As a young girl, dreaming her dreams, spends affection careless of the cost, so these romantic waters woo the stern northern land with warm and tireless embrace. And, as a man, busy on his own affairs, cares nothing for such soft entreaty4, so the north land gives no sign; but remarks in silence the passage of the years.
Yet who shall say that passion has no place there—because a giant broods, dreaming a giant's dreams? Who shall say—because long waiting may have brought crabbed5 age—that the north land has not its sorrows? Morose6 countenance7 it keeps, yet freely can it spend. Its pulse beats no feeble strokes. Fierce suns travel across it, the heavens are torn for its rains, its floods laugh at restraint, the drought is slave of its ill-humours.
Its face is rough with frequent ranges where scanty8 vegetation climbs, where barren rock-faces catch the sunlight, and clefts9 run in, and shadowy cave-mouths open out. Here the wallaby finds harbourage, the bat hangs himself in the shadows, the python unrolls his coils, and the savage10 stays a space for shelter.
Its face is smooth with dreary11 plain. Stunted12 trees find living there, and hold out narrow leaves to cheat the suns. The spinifex battles with the thrifty13 soil, and porcupine14 grass weaves its spikes15 for the unwary. Score of miles by score of miles the country rolls away, brown or red where shows the bare earth, grey or yellow or smoky blue where the sun weds16 the dried grassland17, shining white where the quartz18 pushes out of the ground. Through half the hours the sun stares from the centre of the sky, the leaves hang unmoved, the grasses are unstirred: silence only lives. The savage is dreaming of the feast to come, the kangaroo has taken himself to the roots of a tree in the dried water-course. The sun passes to the journey's end: life again draws breath. The kangaroo seeks the tenderer grasses; the dingo rises in his lair19 to stretch, and loll his tongue; the parrot screams from the tree-top; tiny finches, in splendid coats, swing among the bushes; a brown kite takes high station in the sky. Yet the waste seems empty, and the white ants only may boast of conquest where their red cones20 rise everywhere about the plain.
A belt of greener timber stands out bravely from the faded vegetation to mark the river on its passage to the sea. To the parching21 waterholes the pelican22 comes at dawn to fish and to pout23 his breast: snowy spoonbills and divers24 splash in the lonely shallows. The alligator25 comes up to sun himself; the turtle bubbles from the hot mud; and the quick striped fishes play at hide and seek among the languid weeds. The kingfisher busies himself along the bank, and with evening the ducks push their triangles about the sky.
The conquest of this northern land will bring the fall of one of savagery's last fortresses26. Already the outposts of South and East press in. The ramparts are crumbling27, and soon the gates[Pg 4] must tumble to a victor who never yet has been denied. The white man has turned here his covetous28 gaze. Vainly the burning winds and angry rains shall beat at the ashes of his first fires and shall scatter29 his first solitary30 bones. The silences shall not fright him, nor the lean places turn his purpose. Though he fall, yet will he come on again, for this foe31 is fashioned of stern stuff. In ones, in twos, already he toils32 over the face of the wilderness33, seeking the kindlier ways for his herds34: in ones, in twos, he passes about the hills and watercourses, wresting35 from their bosoms36 the objects of his avarice38. Alike he invades the sternest and gentlest retreats, raising his shelters to mock at sun and storm. His long fences are breaking the distances, his beasts of burden trample39 the virgin40 waterholes, his iron houses defile41 the hermit42 vales. Not easily does he work his will. Lean and brown he becomes, and his women grow haggard before their time. But children patter upon the bitter places, and them the wilderness has less power to hurt.
The Sea of Carpentaria woos the north land. The north land gives no sign.
. . . . . . .
The mining camp of Surprise Valley lies in the folds of those ranges which break the long plains of the Gulf43 country. Ten years ago it grew along the bottom of a cup of the hills, and since that season neither has waxed nor waned44, being nothing troubled by the wilderness which marches to the door-ways of its tents and humble45 iron houses.
