1、已读至第 12 页不单是诗人,就是被关闭在牢狱里的囚犯,萧索的感触来的,不但是诗人,就是被关闭在牢狱里的囚犯,到了秋天,Not only poets, even convicts in prison, I suppose, have deep sentiments in autumn in spite of themselves不由自主地 In spite of oneself何尝有国别,更何尝有人种的阶级区别呢 Autumn treats all humans alike, regardless of nationality, race or class.不过在中国,文字里有一个秋士的成语,
2、读本里有着很普遍的欧阳子的秋声与苏东坡赤壁赋等,就觉得中国的文人和秋的关系特别深了 However, judging from the Chinese idiom qiushi(autumn scholar, meaning an aged scholar grieving over frustration in his life) and the frequent selection in the textbooks of ouyangxius on the autumn sough and Su Dongpos on the red cliff, Chinese men of letter
3、s seem to be particularly autumn-minded.可是这球的深味,尤其是中国的秋的深味,非要在北方,才感受到底But, to know the real flavor of autumn especially chinas autumn, one has to visit the North.南国之秋,当然有它的特异的地方的,比如二十四桥明月,钱塘江的秋潮,普托上的凉雾,荔枝湾的残荷等等Autumn in the south also has its unique feature such as the moon-lit Ershisi bridge in Yan
4、gzhou, the flowing sea tide at Qiantangjiang River, the mist-shrouded Putuo mountain and lotuses at the Lizhiwan Bay.可是色彩不浓,回味不永。 But they all lack strong colour and lingering flavour.比起北国的秋来,正像是黄酒之余白干,稀饭之于馍馍,鲈鱼之于大蟹,黄犬之于骆驼。The southern autumn is to the northern autumn what yellow rice wine is to kao
5、liang wine, congee to steamed buns, perches to crabs, yellow dogs to camels.秋天,这北国的秋天,若留得住的话,我愿把寿命的三分之二折去,换得一个三分之一的零头。Autumn, I mean northern autumn, if only it could be made to last forever! I would be more than willing to keep but one-third of my life-span and have two-thirds of it bartered for th
6、e prolonged stay of the season.北方的果树,到秋来,也是一种奇景 Fruit trees in the North also make a wonderful sight in autumn.第一是枣子树; Take jujube tree for example.屋角,墙头,茅房边上,灶房门口,他都会一株株的长大起来They grow everywhere-around the corner of a house, at the foot of a wall, by the side of a latrine or outside a kitchen door.
7、像橄榄又像鹅蛋似的这枣子壳儿,在小椭圆形的细叶中间,显出淡绿色微黄的颜色的时候,正是秋的全盛时期;It is at the height of autumn that jujubes, shaped like dates, make their appearance in a light yellowish-green amongst tiny elliptic leaves.椭圆形的 elliptic在.的高度, 在.的最盛时 在.的高潮中 at the height of等枣树叶落,枣子红完,西北风就要起来了,北方便是尘沙灰土的世界,By the time when they have t
8、urned ruddy and leave fallen, the north-westerly wind will begin to reign supreme and make a dusty world of the North.只有这枣子,柿子,葡萄,成熟到八九分的七八月之交,这是北国的清秋的佳日,是一年中最好也没有的 golden days Only at the turn of July and August when jujubes, persimmons, grapes are 80-90% ripe will the North have the best of autumn
9、, the golden days in a year.有些批评家说中国的文人学士,尤其是诗人,都带着很浓厚的颓废色彩,所以中国的诗文里,颂赞秋的文字特别的多 Some literary critics say that Chinese literati, especially Chinese poets, are mostly disposed to be decadent dekdnt颓废的, which accounts for predominance of Chinese works singing the praises of autumn.但外国的诗人又何尝不然? Well, t
10、he same is true of foreign poets, isnt it?我虽则外国诗文年的不多,也不想开出帐来,作一片秋的诗歌散文钞I havent read much of foreign poetry and prose, nor do I want to enumerate autumn-related poems and essays in foreign literature但你若去一翻英德法意等诗人的集子,或各国的诗文的anthology 来,总能够看到许多关于秋的歌颂和悲啼But, if you browse through collected works of En
11、glish, German, French or Italian poets, or various countries anthologies of poetry or prose, you can always come across a great many literary pieces eulogizing or lamenting autumn各著名的大诗人的长篇田园诗或四季诗里,也总以关于秋的部分,写得最出色而最有味Long pastoral poems or songs about the four seasons by renown poets are mostly dist
12、inguished by beautiful moving lines on autumn.足见又感觉的动物,有情趣的人类,对于秋,总是一样的能特别引起深沉,幽远,严厉萧索的感触来的All that goes to show that all live creatures and sensitive human alike are prone to the feeling of depth, remoteness, severity and bleakness.说明, 证明 go to showv.有.的倾向于, 易于 be prone to/tend to/be apt to/be incl
