Now, leaving the Storm to do his appointed office, let us sit down, pen in hand, by our fireside. Gloomy as it may seem, there is an influence productive of cheerfulness and favorable to imaginative thought in the atmosphere of a snowy day. The native of a Southern clime may woo the Muse22 beneath the heavy shade of summer foliage23 reclining on banks of turf, while the sound of singing-birds and warbling rivulets24 chimes in with the music of his soul. In our brief summer I do not think, but only exist in the vague enjoyment25 of a dream. My hour of inspiration — if that hour ever comes — is when the green log hisses26 upon the hearth27, and the bright flame, brighter for the gloom of the chamber28, rustles29 high up the chimney, and the coals drop tinkling30 down among the growing heaps of ashes. When the casement31 rattles32 in the gust33 and the snowflakes or the sleety34 raindrops pelt35 hard against the window-panes, then I spread out my sheet of paper with the certainty that thoughts and fancies will gleam forth36 upon it like stars at twilight37 or like violets in May, perhaps to fade as soon. However transitory their glow, they at least shine amid the darksome shadow which the clouds of the outward sky fling through the room. Blessed, therefore, and reverently38 welcomed by me, her true-born son, be New England’s winter, which makes us one and all the nurslings of the storm and sings a familiar lullaby even in the wildest shriek39 of the December blast. Now look we forth again and see how much of his task the storm-spirit has done.
Slow and sure! He has the day — perchance the week — before him, and may take his own time to accomplish Nature’s burial in snow. A smooth mantle is scarcely yet thrown over the withered grass-plat, and the dry stalks of annuals still thrust themselves through the white surface in all parts of the garden. The leafless rose-bushes stand shivering in a shallow snowdrift, looking, poor things! as disconsolate40 as if they possessed41 a human consciousness of the dreary scene. This is a sad time for the shrubs42 that do not perish with the summer. They neither live nor die; what they retain of life seems but the chilling sense of death. Very sad are the flower-shrubs in midwinter. The roofs of the houses are now all white, save where the eddying43 wind has kept them bare at the bleak12 corners. To discern the real intensity44 of the storm, we must fix upon some distant object — as yonder spire45 — and observe how the riotous46 gust fights with the descending47 snow throughout the intervening space. Sometimes the entire prospect48 is obscured; then, again, we have a distinct but transient glimpse of the tall steeple, like a giant’s ghost; and now the dense49 wreaths sweep between, as if demons50 were flinging snowdrifts at each other in mid-air. Look next into the street, where we have an amusing parallel to the combat of those fancied demons in the upper regions. It is a snow-battle of schoolboys. What a pretty satire52 on war and military glory might be written in the form of a child’s story by describing the snow-ball fights of two rival schools, the alternate defeats and victories of each, and the final triumph of one party, or perhaps of neither! What pitched battles worthy54 to be chanted in Homeric strains! What storming of fortresses55 built all of massive snow-blocks! What feats53 of individual prowess and embodied56 onsets57 of martial58 enthusiasm! And when some well-contested and decisive victory had put a period to the war, both armies should unite to build a lofty monument of snow upon the battlefield and crown it with the victor’s statue hewn of the same frozen marble. In a few days or weeks thereafter the passer-by would observe a shapeless mound59 upon the level common, and, unmindful of the famous victory, would ask, “How came it there? Who reared it? And what means it?” The shattered pedestal of many a battle-monument has provoked these questions when none could answer.
Turn we again to the fireside and sit musing51 there, lending our ears to the wind till perhaps it shall seem like an articulate voice and dictate60 wild and airy matter for the pen. Would it might inspire me to sketch61 out the personification of a New England winter! And that idea, if I can seize the snow-wreathed figures that flit before my fancy, shall be the theme of the next page.
How does Winter herald62 his approach? By the shrieking63 blast of latter autumn which is Nature’s cry of lamentation64 as the destroyer rushes among the shivering groves65 where she has lingered and scatters66 the sear leaves upon the tempest. When that cry is heard, the people wrap themselves in cloaks and shake their heads disconsolately67, saying, “Winter is at hand.” Then the axe68 of the woodcutter echoes sharp and diligently69 in the forest; then the coal-merchants rejoice because each shriek of Nature in her agony adds something to the price of coal per ton; then the peat-smoke spreads its aromatic70 fragrance71 through the atmosphere. A few days more, and at eventide the children look out of the window and dimly perceive the flaunting72 of a snowy mantle in the air. It is stern Winter’s vesture. They crowd around the hearth and cling to their mother’s gown or press between their father’s knees, affrighted by the hollow roaring voice that bellows73 adown the wide flue of the chimney.
