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August (Excerpt)

by Charles Dickens

There is no month in the whole year, in which nature wears a more beautiful appearance than in the month of August. Spring has many beauties, and May is a fresh and blooming month, but the charms of this time of year are enhanced1) by their contrast with the winter season. August has no such advantage. It comes when we remember nothing but clear skies, green fields, and sweet-smelling flowers—when the recollection2) of snow, and ice, and bleak3) winds, has faded from our minds as completely as they have disappeared from the earth — and yet what a pleasant time it is! Orchards and cornfields4) ring with the hum of labours; trees bend beneath the thick clusters of rich fruit which bow their branches to the ground; and the corn5), piled in graceful sheaves, or waving in every light breath that sweeps above it, as if it wooed6) the sickle7), tinges8) the landscape with a golden hue9). A mellow softness appears to hang over the whole earth; the influence of the season seems to extend itself to the very wagon, whose slow motion across the well-reaped field, is perceptible10) only to the eye, but strikes with no harsh sound upon the ear.

注释

1) enhance [In5hB:ns] vt. 提高, 增强

2) recollection [7rekE5lekFEn] n. 回忆, 记忆, 回想

3) bleak [bli:k] adj. 寒冷的，阴郁的

4) cornfield [5kR:nfi:ld] n. <英>小麦田，<美>玉米田

5) corn [kC:n] n. <英>谷物, <美>玉米,

6) woo [wu:] v. 求爱，招致

7) sickle [5sIkl] n. 镰刀

8) tinge [tIndV] n. 色调

9) hue [hju:] n. 色调, 颜色, 色彩

10) perceptible [pE5septEbl] adj. 可察觉的, 显而易见的, 感觉得到的

八月之美(节选)

文：查尔斯•狄更斯

一年之中，没有任何一个月份的自然风光比得过八月的风采。春天美不胜收，而五月也是一个明媚清新、繁花似锦的月份，但这些时节的魅力是由于与冬天的对比而增强的。八月没有这样的优势。它来的时候，我们只记得明朗的天空、碧绿的田野，还有芳香四溢的花朵——记忆中的冰雪、刺骨的寒风都已完全从我们的脑海中消逝，就仿佛它们在地球上了无踪迹——然而八月是多么令人惬意的季节啊！果园和麦田到处都充溢着忙碌劳作的声响；串串果实压得果树都弯下了腰，枝条低垂到地面；还有谷穗，有的一捆捆优雅地堆挤在一起，有的迎风招展，仿佛在向镰刀求爱，它们给周围的景致染上了一层金黄的色调；整个大地似乎笼罩在醇香柔和的气氛中；这秋季的气氛似乎也影响了那些马车，只有眼睛可以察觉到它们穿过收割过的田野缓慢移动，但耳旁却寂静无声。