The withdrawn and tense sky seems groined like the aisles of a cathedral, and the polished air sparkles as if there were crystals of ice floating in it.

 

天空似乎被绷紧了，往后移动，从下向上望，感觉像置身于大教堂中，头上是一块块连在一起的弧形的屋顶，空气被过滤得纯粹明净，好像有冰晶浮在中间，

As they who have resided in Greenland tell us that when it freezes "the sea smokes like burning turf-land, and a fog or mist arises, called frost-smoke，"which cutting smoke frequently raises blisters on the face and hands, and is very pernicious to the heah:”

正如格陵兰的居民告诉我们的，当那里结冰的时候，“海就冒烟，像大火爆发的威力；而且伴有雾气升腾，称为烟雾；这烟雾能让人的手和脸起疱肿胀，并对人体有害。”

But this pure, stinging cold is an elixir to the lungs, and not so much a frozen mist as a crystallized midsummer haze,refined and purified by cold.

但是我们这里的空气，虽然冰寒刺骨，但是质地清纯，可以滋养心肺，提神醒脑。而会把它看作仲夏雾气的结晶，经过严寒的凝结，变得更加清纯了。

In winter, nature is a cabinet of curiosities, full of dried specimens, in their natural order and position.

大自然然在冬天就是一间美术品陈列室，各种干枯了的标本按照它们生长的次序，摆得井然有序。

The meadows and forests are a hortus siccus.

草原和树林成了一座"植物标本馆”。

 

The leaves and grasses stand perfectly pressed by the air without screw or gum, and the bird's nests are not hung on an artificial twig, but where they builded them.

 

树叶和野草保持着完美的形态，在空气的压力下，不需要用螺丝钉或胶水来固定。巢不用挂在假树上，虽然树已经枯萎了，可那毕竟是真树，鸟儿在哪里建的，还保留在哪里。

But now, while we have loitered，the clouds have gathered again, and a few straggling snowflakes are beginning to descend.

就在我们四处游荡的这会儿，天空又有阴云密布，雪花纷然而落。

Faster and faster they fall, shutting out the distant objects from sight.

雪越下越大，远处的景物渐渐地脱离了我们的视线。

The snow falls on every wood and field, and no crevice is forgotten；by the river and the pond，on the hill and in the valley.

雪花光顾了每一棵树和田野，无孔不入，痕迹遍布河边、湖畔、小山和低谷。