“Who has not hearkened to Her infinite din1?”— THOREAU.
Free alike from the clatter2 of pastimes and the creaks and groans3 of labour, this region discovers acute sensibility to sound. Silence in its rarest phases soothes4 the Isle5, reproaching disturbances6, though never so temperate7. All the endemic sounds are primitive8 and therefore seldom harsh. Even the mysterious fall of a tree in the jungle — not an unusual occurrence on still days during the wet season — is unaccompanied by thud and shock. Encompassing9 vines and creepers, colossal10 in strength and overwhelming in weight, which have strained the tree to breaking point, ease their burden down, muffling11 its descent, though now and again the primal12 rupture13 of trunk or branch rings out a sharp protest, and following the fall is silence — that varying, elusive14 sensation not to he expressed by the absence of actual noise.
There are silences which tinkle15 or buzz in the ears, causing them to ache with stress and strain; silences dull and sad as a wad of wool; silences as searching as the odour of musk16 — as soothing17 as the perfume of violets. The crisp silence of the seashore when absolute calm prevails is as different from the strained, sodden18, padded silence of the jungle as the savour of olives from the raw insipidity19 of white of egg, for the cumbersome20 mantle21 of leafage is the surest stifler22 of noise, the truest cherisher of silence.
The most imperious hour of this realm of silence is three o’clock in the afternoon, when the sun has absorbed the energies of the most volatile23 of birds and insects. An hour later all may begin to assert themselves after a reviving, siesta24; yet during the intensest hour of silence any abrupt25 noise — a call, or whistle, or bark of a dog — finds an immediate26 response. No sound has been heard for an hour. All the birds have been stricken dumb or have been banished27, yet as an echo to any violation28 of the silence comes the sweet, mellow29, inquisitive30 note of the “moor-goody” (to use the black’s name, for the shrike thrush). The bird seems fond of sound and will answer in trills and chuckles31 attempts to imitate its call.
The condition of perfect silence is not for this noisy sphere. The artist in so-called silences merely registers certain more or less delicate sound-waves flowing in easy contours, which others have not the leisure to distinguish. Often have I found myself as I strolled gloating over the exquisite33 absence of sound — enjoying in full mental relish34 the quaint35 and refined sensation. Yet when I have stopped and listened determinedly36, viciously analysing my sensations, have I become aware of a hubbub37 of frail38 and interblended sounds. That which I had thought to be distilled39 silence, was microphonic Babel — an intimate commingling40 of analogous41 noises varying in quality and intensity42. By wilful43 resistance to what Falstaff called “the disease of not listening,” I have been privileged to become aware of the singing of a quiet tune44, some of the phrases of which were directly derivative45 from inarticulate vegetation — the thud of glossy46 blue quandongs on the soft floor of the jungle, the clicking of a discarded leaf as it fell from topmost twigs47 down through the strata48 of foliage49, the bursting of a seed-pod, the patter of rejects from the million pink-fruited fig50, overhanging the beach, the whisper of leaves, the faint squeal51 where interlocked branches fret52 each other unceasingly, the sigh of phantom53 zephyrs54 too elusive to be felt.
Echoes from vistas55 of silence far in the jungle lost their individuality in a sob56. Grasshoppers57 clinked in the forest, the hum of bees and beetles58, the fluty plaint of a painted pigeon far in the gloom, the furtive59 scamper60 of scrub fowl61 among leaves made tender by decay, the splash of startled fish in the shadows, commingled62 and blended to the accompaniment of that subdued63 aerial buzz by which Nature manifests the more secret of her functions and art — that ineffable64 minstrelsy to which her silent battalions65 keep step. Preoccupation, the whirl of my own temperate thoughts, scared silence, while as soon as the mental machine was stilled, the very trees became vocal66. Thus have I caught fleet silences as they passed in chase of fugitive67 sounds.
Since the morning stars sang together, absolute silence has not visited the uneasy earth. In this Silent Isle the ears —
“Set to small measure, deaf to all the beats
Of the large music rolling o’er the world”—
become almost supernaturally alert, catching68 the faintest sound. Kinglake, who heard in the Syrian desert while dozing69 on his camel and for ten minutes after awakening70 “the innocent bells of Marlen,” attributed the phenomenon to the heat of the sun, the perfect dryness, the deep stillness, “having rendered the ears liable to tingle71 under the passing touch of some mere32 memory that may have swept across my brain in a moment of sleep.” Homesick sailors, too, lost in the profound stillness of mid-ocean, have listened with fearful wonder to the phantom chiming of their village bells.