The traveller, by circumstance brought thither46 from the East, with ill grace leaves his steamer at the coast, boards the casual train, and presently finds himself jerking forward on the second stage of the journey. He bumps westward47 for five hundred miles. He moves through plains which—right and left—push into the horizon. The ocean has not seemed to him more immense. A curtain of heat is about their edges, a haze48 dwells about them. The clamour of his coming scatters49 sheep at their grazing, alarms the kangaroo at matins, sends the wild turkey into the taller grasses. For a night, for a day, for half another night, he is held in thrall50. He alone appears eager for the journey end. He smokes, he reads, he eats: a dozen ways he sets himself to hurry time. The cool of the evening takes him to the outside platform of the car to reflect and watch the darkening of the skies—to remark the first white stars. At such hour maybe he takes his lot in better part.
Sunrise renews the stale prospect51, and the heated air of noon finds him with sticky collar and drowsy52 brain. He dozes53, wakes, dozes again. Ever and anon the brakes grind, and the train jerks to a standstill. From the window he looks upon a siding, where a platform of blistered54 planks55 and an iron shed are emblems56 of railway authority. A dozen stockmen and loafers of the township crowd the patch of shade, to smoke and spit and await the train's advance. First to the eye comes the hotel, beside it lies the store; and haphazard57 stand the wooden houses, with iron roofs glaring back into the sun's fierce face. Never a church lifts up its cross as of old the tabernacle made signal in the wilderness. A dusty way leads into the plain, and along this presently the stockmen will turn their horses.
The second evening brings the journey-end. From his platform the traveller sees a township's lights grow upon the plain—lights closer and redder than the stars that meet them. The iron rails have ended. Thankfully he gets down to stretch his limbs in the cool, wide night.
But a hundred miles still frown him from the goal. With morning he clambers into a seat of the mail coach—a battered58 carriage. His luggage has been strapped59 behind. He sits solitary beside the driver, who accepts him with easy familiarity. The reins60 run slack to the horses' heads, and the five lean beasts draw him forward at even pace. The dust climbs up and hangs upon the air. All day he rolls over empty plain.
The second afternoon brings the ranges marching from the horizon, and by evening the coach rises and dips upon a see-saw roadway. As the sun leans down to the horizon, the driver draws taut61 his reins before Surprise Valley Hotel. Surprise Valley ends the coach journey—ends the direct mail service—ends the bush parson's endeavors—ends the travelling school-master's rounds—ends civilization—ends everything. When humour so inclines them—which is seldom—the people of Surprise Valley may walk from their doorways62 into the great unknown of the West.
Fortune has given to Surprise the greenest fold of the western ranges. Easy hills stand up about the camp, tracing a zig-zag rim63 against the sky. The camp lies in the hollow, as in the bottom of a cup. It clambers about the lower slopes, following the whim64 of the latest comer. The hotel boasts a roof and walls of iron, that much boasts the store, that much the manager's house. The staff barracks and the mine offices equally are favoured. Wooden piles lift the buildings high from the ground. Elsewhere stand weather-worn tents; and sometimes a bough65 shed, thatched with gum-leaves, serves its architect as parlour.
Towering over all rise the poppet-heads and bins66 of the mine. Goats take a siesta67 beneath the scrubby trees, explore the rubbish heaps, and clamber about the dump; fowls68 of more breeds than Joseph's coat knew colours, employ themselves in the dusty places, or keep the shade of the broken rocks. Here and there an optimist69 nurses a garden, and finds reward in a few drooping70 vegetables. Goats and fowls peer through the netting with evil in their hearts. This is Surprise Valley to the stranger eye.
Three score burnt men and a handful of shabby women here find living. They dig for the green copper71 hidden jealously in the bosom37 of the hills. From distant parts they have drifted, they stay awhile; again they drift; but the camp endures, and the wilderness is powerless to harm it. Forward and backward from the railroad, a hundred miles away, the weekly coach crawls on its journey, keeping open the track to civilization, and bringing such news and comforts as that world has leisure to send. The mail bags disgorge stale papers; the driver delivers stale news. Round and round turns the wheel of affairs. A whistle begins the day for this community: a whistle ends it. Deep in the earth the men labor72 with hammer and drill. Overhead the women bend at their pots and pans, and peg73 the weekly washings under cloudless skies. The children, untaught, unchecked, patter among the stones and tussocks, and send abroad their cries. Summer follows winter. The suns climb up; in season the rains roar down; the frost comes in its turn. But the men of Surprise Valley dig always in the bowels74 of the hills, and the women busy themselves about their doors.
