Chapter 48

The morning sea of silence broke into ripples¹ of bird songs; and the flowers were all merry by the roadside; and the wealth of gold was scattered² through the rift³ of the clouds while we busily went on our way and paid no heed⁴.
 
We sang no glad songs nor played; we went not to the village for barter⁵; we spoke⁶ not a word nor smiled; we lingered not on the way. We quickened our pave more and more as the time sped by.
 
The sun rose to the mid⁷ sky and doves cooed in the shade. Withered⁸ leaves danced and whirled in the hot air of noon. The shepherd boy drowsed and dreamed in the shadow of the banyan⁹ tree, and I laid myself down by the water and stretched my tired limbs on the grass.
 
My companions laughed at me in scorn; they held their heads high and hurried on; they never looked back nor rested; they vanished in the distant blue haze¹⁰. They crossed many meadows and hills, and passed through strange, far-away countries. All honour to you, heroic host of the interminable path! Mockery and reproach pricked¹¹ me to rise, but found no response in me. I gave myself up for lost in the depth of a glad humiliation---in the shadow of a dim delight.
 
The repose¹² of the sun-embroidered green gloom slowly spread over my heart. I forgot for what I had travelled, and I surrendered my mind without struggle to the maze¹³ of shadows and songs.
 
At last, when I woke from my slumber¹⁴ and opened my eyes, I saw thee standing¹⁵ by me, flooding my sleep with thy smile. How I had feared that the path was long and wearisome, and the struggle to reach thee was hard!
 
清晨的静海，漾起鸟语的微波；路边的繁花，争妍斗艳；在我们匆忙赶路无心理睬的时候，云隙中散射出灿烂的金光。
 
我们不唱欢歌，也不嬉游；我们也不到村集中去交易；我们一语不发，也不微笑；我们不在路上流连。时间流逝，我们也加速了脚步。
 
太阳升到中天，鸽子在凉阴中叫唤。枯叶在正午的炎风中飞舞。牧童在榕树下做他的倦梦，我在水边卧下，在草地上展步我困乏的四肢。
 
我的同伴们嘲笑我；他们抬头疾走；他们不回顾也不休息；他们消失在远远的碧霭之中。他们穿过许多山林，经过生疏遥远的地方。长途上的英雄队伍呵，光荣是属于你们的！讥笑和责备要促我起立，但我却没有反应。我甘心没落在乐受的耻辱深处――在模糊的快乐阴影之中。
 
阳光织成的绿荫的幽静，慢慢地笼罩着我的心。我忘记了旅行的目的，我无抵抗地把我的心灵交给阴影与歌曲的迷宫。
 
最后，我从沉睡中睁开眼，我看见你站在我身边，我的睡眠沐浴在你的微笑之中。我从前是如何地惧怕，怕这道路的遥远困难，到你面前的努力是多麽艰苦呵！

1 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

4 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

5 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

8 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：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

9 banyan   

n.菩提树，榕树

参考例句：

• This huge banyan tree has a history of more than 400 years.这棵大榕树已经有四百多年的历史了。
• A large banyan tree may look like a forest.大型的榕树看起来象一片树林。

10 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

11 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

12 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

13 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

14 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。