美国语文第六册 第43期:诗歌采英(3)

 　　Old Age And Death. 老年和死亡

　　By Edmund Waller 埃德蒙·沃尔勒

　　The seas are quiet when the winds give o'er; 风过后海面波澜不兴，

　　So calm are we when passions are no more. 当我们激情不再时，内心竟如此平静。

　　For then we know how vain it was to boast of fleeting¹ things, too certain to be lost. 因为我们清楚以过眼烟云为荣有多么虚妄，逝去便不再。

　　Clouds of affection from our younger eyes 我们年轻时爱情的云朵从眼前飘过

　　Conceal² that emptiness which age descries³. 揭示了岁月的空洞。

　　The soul's dark cottage, battered⁴ and decayed, 心灵的黑暗囚所，飘摇而凋敝，

　　Lets in new light through chinks that time has made: 让新的光辉穿透时光造成的缝隙，

　　Stronger by weakness, wiser men become, 在他们挨近永恒的家园时，

　　As they draw near to their eternal home. 睿智的人由弱小而变得强大。

　　Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view, 告别老年，他们马上看到两个世界，

　　That stand upon the threshold of the new. 就站在新世界的门槛上。

　　Milton. 弥尔顿

　　By John Dryden 约翰·德莱顿

　　Three poets, in three distant ages born, 三位诗人，出生于相距遥远的时代，

　　Greece, Italy, and England did adorn⁵; 希腊、意大利和英格兰都倍极尊奉；

　　The first in loftiness of thought surpassed, 第一位思想超卓，

　　The next in majesty⁶, in both the last. 第二位雄伟壮丽，第三位两者兼具。

　　The force of nature could no further go; 大自然的鬼斧神工不过这样，

　　To make a third she joined the other two. 前两者的结合造就了最后一位。

1 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

2 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

3 descries   

v.被看到的，被发现的，被注意到的( descried的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Looking out over the sea, she descries an indistinct object floating in the water. 她向海面望去发现水面上模模糊糊漂着一样东西。 来自辞典例句

4 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

5 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

6 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！