【双语有声阅读】写在教堂墓地的挽歌

Elegy¹ Written in a Country Churchyard

 

乡村墓园挽歌

Thomas Gray

托马斯·格雷

The curfew tolls² the knell³ of parting day,

晚钟为告别的白昼敲起了丧钟，

The lowing herd⁴ wind slowly o'er the lea,

咩咩羊群在草地上慢慢盘桓,

The plowman homeward plods⁶ his weary way,

农夫疲惫地蹒跚在回家途中，

And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

把整个世界留给我与黑暗。

Now fades the glimmering⁷ landscape on the sight,

 

此刻的大地闪着微光慢慢消退，

And all the air a solemn stillness holds,

四周弥漫着一片寂静和庄严，

Save where the beetle⁸ wheels his droning flight,

只听见甲壳虫在空中嗡嗡乱飞，

And drowsy⁹ tinklings lull¹⁰ the distant folds;

沉沉铃声为远处的羊圈催眠。

Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower,

 

只听见那边披着常春藤的塔楼上,

The moping owl⁵ does to the moon complain,

有只忧郁的猫头鹰对月抱怨，

Of such, as wandering near her secret bower¹¹,

怨有人在她秘密的深闺附近游逛，

Molest¹² her ancient solitary¹³ reign¹⁴.

打扰了她古老而幽静的庭院。

Beneath those rugged¹⁵ elms, that yew-tree's shade,

 

老苍的榆树下，紫杉的荫影里，

Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering¹⁶ heap,

许多荒冢在烂草堆中隆起，

Each in his narrow cell forever laid,

一个个在小窖里永远躺下躯体，

The rude forefathers¹⁷ of the hamlet sleep.

村里的粗鄙先辈在此安息。

The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn,

 

芬芳四溢的晨风轻轻的呼唤，

The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed,

茅草棚上燕子的细语呢喃，

The cock's shrill¹⁸ clarion¹⁹, or the echoing horn,

回荡的号角，或公鸡的高声鸣啼

No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.

再也不能把他们从床上唤起。

For them no more the blazing hearth²⁰ shall burn,

 

熊熊炉火再也不会为他们燃烧，

Or busy housewife ply²¹ her evening care;

主妇夜里也不会再为他们操劳，

No children run to lisp their sire's return,

孩子不再喊着跑去迎接爸爸回家，

Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.

不再趴到膝上去抢着亲吻撒娇。

Often did the harvest to their sickle²² yield,

 

昔日，他们用镰刀去夺取丰收，

Their furrow²³ oft the stubborn glebe has broke;

板结的土块被犁成一条条垄沟；

How jocund²⁴ did they drive their team afield!

赶着牲口下地，他们何等欢欣！

How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!

有力的砍伐使一根根树木低头！

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil²⁵,

 

别让“雄心”嘲笑他们有用的辛劳，

Their homely²⁶ joys, and destiny obscure;

家常的欢乐和默默无闻的命运;

Nor Grandeur²⁷ hear with a disdainful smile,

也别让“华贵”带着蔑视的冷笑

The short and simple annals of the poor.

来倾听穷人简朴短暂的生平。

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

 

炫耀的门第，显赫的权势，

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

美和财富赋予的一切事物,

Awaits alike the inevitable²⁸ hour.

都同样等待着不可避免之时:

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

光辉的道路终将导致坟墓。

1 elegy   

n.哀歌，挽歌

参考例句：

• Good heavens,what would be more tragic than that elegy!天哪，还有什么比那首挽歌更悲伤的呢！
• His book is not intended to be a complete history but a personal elegy.他的书与其说是一部完整的历史，更像是一篇个人挽歌。

2 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

3 knell   

n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟

参考例句：

• That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
• At first he thought it was a death knell.起初，他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

6 plods   

v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的第三人称单数 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）

参考例句：

• He plods away at his lessons until he learns them. 他埋头学习功课直到学会为止。 来自辞典例句
• Mr. Weaver stretches, yawns, rises reluctantly and plods heavily into the bathroom. 韦佛先生伸伸懒腰打了个呵欠，勉强起床，迈着沉重的脚步走进浴室去。 来自辞典例句

7 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

8 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

9 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

10 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

11 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

12 molest   

vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏

参考例句：

• If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。
• If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

13 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

14 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

15 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

16 mouldering   

v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌

参考例句：

• The room smelt of disuse and mouldering books. 房间里有一股长期不用和霉烂书籍的味道。
• Every mouldering stone was a chronicle. 每块崩碎剥落的石头都是一部编年史。 来自辞典例句

17 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

19 clarion   

n.尖音小号声；尖音小号

参考例句：

• Clarion calls to liberation had been mocked when we stood by.当我们袖手旁观的时候，自由解放的号角声遭到了嘲弄。
• To all the people present,his speech is a clarion call.对所有在场的人而言，他的演讲都是动人的号召。

20 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

21 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

22 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。

23 furrow   

n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹

参考例句：

• The tractor has make deep furrow in the loose sand.拖拉机在松软的沙土上留下了深深的车辙。
• Mei did not weep.She only bit her lips,and the furrow in her brow deepened.梅埋下头，她咬了咬嘴唇皮，额上的皱纹显得更深了。

24 jocund   

adj.快乐的，高兴的

参考例句：

• A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company.一个诗人在这种兴高采烈的同伴中自然而然地会快乐。
• Her jocund character made her the most popular girl in the county.她快乐的个性使她成为这个郡最受欢迎的女孩。

25 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

26 homely   

adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的

参考例句：

• We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
• Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？

27 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

28 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。