查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)
There is no month in the whole year, in which nature wears a more beautiful appearance than in the month of August! Spring has many beauties, and May is a fresh and blooming month, but the charms of this time of year are enhanced by their contrast with the winter season.August has no such advantage. It comes when we remember nothing but clear skies, green fields and sweet-smelling flowers — when the recollection of snow, and ice, and bleak winds, has faded from our minds as completely as they have disappeared from the earth — and yet what a pleasant time it is! Orchards and corn-fields ring with the hum of labour; trees bend beneath the thick clusters of rich fruit which bow their branches to the ground; and the corn piled in graceful sheaves , or waving in every light breath that sweeps above it, as if it wooed the sickle, tinges the landscape with a golden hue. A mellow softness appears to hand over the whole earth; the influence of the season seems to extend itself to the very waggon, whose slow motion across the well-reaped field, is perceptible only to the eye, but strikes with no harsh sound upon the ear.
- enhance [ɪnˈhɑːns] v. 提高
- recollection [ˌrekəˈlekʃn] n. 记起，回忆
- sheaf [ʃiːf] n. 束，捆
- perceptible [pəˈseptəbl] a. 可察觉的
一年之中，大自然赋予八月的美没有哪个月比得上！春天姹紫嫣红，美不胜收。五月是一个清新的百花盛开的月份，但五月之美，是与冬季相对比而突显出来的。八月没有这样的优势。在八月我们记忆中只有晴朗的天空、绿色的田野、芬芳的鲜花——冬天的冰天雪地和刺骨寒风像是从地球上失去踪影似的，从我们的记忆中淡忘了——八月是多么让人心旷神怡的季节啊！果园中，玉米地里，响着不绝于耳的劳动小调；树上果实累累，把枝杆压弯倒垂贴地，玉米一捆捆堆放得整齐漂亮，或随着每一阵微风从顶上吹过频频摇曳，好像在向镰刀求爱似的，用金黄的色调给山水着色。一种香醇的温柔似乎充满了大地；八月的熏风芬芳，好像连牛车也受到了影响，牛车在收割后的田野上缓慢地移动，缓缓地，只有肉眼才能觉察得到，发出的声响舒缓美妙。
查尔斯·狄更斯（Charles Dickens）是一位英国著名的作家，生活在19世纪。他是维多利亚时代最重要的小说家之一，其作品深刻描绘了当时英国社会的各个阶层和问题。他的代表作包括《雾都孤儿》、《呼啸山庄》、《大卫·科波菲尔》等。他以生动的语言和描写力，刻画了许多不朽的文学形象，如奥利弗·特威斯特(Oliver Twist)和斯卡罗奇(Sairey Gamp)。