01 The First Snow.doc

01 The First SnowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow The first snow came. How beautifully it was, falling so silently, all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape, and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children. 初? 雪 亨利·沃兹沃思朗费罗 初雪飘临。多么美啊！它整日整夜那么静静地飘着，落在山岭上，落在草地上， 落在世人的屋顶上，落在死者的坟墓上！在一片白茫茫之中，只有河流在美丽的画面上划出一道曲曲弯弯的黑线；还有那叶儿落净的树木，映衬着铅灰色的天空，此刻更显得枝丫交错，姿态万千。初雪飘落时，是何等的宁静，何等的幽静！一切声响都趋沉寂，一切噪音都化作柔和的音乐。再也听不到马蹄得得，再也听不见车轮辚辚！唯有雪橇的铃铛，奏出和谐的乐声，那明快欢乐的节拍犹如孩子们心房的博动。 Notes: 1.? meadows:? 草地、牧场The meadow is peopled with wild flowers.草地长满了野花。vt.居住于; 使…充满居民；把…挤满人；住满居民 His race has peopled this island through all recorded history.自有历史记载以来, 他的族人都居于此岛。 down the ages自古以来,从古至今 The attraction has something to do with Britain’s stable society, her insular position and freedom from foreign invasions down the ages. 英国人之所以对自己的国家难忘留念的原因就在于英国稳定的社会、保守的秉性以及自古以来英国长期面与外来侵略的缘故。 自古以来有很多译法，具体用哪一个好，还是要结合上下文选择。from time immemorial/from the old/since ancient times/from ancient times/past and present/from ancient to modern times/through the ages/everywhere and all the times 【辨析】 age?作’时代’讲时，通常指具有某种显著特征的或以某杰出人物命名或有某重大事件为其象征的时代，也可以指考古学或地质学上的时代。The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。 年龄段【心理学】(在智力等方面)达到的水平，智龄法定年龄；成年寿(命)；存活期；一生，毕生，终身  epoch????指发生巨大变化或重大事件的时代，指一个新时代的起点。 We're at the end of the historical epoch, and at the dawn of another. 我们正处在一个历史时代的末期, 另一个历史时代的开端。epoch-making, epoch-marking adj.开新纪元的,划时代的 era????意为’时代、纪元’，与epoch意思相近，但era更强调整个时代历程，不单指一个时代的起点。 We are living in th