查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)
I came into the valley, as the evening sun was shining on the remote heights of snow that closed it in, like eternal clouds. The bases of the mountains forming the gorge in which the little village lay were richly green; and high above this gentler vegetation grew forests of dark fir, cleaving the wintry snowdrift, wedgelike, and stemming the avalanche . Above these were range upon range of craggy steeps, grey rock, bright ice, and smooth verdure specks of pasture, all gradually blending with the crowning snow. Dotted here and there on the mountain's side, each tiny dot a home, were lonely wooden cottages, so dwarfed by the towering heights that they appeared too small for toys. So did even the clustered village in the valley, with its wooden bridge across the stream, where the stream tumbled over broken rocks, and roared away among the trees. In the quiet air there was a sound of distant singing-shepherd voices...
- eternal [iːˈtɜːnl] a. 永恒的
- cleave [kliːv] v. 劈，劈开
- avalanche [ˈævəˌlɑːnʃ] v. (冰雪等)崩落
- craggy [kræɡɪ] a. 崎岖的，多峭壁的
- dwarf [dwɔːf] v. 使相形见绌
我来到山谷时，夕阳正照在远方的高地上，那里的积雪长年不化，像永恒的云彩罩着高地。山脚形成了谷地，小村庄就坐落在那儿，山脚已是一片鲜润的葱绿，高高地在这片植物之上长着深色的冷杉林，像木楔那样把风中飘的雪劈开，遏止雪崩。再往上是一片又一片陡峭的绝壁：灰色的岩石，晶莹的冰块，零散分布的光滑葱绿的牧草地，全都渐渐融合在封顶的大雪之中。星星点点散布在山坡上的家园，孤独的小木头房与高耸的山地相比，相形之下太小了，和儿童玩具差不多。山谷中聚集在一起的山庄也一样，有小木桥横在溪流之上，溪水翻腾着从碎石上面流过，哗哗地流进树林中。在沉静的空气中，远远传来了牧羊人的歌声……