血字的研究 43沙漠中的旅客(1)

PART 2 THE COUNTRY OF THE SAINTS

第二部 圣徒的故园

Chapter 1

第一章

ON THE GREAT ALKALI PLAIN

大硷地

IN THE central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid¹ and repulsive² desert, which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilization.

在北美大陆的中部，有一大片干旱荒凉的沙漠；多少年来，它一直是文化发展的障碍。

From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence.

从内华达山脉到尼布拉斯卡，从北部的黄石河到南部的科罗拉多，完全是一块荒凉沉寂的区域。

Nor is Nature always in one mood throughout this grim district.

但是在这凄凉可怕的地区里，大自然的景色也不尽同。

It comprises snow-capped and lofty mountains, and dark and gloomy valleys.

这里有大雪封盖的高山峻岭，有阴沉昏暗的深谷，

There are swift-flowing rivers which dash through jagged canons; and there are enormous plains, which in winter are white with snow, and in summer are gray with the saline alkali dust.

也有湍急的河流，在山石嵯峨的峡谷之间奔流；也有无边的荒原，冬天积雪遍地，夏日则呈现出一块灰色的硷地。

They all preserve, however, the common characteristics of barrenness, inhospitality, and misery³.

虽然如此，一般的特点还是荒芜不毛、寸草不生、无限凄凉。

There are no inhabitants of this land of despair.

在这片无望的土地上，人烟绝迹。

A band of Pawnees or of Blackfeet may occasionally traverse it in order to reach other hunting- grounds, but the hardiest⁴ of the braves are glad to lose sight of those awesome⁵ plains, and to find themselves once more upon their prairies.

只有波尼人和黑足人偶尔结队走过这里，前往其他猎区；即使是最勇敢最坚强的人，也巴不得早日走完这片可怕的荒原，重新投身到大草原中去。

The coyote skulks⁶ among the scrub, the buzzard flaps heavily through the air, and the clumsy grizzly⁷ bear lumbers⁸ through the dark ravines, and picks up such sustenance⁹ as it can amongst the rocks.

只有山狗躲躲藏藏地在矮丛林中穿行，巨雕缓慢地在空中翱翔，还有那蠢笨的灰熊，出没在阴沉的峡谷里，寻找食物。

These are the sole dwellers¹⁰ in the wilderness¹¹.

它们是荒原里绝无仅有的居客。

In the whole world there can be no more dreary¹² view than that from the northern slope of the Sierra Blanco.

世界上再也没有什么地方会比布兰卡山脉北麓的景象更为凄凉的了。

As far as the eye can reach stretches the great flat plain-land, all dusted over with patches of alkali, and intersected by clumps¹³ of the dwarfish¹⁴ chaparral bushes.

极目四望，荒原上只见被矮小的槲树林隔断的一片片盐硷地。

On the extreme verge¹⁵ of the horizon lie a long chain of mountain peaks, with their rugged¹⁶ summits flecked with snow.

地平线的尽头，山峦起伏，积雪皑皑，闪烁着点点银光

In this great stretch of country there is no sign of life, nor of anything appertaining to life.

在这片土地上既没有生命，也没有和生命有关的东西。

There is no bird in the steel-blue heaven, no movement upon the dull, gray earth–above all, there is absolute silence.

铁青色的天空中飞鸟绝迹，灰暗的大地上不见动静。

Listen as one may, there is no shadow of a sound in all that mighty¹⁷ wilderness; nothing but silence–complete and heart-subduing silence.

总之，一片死寂。倾耳静听，在这片广阔荒芜的大地上，毫无声息，只是一片彻底的、令人灰心绝望的死寂。

It has been said there is nothing appertaining to life upon the broad plain. That is hardly true.

有人说，在这广袤的原野上没有一点和生命有关的东西存在，这种说法也不真实。

Looking down from the Sierra Blanco, one sees a pathway traced out across the desert, which winds away and is lost in the extreme distance.

从布兰卡山脉往下观看，可以看见一条小路，曲曲弯弯地穿过沙漠，消逝在遥远的地平线上。

It is rutted with wheels and trodden down by the feet of many adventurers.

这条小路是经过多少车辆辗轧，经过无数冒险家的践踏而形成的。

Here and there there are scattered¹⁸ white objects which glisten¹⁹ in the sun, and stand out against the dull deposit of alkali.

这儿一堆，那儿一堆，到处散布着白森森的东西在日光下闪闪发光，在这片单调的硷地上显得非常刺眼。

Approach, and examine them!

走近仔细一看，

They are bones: some large and coarse, others smaller and more delicate. The former have belonged to oxen, and the latter to men.

原来是一堆堆白骨：又大又粗的是牛骨；较小较细的是人骨。

For fifteen hundred miles one may trace this ghastly caravan²⁰ route by these scattered remains²¹ of those who had fallen by the wayside.

在这一千五百英里可怕的商旅道路上，人们是沿着前人倒毙路旁的累累遗骨前进的。

1 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

2 repulsive   

adj.排斥的，使人反感的

参考例句：

• She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
• The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

3 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

4 hardiest   

能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的

参考例句：

• This trip will season even the hardiest traveller. 这个旅行会让最坚硬的旅行者适应。

5 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

6 skulks   

v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The lonely man skulks down the main street all day. 这个孤独的人整天在这条大街上躲躲闪闪。 来自互联网

7 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

8 lumbers   

砍伐（lumber的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Carefully she covers them and lumbers away. 它把这些卵仔细地盖好，然后慢吞吞地走开了。
• Research shows that the intrinsic frequency of hole defect lumbers is little lower than standard lumbers. 研究表明，含有孔洞试件的固有频率与标准试件相比略低一些，但差别不大。

9 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

10 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

13 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 dwarfish   

a.像侏儒的，矮小的

参考例句：

• Her dwarfish spouse still smoked his cigar and drank his rum without heeding her. 她那矮老公还在吸他的雪茄，喝他的蔗酒，睬也不睬她。
• Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things and heavenly. 不要再满足于属世的成就，要努力奔向属天的事物。

15 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

16 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

17 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

18 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

19 glisten   

vi.（光洁或湿润表面等）闪闪发光，闪闪发亮

参考例句：

• Dewdrops glisten in the morning sun.露珠在晨光下闪闪发光。
• His sunken eyes glistened with delight.他凹陷的眼睛闪现出喜悦的光芒。

20 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

21 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。