愛德華·凡爾拉萊·盧卡斯/ Edward Verrall Lucas
愛德華·凡爾拉萊·盧卡斯(1868—1938).英國知名多產作家，以幽默諷刺的創作特點聞名於世。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. tenant ['ten?nt] n. 房客
2. polished ['p?li?t] adj. 擦亮的
3. racket ['r?kit] n. 喧鬧
4. inanition [,in?'ni??n] n. 空虛
Chance recently made me for a while the tenant of a windmill. Not to live in, and unhappily not to grind corn in, but to visit as the mood arose, and see the ships in the harbour from the topmost window, and look down on the sheep and the green world all around. For this mill stands high and white—so white, indeed, that when there is a thunder-cloud behind it, it seems a thing of polished aluminium.
From its windows you can see four other mills, all like itself, idle, and one merely a ruin and one with only two sweeps left. But just over the next range of hills, out of sight, to the northeast, is a windmill that still merrily goes, and about five miles away to the northwest is another also active; so that things are not quite so bad hereabouts as in many parts of the country, where the good breezes blow altogether in vain...
Thinking over the losses which England has had forced upon her by steam and the ingenuity of the engineer, one is disposed to count the decay of the windmill among the first. Perhaps in the matter of pure picture squeness the most serious thing that ever happened to England was the discovery of galvanized iron roofing; but, after all, there was never anything but quiet and rich and comfortable beauty about red roofs, whereas the living windmill is not only beautiful but romantic too: a willing, man-serving creature, yoked to the elements, a whirling monster, often a thing of terror. No one can stand very near the crashing sweeps of a windmill in half a gale without a tightening of the heart a feeling comparable to that which comes from watching the waves break over a wall in a storm. And to be within the mill at such a time is to know something of sound’s very sources; it is the cave of noise itself. No doubt there are dens of hammering energy which are more shattering, but the noise of a windmill is largely natural, the product of wood striving with the good sou’wester; it fills the ears rather than assaults them. The effect, moreover, is by no means lessened by the absence of the wind itself and the silent nonchalance of the miller and his man, who move about in the midst of this appalling racket with the quiet efficiency of vergers.
In my mill, of course, there is no such uproar; nothing but the occasional shaking of the cross-pieces of the idle sails. Everything is still; and the pity of it is that everything is in almost perfect order for the day’s work. The mill one daysome score years ago was full of life; the next, and ever after, mute and lifeless, like a stream frozen in a night or the palace in Tennyson’s ballad of the“Sleeping Beauty.”There is no decay merely inanition. One or two of the apple-wood cogs have been broken from the great wheel; a few floor planks have been rotted; but that is all. A week’s overhauling would put everything right. But it will never come, and the cheerful winds that once were to drive a thousand English mills so happily now bustle over the Channel in vain.
參考譯文
不久前，一個偶然的機會曾使我成為一座風車房的住客。但並不是真的住進去，而且說來遺憾，也不是進去磨點兒什麽東西，隻是興致來時進去轉了轉，從它最上端的窗戶遙望港口的船隻，或俯視周圍的羊群和原野。這座風車又大又白——而且白得很厲害，每當雷雨雲繞到它的背後時，整個風車就像一件擦亮的鋁器一樣。
從風車的其他幾個窗口往外看，你還可以看到另外的四個風車，這些風車和它一樣，也都閑置著。其中一個已經破損得非常厲害，還有一個也隻剩下了兩塊翼板。但就在下一道山岡，遠得望不見的東北方向，有一個風車在那裏歡快地轉動著。另外，由此再折向西北四五英裏的地方，也有一個風車還在運轉。所以，這個地方的情形還不至於像全國其他地方那麽糟糕，任由陣陣好風從身邊白白吹過……
一想起因蒸汽機以及工程師的聰明才智帶給英國的種種損失，人們總會把風車的衰落列為其中的第一項。也許如果隻從景物的美觀別致來說，英國所遭遇的最大不幸是鍍鋅鐵屋頂的發明。不過，畢竟紅色屋頂的美好不隻是安詳富麗與舒適，轉動著的風車不僅看起來美麗，而且非常浪漫：一個受製於自然的魔力但情願為人類服務的溫馴家夥，一個飛舞旋轉的怪物，往往也是一個讓人懼怕的東西。如果誰在風力正強的時候靠近一個風車轟鳴的翼板，心裏都會驟然緊張起來——那感覺就像人們在暴風雨中望見水浪衝擊堤岸的情景一樣。此時待在風車房裏麵的話，就能對聲音的來曆有些體會，因為這裏就是聲音的洞穴。當然，有些孔洞中發出的轟鳴聲震耳欲聾，具有很大的威力，但風車的聲音大體來說是比較自然的，它們是木頭與西南風搏鬥時產生的，它充盈於人耳，而不會震耳欲聾。而且，這種效果並沒有因為沒有風或者磨坊主人及其用人的淡漠而有所減弱，這些人即使是在震耳欲聾的喧鬧下，也總是一副文靜樣子，如同教堂管事人一般有條不紊地辦事。
當然，我進入的磨坊並沒有如此喧鬧，我隻是偶爾聽到那些閑置的翼板上的橫木作幾下擺動罷了，一切都是如此寂靜。更使人惆悵的是，一切又仿佛已完全就緒，就等著當天開工了。這個風車以前——大約幾十年前——也曾是生氣勃勃的，但是從那以後，它就永歸沉寂，毫無生氣，就像一條溪流在夜裏突然遭遇封凍，或者像丁尼生《睡美人》詩中的宮殿那樣寂寞。這風車並未損壞——它隻是失去了魂魄。風車上幾個蘋果木的榫子已從輪機上脫落下來，地板上的木條也有幾根爛掉了，但也僅是如此而已。隻要一周的時間，就足以把這一切都修好。但永遠沒有這種可能了。因此，以前曾經使千千萬萬個英國風車一起歡舞的陣陣好風，而今隻能在英吉利海峽上麵徒勞地吹過。
心靈小語
很久以來，人們無論從哪個角度觀賞荷蘭的風景，總是看到地平線上豎立的風車。風車是荷蘭那有著寬廣地平線和飄滿迷人雲朵風景中的佼佼者。風車是荷蘭民族的驕傲與象征，也是荷蘭文化的傳承與張揚。從正麵看，風車呈垂直十字形，即使它休息，看上去也仍是充滿動感，仿佛要將地球轉動。這種印象給親臨此地的人，都留下無法消逝的記憶，終於明白人們為什麽稱風車是荷蘭的“國家商標”。
Seize Your Time
According to the article, match each of the following words with its synonym.
(1) ingenuitya. join
(2) decayb. cleverness
(3) yokec. attack
(4) assaultd. decline
Chunks in Practice
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text?
Write
TRUEif the statement agrees with the information
FALSEif the statement contradicts the information
______ (1) The author holds a positive attitude toward the invention and large-scale applications of steam in Britain.
______ (2) The noise of the windmill causes a hearing loss.
Now a Try
Translate the following sentences into English.
1.不久以前，一個偶然的機會使我結識了我生命中最重要的人。
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.他總能把班級工作安排得井井有條，是一個辦事有條不紊的人。
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.他是什麽時候開始踢球的？