08-August

August (Excerpt)

by Charles Dickens

There is no month in the whole year, in which nature wears a more

beautiful appearance than in the month of August. Spring has many

beauties, and May is a fresh and blooming month, but the charms of

this time of year are enhanced1) by their contrast with the winter

season. August has no such advantage. It comes when we remember

nothing but clear skies, green fields, and sweet-smelling flowers—

when the recollection2) of snow, and ice, and bleak3) winds, has

faded from our minds as completely as they have disappeared from the

earth — and yet what a pleasant time it is! Orchards² and

cornfields4) ring with the hum of labours; trees bend beneath the

thick clusters of rich fruit which bow their branches to the ground;

and the corn5), piled in graceful³ sheaves, or waving in every light

breath that sweeps above it, as if it wooed6) the sickle7), tinges8)

the landscape with a golden hue9). A mellow⁷ softness appears to hang

over the whole earth; the influence of the season seems to extend

itself to the very wagon⁸, whose slow motion across the well-reaped

field, is perceptible10) only to the eye, but strikes with no harsh

sound upon the ear.

注释

1) enhance [In5hB:ns] vt. 提高, 增强

2) recollection [7rekE5lekFEn] n. 回忆, 记忆, 回想

3) bleak¹ [bli:k] adj. 寒冷的，阴郁的

4) cornfield [5kR:nfi:ld] n. <英>小麦田，<美>玉米田

5) corn [kC:n] n. <英>谷物, <美>玉米,

6) woo [wu:] v. 求爱，招致

7) sickle⁴ [5sIkl] n. 镰刀

8) tinge⁵ [tIndV] n. 色调

9) hue⁶ [hju:] n. 色调, 颜色, 色彩

10) perceptible [pE5septEbl] adj. 可察觉的, 显而易见的, 感觉得到的

八月之美(节选)

文：查尔斯•狄更斯

一年之中，没有任何一个月份的自然风光比得过八月的风采。春天美不胜收，

而五月也是一个明媚清新、繁花似锦的月份，但这些时节的魅力是由于与冬天

的对比而增强的。八月没有这样的优势。它来的时候，我们只记得明朗的天空

、碧绿的田野，还有芳香四溢的花朵——记忆中的冰雪、刺骨的寒风都已完全

从我们的脑海中消逝，就仿佛它们在地球上了无踪迹——然而八月是多么令人

惬意的季节啊！果园和麦田到处都充溢着忙碌劳作的声响；串串果实压得果树

都弯下了腰，枝条低垂到地面；还有谷穗，有的一捆捆优雅地堆挤在一起，有

的迎风招展，仿佛在向镰刀求爱，它们给周围的景致染上了一层金黄的色调；

整个大地似乎笼罩在醇香柔和的气氛中；这秋季的气氛似乎也影响了那些马车

，只有眼睛可以察觉到它们穿过收割过的田野缓慢移动，但耳旁却寂静无声。

1 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

2 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

3 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

4 sickle   

n.镰刀

参考例句：

• The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
• There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。

5 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

6 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

7 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。

8 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。