It is the voice of Winter; and when parents and children hear it, they shudder74 and exclaim, “Winter is come. Cold Winter has begun his reign75 already.” Now throughout New England each hearth becomes an altar sending up the smoke of a continued sacrifice to the immitigable deity76 who tyrannizes over forest, country-side and town. Wrapped in his white mantle, his staff a huge icicle, his beard and hair a wind-tossed snowdrift, he travels over the land in the midst of the northern blast, and woe77 to the homeless wanderer whom he finds upon his path! There he lies stark78 and stiff, a human shape of ice, on the spot where Winter overtook him. On strides the tyrant79 over the rushing rivers and broad lakes, which turn to rock beneath his footsteps. His dreary empire is established; all around stretches the desolation of the pole. Yet not ungrateful be his New England children (for Winter is our sire, though a stern and rough one) — not ungrateful even for the severities which have nourished our unyielding strength of character. And let us thank him, too, for the sleigh-rides cheered by the music of merry bells; for the crackling and rustling80 hearth when the ruddy firelight gleams on hardy81 manhood and the blooming cheek of woman: for all the home-enjoyments and the kindred virtues82 which flourish in a frozen soil. Not that we grieve when, after some seven months of storm and bitter frost, Spring, in the guise83 of a flower-crowned virgin84, is seen driving away the hoary85 despot, pelting86 him with violets by the handful and strewing87 green grass on the path behind him. Often ere he will give up his empire old Winter rushes fiercely buck88 and hurls89 a snowdrift at the shrinking form of Spring, yet step by step he is compelled to retreat northward90, and spends the summer month within the Arctic circle.
Such fantasies, intermixed among graver toils91 of mind, have made the winter’s day pass pleasantly. Meanwhile, the storm has raged without abatement92, and now, as the brief afternoon declines, is tossing denser93 volumes to and fro about the atmosphere. On the window-sill there is a layer of snow reaching halfway94 up the lowest pane1 of glass. The garden is one unbroken bed. Along the street are two or three spots of uncovered earth where the gust has whirled away the snow, heaping it elsewhere to the fence-tops or piling huge banks against the doors of houses. A solitary95 passenger is seen, now striding mid-leg deep across a drift, now scudding96 over the bare ground, while his cloak is swollen97 with the wind. And now the jingling98 of bells — a sluggish99 sound responsive to the horse’s toilsome progress through the unbroken drifts — announces the passage of a sleigh with a boy clinging behind and ducking his head to escape detection by the driver. Next comes a sledge100 laden101 with wood for some unthrifty housekeeper102 whom winter has surprised at a cold hearth. But what dismal103 equipage now struggles along the uneven104 street? A sable105 hearse bestrewn with snow is bearing a dead man through the storm to his frozen bed. Oh how dreary is a burial in winter, when the bosom106 of Mother Earth has no warmth for her poor child!
Evening — the early eve of December — begins to spread its deepening veil over the comfortless scene. The firelight gradually brightens and throws my flickering107 shadow upon the walls and ceiling of the chamber, but still the storm rages and rattles against the windows. Alas108! I shiver and think it time to be disconsolate, but, taking a farewell glance at dead Nature in her shroud109, I perceive a flock of snowbirds skimming lightsomely through the tempest and flitting from drift to drift as sportively as swallows in the delightful110 prime of summer. Whence come they? Where do they build their nests and seek their food? Why, having airy wings, do they not follow summer around the earth, instead of making themselves the playmates of the storm and fluttering on the dreary verge111 of the winter’s eve? I know not whence they come, nor why; yet my spirit has been cheered by that wandering flock of snow-birds.

