Chapter 20 Alnaschar and the Oxen

THERE’S a pasture in a valley where the hanging woods divide.
?And a Herd¹ lies down and ruminates² in peace;
Where the pheasant rules the nooning, and the owl³ the twilight⁴ tide.
?And the war-cries of our world die out and cease.
Here I cast aside the burden that each weary week-day brings
?And, delivered from the shadows I pursue.
On peaceful, postless Sabbaths I consider Weighty Things —
?Such as Sussex Cattle feeding in the dew!
At the gate beside the river where the trouty shallows brawl⁵.
?I know the pride that Lobengula felt.
When he bade the bars be lowered of the Royal Cattle Kraal.
?And fifteen mile of oxen took the veldt.
From the walls of Bulawayo in unbroken file they came
?To where the Mount of Council cuts the blue . . .
I have only six and twenty, but the principle’s the same
?With my Sussex Cattle feeding in the dew!
To a luscious⁶ sound of tearing, where the clovered herbage rips.
?Level-backed and level-bellied watch ’em move —
See those shoulders, guess that heart-girth, praise those loins, admire those hips⁷.
?And the tail set low for flesh to make above!
Count the broad unblemished muzzles⁸, test the kindly⁹ mellow¹⁰ skin
?And, where yon heifer lifts her head at call.
Mark the bosom’s just abundance ‘neath the gay and clean-cut chin.
?And those eyes of Juno, overlooking all
Here is colour, form and substance! I will put it to the proof
?And, next season, in my lodges¹¹ shall be born
Some very Bull of Mithras, flawless from his agate¹² hoof¹³
?To his even-branching, ivory, dusk-tipped horn.
He shall mate with block-square virgins¹⁴ — kings shall seek his like in vain.
?While I multiply his stock a thousandfold.
Till an hungry world extol¹⁵ me, builder of a lofty strain
?That turns one standard ton at two years old
There’s a valley, under oakwood, where a man may dream his dream.
?In the milky¹⁶ breath of cattle laid at ease.
Till the moon o’ertops the alders¹⁷, and her image chills the stream.
?And the river-mist runs silver round their knees!
Now the footpaths¹⁸ fade and vanish; now the ferny clumps¹⁹ deceive;
?Now the hedgerow folk possess their fields anew;
Now the Herd is lost in darkness, and I bless them as I leave.
?My Sussex Cattle feeding in the dew!

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 ruminates   

v.沉思( ruminate的第三人称单数 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼

参考例句：

• Where depression questions, ruminates and hesitates, mania answers with vigor and certainty. 当抑郁患者发出疑问、覆考虑，且裹足不前时，躁狂患者则以充份的活力与信心勇往直前。 来自互联网
• A cow ruminates its food. 牛反刍所吃的食物。 来自互联网

3 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

4 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

5 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

6 luscious   

adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的

参考例句：

• The watermelon was very luscious.Everyone wanted another slice.西瓜很可口，每个人都想再来一片。
• What I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!我最喜欢的是盖比那性感饱满的双唇！

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 muzzles   

枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口

参考例句：

• Several muzzles at once aimed at the fleeing birds in the air. 好几支猎枪的枪口，同时瞄准了这些空中猎物。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them. 所有的炮眼都开着，炮口不怀好意地从炮眼里向外窥探。

9 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

10 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

11 lodges   

v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• But I forget, if I ever heard, where he lodges in Liverpool. 可是我记不得有没有听他说过他在利物浦的住址。 来自辞典例句
• My friend lodges in my uncle's house. 我朋友寄居在我叔叔家。 来自辞典例句

12 agate   

n.玛瑙

参考例句：

• He saw before him a flight of agate steps.他看到前面有一段玛瑙做的台阶。
• It is round,like the size of a small yellow agate.它是圆的，大小很像一个小的黄色的玛瑙。

13 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

14 virgins   

处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母）

参考例句：

• They were both virgins when they met and married. 他们从相识到结婚前都未曾经历男女之事。
• Men want virgins as concubines. 人家买姨太太的要整货。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

15 extol   

v.赞美，颂扬

参考例句：

• We of the younger generation extol the wisdom of the great leader and educator.我们年轻一代崇拜那位伟大的引路人和教育家的智慧。
• Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 我要天天称颂你，也要永永远远赞美你的名。

16 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

17 alders   

n.桤木( alder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

18 footpaths   

人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are a lot of winding footpaths in the col. 山坳里尽是些曲曲弯弯的羊肠小道。
• There are many footpaths that wind through the village. 有许多小径穿过村子。

19 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》