情满人间的温馨故事 第17期:在阳光下行走(上)

　　Years of storms had taken their toll¹ on the old windmill.
多年的风雨毁坏了古老的风车。
Its wheel, rusted² and fallen, lay silent in the lush bluegrass.
车轮已经锈了，倒了，静静地躺卧在茂盛的六月禾丛中。
Its once animated³ silhouette⁴ was now a tall motionless steeple in the twilight⁵ sun.
在落日的衬托下，曾经散发着生气的风车如今如耸立的尖塔般冰冷、生硬。
I hadn't walked across our old farm in fifteen years.
我已经有十五年没有走过我们的农场了。
Yet the sensations came flooding back.
然而，那些感觉又汹涌而至。
I could smell the freshness of new mown alfalfa.
我仿佛闻到了新割的苜蓿的清新气息，
I could feel the ping of the ice cold summer rain, and the sun's sudden warmth on my wet shoulders when it reappeared after a brisk July thunderstorm.
感觉到了冰冷夏雨敲打在身上，还有七月的雨后阳光照射在湿漉漉的身上骤然传来的暖意。
Rain or shine, I used to walk this path each day to see Greta.
无论雨天或晴天，我曾经天天沿着这条小径去探望葛丽塔。
She always made me smile, even after Sis and I had just had a big squabble.
即使我刚和姐姐大吵了一场，她也总能使我舒怀微笑。
I would help Greta with her chores.
我会帮葛丽塔做些家务。
Then we would visit over a generous helping⁶ of her delicious homemade chocolate cookies and ice cream.
然后，我们会大快朵颐，品尝她亲手做的巧克力曲奇饼和冰淇淋。
Being confined to a wheel chair didn't stop Greta from being a fabulous⁷ cook.
以轮椅代步并不妨碍她成为一名出色的厨师。
Greta gave me two of the greatest gifts I've ever received.
葛丽塔送给我两件最了不起的礼物。

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

4 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

5 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。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。