Apart from the tricks which memory plays upon the solitary72 individual, inviting73 him by scents74 and sounds to scenes of the past, I find that the moist unadulterated atmosphere is a most compliant75 medium for the transmission of certain sorts of sound waves. The actual surface of the sea — differing from its resonant76 bulk — seems to sap up, rather than convey sounds, though on given planes above its level sounds travel unimpeded for remarkable77 distances. The resonance78 of the atmosphere appears at times to be dependent on the tone and quality rather than on the abruptness79 and loudness of the sound. I have listened with strange delight to the rustle80 of the sea on the mainland beach — two and a half miles distant — when the air has been so idle that the sensitive casuarinas — ever haunted by some secret woe81 upon which to moan and sob — have been mute and unable to find excuse for the faintest sigh. The branches which thinly shaded me hung limp and still and yet the soft, white-footed sea marking time on the harder sands of the mainland set distance at naught82 in one continuous murmur83.
However listless the air, the coral-reef, though its crowded life is inarticulate and mute is ever brisk with minor84 but strenuous85 noises. Splashes and gurgles, sighs and gasps86, coughs and sneezes, sharp clicks and snaps and snarls87 — telling of alarms, tragic88 escapes, and violent death-dealings — blend with the continuous murmur of the sea, and are occasionally punctuated89 by sudden slaps and thuds as a blundering, hammer-head shark pursues a high-leaping eagle-ray, or the red-backed sea eagle dashes down upon a preoccupied90 bream, the impact of its firm breast embossing a white rosette on the blue water.
In the absence of vibratory media the noises of the reef are isolated91. furtive, echoless — staccato accidentals and dull dissonances out of tune with the soothing theme of the sea. Hence, when, as I wandered absorbed in an inspection92 of minor details, and a mellow whistle, constant but varying in volume, broke in upon my musings, it was vain to repress the thrill of excitement. A sound so foreign and incongruous also had a certain element of mystery. In a flash unsensational ponderings were displaced by a picture of a steamer in distress93 far away. Had I not on a similar occasion of a secret-disclosing tide heard through seven miles of insulted and sullen94 air the flop95 of an inch or so of dynamite96 exploded by a heartless barbarian97 for the illicit98 destruction of vivacious99 fish? Had I not listened with amazement100 to the buzz of a steamer’s propeller101 and the throb102 of her engines six miles away when unaccustomed “nigger-heads” of coral showed yellow in the sun? The calm, shallow sea conveyed the sounds with marvellous fidelity103 and surety. Yet this unaccountable call came from a quarter whence steamers may not venture, and was I not the only whistler within a range of many miles? No steamer ever gloated or warned or appealed in so fluty a note — plaintive104, slightly tremulous, nervously105 imploring106.
Alert, I tracked the strange sound along an eccentric course to its haunt, finding nothing more than the empty shell of a huge sea urchin107, which in accord with a whim108 of the sea had floated and was now held aloft slantwise to the lips of the wind, firm in the branching tines of stag’s-horn coral. A rustic109 pipe — giving forth110 a sonorous111 moan, now cooing and crooning, now bold and confident, and again irresolute112 and unschooled. Not too sure of instrumentalism, oft the note was hesitating, soliciting113 a compliant ear as became a modest wooer of the muses114, polishing his unceremonious serenade to some, shy mermaid115, or hooting116 at shyer silence.
A new art, a rare accomplishment117! So the musician was diffident, half-ashamed, half-shocked at his audacity118, wholly self-conscious; earnest to please yet doubtful of the reception awaiting his untutored, artless play. Gathering119 courage, the breeze moistened his lips and a triumphant120 spasm121 of sound boomed out, and again the tremulous undertone prevailed. It was more than a serenade — a primitive sensation from primitive matter — a vital function, for as long, as the wind blew and until the lapping sea gurgled in its throat and its note ceased with the bursting of a bubble, there, held fixedly122 by living coral, the dead shell could not choose but whistle. So I left it to its wayward pipings, happy to have been the sole auditor123 to a purely124 natural, albeit125 mechanical, monotone. Upon such an instrument did the heavenly maid beguile126 the time when she was yet uncouthly127 young — at the hoydenish128 age when men also cajoled her with clicking sticks and the beating of hollow logs, and music was but a variety of noise.
