》;steed: 马,坐骑。

12. stroke: (划船的)一次划水;mesmerize: 迷惑,迷住;paddle blade: 桨叶;slap: 啪啪地撞击,拍击;spray: 浪花,水花。

13. dip: 减少,降低。

14. unanticipated: 不曾预料到的;ply: 定期往返;languid: 懒洋洋的,没精打采的。

15. fraternal: 兄弟般的,亲如手足的;clasp: 紧抱,紧握;peculiar: (个人或团体)特有的看,独具的。

16. be something: 真了不起,真精彩;bob: (在水面上)上下移动,起伏;slate-gray: 石板灰,青灰色。

17. banter: (善意的)取笑,打趣。

18. 此处仿照《雪夜林边小驻》一诗,原文是:The woods are lovely, dark and deep, / But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep.

19. slick: 光滑的。

20. lull: 使入睡,使安静。

(来源:英语学习杂志 编辑:董静)

上一篇 : 骑车记:飞一般的自由
下一篇 :

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn