英语名篇诵读 人与自然

Man and Nature

人与自然

Hamilton Wright Mabie(汉密尔顿·赖特·梅比)

The intimacy¹ between man and Nature begins with the birth of man on the earth, and

becomes each century more intelligent and far-reaching. To Nature, therefore, we turn as to the

oldest and most influential² teacher of our race; from one point of view once our task-master, now

our servant; from another point of view, our constant friend, instructor³ and inspirer.

The very intimacy of this relation robs it of a certain mystery and richness, which it would

have for all minds if it were the reward of the few instead of being the privilege of the many.

To the few it is, in every age, full of wonder and beauty; to the many it is a matter of course.

The heavens shine for all, but they have a changing splendor⁴ to those only who see in every

midnight sky a majesty⁵ of creative energy and resource, which no repetition of the spectacle can

dim.

If the stars shone but once in a thousand years, men would gaze, awe-struck and worshipful,

on a vision which is not less but more wonderful because it shines nightly above the whole earth.

In like manner, and for the same reason, we become indifferent to that delicately beautiful or

sublimely⁶ impressive sky scenery, which the clouds form and reform, compose and dissipate

, a thousand times on a summer day. The mystery, the terror, and the music of the sea; the secret

and subduing⁷ charm of the woods, so full of healing for the spent mind or the restless spirit;

the majesty of the hills, holding in their recesses⁸ the secrets of light and atmosphere; the infinite

variety of landscape, never imitative or repetitious , but always appealing to the imagination

with some fresh and unsuspected loveliness — who feels the full power of these marvelous

resources for the enrichment of life, or takes from them all the health, delight, and enrichment

they have to bestow⁹ ?

自人类在地球上出现，人与自然的亲密关系也就随之诞生了，而且这种关系一个世纪

比一个世纪更加睿智，影响更加深远。因此，我们把自然当作我们人类最年长、最有影响

力的老师看待；从一种观点看，自然曾经是我们的监工，现在成了我们的奴仆；从另一种

观点看，自然是我们永恒的朋友、导师和启发者。

这种亲密关系，如果仅仅是少数人的奖赏，而不是大多数人享有的权利，那对于众人

来说，就会失去神秘的丰饶。

在每个时代，对于少数人，自然充满了奇妙和美好的东西；对于多数人，自然只是普

通的存在，平平常常。天空照耀着所有的人，但只有少数人能看到其气象万千的壮丽，他

们在每一个午夜的天空都能看出一种蕴含着创造性能量的庄严肃穆之美，无论那种景象重

复多少次，都不会使美黯淡失色。

如果星辰每一千年才照耀一次大地，人们将怀着敬畏崇敬的心情凝视那种美景，而美

景夜夜出现在人间大地，其实非但不会有所减损，反而会更添奇妙。

夏日的天空，浮云千百次地聚散飘忽，变幻着柔美壮丽的动人画卷，而我们，同样

地，也因为相同的原因，都无动于衷，熟视无睹。神秘、恐怖而富有乐感的海洋；森林摄

人魂魄的魅力与神秘，蕴含抚慰疲惫与焦躁之心的灵丹妙药；肃穆静美的山峦，在其幽深

之处，饱含光与大气之奥秘；变幻无穷的风景，永远以出人意料的新鲜美丽唤起人们的想

象力——谁感受到了这些奇妙资源的全部力量，让生活更加充盈富足？或者，谁从那里领

受了自然所赐予的所有健康、快乐和丰美？

1 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

4 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

5 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

6 sublimely   

高尚地，卓越地

参考例句：

• In devotion woman is sublimely superior to man. 怜悯是女子胜过男子的德性之一。
• She was sublimely unaware of how foolish she looked. 她根本不知道她的样子多愚蠢。

7 subduing   

征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗

参考例句：

• They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。
• Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为：是精神，神秘色彩十分慑。

8 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？