Silence沉默

 　Indeed, for a living being there is no such thing as true silence, for silence itself is a revelation of the mind and the heart, an echo of the soul of a different form.

　　Some people use silence as a disguise of the emptiness of the head.

　　Some use it as a means to depict¹ their disorientation and melancholy².

　　And some use it as a way of expressing their angers and sorrows.

　　...

　　Silence usually is ephemeral. It reminds one of the bronze bells dangling³ from a pagoda's eaves; on windless days they are a decoration upon the age-weathered beauty, but with wind they give out wonderful tinkling⁴ and jingling⁵ metallurgic sounds, as if echoing age-old stories of long, long ago...

　　Do you not think the same of silent people?

　　They say that "silence is golden", but of what nature is this "gold"? It can include integrity, honesty and kindness; it can stand for indifference⁶ to and detachment from fame and fortune; but it can also act as an excuse for hypocrisy⁷, slyness and cowardice⁸... the glittering of gold may not necessarily be the most brilliant lustre⁹ in the world.

　　Can it be that permanent silence is only represented by death?

　　Perhaps even death cannot represent true silence, for the carrier of the soul can turn into dust, so that the sincere and wise voices from the bottom of the heart will trigger long-lasting echoes in the seas of human hearts...

　　[参考译文]

　　其实，对活着的生命而言，真正的沉默是不存在的。沉默本身也是一种思想和心境的流露，是灵魂的另一种形式的回声。

　　有的人以沉默掩饰思想的空虚。

　　有的人以沉默叙述迷茫和惆怅。

　　有的人以沉默表达内心的愤怒和忧伤。

　　……

　　沉默常常是暂时的。就像古塔檐角下的铜铃，无风时，它们只是一种古色古香的装饰，一起风，它们便会发出奇妙的金属音响，似乎是许多古老故事的悠远的回声……

　　沉默的人们不也一样?

　　“沉默是金”，是怎样的一种“金”呢? 这个“金”字中，可以包含正直、善良，可以代表淡泊、超脱，也可以是虚伪、圆滑、怯懦的一种托辞……金子的光泽，未必是世界上最动人的光泽。

　　是不是只有死亡才是永远的沉默?

　　也许，死亡也未必是真正的沉默，灵魂的载体可以化为尘土，那些真诚睿智的心声，却会长久地在人心的海洋中引起悠长的回声……

1 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

2 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

3 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

4 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

5 jingling   

叮当声

参考例句：

• A carriage went jingling by with some reclining figure in it. 一辆马车叮当驶过，车上斜倚着一个人。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Melanie did not seem to know, or care, that life was riding by with jingling spurs. 媚兰好像并不知道，或者不关心，生活正马刺丁当地一路驶过去了呢。

6 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

7 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

8 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

9 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。