英语名篇诵读 往昔

The Past

往昔

Rachel Carson(雷切尔·卡森)

There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony

with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with

fields of grain and hillsides of orchards¹ where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the

green fields. In autumn, oak and maple² and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and

flickered³ across a backdrop of pines. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed

the fields, half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings.

在美国中心地带，曾经有一座小镇，在那里，自然万物都和谐相处。小镇位于阡陌交

错的丰饶田地中间，周围的农场欣欣向荣，小山上果树成林。春天，田野一片绿油油，花

朵般的白云在天空中飘荡。秋天，橡树、枫树和桦树染上耀眼的秋色，如同火焰一般，在

松树的背景上摇曳闪烁，五彩缤纷。山间传来狐狸的叫声，小鹿静静地穿过一块块田野，

隐没在秋天清晨的薄雾中。

1 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

2 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

3 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。