美國語文第六冊 第7期:黎明(1)

I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o'clock in the morning.

幾個星期前，我有幸乘坐早班火車從普羅維登斯來到波士頓，為此我特地凌晨兩點就起床已畢。

Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train.

萬物陷于黑暗之中悄無聲息，只是在列車發(fā)出隆隆轟鳴突然啟動的那一刻，這種平靜才驟然打破。

It was a mild, serene, midsummer's night,—the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist.

這是一個溫暖寧靜的仲夏之夜——天空沒有一絲云彩，微風和煦。

The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.

在最后四分之一路程，月亮才爬上天際。星星散發(fā)出幽靈一般的光柵，絲毫無法影響月亮的光輝。

Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east;

木星懸于天際已經兩個鐘頭了，預示著拂曉將至。在地平線上，昴宿星已經露出臉來，東方泛出魚肚白。

Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly-discovered glories from the naked eye in the south;

天琴星座在天頂附近閃閃發(fā)光，仙女星座遮蓋住從南方裸露的眼睛綻放出的剛發(fā)現的光芒。

 

the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.

在地極之下，一成不變的指針溫順地從北極深處向上窺探著它們的王國。

Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train.

我登上列車時，眼前出現的就是這幅壯麗景象。

As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften;

隨著列車行進，黎明前的曙光羞怯地展露出來，越發(fā)容易察覺。天際一線的藍色開始變得輕柔可親。

the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together;

那些很小的星星就像嗷嗷待哺的孩子似的，首先停止了啼哭。昴宿星系星團的光柵很快便一同隱去，

but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged.

不過西方和北方那些明亮的恒星透過云層依舊散出光芒。

Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on.

星團繼續(xù)變換著奇異的形狀和姿態(tài)。