我的生活海伦凯勒摘抄 海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第61期

海伦·凯勒自传《我的生活》第61期  

Chapter XXII
I trust that my readers have not concluded from the preceding chapter on books that reading is my only pleasure; my pleasures and amusements are many and varied.
More than once in the course of my story I have referred to my love of the country and out-of-door sports. When I was quite a little girl
I learned to row and swim
and during the summer
when I am at Wrentham
Massachusetts
I almost live in my boat. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to take my friends out rowing when they visit me. Of course
I cannot guide the boat very well. Some one usually sits in the stern and manages the rudder while I row. Sometimes
however
I go rowing without the rudder. It is fun to try to steer by the scent of watergrasses and lilies
and of bushes that grow on the shore. I use oars with leather bands
which keep them in position in the oarlocks
and I know by the resistance of the water when the oars are evenly poised. In the same manner I can also tell when I am pulling against the current. I like to contend with wind and wave. What is more exhilarating than to make your staunch little boat
obedient to your will and muscle
go skimming lightly over glistening
tilting waves
and to feel the steady
imperious surge of the water!
在讲述自己故事的过程中，我不止一次地提到了我对乡间和户外运动的热爱。当我还是一个小姑娘的时候，我就学会了划船和游泳。在马萨诸塞州的兰瑟姆过暑假期间，我几乎整日住在我的船上。有朋友来访时，再没有什么能比带他们出去划船更令我快乐的事了。当然，我并不能很好地掌握行船方向。在通常情况下，当我划船的时候，就会有人坐在船尾为我掌舵。然而，有时候不靠舵手我也能划。凭借着水草和百合花，以及岸边灌木丛的气味辨别方向是十分有趣的一件事。我使用的是用皮革捆绑的船桨，这样就能把桨固定在桨架上。当船桨处于平稳状态时，我可以通过水的阻力来感知航行状态。用同样的方式，我也能说出船在什么时候正处于激流之中。我喜欢同风浪较量一番。你让忠实的小船听命于自己的意愿和力量；你让它轻轻地掠过波光潋灩的水面；你感受着或平稳，或汹涌的波浪——还有什么能比这更令人兴奋的事情呢！
I also enjoy canoeing
and I suppose you will smile when I say that I especially like it on moonlight nights. I cannot
it is true
see the moon climb up the sky behind the pines and steal softly across the heavens
making a shining path for us to follow; but I know she is there
and as I lie back among the pillows and put my hand in the water
I fancy that I feel the shimmer of her garments as she passes. Sometimes a daring little fish slips beeen my fingers
and often a pond-lily presses shyly against my hand. Frequently
as we emerge from the shelter of a cove or inlet
I am suddenly conscious of the spaciousness of the air about me. A luminous warmth seems to enfold me. Whether it es from the trees which have been heated by the sun
or from the water
I can never discover. I have had the same strange sensation even in the heart of the city. I have felt it on cold
stormy days and at night. It is like the kiss of warm lips on my face.
My favourite amusement is sailing. In the summer of 1901 I visited Nova Scotia
and had opportunities such as I had not enjoyed before to make the acquaintance of the ocean. After spending a few days in Evangeline's country
about which Longfellow's beautiful poem has woven a spell of enchantment
Miss Sullivan and I went to Halifax
where we remained the greater part of the summer. The harbour was our joy
our paradise. What glorious sails we had to Bedford Basin
to McNabb's Island
to York Redoubt
and to the Northwest Arm! And at night what soothing
wondrous hours we spent in the shadow of the great
silent men-of-war. Oh
it was all so interesting
so beautiful! The memory of it is a joy forever.