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第十二章
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.
在我第一次访问了波士顿后，几乎每一个冬天我都在北方度过。我曾经去过新英格兰地区的一个村庄，那里的冻湖和广袤的雪原令我印象深刻。如果没有身临其境，我是永远也体会不到与雪融为一体的美妙感受的。
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withdrawn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
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.
我惊奇地发现，冬天的大树和灌木会遭受一只神秘的自然之手的摧残，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短暂而寒冷，如同她那老迈而枯萎的血脉，她要同衰老拼死一搏，为了再看一眼她心中的大地和海洋。干枯的草丛和灌木也都变成了一片挂满冰凌的森林。
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.
随后而来的是一股强冷空气，这预示着暴风雪的来临。我们冲出屋外，去迎接最先降落的小雪片。一个小时又一个小时过去了，雪片悄无声息地坠落，广袤的原野变得白茫茫一片。
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