Chapter 21 Ancient Tombs

Pursuing the path that winds past our, dwelling¹, one passes a dozen or more old villas², a few garden-walls, and then sees nothing but the lonely mountain-side, with little paths winding³ upward toward the summit through plantations⁴ of tea, bushes of camellias, underbrush, and rocks. The mountains round Nagasaki are covered with cemeteries⁵; for centuries and centuries they have brought their dead up here.

But there is neither sadness nor horror in these Japanese sepulchres; it seems as if, among this frivolous⁶ and childish people, death itself could not be taken seriously. The monuments are either granite⁷ Buddhas⁸, seated on lotus, or upright tombstones with inscriptions⁹ in gold. They are grouped together in little enclosures in the midst of the woods, or on natural terraces delightfully¹⁰ situated¹¹, and are usually reached by long stairways of stone carpeted with moss¹². Sometimes these pass under one of the sacred gateways¹³, of which the shape, always the same, rude and simple, is a smaller reproduction of those in the temples.

Above us, the tombs of our mountain are of an antiquity¹⁴ so hoary¹⁵ that they no longer alarm any one, even at night. It is a region of forsaken¹⁶ cemeteries. The dead hidden away there have long since become one with the earth around them; and these thousands of little gray stones, these multitudes of ancient little Buddhas, eaten away by lichens¹⁷, seem to be now no more than a proof of a series of existences, long anterior¹⁸ to our own, and lost forever and altogether in the mysterious depths of ages.

1 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

2 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

5 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

6 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

7 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

8 Buddhas   

n.佛，佛陀，佛像( Buddha的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She called on spirits and Buddhas and made innumerable vows, all to no avail. 她把一切的神佛都喊到了，并且许下多少誓愿，都没有用。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Tibetans identification with the political role of Living Buddhas is declining. 藏新政权的政治舞台中活佛的政治角色处于边缘。 来自互联网

9 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

10 delightfully   

大喜，欣然

参考例句：

• The room is delightfully appointed. 这房子的设备令人舒适愉快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The evening is delightfully cool. 晚间凉爽宜人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

12 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

13 gateways   

n.网关( gateway的名词复数 )；门径；方法；大门口

参考例句：

• Police bullets raked the gateways car. 警察的子弹对着门口的汽车扫射。 来自辞典例句
• No Internet gateways are needed for the programs operation. 该软件的操作不需要互联网网关的支持。 来自互联网

14 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

15 hoary   

adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的

参考例句：

• They discussed the hoary old problem.他们讨论老问题。
• Without a word spoken,he hurried away,with his hoary head bending low.他什么也没说，低着白发苍苍的头，匆匆地走了。

16 Forsaken   

adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词

参考例句：

• He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友们背弃了。
• He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遗弃了他的妻子和孩子。

17 lichens   

n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。 来自辞典例句
• Litmus: Mixture of coloured organic compounds obtained from several species of lichens. 石蕊：从几种地衣类植物中获取的带色有机化合物的混合物。 来自互联网

18 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。