点击收听单词发音
1 amorous | |
adj.多情的;有关爱情的 | |
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2 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
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3 begotten | |
v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 );产生,引起 | |
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4 entreaty | |
n.恳求,哀求 | |
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5 crabbed | |
adj.脾气坏的;易怒的;(指字迹)难辨认的;(字迹等)难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 morose | |
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的 | |
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7 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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8 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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9 clefts | |
n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 );裂口;cleave的过去式和过去分词;进退维谷 | |
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10 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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11 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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12 stunted | |
adj.矮小的;发育迟缓的 | |
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13 thrifty | |
adj.节俭的;兴旺的;健壮的 | |
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14 porcupine | |
n.豪猪, 箭猪 | |
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15 spikes | |
n.穗( spike的名词复数 );跑鞋;(防滑)鞋钉;尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 );偷偷地给某人的饮料加入(更多)酒精( 或药物);把尖状物钉入;打乱某人的计划 | |
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16 weds | |
v.嫁,娶,(与…)结婚( wed的第三人称单数 ) | |
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17 grassland | |
n.牧场,草地,草原 | |
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18 quartz | |
n.石英 | |
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19 lair | |
n.野兽的巢穴;躲藏处 | |
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20 cones | |
n.(人眼)圆锥细胞;圆锥体( cone的名词复数 );球果;圆锥形东西;(盛冰淇淋的)锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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21 parching | |
adj.烘烤似的,焦干似的v.(使)焦干, (使)干透( parch的现在分词 );使(某人)极口渴 | |
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22 pelican | |
n.鹈鹕,伽蓝鸟 | |
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23 pout | |
v.撅嘴;绷脸;n.撅嘴;生气,不高兴 | |
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24 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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25 alligator | |
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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26 fortresses | |
堡垒,要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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27 crumbling | |
adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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28 covetous | |
adj.贪婪的,贪心的 | |
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29 scatter | |
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散 | |
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30 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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31 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
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32 toils | |
网 | |
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33 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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34 herds | |
兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众 | |
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35 wresting | |
动词wrest的现在进行式 | |
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36 bosoms | |
胸部( bosom的名词复数 ); 胸怀; 女衣胸部(或胸襟); 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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37 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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38 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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39 trample | |
vt.踩,践踏;无视,伤害,侵犯 | |
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40 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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41 defile | |
v.弄污,弄脏;n.(山间)小道 | |
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42 hermit | |
n.隐士,修道者;隐居 | |
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43 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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44 waned | |
v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
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45 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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46 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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47 westward | |
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西 | |
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48 haze | |
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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49 scatters | |
v.(使)散开, (使)分散,驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 );撒 | |
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50 thrall | |
n.奴隶;奴隶制 | |
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51 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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52 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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53 dozes | |
n.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的名词复数 )v.打盹儿,打瞌睡( doze的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54 blistered | |
adj.水疮状的,泡状的v.(使)起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 );(使表皮等)涨破,爆裂 | |
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55 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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56 emblems | |
n.象征,标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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57 haphazard | |
adj.无计划的,随意的,杂乱无章的 | |
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58 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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59 strapped | |
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带 | |
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60 reins | |
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带 | |
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61 taut | |
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 | |
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62 doorways | |
n.门口,门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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63 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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64 whim | |
n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想 | |
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65 bough | |
n.大树枝,主枝 | |
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66 bins | |
n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 );宽口箱(如面包箱,垃圾箱等)v.扔掉,丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67 siesta | |
n.午睡 | |
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68 fowls | |
鸟( fowl的名词复数 ); 禽肉; 既不是这; 非驴非马 | |
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69 optimist | |
n.乐观的人,乐观主义者 | |
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70 drooping | |
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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71 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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72 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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73 peg | |
n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定 | |
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74 bowels | |
n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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