美国语文第六册 第240期:衬衫之歌(3)

Oh but to breathe the breath Of the cowslip and primrose¹ sweet! With the sky above my head, and the grass beneath my feet,

莫负春日花草香，黄花痴长春更浓！头上蓝天脚下草，

for only one short hour to feel as I used to feel, before I knew the woes² of want, and the walk that costs a meal!

觉我未觉只一消，一餐愁苦心自知！

"Oh but for one short hour, a respite³, however brief!

“转瞬稍安何其短！

No blessed leisure for love or hope, but only time for grief!

闲暇怎与爱与望，仅付时光与悲伤！

A little weeping would ease my heart, but in their briny⁴ bed my tears must stop,

饮泣窃窃慰吾心，涕泪莫与海中花，

for every drop hinders needle and thread."

滴滴碍吾针线忙。”

With fingers weary and worn, with eyelids⁵ heavy and red, a woman sat, in unwomanly rags, playing her needle and thread;

手指酸软渐磨伤，眼皮沉重血丝浓，衣不遮体斜身坐，针线飞舞又穿梭；

Stitch! stitch! stitch! in poverty, hunger, and dirt,

一针一针再一针！饥寒交迫哪堪当，

and still with a voice of dolorous⁶ pitch, would that its tone could reach the rich! She sang this "Song of the Shirt."

声音悲呛引吭歌，却道是《衬衫之歌》。

1 primrose   

n.樱草，最佳部分，

参考例句：

• She is in the primrose of her life.她正处在她一生的最盛期。
• The primrose is set off by its nest of green.一窝绿叶衬托着一朵樱草花。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

4 briny   

adj.盐水的；很咸的；n.海洋

参考例句：

• The briny water is not good for the growth of the trees.海水不利于这种树木的生长。
• The briny air gave a foretaste of the nearby sea.咸空气是快近海的前兆。

5 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dolorous   

adj.悲伤的；忧愁的

参考例句：

• With a broken-hearted smile,he lifted a pair of dolorous eyes.带著伤心的微笑，他抬起了一双痛苦的眼睛。
• Perhaps love is a dolorous fairy tale.也许爱情是一部忧伤的童话。