Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweet fern and the juniper forever and ever, summer without end；this was the background, and the life along the shore was the design, the cottages with their innocent and tranquil design, their tiny docks with the flagpole and the American flag floating against the white clouds in the blue sky, the little paths over the roots of the trees leading from camp to camp and the paths leading back to the outhouses and the can of lime for sprinkling, and at the souvenir counters at the store the miniature birch-bark canoes and the post cards that showed things looking a little better than they looked.
This was the American family at play, escaping the city heat, wondering whether the newcomers at the camp at the head of the cove were“common”or“nice，”wondering whether it was true that the people who drove up for Sunday dinner at the farmhouse were turned away because there wasn't enough chicken.
It seemed to me, as I kept remembering all this, that those times and those summers had been infinitely precious and worth saving.There had been jollity and peace and goodness.
The arriving had been so big a business in itself, at the railway station the farm wagon drawn up, the first smell of the pine-laden air, the first glimpse of the smiling farmer, and the great importance of the trunks and your father’s enormous authority in such matters, and the feel of the wagon under you for the long ten-mile haul, and at the top of the last long hill catching the first view of the lake after eleven months of not seeing this cherished body of water.
The shouts and cries of the other campers when they saw you, and the trunks to be unpacked, to give up their rich burden.
-pasture [ˈpɑːstʃə（r）]n.牧场；草原
典型例句
We have put our cattle out to pasture.
我们已经把牛放到牧场上吃草去了。
-cottage [ˈkɒtɪdʒ]n.小屋；村舍
典型例句
He lived in a tiny cottage all by himself.
他一人住在一间很小的茅屋里。
-sprinkle [ˈsprɪŋkl]v.洒；撒
典型例句
He wanted to tell her to sprinkle the floor.
他想告诉她在地上洒点水。
-souvenir [ˌsuːvəˈnɪə（r）]n.纪念品
典型例句
Can you mail this souvenir to America for me?
您能帮我把这件纪念品邮到美国吗？
-canoe [kəˈnuː]n.独木舟
典型例句
We crossed the lake in a canoe.
我们乘独木舟过河。
夏日，哦，夏日，生命中的印记留存不去，那永不消失的湖泊，永不摧折的林木，牧场上遍布香蕨木和桧树，年年岁岁，郁郁蓊蓊，夏日没有尽头；这是背景，湖边的生活是画面，度假者勾勒的一幅单纯而安谧的图画，他们的小码头上竖着旗杆，美国国旗在蓝天白云下飘扬，树根盘绕，上面的小路引向一个个营地，又折回户外厕所，那里有石灰水罐，供喷洒用，商店的纪念品柜台上，摆了桦树皮做的袖珍小划子，还有明信片，上面的景物看去比实物要好些。
美国人逃离城里的溽热，阖家在这里游憩，琢磨小湾顶头营地的新住户是“小门小房”，还是“体面人家”，寻思有人星期日驱车来农庄用餐，是否真的因为人多鸡少而没有口福。
这些记忆时时涌上心头，对我来说，那些时光，那些夏日，似乎无比宝贵，值得珍藏。那是曾经有过的欢乐、宁静与美好。
游客的抵达本身就是件了不起的大事，在火车站，农庄的大篷车停过来，闻到松树第一缕浓郁的香气，瞥见第一个笑呵呵的农夫，行李箱子非常重要，这类事情由父亲全权做主，坐在大篷车上，经受十英里的漫长颠簸，在最后一道蜿蜒伸展的山顶，头一眼望见那湖，这片念兹在兹的水面，一别就是十一个月。
其他的度假者见到你，一片欢呼叫闹声，行李箱子得打开，卸去它们的重负。