THE SEA

 You, you are all unloving, loveless, you;

     Restless and lonely, shaken by your own moods,

     You are celibate¹ and single, scorning a comrade even,

     Threshing your own passions with no woman for

        the threshing-floor,

     Finishing your dreams for your own sake only,

     Playing your great game around the world, alone,

     Without playmate, or helpmate, having no one to

        cherish,

     No one to comfort, and refusing any comforter.

 

     Not like the earth, the spouse² all full of increase

     Moiled over with the rearing of her many-mouthed

        young;

     You are single, you are fruitless, phosphorescent,

        cold and callous³,

     Naked of worship, of love or of adornment⁴,

     Scorning the panacea⁵ even of labour,

     Sworn to a high and splendid purposelessness

     Of brooding and delighting in the secret of life's

        goings,

     Sea, only you are free, sophisticated.

 

     You who toil⁶ not, you who spin not,

     Surely but for you and your like, toiling⁷

     Were not worth while, nor spinning worth the

        effort!

 

     You who take the moon as in a sieve⁸, and sift⁹

     Her flake¹⁰ by flake and spread her meaning out;

     You who roll the stars like jewels in your palm,

     So that they seem to utter themselves aloud;

     You who steep from out the days their colour,

     Reveal the universal tint¹¹ that dyes

     Their web; who shadow the sun's great gestures

        and expressions

     So that he seems a stranger in his passing;

     Who voice the dumb night fittingly;

     Sea, you shadow of all things, now mock us to

        death with your shadowing.

 

       BOURNEMOUTH

1 celibate   

adj.独身的，独身主义的；n.独身者

参考例句：

• He had defended the institution of a celibate priesthood.他捍卫了独身牧师制度。
• The instinct of the celibate warned him to hold back.单身汉的本能告诫他回头是岸。

2 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

3 callous   

adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的

参考例句：

• He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
• She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

4 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

5 panacea   

n.万灵药；治百病的灵药

参考例句：

• Western aid may help but will not be a panacea. 西方援助可能会有所帮助，但并非灵丹妙药。
• There's no single panacea for the country's economic ills. 国家经济弊病百出,并无万灵药可以医治。

6 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

7 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

8 sieve   

n.筛，滤器，漏勺

参考例句：

• We often shake flour through a sieve.我们经常用筛子筛面粉。
• Finally,it is like drawing water with a sieve.到头来，竹篮打水一场空。

9 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

10 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

11 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。