美国语文第六册 第36期:早晨的清唱剧(2)

 　　In the morning, at this time of year, on the contrary, we are overpowered by the vocal¹ and multitudinous chorus of the feathered tribe. 与之形成鲜明对比的是，每年这个季节的清晨，我们都会被长着羽毛的族类那动听和多声部大合唱。

　　If you would hear the commencement of this grand anthem² of nature, you must rise at the very first appearance of dawn, 倘若你乍一听大自然这种气势恢宏的圣歌，在东方天际上空形成一道完整的半圆形光环之前，

　　before the twilight³ has formed a complete semicircle above the eastern porch of heaven. 你必定会拂晓刚一崭露头角之际就闻歌起床。

　　The first note that proceeds from the little warbling host, is the shrill⁴ chirp⁵ of the hairbird,—occasionally vocal at an hours on a warm summer night. 这个啼鸣的族类第一个音符就是梳妆鸟那尖锐刺耳的叫声，在温馨的夏日夜晚偶尔也会一连几个小时叫个不停。

　　This strain, which is a continued trilling sound, is repeated with diminishing intervals⁶, until it becomes almost incessant⁷. 持续啼鸣所带来的音调张力，每隔一段时间就会渐渐减弱，几乎从不间断。

　　But ere the hairbird has uttered many notes, a single robin⁸ begins to warble from a neighboring orchard⁹, soon followed by others, 但是，在梳妆鸟发出许多音符之前，一只知更鸟开始从相邻的果园吱吱叫，其他鸟儿很快就加入这场大合唱，

　　increasing in numbers until, by the time the eastern sky is flushed with crimson¹⁰, every male, robin in the country round is singing with fervor¹¹. 数量不断增加，直到东方的天际映出深红色，这个国家每只雄性知更鸟都在热情地歌唱。

　　It would be difficult to note the exact order in which the different birds successively begin their parts in this performance; 要想在不同种类的鸟儿相继在这场演出中开始加入自己的声部时分辨出确切的顺序，是一件相当困难的事情。

　　but the bluebird, whose song is only a short, mellow¹² warble, is heard nearly at the same time with the robin, 可是蓝知更鸟则不尽然，它的歌声只是一种短促而柔和的啼鸣，在别的知更鸟亮出歌喉的同时几乎听不到它的叫声，

　　and the song sparrow joins them soon after with his brief but finely modulated¹³ strain. 而麻雀加入它们阵营后很快就形成简短但调整得非常完美的乐段。

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

3 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

4 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

5 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

6 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

7 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

8 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

9 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

10 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

11 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

12 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

13 modulated   

已调整[制]的，被调的

参考例句：

• He carefully modulated his voice. 他小心地压低了声音。
• He had a plump face, lemur-like eyes, a quiet, subtle, modulated voice. 他有一张胖胖的脸，狐猴般的眼睛，以及安详、微妙和富于抑扬顿挫的嗓音。