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失去灵魂的风车The Windmill(1/2)

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爱德华·凡尔·卢卡斯/ Edward Verrall Lucas

Thk about the questions before you read this article.

1. What does the author feel after ehe dill?

2. In fact, what else feelg lies behd the pity of the author?

ce retly adefor a while the tenant of a dill. Not to live , and unhappily not to grd rn , but to visit as the ood arose, ahe shipsthe harbour fro the ost dow, and look down on the sheep and the green world all around. For this ill stands high and white so white, deed, that when there is a thunder-cloud behd it, it sees a thg of polished aiu.

Fro its dows yousee four other ills, all like itself, idle, and one rely a ru and oh only o sweeps left. But jt over therange of hills, out of sight, to the northeast, is a dill that still rrily goes, and about five iles away to the northwest is another also active; so that thgs are not quite so bad hereabouts asany parts of the untry, where the good breezes blow altogetherva?

Thkg over the losses whignd has had forced upon her by stea and the genuity of the engeer, one is disposed to unt the decay of the dill aong the first. Perhapsthe atter of pure picturesquehe ost serio thg that ever happeo Engnd was the disvery of galvanized ir; but, after all, there was never anythg but quiet and rid fortable beauty about red roofs, whereas the livg dill is not only beautiful but roantic too: a willg, an-servg creature, yoked to the elents, a whirlg onster, often a thg of terror. No oand very he crashg sweeps of a dillhalf a gale without a tighteng of the heart feelg parable to that which es fro watchg the waves break over a walla stor . And to be with the ill at such a ti is to know sothg of sound’s very sources; it is the cave of self. No doubt there are dens of harg energy which are ore shatterg, but the noise of a dill is rgely natural, the product of wood strivg with the good sou’wester; it fills the ears rather than assaults the. The effect, oreover,is by no ans lessened by the absence of the d itself and the silent nonce of the iller and his an, who ove aboutthe idst of this appallg racket with the quiet efficy of vergers.

In y ill, of urse, there is no such uproar; nothg but the oasional shakg of the cross-pieces of the idle sails. Everythg is still; and the pity of it is that everythg isalost perfect order for the day’s work. The ill one day so sre years ago was full of life; the , and ever after, ute and lifeless, like a strea frozena night or the paceTennyson’s bald of the‘Sleepg Beauty’. There is no decay rely anition. One or o of the apple-wood gs have been broken fro the great wheel; a few floor pnks have been rotted; but that is all. A week’s overhaulg would put everythg right but it will never e. And the cheerful ds that once were to drive a thoand English ills so happily now btle over the elva.

不久前,一个偶然的机会使我成为一座风车房的驻客。但并不是真的住进去,而且说来遗憾,也不是进去磨点什么东西,只是兴致来时进去转了转,从它最上端的窗户遥望港口的船只,或俯视周围的羊群和田野。这座风车又大又白——而且白得很厉害,每当雷、雨、云绕到它的背后时,整个风车就光亮得如同铝制的一样。

从风车房的其他几个窗口往外看,你还可以看到另外的四个风车,这些风车和它一样,也都闲置着。其中一个已经破损得非常厉害,还有一个也只剩下了两个翼板。但就在下一道山冈、远得望不见的东北方向,有一座风车在那里欢快地转动着,另外由此再向西北四五英里的地方,也有一个风车在运转。所以这个地方的情形还不至于像全国其他地方那么糟糕,任由阵阵好风从身边白白吹过!

一想起因蒸汽机以及工程师的聪明才智带给英国的种种损失,人们总会把风车的衰落列为其中的第一项。也许只从景物的美观别致来说,英国所遭遇的最大不幸乃是镀锌铁屋顶的发明;不过,毕竟红色屋顶的美好也不只是安详富丽与舒适而已,但是转动着的风车不仅看起来美丽,而且非常浪漫:一个受制于自然的魔力但情愿为人类服务的温顺家伙,一个飞舞旋转的怪物,或者一个经常使人惧怕的东西。如果正在风力正强的时候靠近一座风车轰鸣的翼板,心里都会骤然紧张起来——那感觉就像人们在暴风雨中望见水浪冲击堤岸的情景一样。而此时待在风车房里面的话,就能对声音的来历有些体会,因为这里就是声音的洞穴。当然有些孔洞中所发出的轰鸣声震耳欲聋,具有很大的威力,但风车的声音大体来说是比较自然的,它们是木头与西南风搏斗时产生的,它充盈于人耳而不会震耳欲聋。而且这种效果并不因为没有风或者磨坊主人及其用人的冷漠而有所减弱,这些人即使是在震耳欲聋的喧闹之下,也总是一副文静态度,如同教堂管事人一般有条不紊地办事。

当然,我进入的磨坊并没有如此喧闹,我只是偶尔听到那些闲置的翼板上的横木做几下摆动罢了,一切都是如此寂静。更使人惆怅的是,一切又仿佛已完全就绪,就等着当天开工了。这个风车在大约几十年前,也曾是生气勃勃的,但是从那以后,它就永归沉寂,毫无生气,就像一条溪流在夜里突然遭遇封冻,或者像丁尼逊《睡美人》诗中的宫殿那样寂寞。这风车并没损坏——它只是失去了魂魄。风车上几个苹果木的榫子已从轮机上脱落下来,地板上的木条也有几根烂掉了,但也仅仅如此而已。只要一周的时间,就足以把这一切都修好。但永远没有这种可能了,因为,以前曾经使千千万万个英国风车一起欢舞的阵阵好风,而今也只能在英吉利海峡之上徒劳地吹过。

心灵小语

任何人或事物,一旦失去了灵魂,就等于行尸走肉,只是一个躯壳而已。

Seize Your Ti

A to the speech, atch each of the follog verbs vith its ang.

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