13、ined to/be disposed to do秋蝉的衰弱的蝉声更是北国的特产 The sporadic feeble chirping of cicadas is especially characteristic of autumn in the North.因为北平处处全长着树,屋子又低,所以无论在什么地方,都听得见他们的啼唱。Due to the abundance of trees and the low altitude of dwelling in Peiping, cicadas are audible in every nook and cranny of the city
14、.无论在什么地方 every nook and cranny of在南方时非要上郊外获山上去才听得到。 In the south, however, one cannot hear them unless in suburbs or hills.这秋蝉的嘶叫,在北平和蟋蟀耗子一样,简直是家家户户都养在家里的家虫。Because of their ubiquitous 无所不在,普通的 shrill noise, these insects in Peiping seem to be living off every household like crickets or micev.住在.外,
15、靠.生活 live off还有秋雨哩,北方的秋雨,也似乎比南方的下的奇,下得有味,下得更像样As for the autumn rains in the north, they also seem to differ from those in the south, being more appealing, more temperate在灰沉沉的天底下,忽而来一阵凉风,便息列索的下起雨来了。A sudden gust of wind under the slaty sky, and raindrops will start pitter-pattering.一层雨过后,云间间的卷向了西去,天
16、又青了,太阳又露出脸来了Soon when the rain is over, the clouds begin gradually to roll towards the west and the sun comes out in the blue sky.著着很厚的青布单衣或夹袄的都市闲人,咬着烟管,在雨后的斜桥影里,上桥头树底下去一立,Some idle townsfolk, wearing lined or unlined clothing made of thick cloth, will come out pipe in mouth and, loitering under a t
17、ree by the end of a bridge, 5lCitEv.闲荡, 虚度, 徘徊 loiter遇见熟人,便会用了缓慢的悠闲的声调 exchange leisurely conversation with acquaintances with a slight touch of regret at the passing of time:有一点 a touch of哎,天可真凉了- Oh, real nice and cool!可不是吗?一层秋雨一层凉了! Sure! Getting cooler with each autumn shower!在北平,即使不出门去吧,就是在皇城人海
18、之中,租人家一椽破屋住着,Suppose you put up in a humble rented house inside the imperial city, you can, on getting up at dawn, 不出门去 put up in早晨起来,跑一碗浓茶,向院子一坐,你也能看得到很高很高的碧绿的天色,听得到青天下驯鸽的飞声。sit in your courtyard sipping a cup of strong tea, leisurely watch the high azure skies and listen to pigeons circling overhe
19、ad. 从槐树叶底,朝东细数着一丝丝漏下来的日光,火灾破壁腰中,Saunter eastward under locust trees to closely observe streaks of sunlight filtering through their foliage, 静对着像喇叭似的牵牛花的蓝朵,自然而然的也能够感觉到十分的秋意or quietly watch the trumpet-shaped blue flowers of morning glories climbing half way up a dilapidated wall,说到了牵牛花,我以为以蓝色或白色者为最佳紫
20、黑色次之。As to morning glories, I like their blue or white flowers best, dark purple ones second best, and pink ones third best.谈到 关于 As to最好,还要在牵牛花底教长着几根疏疏落落得尖细且长的秋草,使作陪衬。It will be most desirable to have them set off by some tall thin grass planted underneath here and there.陪衬 set off北方的槐树也是一种能使人联想起秋来
21、的点缀。 Locust trees in the North, as a decorative embellishment of nature, also associate us with autumn.像花而不是花得落蕊,早晨起来,会铺得满地 On getting up early in the morning, you will find the ground strewn all over with flower-like pistils fallen from locust trees.脚踏上去,声音也没有,气味也没有,只能感出一点点极微细极柔软的触觉。Quiet and smell
22、ess, they feel tiny and soft underfoot.扫街的在树影下一阵扫后,灰尘上流下来的一条条扫帚的丝纹,看起来即觉得细腻,又觉得清闲潜意之下还有一种落寞,After a street cleaner has done the sweeping under the shade of the trees, you will discover countless lines left by his broom in the dust, which look so fine and quiet that somehow a feeling of forlornness w
23、ill begin to creep up on you.(时间)悄悄地过去 creep on一种落寞 a feeling of forlornness古人所说的梧桐一叶而天下知秋的遥想,大约也就在这些深沉的地方The same depth of implication is found in the ancient saying that a single fallen leaf from the wutong tree is more than enough to inform the world of autumns presence.Inform sb of sth 通知告诉秋天,无论