点击
收听单词发音

1
pane
![]() |
|
n.窗格玻璃,长方块 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2
flakes
![]() |
|
小薄片( flake的名词复数 ); (尤指)碎片; 雪花; 古怪的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3
scattered
![]() |
|
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4
hover
![]() |
|
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5
portentous
![]() |
|
adj.不祥的,可怕的,装腔作势的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6
fortitude
![]() |
|
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7
anticipation
![]() |
|
n.预期,预料,期望 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8
blustering
![]() |
|
adj.狂风大作的,狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 );咆哮;(风)呼啸;狂吹 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9
glimmering
![]() |
|
n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10
melancholy
![]() |
|
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11
bleakness
![]() |
|
adj. 萧瑟的, 严寒的, 阴郁的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12
bleak
![]() |
|
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13
garb
![]() |
|
n.服装,装束 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14
mantle
![]() |
|
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15
rime
![]() |
|
n.白霜;v.使蒙霜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16
withered
![]() |
|
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17
slated
![]() |
|
用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18
circumference
![]() |
|
n.圆周,周长,圆周线 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19
wrought
![]() |
|
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20
behold
![]() |
|
v.看,注视,看到 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21
dreary
![]() |
|
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22
muse
![]() |
|
n.缪斯(希腊神话中的女神),创作灵感 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23
foliage
![]() |
|
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24
rivulets
![]() |
|
n.小河,小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25
enjoyment
![]() |
|
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26
hisses
![]() |
|
嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27
hearth
![]() |
|
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28
chamber
![]() |
|
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29
rustles
![]() |
|
n.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的名词复数 )v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30
tinkling
![]() |
|
n.丁当作响声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31
casement
![]() |
|
n.竖铰链窗;窗扉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32
rattles
![]() |
|
(使)发出格格的响声, (使)作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 ); 喋喋不休地说话; 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动,堕下或走动; 使紧张,使恐惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33
gust
![]() |
|
n.阵风,突然一阵(雨、烟等),(感情的)迸发 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34
sleety
![]() |
|
雨夹雪的,下雨雪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35
pelt
![]() |
|
v.投掷,剥皮,抨击,开火 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36
forth
![]() |
|
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37
twilight
![]() |
|
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38
reverently
![]() |
|
adv.虔诚地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39
shriek
![]() |
|
v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40
disconsolate
![]() |
|
adj.忧郁的,不快的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41
possessed
![]() |
|
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42
shrubs
![]() |
|
灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43
eddying
![]() |
|
涡流,涡流的形成 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44
intensity
![]() |
|
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45
spire
![]() |
|
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46
riotous
![]() |
|
adj.骚乱的;狂欢的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47
descending
![]() |
|
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48
prospect
![]() |
|
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49
dense
![]() |
|
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50
demons
![]() |
|
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51
musing
![]() |
|
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52
satire
![]() |
|
n.讽刺,讽刺文学,讽刺作品 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53
feats
![]() |
|
功绩,伟业,技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54
worthy
![]() |
|
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55
fortresses
![]() |
|
堡垒,要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56
embodied
![]() |
|
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57
onsets
![]() |
|
攻击,袭击(onset的复数形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58
martial
![]() |
|
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59
mound
![]() |
|
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60
dictate
![]() |
|
v.口授;(使)听写;指令,指示,命令 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61
sketch
![]() |
|
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62
herald
![]() |
|
vt.预示...的来临,预告,宣布,欢迎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63
shrieking
![]() |
|
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64
lamentation
![]() |
|
n.悲叹,哀悼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65
groves
![]() |
|
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66
scatters
![]() |
|
v.(使)散开, (使)分散,驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 );撒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67
disconsolately
![]() |
|
adv.悲伤地,愁闷地;哭丧着脸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68
axe
![]() |
|
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69
diligently
![]() |
|
ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70
aromatic
![]() |
|
adj.芳香的,有香味的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71
fragrance
![]() |
|
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72
flaunting
![]() |
|
adj.招摇的,扬扬得意的,夸耀的v.炫耀,夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 );有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73
bellows
![]() |
|
n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74
shudder
![]() |
|
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75
reign
![]() |
|
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76
deity
![]() |
|
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77
woe
![]() |
|
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78
stark
![]() |
|
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79
tyrant
![]() |
|
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80
rustling
![]() |
|
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81
hardy
![]() |
|
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82
virtues
![]() |
|
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83
guise
![]() |
|
n.外表,伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84
virgin
![]() |
|
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85
hoary
![]() |
|
adj.古老的;鬓发斑白的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86
pelting
![]() |
|
微不足道的,无价值的,盛怒的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87
strewing
![]() |
|
v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88
buck
![]() |
|
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89
hurls
![]() |
|
v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 );大声叫骂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90
northward
![]() |
|
adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91
toils
![]() |
|
网 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92
abatement
![]() |
|
n.减(免)税,打折扣,冲销 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93
denser
![]() |
|
adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94
halfway
![]() |
|
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95
solitary
![]() |
|
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96
scudding
![]() |
|
n.刮面v.(尤指船、舰或云彩)笔直、高速而平稳地移动( scud的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
97
swollen
![]() |
|
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
98
jingling
![]() |
|
叮当声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
99
sluggish
![]() |
|
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
100
sledge
![]() |
|
n.雪橇,大锤;v.用雪橇搬运,坐雪橇往 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
101
laden
![]() |
|
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
102
housekeeper
![]() |
|
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
103
dismal
![]() |
|
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
104
uneven
![]() |
|
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
105
sable
![]() |
|
n.黑貂;adj.黑色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
106
bosom
![]() |
|
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
107
flickering
![]() |
|
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
108
alas
![]() |
|
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
109
shroud
![]() |
|
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
110
delightful
![]() |
|
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
111
verge
![]() |
|
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |