英语杂谈：13 Poem Americans like the best-Part 2

Robert Frost was perhaps the most popular and beloved of twentieth century American poets. So it is not surprising that six of his poems are included in the book "Americans' Favorite Poems."
He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry four times. He often
wrote about the land and people of the northeastern American
states
His poems often combine images of nature with ideas about how to live one's life. This one is called "The Road Not Taken." It is one of his most famous poems
Two roads diverged¹ in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent² in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy³ and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Langston Hughes published more than thirty books. He started with poetry and then expanded into novels, short stories, plays and personal memories.
He was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance⁴. This was the celebration of African-American literature, art and music in New York City in the
nineteen twenties.
He continued writing into the nineteen sixties. Hughes' work often spoke⁵ plainly about the difficult lives of black people living in big cities.
This poem is called "Mother to Son."
Well son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks⁶ in it,
And splinters,

And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor -
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.

 

Don't you fall now -
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin,'
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Edna Saint Vincent Millay's poetry is also included in "Americans' Favorite Poems." She lived during the first half of the twentieth century. She was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in nineteen twenty-three.
She was also famous for the free way she lived her life and for her many lovers. Here is one of her poems about love, called "Sonnet⁷ Twenty-four."
Edna Saint Vincent
Millay

When you, that at this moment are to me

Dearer than words on paper, shall depart,

And be no more the warder of my heart,

Whereof again myself shall hold the key;
And bed no more - what now you seem to be -
The sun, from which all excellences⁸ start
In a round nimbus, nor a broken dart⁹
Of moonlight, even, splintered on the sea;
I shall remember only of this hour -
And weep somewhat, as now you see me weep -
The pathos¹⁰ of your love, that, like a flower,
Fearful of death yet amorous¹¹ of sleep,
Droops¹² for a moment and beholds¹³, dismayed,
The wind whereon its petals¹⁴ shall be laid.
 

1 diverged   

分开( diverge的过去式和过去分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳

参考例句：

• Who knows when we'll meet again? 不知几时咱们能再见面！
• At what time do you get up? 你几时起床？

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

4 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 tacks   

大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法

参考例句：

• Never mind the side issues, let's get down to brass tacks and thrash out a basic agreement. 别管枝节问题，让我们讨论问题的实质，以求得基本一致。
• Get down to the brass tacks,and quit talking round the subject. 谈实质问题吧，别兜圈子了。

7 sonnet   

n.十四行诗

参考例句：

• The composer set a sonnet to music.作曲家为一首十四行诗谱了曲。
• He wrote a sonnet to his beloved.他写了一首十四行诗，献给他心爱的人。

8 excellences   

n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的

参考例句：

• Excellences do not depend on a single man's pleasure. 某人某物是否优异不取决于一人的好恶。 来自互联网
• They do not recognize her many excellences. 他们无视她的各种长处。 来自互联网

9 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

10 pathos   

n.哀婉，悲怆

参考例句：

• The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯，看得我们不禁流泪。
• There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。

11 amorous   

adj.多情的；有关爱情的

参考例句：

• They exchanged amorous glances and clearly made known their passions.二人眉来眼去，以目传情。
• She gave him an amorous look.她脉脉含情的看他一眼。

12 droops   

弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If your abdomen droops or sticks out, the high BMI is correct. 如果你的腹部下垂或伸出，高BMI是正确的。
• Now droops the milk white peacock like a ghost. 乳白色的孔雀幽灵般消沉。

13 beholds   

v.看，注视( behold的第三人称单数 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• He who beholds the gods against their will, shall atone for it by a heavy penalty. 谁违背神的意志看见了神，就要受到重罚以赎罪。 来自辞典例句
• All mankind has gazed on it; Man beholds it from afar. 25?所行的，万人都看见；世人都从远处观看。 来自互联网

14 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》