Chapter 1

  Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail¹ vessel² thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.
 
 
This little flute³ of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new.
 
At the immortal⁴ touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance⁵ ineffable⁶.
 
Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.
 
你已经使我永生，这样做是你的欢乐．这脆薄的杯儿，你不断地把它倒空，又不断地以新生命来充满．
 
这小小的苇笛，你携带著它逾山越谷，从笛管里吹出永新的音乐．
 
在你双手的不朽的按抚下，我的小小的心，消融在无边快乐之中，发出不可言说的词调．
 
你的无穷的赐予只倾入我小小的手里．时代过去了，你还在倾注，而我的手里还有余量待充满．

1 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

4 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

5 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

6 ineffable   

adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的

参考例句：

• The beauty of a sunset is ineffable.日落的美是难以形容的。
• She sighed a sigh of ineffable satisfaction,as if her cup of happiness were now full.她发出了一声说不出多么满意的叹息，仿佛她的幸福之杯已经斟满了。