美国语文第六册 第39期:早晨的清唱剧(5)

 　　The little hairbird still continues his almost incessant¹ chirping², the first to begin and the last to quit the performance. 小小的梳妆鸟依旧在无休止地啾鸣，先是第一只开始，直到最后一只停止表演。

　　Though the voice of this bird is not very sweetly modulated³, it blends harmoniously⁴ with the notes of other birds, 尽管这种鸟的叫声不那么甜美悦耳，其中还很协调地混有其他鸟儿的叫声，

　　and greatly increases the charming effect of the combination. 很大程度上增加了令人陶醉的共鸣效果。

　　It would be tedious to name all the birds that take part in this chorus; 要想叫出参加大合唱的每只鸟儿的名字，可不是件容易的事情。

　　but we must not omit the pewee, with his melancholy⁵ ditty, occasionally heard like a short minor⁶ strain in an oratorio⁷; 不过，我们千万不要遗漏小燕，它唱的那令人伤感的歌谣，偶尔听上去就像一部清唱剧里的小乐段。

　　nor the oriole, who is really one of the chief performers, and who, as his bright plumage flashes upon the sight, 白头翁则不然，它实际上是乐队的主角之一，同它那明亮耀眼的羽毛发出光芒的一样，

　　warbles forth⁸ a few notes so clear and mellow⁹ as to be beard above every other sound. 它那婉转的歌喉吟唱出的音符是那样清亮和柔美，盖过了其他鸟儿的声音。

　　Adding a pleasing variety to all this harmony, the lisping notes of the meadowlark,  再加上这种和弦令人愉快的变化多端，草地鹨那清脆的乐音以一种独具的发人深思的转调，

　　uttered in a shrill¹⁰ tone, and with a peculiar¹¹ pensive¹² modulation¹³, are plainly audible, with short rests between each repetition. 发出尖利的音调。在每次重复短暂的间歇，这种天籁般的音乐都清晰可闻。

　　There is a little brown sparrow, resembling the hairbird, save a general tint¹⁴ of russet in his plumage, that may be heard distinctly among the warbling host. 与梳妆鸟在一起的还有一种小小的棕色麻雀，除了羽毛上普遍的赤褐色外，它的叫声在一群鸟中间很容易区分开来。

　　He is rarely seen in cultivated grounds, but frequents the wild pastures, 在已经开垦的土地上，很少见到这种鸟儿，不过在荒野则经常能发现它的踪迹。

　　and is the bird that warbles so sweetly at midsummer, when the whortleberries are ripe, and the fields are beautifully spangled with red lilies. 在仲夏季节，它是叫声最甜美的鸟儿，这时越橘浆果已经成熟，田野到处可见红色的百合花。

1 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

2 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

3 modulated   

已调整[制]的，被调的

参考例句：

• He carefully modulated his voice. 他小心地压低了声音。
• He had a plump face, lemur-like eyes, a quiet, subtle, modulated voice. 他有一张胖胖的脸，狐猴般的眼睛，以及安详、微妙和富于抑扬顿挫的嗓音。

4 harmoniously   

和谐地，调和地

参考例句：

• The president and Stevenson had worked harmoniously over the last eighteen months. 在过去一年半里，总统和史蒂文森一起工作是融洽的。
• China and India cannot really deal with each other harmoniously. 中国和印度这两只猛兽不可能真心实意地和谐相处。

5 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 oratorio   

n.神剧，宗教剧，清唱剧

参考例句：

• It's the world's most popular oratorio.这是世界上最流行的清唱剧。
• The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital.高兴俱乐部的决定提出的清唱剧在其演奏。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

10 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

11 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

12 pensive   

a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的

参考例句：

• He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。
• He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。

13 modulation   

n.调制

参考例句：

• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。
• Frequency modulation does not allow static to creep in. 频率调制不允许静电干扰混入。

14 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。