美国小学英语教材6:第159课 亚伯拉罕·林肯成长历程(5)

Growing from boy to man, he was alone a good deal of the time.

从男孩长成了男人，他大部分时间都是独自一人。

Days came often when he was by himself all the time except at breakfast and supper hours in the cabin home.

他总是独自一人，除了在小棚屋里吃早饭和晚饭。

In some years more of his time was spent in loneliness than in, the company of other people.

多年来他更多时间是独来独往，而不是和其他人在一起。

It happened, too, that this loneliness he knew was not like that of people in cities who can look from a window on streets

他所知道的孤独不像城市里面的孤独，那些人从窗户里面看大街，

where faces pass and repass. It was the wilderness¹ loneliness he became acquainted with.

看人来人往，他已经熟悉了荒野的孤独。

He lived with trees, with the bush wet with shining raindrops, with the burning bush of autumn.

他和树木住在一起，和带有亮晶晶雨滴的灌木丛住在一起，和秋天火红的灌木丛住在一起。

The faces of open sky and weather, the ax which is a one-man instrument, these he had for companions, books, friends,

开阔的天空和天气，斧头是一个人的工具，这才是他的伴侣，书籍和朋友，

talkers, chums of his endless changing thoughts.

也是交流者，无休止交流思想的朋友。

His moccasined feet in the winter time knew the white spaces of snowdrifts piled in queer shapes

在冬天，穿着软帮皮鞋的脚知道奇形怪状的雪堆

against timber slopes or blown in levels across the fields of last year's cut corn stalks;

依靠着木斜坡堆放，或是一层层飘洒在去年砍掉的玉米秸田地里；

in the summer time his bare feet toughened in the gravel² of green streams,

夏天，他赤裸的脚因踩在清澈的溪水砂砾中而变硬，

while he laughed back to the chatter³ of bluejays in the red haw trees,

他向山楂树上唱歌的蓝鸦回头笑了笑，

or while he kept his eyes ready in the slough⁴ grass for the cow snake, the rattler, the copperhead.

他的眼睛会随时盯着沼泽草中的牛奶蛇，响尾蛇和铜头蛇。

He rested between spells of work in the springtime when the upward push of the coming out of the new grass can be heard,

在春天，他在工作时期小憩时会听到绿草从土壤中迸发的声音，

and in autumn weeks when the rustle⁵ of a single falling leaf lets go a whisper that a listening ear can catch. And so he grew.

在秋天的几周，一片落叶发出的沙沙声就可以成为倾听者可以听到的耳语，他长大了。

1 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。

2 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

3 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

4 slough   

v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃

参考例句：

• He was not able to slough off the memories of the past.他无法忘记过去。
• A cicada throws its slough.蝉是要蜕皮的。

5 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。