原版英文故事与诗歌：The Tay Bridge Disaster

 　　The Tay Bridge Disaster

 

　　Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!

 

　　Alas¹! I am very sorry to say

 

　　That ninety lives have been taken away

 

　　On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

 

　　Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

 

　　'Twas about seven o'clock at night,

 

　　And the wind it blew with all its might,

 

　　And the rain came pouring down,

 

　　And the dark clouds seem'd to frown,

 

　　And the Demon² of the air seem'd to say-

 

　　"I'll blow down the Bridge of Tay."

 

　　When the train left Edinburgh

 

　　The passengers' hearts were light and felt no sorrow,

 

　　But Boreas blew a terrific gale³,

 

　　Which made their hearts for to quail⁴,

 

　　And many of the passengers with fear did say-

 

　　"I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay."

 

　　But when the train came near to Wormit Bay,

 

　　Boreas he did loud and angry bray⁵,

 

　　And shook the central girders of the Bridge of Tay

 

　　On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

 

　　Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

 

　　So the train sped on with all its might,

 

　　And Bonnie Dundee soon hove in sight,

 

　　And the passengers' hearts felt light,

 

　　Thinking they would enjoy themselves on the New Year,

 

　　With their friends at home they lov'd most dear,

 

　　And wish them all a happy New Year.

 

　　So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay,

 

　　Until it was about midway,

 

　　Then the central girders with a crash gave way,

 

　　And down went the train and passengers into the Tay!

 

　　The Storm Fiend did loudly bray,

 

　　Because ninety lives had been taken away,

 

　　On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

 

　　Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

 

　　As soon as the catastrophe⁶ came to be known

 

　　The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown,

 

　　And the cry rang out all o'er the town,

 

　　Good Heavens! the Tay Bridge is blown down,

 

　　And a passenger train from Edinburgh,

 

　　Which fill'd all the peoples hearts with sorrow,

 

　　And made them for to turn pale,

 

　　Because none of the passengers were sav'd to tell the tale

 

　　How the disaster happen'd on the last Sabbath day of 1879,

 

　　Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

 

　　It must have been an awful sight,

 

　　To witness in the dusky moonlight,

 

　　While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,

 

　　Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,

 

　　Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,

 

　　I must now conclude my lay

 

　　By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,

 

　　That your central girders would not have given way,

 

　　At least many sensible men do say,

 

　　Had they been supported on each side with buttresses⁷,

 

　　At least many sensible men confesses,

 

　　For the stronger we our houses do build,

 

　　The less chance we have of being killed.

 

　　Your turn

 

　　Have you ever experienced any kind of natural disaster? If not, imagine what it would be like. Write a poem about your real or imagined experience. Send it to us.

 

　　Other selected disaster poems

 

　　After the Deluge⁸

 

　　by Maggie Borum

 

　　A walk in the garden

 

　　Right after the storm --

 

　　The air is much clearer

 

　　When the deluge moves on

 

　　Yes the deluge is over

 

　　But the damage remains⁹

 

　　When rage is discharged

 

　　And can't be contained

 

　　Feelings accrue¹⁰ --

 

　　The levee gives way --

 

　　Again and again,

 

　　But what can I say?

 

　　It's one of the worst mistakes

 

　　Man or Nature makes:

 

　　Reason returns, but by

 

　　Then it's too late

1 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

2 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

3 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

4 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

5 bray   

n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫

参考例句：

• She cut him off with a wild bray of laughter.她用刺耳的狂笑打断了他的讲话。
• The donkey brayed and tried to bolt.这头驴嘶叫着试图脱缰而逃。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 buttresses   

n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Flying buttresses were constructed of vertical masonry piers with arches curving out from them like fingers. 飞梁结构，灵感来自于带拱形的垂直石质桥墩，外形像弯曲的手指。 来自互联网
• GOTHIC_BUTTRESSES_DESC;Gothic construction, particularly in its later phase, is characterized by lightness and soaring spaces. 哥特式建筑，尤其是其发展的后期，以轻灵和高耸的尖顶为标志。 来自互联网

8 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 accrue   

v.(利息等)增大，增多

参考例句：

• Ability to think will accrue to you from good habits of study.思考能力将因良好的学习习惯而自然增强。
• Money deposited in banks will accrue to us with interest.钱存在银行，利息自生。