24、在什么地方的秋天,总是好的。 Autumn, wherever it is, it always has something to recommend.可是,北国的秋,却特别的来得清,来的静,来的悲凉。 In north china, however, it is particularly limpid, serene and melancholy.5melEnkElin.忧郁 adj.忧郁 melancholysi5ri:nadj.平静的 serene5limpidadj.清澈的 limpid我的不远千里,要从杭州赶上青岛,更要从青岛赶上北平来的理由,也不过想饱尝这“秋” ,这故都的秋味To
25、 enjoy its atmosphere to the full in the onetime capital, I have, therefore, made light of traveling a long distance from Hangzhou to Qingdao, and thence to Peipingv.轻视 make light of江南,秋当然也是有的,但草木凋零的慢,空气来的润,天的颜色显得淡,并且又时常多雨而少风There is of course autumn in the South too, but over there plants wither sl
26、owly, the air is moist, the sky pallid, and it is more often rainy than windy.一个人夹在苏州上海杭州,或厦门香港广州的市民中间,混混沌沌的过去,只能感到一点点清凉,秋的味,秋的色,秋的意境和姿态,总看不饱,尝不透While muddling along all by myself among the urban dwellers of Suzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, I feel nothing but a little chill in the air
27、, without ever relishing to my hearts content the flavor, color mood and style of the season.秋不是名花,也并不是美酒,那一种半开,半醉的状态, Unlike the famous flowers which are most 在领略秋的过程中,是不合适的 attractive when half opening, or good wine which is most tempting when one is half drunk, autumn, however, is best appreciate
28、d in its entirety.不逢北国之秋,已经十多年了。 It is more than a decade since I last saw autumn in the north.在南方每年到了秋天,总要想起陶然亭的芦花,钓鱼台的柳影,西山的虫唱,玉泉的夜月When I am in the south, the arrival of each autumn will put me in mind of Peipings Tao Ran Ting with its reed catkins, Diao Yu Tai with its shady willow trees, wester
29、n Hills with their chirping insects, Yuquanshan mountain on a moonlight evening and Tan Zhe Si with its reverberating bell.v.提醒, 使想起 put in mind of5kAtkinn.植柔荑花(如柳絮等) catkin而且三年五载老活着,开花,多么有意思啊 How interesting it is to be able to keep my flowers and plants alive and watch them thrive and bloom year i
30、n year out.年复一年, 连续多年 year in year out不是乱吹,这就是知识阿。 It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this!多学些知识,一定不是坏事 And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course.我不是有腿病吗,不但不利于行走,也不利于久坐 As I have some trouble with my leg, I cant move around easily, nor can I s
31、it too long.我不知道花草们受我的照顾,感谢我不感谢。 I dont know if the flowers and plants under my care are grateful to me or not我可得感谢他们 However, I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them.感谢他们 acknowledge my thanks to them.在我工作的时候,我总是写了几十个字就到庭院中去看看,浇浇这颗,搬搬那盆。I often leave off sedentary work after writing a f
32、ew dozen words and go to the courtyard to take a look at the flowers, watering them and moving the potted ones.5pCtidadj.盆栽的, 瓶或罐装的, 浓缩的 potted然后回到屋中再写一点,然后再出去 Then Ill return to my room to write a bit more.如此循环,把脑力劳动和体力劳动结合到一起,有益身心,胜于吃药Ill go through the same back-and-forth process again and again,
33、 thus combining mental with manual labour. This is a better way to keep me fit in mind and body than taking medicine.有益身心 keep me fit in mind and body要是赶上狂风暴雨或者天气突变阿,就得全家动员,抢救花草,十分紧张。In case of storm or a sudden change of weather, however, the whole family will have to turn out to salvage the flower
34、s and plants. Everybody will feel keyed up.十分紧张 feel keyed up.几百盆花,都要很快抢到屋里去,使人腰酸腿疼,热汗直流By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration.dCtaIEdadj.疲倦极的, 筋疲力尽的 dog-tired第二天,天气好转,又把花儿都搬出去,又是一次腰酸腿疼热汗直流。T
35、he next day, when the weather is fine, we will have another round of being dog-tired and perspiration in taking all the flowers out to the courtyard again.可是,这是多么有意思啊。 How interesting it is!不劳动,连颗花也养不活,这不是真理马? Isnt it true that without doing manual labour, we couldnt even keep a single flower alive?
