美国语文第六册 第8期:黎明(2)

 　　Hands of angels, hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the heavens; the glories of night dissolved into the glories of the dawn. 众天使们的手臂，躲藏在上帝摄人心魄的目光下，变幻着天堂的景色。夜晚的余晖消隐在黎明的薄雾微明之中了。

　　The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch stars shut up their holy eyes; the east began to kindle¹. 这时，蓝天变得更加沁人心脾。巨大的守夜星合上了它们神圣的眼睛。东方开始发出亮光。

　　Faint streaks² of purple soon blushed along the sky; 微现的紫色条纹很快就染红了天际。

　　the whole celestial³ concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light, which came pouring down from above in one great ocean of radiance; 整个云空凹陷处都被晨光流入的波浪状云彩填满了，从上到下喷涌出如海洋一般的巨大光辉。

　　till at length, as we reached the Blue Hills, a flash of purple fire blazed out from above the horizon, 最后，在我们抵达特克斯和凯科斯群岛时，从地平线之上闪出一缕紫色火焰，

　　and turned the dewy teardrops of flower and leaf into rubies⁴ and diamonds. 将繁花和树叶的露珠凝结成红宝石和砖石。

　　In a few seconds, the everlasting⁵ gates of the morning were thrown wide open, 不一会儿，清晨永无休止的大门便赫然洞开，

　　and the lord of day, arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of man, began his state. 沐浴着光芒的主宰白天的万物之主，神情威严地注视着大地，一天开始了。

　　I do not wonder at the superstition⁶ of the ancient Magians, 对于古代拜火教徒的迷信，我一点也不奇怪，

　　who, in the morning of the world, went up to the hilltops of Central Asia, and, ignorant of the true God, adored the most glorious work of his hand. 他们在万物复苏的清晨就登上中亚的山峦，无视真正的上帝，却对手中的火把顶礼膜拜。

　　But I am filled with amazement⁷, when I am told, that, in this enlightened age and in the heart of the Christian⁸ world, 可是令我充满惊奇的是，当我被告知在这个文明开化的时代以及身处基督教世界的核心，

　　there are persons who can witness this daily manifestation⁹ of the power and wisdom of the Creator, and yet say in their hearts, "There is no God." 那些有幸亲眼目睹造物主强大力量和智慧这种日常表现的人，发自内心地说：“根本就没有什么上帝。”

1 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

2 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

4 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

5 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

6 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

7 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。