点击收听单词发音
1 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 clatter | |
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 groans | |
n.呻吟,叹息( groan的名词复数 );呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 soothes | |
v.安慰( soothe的第三人称单数 );抚慰;使舒服;减轻痛苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 disturbances | |
n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 );打扰;困扰;障碍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 temperate | |
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 encompassing | |
v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 );包围;包含;包括 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 colossal | |
adj.异常的,庞大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 muffling | |
v.压抑,捂住( muffle的现在分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 primal | |
adj.原始的;最重要的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 rupture | |
n.破裂;(关系的)决裂;v.(使)破裂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 elusive | |
adj.难以表达(捉摸)的;令人困惑的;逃避的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 tinkle | |
vi.叮当作响;n.叮当声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 musk | |
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 soothing | |
adj.慰藉的;使人宽心的;镇静的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 sodden | |
adj.浑身湿透的;v.使浸透;使呆头呆脑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 insipidity | |
n.枯燥无味,清淡,无精神;无生气状 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 cumbersome | |
adj.笨重的,不便携带的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 stifler | |
窒息物,绞索 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 volatile | |
adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 siesta | |
n.午睡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 abrupt | |
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 banished | |
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 violation | |
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 mellow | |
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 inquisitive | |
adj.求知欲强的,好奇的,好寻根究底的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 chuckles | |
轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 determinedly | |
adv.决意地;坚决地,坚定地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 hubbub | |
n.嘈杂;骚乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 frail | |
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 distilled | |
adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 commingling | |
v.混合,掺和,合并( commingle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 analogous | |
adj.相似的;类似的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 wilful | |
adj.任性的,故意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 derivative | |
n.派(衍)生物;adj.非独创性的,模仿他人的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 glossy | |
adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 twigs | |
细枝,嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 strata | |
n.地层(复数);社会阶层 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 fig | |
n.无花果(树) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 squeal | |
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 fret | |
v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 phantom | |
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 zephyrs | |
n.和风,微风( zephyr的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 vistas | |
长条形景色( vista的名词复数 ); 回顾; 展望; (未来可能发生的)一系列情景 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 sob | |
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 grasshoppers | |
n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 );蝗虫;蚂蚱;(孩子)矮小的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 beetles | |
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 furtive | |
adj.鬼鬼崇崇的,偷偷摸摸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 scamper | |
v.奔跑,快跑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 fowl | |
n.家禽,鸡,禽肉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 commingled | |
v.混合,掺和,合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 ineffable | |
adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 battalions | |
n.(陆军的)一营(大约有一千兵士)( battalion的名词复数 );协同作战的部队;军队;(组织在一起工作的)队伍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 vocal | |
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 fugitive | |
adj.逃亡的,易逝的;n.逃犯,逃亡者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 dozing | |
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 awakening | |
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 tingle | |
vi.感到刺痛,感到激动;n.刺痛,激动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 inviting | |
adj.诱人的,引人注目的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 scents | |
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 compliant | |
adj.服从的,顺从的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 resonant | |
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 resonance | |
n.洪亮;共鸣;共振 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 abruptness | |
n. 突然,唐突 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 naught | |
n.无,零 [=nought] | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 minor | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 strenuous | |
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 gasps | |
v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87 snarls | |
n.(动物的)龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 );愤怒叫嚷(声);咆哮(声);疼痛叫声v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 );咆哮着说,厉声地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89 punctuated | |
v.(在文字中)加标点符号,加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 );不时打断某事物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90 preoccupied | |
adj.全神贯注的,入神的;被抢先占有的;心事重重的v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91 isolated | |
adj.与世隔绝的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92 inspection | |
n.检查,审查,检阅 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95 flop | |
n.失败(者),扑通一声;vi.笨重地行动,沉重地落下 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96 dynamite | |
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
97 barbarian | |
n.野蛮人;adj.野蛮(人)的;未开化的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
98 illicit | |
adj.非法的,禁止的,不正当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
99 vivacious | |
adj.活泼的,快活的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
100 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
101 propeller | |
n.螺旋桨,推进器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
102 throb | |
v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
103 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
104 plaintive | |
adj.可怜的,伤心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
105 nervously | |
adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
106 imploring | |
恳求的,哀求的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
107 urchin | |
n.顽童;海胆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
108 whim | |
n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
109 rustic | |
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
110 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
111 sonorous | |
adj.响亮的,回响的;adv.圆润低沉地;感人地;n.感人,堂皇 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
112 irresolute | |
adj.无决断的,优柔寡断的,踌躇不定的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
113 soliciting | |
v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 );(指娼妇)拉客;索求;征求 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
114 muses | |
v.沉思,冥想( muse的第三人称单数 );沉思自语说(某事) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
115 mermaid | |
n.美人鱼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
116 hooting | |
(使)作汽笛声响,作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 ); 倒好儿; 倒彩 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
117 accomplishment | |
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
118 audacity | |
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
119 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
120 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
121 spasm | |
n.痉挛,抽搐;一阵发作 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
122 fixedly | |
adv.固定地;不屈地,坚定不移地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
123 auditor | |
n.审计员,旁听着 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
124 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
125 albeit | |
conj.即使;纵使;虽然 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
126 beguile | |
vt.欺骗,消遣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
127 uncouthly | |
参考例句: |
|
|
128 hoydenish | |
adj.顽皮的,爱嬉闹的,男孩子气的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |