26．Asummer Day 夏 日

26．Asummer  Day

　　One day thirty years ago Marseilles lay in the burning sun. A blazing nonupon  a  fierce  August  day  was  no  greater  rarity  in  southern  France  thenthan  at  any  other  time  before  or  since.  Every-tiring  in  Marseiiles  andabout Marseilles had stared at the fervid¹ sun, and been stared at in return,until a staring habit had become universal there. Strangers were staredout  of  countenance(1)  by  staring  white  houses,  8taring  white  streets,staring tracts² of arid³ road, staring hills from which verdure was burntaway. The only things to be seen not fixedly⁴ staring and glaring were thevines drooping⁵ under their loads of grapes. These did occasionally winka  little,  u  the  hot  air  barely  moved  their  faint  leaves.
The  universal  stare  made  the  eyes  ache.  Towards  the  distant  blue(2)  ofthe  Italian  coast,  indeed,  it  was  a  little  relieved  by  light  clouds  ofmist Slowly rising from the evaporation⁶ of the sea, but it softened⁷ nowhereelse. Far away the staring roads, deep in dust, stared from the hillside,stared from the hollow, stared from the interminable plain. Far away thedusty  vines  overhanging  wayside  cottages,  and  the  monotonous  waysideavenues of parched⁸ trees without shade, dropped beneath the stare of earthand  sky.  So  did  the  horses  with  drowsy  bells,  in  long  files  of  carts,creeping slowly towards the interior; so did their recumbent drivers, whenthey were awake, which rarely happened; so did the exhausted⁹ laborers¹⁰ inthe fields.(3) Every- thing that lived or grew was oppressed by the glare;except  the  lizard,  passing  swiftly  over  rough  stone  walls,  and  cicada,chirping its dry hot chirp¹¹, like a rattle¹². The very dust was scorched¹³ brown,and something quivered in the atmosphere as if the air itself were panting.
Blinds,  shutters,  curtains  ,awnings,  were  all  closed  and  drawn  to  keepout  the  stare.  Grant  it  but  a  chink  or  a  keyhole,  and  it  shot  in  like  awhite-hot  arrow.(4)

1 fervid   

adj.热情的；炽热的

参考例句：

• He is a fervid orator.他是个慷慨激昂的演说者。
• He was a ready scholar as you are,but more fervid and impatient.他是一个聪明的学者，跟你一样，不过更加热情而缺乏耐心。

2 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

3 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

4 fixedly   

adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地

参考例句：

• He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

6 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

7 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

8 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

9 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

10 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

11 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

12 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

13 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。