美國(guó)語(yǔ)文第六冊(cè) 第7期:黎明(1)

I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o'clock in the morning.

幾個(gè)星期前，我有幸乘坐早班火車從普羅維登斯來(lái)到波士頓，為此我特地凌晨?jī)牲c(diǎn)就起床已畢。

Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train.

萬(wàn)物陷于黑暗之中悄無(wú)聲息，只是在列車發(fā)出隆隆轟鳴突然啟動(dòng)的那一刻，這種平靜才驟然打破。

It was a mild, serene, midsummer's night,—the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist.

這是一個(gè)溫暖寧?kù)o的仲夏之夜——天空沒(méi)有一絲云彩，微風(fēng)和煦。

The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.

在最后四分之一路程，月亮才爬上天際。星星散發(fā)出幽靈一般的光柵，絲毫無(wú)法影響月亮的光輝。

Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east;

木星懸于天際已經(jīng)兩個(gè)鐘頭了，預(yù)示著拂曉將至。在地平線上，昴宿星已經(jīng)露出臉來(lái)，東方泛出魚(yú)肚白。

Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly-discovered glories from the naked eye in the south;

天琴星座在天頂附近閃閃發(fā)光，仙女星座遮蓋住從南方裸露的眼睛綻放出的剛發(fā)現(xiàn)的光芒。

 

the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.

在地極之下，一成不變的指針溫順地從北極深處向上窺探著它們的王國(guó)。

Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train.

我登上列車時(shí)，眼前出現(xiàn)的就是這幅壯麗景象。

As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften;

隨著列車行進(jìn)，黎明前的曙光羞怯地展露出來(lái)，越發(fā)容易察覺(jué)。天際一線的藍(lán)色開(kāi)始變得輕柔可親。

the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together;

那些很小的星星就像嗷嗷待哺的孩子似的，首先停止了啼哭。昴宿星系星團(tuán)的光柵很快便一同隱去，

but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged.

不過(guò)西方和北方那些明亮的恒星透過(guò)云層依舊散出光芒。

Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on.

星團(tuán)繼續(xù)變換著奇異的形狀和姿態(tài)。