约翰·斯坦贝克(John Steinbeck)
The rain began with gusty showers, pauses and downpours; and then gradually it settled to a single tempo , small drops and a steady beat, rain that was grey to see through, rain that cut midday light to evening. And at first the dry earth sucked the moisture down and blackened. For two days the earth drank the rain, until the earth was full. Then puddles formed, and in the low places little lakes formed in the fields. The muddy lakes rose higher, and the steady rain whipped the shining water. At last the mountains were full, and the hillsides spilled into the streams, built them to freshets, and sent them roaring down the canyons into the valleys. The rain beat on steadily. And the streams and the little rivers edged up to the bank sides and worked at willows and tree roots, bent the willows deep in the current, cut out the roots of cotton-woods and brought down the trees. The muddy water whirled along the bank sides and crept up the banks until at last it spilled over, into the fields, into the orchards, into the cotton patches where the black stems stood. Level fields became lakes, broad and grey, and the rain whipped up the surfaces. Then the water poured over the highways, and cars moved slowly, cutting the water ahead, and leaving a boiling muddy wake behind. The earth whispered under the beat of the rain, and the streams thundered under the churning freshets.
- gusty [ˈɡʌstɪ] a. 多阵风的
- tempo [ˈtempəʊ] n. 节奏
- suck [sʌk] v. 吸收，吸取
- puddle [ˈpʌdl] n. 水坑，洼地
- canyon [ˈkænjən] n. 峡谷
- churn [tʃɜːn] v. (波浪)翻腾
雨起先是一阵阵小雨，间歇之后，大雨瓢泼，接着渐渐稳定节奏，变成小水滴不停地下。雨点透明呈灰色，把白天的亮光变成傍晚的昏暗。起初，干旱的泥土吸收水汽而转黑，两天后泥土喝饱了雨水，形成小水潭，地里低洼处形成小湖、小塘。泥泞的湖塘升高水位，不停的雨点抽打着反射亮光的水面。最后山上的水也注满了，山坡的雨水汇进溪流，从而形成山洪，山洪咆哮着冲下山谷流入了河谷。雨还在不停地下，河流和小溪水都涨到堤岸边缘，冲刷着岸边的柳树和树根，柳树低垂着立于急流之中。木棉的树根被掏空了，让水冲倒了。泥泞的水打着漩儿向堤岸涌去，爬上堤，漫到了田里，浸进了果园，浸到了只剩下黑秆的棉花田。夷平了的田地成了一个个湖泊，灰蒙蒙一大片，而淫雨还在抽打水面。接下来雨水涌上公路，汽车移动缓慢，把车前的水劈开，把两侧翻滚泥泞泡沫的水甩在后边。大地在雨的抽打下沙沙有声，溪流在翻腾的山洪中咆哮如雷。
约翰·斯坦贝克（John Steinbeck）是一位美国作家，生活在20世纪初至中期。他以其深刻的社会洞察力和对人性的描写而闻名，作品常常关注农民、工人和移民等底层人士的生活。斯坦贝克最著名的作品之一是1939年出版的小说《愤怒的葡萄》（The Grapes of Wrath），该书描述了美国大萧条时期农民家庭的困境和苦难。这部作品赢得了普利策小说奖，并被认为是20世纪美国文学的经典之一。
斯坦贝克的其他著名作品还包括《战争之神》（The War of the Worlds）、《人鼠之间》（Of Mice and Men）和《乌龟与月亮》（The Tortoise and the Moon），这些作品也都反映了他对社会正义和人性的深刻思考。
斯坦贝克的作品往往描绘了美国大萧条时期的艰难生活，以及普通人在面对经济、社会和道德挑战时的勇气和尊严。