我的生活海伦凯勒摘抄 海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第25期

海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第25期  

Chapter XII
After my first visit to Boston
I spent almost every winter in the North. Once I went on a visit to a New England village with its frozen lakes and vast snow fields. It was then that I had opportunities such as had never been mine to enter into the treasures of the snow.
I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped the trees and bushes
leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown
and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed by his icy touch
and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots
and there
curled up in the dark
lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away
and even when the sun shone the day was
我惊奇地发现，冬天的大树和灌木会遭受一只神祕的自然之手的摧残，枝条上只剩下一些皱巴巴的叶子。鸟儿全都飞走了，枯枝败叶间的鸟巢里装满了雪。山头和田野里也是一派冬天的气象，在冰雪的触摸下，大地也被冻得僵硬麻木了。树木的灵魂纷纷退缩到根部，它们蜷曲在幽暗的地下进入梦乡。所有的生物似乎都退到幕后，甚至连白天的阳光也变得
Shrunk and cold

As if her veins were sapless and old

And she rose up decrepitly
For a last dim look at earth and sea.
The withered grass and the bushes were transformed into a forest of icicles.
Then came a day when the chill air portended a snowstorm. We rushed out-of-doors to feel the first few tiny flakes descending. Hour by hour the flakes dropped silently
softly from their airy height to the earth
and the country became more and more level. A snowy night closed upon the world
and in the morning one could scarcely recognize a feature of the landscape. All the roads were hidden
not a single landmark was visible
only a waste of snow with trees rising out of it.
In the evening a wind from the northeast sprang up
and the flakes rushed hither and thither in furious m阬闲. Around the great fire we sat and told merry tales
and frolicked
and quite fot that we were in the midst of a desolate solitude
shut in from all munication with the outside world. But during the night the fury of the wind increased to such a degree that it thrilled us with a vague terror. The rafters creaked and strained
and the branches of the trees surrounding the house rattled and beat against the windows
as the winds rioted up and down the country.