36、 送牛奶的同志,进门就夸好香,这是我们全家都感到骄傲It filled the whole family with pride whenever the milkman exclaims on entering our gate. “What a sweet smell.”感到昙花开放的时候,约几位朋友来看看,更有秉烛夜游的神气- 昙花总在夜里放蕊。When the nigh-blooming cereuses are about to be in flower, we will invite some friends to visit us in evening to feast their
37、 eyes on themin an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle light花儿分跟了,一颗分为数颗,就赠给朋友们一些 When the cereuses have branched out, we will pick some of the flowers and send them as a present to our friends.v.饱眼福 feast ones eyes onv.长出枝条, 扩展范围 branch out看着友人拿着自己的劳动果实离开,心里自然喜欢 We are of cou
38、rse especially happy to see them take away our fruits of labour.我爱花,所以也爱养花 I love flowers and hence have taken to growing them.v.喜欢 take to我可还没有成为养花专家,因为没有工夫去做研究和试验But, short of time to do research and experiment in flower cultivation, I am no gardener at all.我只把养花当作生活的一种乐趣 I merely take flower cult
39、ivation as a pleasure of life.花开的大小好坏都不计较,只要开花我就高兴 I really dont care whether or not my flowers will put forth plump and nice-looking blossom.开花 put forth plump到夏天,满是花草,小猫儿们只好到房上去玩耍 In summer, flowers and plants growing in luxuriance in my small courtyard will leave little open space as playground f
40、or the little cats, so they have to sport about in our rooms instead.花穗多,但无奇花异草。 I grow many flowers, but none of them are exotic or rare ones.珍贵的花草不易养活, It is difficult to grow a precious flower species.看着一颗好花生病欲死是件很难过的事 And I feel bad to see a good glower dying of illness.我不愿时时落泪,北京的气候,对养花来说,不算很好。
41、 I dont want often to shed tears over that. But Beijings climate is more or less unfit for the growing of flowers.不算很好 more or less unfit for冬天冷,春天多风,夏天不是干旱就是大雨倾盆 Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorm秋天最好,可是忽然会闹霜冻。 While autumn is the best of all,
42、it is often plagued by a sudden frost.在这种气候里,想把南方的好花养活,我还没有那么大的本事。In a climate like this, it is far beyond my capacity to grow precious flowers of southern breed.所以,我只种一些自己会奋斗的花草。 Therefore, I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival.不过,尽管花草会自己奋斗,我若置之不理,任其自生自灭,他们多数还是会死了的
43、Although such flowers are able to weather through by themselves, I, however, never ignore them or abandon them to their own fate.v.度过, 捱过 weather through自生自灭 ignore them or abandon them to their own fate.我得天天照顾他们,向好朋友似的关切他们。 I have to care for them everyday as if they were my close friends.一来二去我摸着了一
44、些门道。 In the course of time, I have somehow got the hang of flower cultivation.一来二去 In the course of time有的喜阴,就别放在太阳地里。有的喜干,就别多浇水 Some flowers which are accustomed to growing in the shade should not be too much exposed to the sun. Those which prefer dryness should not be watered too often.这是个乐趣,摸住门道。
45、 It gives me much pleasure to know the right way of handling them.可是此地的草花很便宜,而且家家有院子,可以花不多的钱而种一院子花,即使算不了什么,可是到底可爱啊。It does not cost very much to plant a whole courtyard to such flowers which, though humble, are nevertheless lovely to look at,墙上的牵牛,墙根的靠山竹和草茉莉, such as morning glories on the wall, chi
46、na pinks at the foot of the wall and marvels-of-Peru.n.牵牛花,昙花一现的人(或事物 ) morning glory是多么省钱省事而也足以招徕蝴蝶阿! Yet, cheap as they are, they attract butterflies!至于青菜,白菜,扁豆,毛豆角,黄瓜,菠菜等,大多数都是直接从城外担来而送到家门口的Green vegetables, cabbages, hyacinth beans, young Soya beans, cucumbers, spinach, etc. are often carried st
47、raight from the suburbs to your residential quarters for marketing.n.住处, 岗位 quarters雨后就菜叶上海往往带有雨时溅起的泥点, Often, leeks from rural farms after a rain still have specks of mud on their leaves.青菜摊上的红红绿绿几乎有诗似的美丽。 The vegetable stalls are so colorful that they present a scene of poetic charm.果自有不少是由西山和北山来的
48、,西山的沙果,海棠,北山的黑枣,柿子,Fruits come mainly from the western and northern suburbs, such as crab apples and cherry apples from the western hills.n.植山楂子 crab apple进了城还带着一层白霜儿啊! Look, how they are still covered with frostlike bloom when they are put on the market.哼,美国的橘子包着纸,遇到北平的带霜儿的玉李,还不愧杀Indeed, americas p
49、aper-wrapped oranges will pale beside Peipings plums bearing a thin coating of frostlike bloom.是的,北平是个都城,而能有好多自己产生的花,菜,水果,这就使人更接近了自然The city of Peiping brings its residents into closer contact with nature by growing flowers, vegetables and large quantities of fruits.从里面说,他没有像伦敦的那些成天冒烟的工厂;从外面说,他紧连着园林菜圃和农村The city proper is not plagued by factory chimneys such as you find in London giving off volumes o smoke all day long. On the outskirts of the city lie numerous flower gardens, vegetable farms and villages.像, , , , , such as you find in采菊东