《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 59 男孩学会了沉默

The boy awoke as the sun rose.

男孩睁开了双眼，太阳在地平线上喷薄欲出。

There, in front of him, where the small stars had been the night before, was an endless row of date palms, stretching across the entire desert.

在他面前，昨夜群星闪烁的地方，有一排看不到尽头的椰枣树铺展开去，将面前的沙漠覆盖了。

"We've done it!" said the Englishman, who had also awakened¹ early.

“我们成功了。”英国人说。他也是刚刚醒来。

But the boy was quiet. He was at home with the silence of the desert, and he was content just to look at the trees.

但是，男孩却默默无语。他已经学会了像沙漠那样保持沉默，只是兴奋地望着面前的椰枣树林。

He still had a long way to go to reach the pyramids, and someday this morning would just be a memory.

他还必须走很多的路才能到达金字塔。有朝一日，这个清晨将成为一个回忆，仅此而已。

But this was the present moment—the party the camel driver had mentioned—and he wanted to live it as he did the lessons of his past and his dreams of the future.

但是现在，清晨是正在经历的这一刻，是那赶驼人所说的节日。他想带着过去的教训和未来的梦想去体验这个时刻。

Although the vision of the date palms would someday be just a memory, right now it signified shade, water, and a refuge from the war.

有一天，那成千上万棵椰枣树覆盖沙漠的景象将会成为回忆。不过，现在这会儿，椰枣树对他来说却意味着阴凉、水源和躲避战火的地方。

Yesterday, the camel's groan² signaled danger, and now a row of date palms could herald³ a miracle.

就如同骆驼的一声嘶鸣可能意味着危险一样，一排椰枣树也可以标志着一个奇迹。

The world speaks many languages, the boy thought.

世界会讲许多种语言，男孩想。

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。