英语名篇诵读 快乐的圣诞节

Merry Christmas

快乐的圣诞节

William Saroyan(威廉·萨罗扬)

Christmas is looked forward to by a child with even greater excitement than the excitement

with which he looks forward to his own birthday, because Christmas is everybody's birthday, with

the party going on all over the world. Christmas is to every child, in his  own way, the wonder of

the world and the light of life.

Christmas is odors, brought in from the cold to the fire, a blend of perfume made of the scent¹

of snow mingling² with the scent of sanctity ; of holly³ and fir mingling with the gifts of new

clothes and new shoes; of Christmas candy and the bright, painted toys mingling with the

unmistakable scent of happiness that comes out of people at Christmas, no matter how deeply it is

buried.

Christmas is sounds — the talking and the laughing, the shouting and the singing of

childhood's hymns⁴ — the tinkling⁵ of the music box, which says “Hosanna” in the child's

language of gladness, no matter if it is only saying, “This is the way we wash our clothes, wash

our clothes, wash our clothes!” in English.

Christmas is tastes — the round, golden taste of the orange — the taste of the perfect sphere,

which has hung among the green leaves in the warm sun. It is the red-and-white-striped taste of

peppermint⁶ . It is the sharp, sweet juice of the apple from the toe of the stocking.

Because it is the child's day, the coming of Christmas up the white steps of December

transforms mothers and fathers into the children they once were — until at last, on Christmas Eve,

their caroling beside the tree is with the earnest voice of childhood. And the tears in their eyes

are once again the tears caused by great expectations of wondrous⁷ things to come.

孩子盼望圣诞节来临，比盼望自己的生日更加激动热切。因为圣诞节是每个人的节

日，全世界的人都在聚会欢庆。对于每一个孩子，圣诞节都是世界奇观，是生活的明灯。

圣诞节是有气味的，这气味从寒冷的室外来到暖融融的炉火旁，是由雪花的气味和神

圣的气味调和而成的芳香；是由冬青冷杉和新衣服新鞋子这些圣诞礼物调和而成的芳香；

是由圣诞糖果、鲜亮的彩色玩具和圣诞节人们心中洋溢着的真切快乐（哪怕深藏心底）调

和而成的芳香。

圣诞节是有声音的——欢声笑语，孩子们清亮的圣歌——音乐盒的丁零声，用孩子们

快乐的童声说着“和散那”，或者只是用英语说“我们就是这样洗衣服，洗衣服，洗衣服！”

圣诞节是有滋味的——那圆圆的金色橙子的滋味——那完美的圆球的滋味，充溢在温

暖阳光下的绿叶间。那是有着红白条纹的薄荷糖的滋味。那是从长筒袜的趾部散发出来的

香甜的苹果汁的滋味。

因为是孩子们的节日，随着圣诞节登上十二月的白色台阶，父母们也好像回到了曾经

的孩提时代——直到最后，在圣诞夜，他们在圣诞树旁唱起颂歌，歌声里饱含着孩童的纯

真渴望。他们的眼中含着泪花，再次满心期待将来会有奇迹般的事情出现。

1 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

2 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

3 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

4 hymns   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句

5 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

6 peppermint   

n.薄荷，薄荷油，薄荷糖

参考例句：

• Peppermint oil is very good for regulating digestive disorders.薄荷油能很有效地调节消化系统失调。
• He sat down,popped in a peppermint and promptly choked to death.他坐下来，突然往嘴里放了一颗薄荷糖，当即被噎死。

7 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。