散文佳作108篇 第71期:Glories of the Storm 輝煌壯麗的暴風雨

輝煌壯麗的暴風雨

It begins when a feeling of stillness creeps into my consciousness. Every thing has suddenlygone quiet. Birds do not chirp. Leaves do not rustle. Insects do not sing.

起初，有一種平靜的感覺悄悄襲上我的心頭。剎那間，萬物都突然寂靜無聲。鳥兒不在啁啾，樹葉不再沙沙作響，昆蟲也停止了歡唱。

The air that has been hot all day becomes heavy. It hangs over the trees, presses the heads ofthe flowers to the ground, sits on my shoulders. With a vague feeling of uneasiness I move tothe window. There, in the west, lies the answer - cloud has piled on cloud to form a ridge ofmammoth while towers, rearing against blue sky.

整日悶熱的空氣變得格外呆滯，它籠罩著樹木，逼得花朵垂向地面，也壓得我的肩頭沉甸甸的。我懷著隱隱約約的煩躁不安，信步走到窗前，原來答案就在西邊天際，云層重重疊疊，就像一排嵯峨的白塔，高聳在藍天之上。

Their piercing whiteness is of brief duration. Soon the marshmallow rims flatten to anvil tops,and the clouds reveal their darker nature. They impose themselves before the late-afternoonsun, and the day darkens early. Then a gust of wind ships the dust along the road, chillwarning of what is to come.

云彩那耀眼的白色轉瞬便消失了。頃刻間，棉花糖狀的云彼岸變得像鐵砧一樣平展，云層也露出了陰暗的本來面目。它強行遮住西斜的太陽，使天色早早就黑了下來。接著，勁風驟起，一路卷起塵土飛揚。冷嗖嗖的，預示著即將來臨的一切。

In the house a door shuts with a bang, curtains billow into the room. I rush to close thewindows, empty the clothesline, secure the patio furnishings. Thunder begins to grumble inthe distance.

砰的一聲，風關上了一扇房門。窗簾也隨風揚起，向屋內(nèi)翻卷著。我急忙跑上去關上窗戶，收下晾曬的衣服，安頓好露臺上的家什。遠處開始響起隆隆的雷聲。

The first drops of rain are huge. They splat into the dust and imprint the windows withindividual signatures. They plink on the vent pipe and plunk on the patio roof. Leaves shudderunder their weight before rebounding, and sidewalk wears a coat of shiny spots.

最初落下來的是大顆大顆的水珠，撲撲地打在塵土里。在玻璃窗是留下了一個個印記。雨點把排氣管敲得叮叮當當，把露臺頂棚打得噼噼啪啪，樹葉被砸得瑟瑟發(fā)抖，難以抬頭。人行道披上了一層亮閃閃的水點。

The rhythm accelerates; plink follows plunk faster and faster until the sound is a roll of drumsand the individual drops become an army marching over fields and rooftops. Now the first boltof lightning stabs the earth. It is heaven's exclamation point. The storm is here!

雨加快了節(jié)奏，叮叮當當緊跟著噼噼啪啪，一陣緊似一陣，終于連成一片緊密的鼓點，顆顆雨滴也匯集成一支行進在田野和屋頂?shù)拇筌?。這時，第一道閃電刺向大地，這是老天劃的驚嘆號。暴風雨來了。

In spite of myself, I jump at the following crack of thunder. It rattles the windowpane andsends the dog scratching to get under the bed. The next bolt is even closer. It raises the hairon the back of my neck, and I take an involuntary step away from the window.

隨即響起了一聲霹靂，我不禁跳了起來，雷聲震得窗戶格格作響，嚇得狗兒三抓兩爬鉆到床底下。第二道閃電離得更近。我驚得寒毛倒立，不由得從床邊后退了一步。

The rain now becomes a torrent, flung capriciously by rising wind. Together they batter thetrees and level the grasses. Water streams off roofs and out of rain spouts. It pounds againstthe window in such a steady wash that I am sightless. There is only water. How can so muchfall so fast? How could the clouds have supported this vast weight? How can the earth endurebeneath it?

這時，雨下的簡直是傾盆如注，狂風吹得雨水飄搖不定。風雨交加，恣意地抽打樹木，夷平草地。雨水從屋頂奔流而下，漫出了排水管，不停地潑灑在窗戶上，使我什么也看不清楚。眼前只有水。這么多雨水，怎么能下得這么急?云層怎么能承受得這么巨大的重量?大地怎么能經(jīng)受得起這樣的沖擊?

Pacing through the house from window to window, I am moved to openmouthed wonder. Lookhow the lilac bends under the assault, how the day lilies are flattened, how the hillside steps area new made waterfall! Now hailstones thump upon the roof. They bounce white against thegrass and splash into the puddle. I think of the vegetable garden, the fruit trees, the crops inthe fields; but, thankfully, the hailstones are not enough in numbers or size to do real damage.Not this time.

我在房里踱來踱去，從一個窗口走到另一個窗口，屋外的景色使我瞠目結舌，驚嘆不已。瞧，在暴風雨的襲擊下，丁香折彎了腰，萱草倒伏在地，山坡上的石階小道變成了一簾新辟的瀑布!這是突然下起冰雹。乒乒乓乓地砸在屋頂上，頃刻間草地上銀珠紛飛，稅洼里水花四濺，我開始擔心園里的蔬菜、水果，還有田里的莊稼;不過，謝天謝地，冰雹個頭不大，數(shù)量也不多，還不足以造成什么實際損失。至少這一次是不會了。

From this storm is already beginning to pass. The tension is released from the atmosphere, thecurtains of rain let in more light. The storm has spend most of its energy, and what is left willbe expended on the countryside to the east.

因為這場暴風雨即將過去，緊張的氣氛緩和了，從雨幕中透出更多的亮光。暴風雨已經(jīng)耗去了大部分的精力，還有一點余威只能到東邊的鄉(xiāng)間去施展了。

I am drawn outside while the rain still falls. All around, there is a cool and welcome feeling. Ibreathe deeply and watch the sun's rays streaks through breaking clouds. One ray catches thedrops that form on the edge of the roof, and I am treated to a row of tiny, quivering colors -my private rainbows.

雨仍在淅淅瀝瀝地下著，我卻忍不住走到室外，環(huán)境是那么清新宜。我深深地呼吸著新鮮空氣，仰望著那船運而出的道道陽光，有一束陽光恰巧映射在屋檐邊的水珠上，我便看到一條細細的、微微顫動著的七色彩帶——一條供我個人欣賞的彩虹。

I pick my way through the west grass, my feet sinking into the saturated soil. The creek in thegully runs bank - full of brown water, but the small lakes and puddles are already disappearinginto the earth. Every leaf, brick, single, and blade of grass is fresh-washed and shining.

我小心翼翼地穿過濕漉漉的草地，雙腳不時陷入雨水浸透的土壤中。河谷里的小溪滿載著渾濁的泥水奔流而去，但那些小水洼和小水坑里的水已滲入地下，都不見了蹤影。每片樹葉和草葉，每塊磚頭和卵石都沖得纖塵不染，熠熠發(fā)光。

Like the land, I am renewed, my spirits cleansed. I feel an infinite peace. Fro a time I haveforgotten the worries and irritations I am nurturing before. They have been washed away by theglories of the storm.

像大地一樣，我也煥然一新，心靈得到了凈化。我感到無比的平靜，一時間全然忘掉了以往郁積在心頭的煩惱與憂愁。他們都已被這輝煌壯麗的暴風雨滌蕩得干干凈凈。