美国语文第六册 第139期:洗礼(1)

 The rite¹ of baptism had not been performed for several months in the kirk of Lanark. 在拉纳克教会，已经有好几个月没有举行洗礼仪式了。

It was now the hottest time of persecution²; 现在是宗教迫害最疯狂的时候，

and the inhabitants of that parish found other places in which to worship God, and celebrate the ordinances³ of religion. 那个教区的居民发现其他地方在做礼拜，举行宗教法令的颁布仪式。

It was now the Sabbath day, and a small congregation of about a hundred souls had met for divine service, 今天是安息日，大约一百位信众聚在一起礼拜，

in a place more magnificent than any temple that human hands had ever built to Deity⁴. 举行仪式的地方要比人类凭双手建造的任何神庙都要宏伟壮丽。

The congregation had not assembled to the toll⁵ of the bell, but each heart knew the hour and observed it; 教堂会众并没有在钟声缓缓敲响时集合，但是每个人心里都清楚集合的时间，都很守时。

for there are a hundred sundials among the hills, woods, moors⁶, and fields; 由于在群山、丛林、荒野和田地之间有一百个日晷仪，

and the shepherd and the peasant see the hours passing by them in sunshine and shadow. 牧羊人和农夫得以在骄阳和树荫下通过日晷仪观测到时间的流逝。

The church in which they were assembled, was hewn by God's hand out of the eternal rock. 他们集会的教堂是上帝之手劈开巨石修建成的。

A river rolled its way through a mighty⁷ chasm⁸ of cliffs, several hundred feet high, 一条小河流过悬崖峭壁的巨大裂缝，悬崖峭壁高达数百英尺，

of which the one side presented enormous masses, and the other corresponding recesses⁹, 其中一侧有隆起的石碓，另一侧相应地凹了进去，

as if the great stone girdle had been rent by a convulsion. 仿佛这块巨石的裂口是一场地震形成的。

The channel was overspread with prodigious¹⁰ fragments of rocks or large loose stones, some of them smooth and bare, 通道是由数量惊人的碎石块或者大块裸石铺成的，其中有一些很光滑、平整，

others containing soil and verdure in their rents and fissures¹¹, and here and there crowned with shrubs¹² and trees. 其他的则在裂缝里和纹理间有土质和青绿色的草。这里的石头上随处可见冠状树丛和树木。

 

1 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

2 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

3 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

4 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

9 recesses   

n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

11 fissures   

n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Rising molten rock flows out on the ocean floor and caps the fissures, trapping the water. 上升熔岩流到海底并堵住了裂隙，结果把海水封在里面。 来自辞典例句
• The French have held two colloquia and an international symposium on rock fissures. 法国已经开了两次岩石裂缝方面的报告会和一个国际会议。 来自辞典例句

12 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。