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我的生活海伦·凯勒自传
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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Chapter XII	第十二章

After my first visit to Boston, I spent almost every winter in the North. Once I went on a visit to a New England village with its frozen lakes and vast snow fields. It was then that I had opportunities such as had never been mine to enter into the treasures of the snow.	在我第一次访问了波士顿后，几乎每一个冬天我都在北方度过。我曾经去过新英格兰地区的一个村庄，那里的冻湖和广袤的雪原令我印象深刻。如果没有身临其境，我是永远也体会不到与雪融为一体的美妙感受的。
I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped the trees and bushes, leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown, and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed by his icy touch, and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots, and there, curled up in the dark, lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away, and even when the sun shone the day was	我惊奇地发现，冬天的大树和灌木会遭受一只神秘的自然之手的摧残，枝条上只剩下一些皱巴巴的叶子。鸟儿全都飞走了，枯枝败叶间的鸟巢里装满了雪。山头和田野里也是一派冬天的气象，在冰雪的触摸下，大地也被冻得僵硬麻木了。树木的灵魂纷纷退缩到根部，它们蜷曲在幽暗的地下进入梦乡。所有的生物似乎都退到幕后，甚至连白天的阳光也变得
Shrunk and cold,	短暂而寒冷，
As if her veins were sapless and old,	如同她那老迈而枯萎的血脉，
And she rose up decrepitly	她要同衰老拼死一搏，
For a last dim look at earth and sea.	为了再看一眼她心中的大地和海洋。（这段诗句取自詹姆斯·拉塞尔·洛威尔的诗集《郎佛尔骑士显圣》（1848），郎佛尔是亚瑟王传奇中的圆桌骑士之一。）
The withered grass and the bushes were transformed into a forest of icicles.	干枯的草丛和灌木也都变成了一片挂满冰凌的森林。
Then came a day when the chill air portended a snowstorm. We rushed out-of-doors to feel the first few tiny flakes descending. Hour by hour the flakes dropped silently, softly from their airy height to the earth, and the country became more and more level. A snowy night closed upon the world, and in the morning one could scarcely recognize a feature of the landscape. All the roads were hidden, not a single landmark was visible, only a waste of snow with trees rising out of it.	随后而来的是一股强冷空气，这预示着暴风雪的来临。我们冲出屋外，去迎接最先降落的小雪片。一个小时又一个小时过去了，雪片悄无声息地坠落，广袤的原野变得白茫茫一片。雪夜紧紧地将世界围裹起来，第二天一早，你几乎辨认不出眼前的景物；所有的道路都隐匿不见了，也见不到任何一个标记性的建筑，只剩下一片被皑皑白雪覆盖的森林。
In the evening a wind from the northeast sprang up, and the flakes rushed hither and thither in furious m阬閑. Around the great fire we sat and told merry tales, and frolicked, and quite forgot that we were in the midst of a desolate solitude, shut in from all communication with the outside world. But during the night the fury of the wind increased to such a degree that it thrilled us with a vague terror. The rafters creaked and strained, and the branches of the trees surrounding the house rattled and beat against the windows, as the winds rioted up and down the country.	夜晚再度降临的时候，一股来自东北部的狂风会将雪片吹得漫天飞舞。围坐在熊熊燃烧的炉火旁，我们一边讲逗趣的故事，一边尽情嬉戏，全然忘记了被风雪隔绝在孤立无援的屋子里。但是随着风势的加大，我们也感到了莫名的恐惧。房椽吱吱作响，围着房子的树枝哗啦哗啦地击打着窗户，一切都在狂风的势力之下苟延残喘。
On the third day after the beginning of the storm the snow ceased. The sun broke through the clouds and shone upon a vast, undulating white plain. High mounds, pyramids heaped in fantastic shapes, and impenetrable drifts lay scattered in every direction.	肆虐的暴风雪终于在第三天停止了。太阳穿过云层照耀在绵延起伏的白色原野上，高高的雪丘姿态万千，令人难以置信地向着四面八方散播开来。
Narrow paths were shoveled through the drifts. I put on my cloak and hood and went out. The air stung my cheeks like fire. Half walking in the paths, half working our way through the lesser drifts, we succeeded in reaching a pine grove just outside a broad pasture. The trees stood motionless and white like figures in a marble frieze. There was no odour of pine-needles. The rays of the sun fell upon the trees, so that the twigs sparkled like diamonds and dropped in showers when we touched them. So dazzling was the light, it penetrated even the darkness that veils my eyes.	人们在积雪上踏出了一条条小路。我穿上斗篷系着头巾走到屋外，冷气顿时把我的脸颊刺得火烧火燎地疼。事实上，我们是在一边试探一边行走的。最终，我们总算来到了大牧场外围的那片松树林。松树一动不动地静静矗立着，挂满积雪的树身就像毛茸茸的未经加工的大理石；林子里闻不到松针的味道，阳光洒落在林间，只要轻轻一碰，小树枝上的积雪就像宝石雨一样纷纷坠落。那晶莹剔透的光线是如此炫目，甚至能穿透蒙在我眼睛上的黑面纱。
As the days wore on, the drifts gradually shrunk, but before they were wholly gone another storm came, so that I scarcely felt the earth under my feet once all winter. At intervals the trees lost their icy covering, and the bulrushes and underbrush were bare; but the lake lay frozen and hard beneath the sun.	随着时间的推移，积雪也渐渐融化了。在另一次风暴尚未来临之前，我几乎感觉不到脚下正踩着严冬的土地。在这短暂的宁静时刻，树木丢弃了披在身上的冰衣，芦苇和草丛露出了身形，只有阳光下的冰湖展示着冬日的美景。
Our favourite amusement during that winter was tobogganing. In places the shore of the lake rises abruptly from the water's edge. Down these steep slopes we used to coast. We would get on our toboggan, a boy would give us a shove, and off we went! Plunging through drifts, leaping hollows, swooping down upon the lake, we would shoot across its gleaming surface to the opposite bank. What joy! What exhilarating madness! For one wild, glad moment we snapped the chain that binds us to earth, and joining hands with the winds we felt ourselves divine!	我们最喜爱的冬季娱乐活动是滑雪橇。湖岸突兀地跃出水面，我们跨过陡峭的斜坡下到湖面；坐上了雪橇，一个小男孩会用力从后面一推，我们就嗖地滑了出去！雪橇穿过积雪，越过凹坑，猛地冲向湖心。最后，我们会穿过晶莹闪烁的冰面直到对岸。这是多么有趣、多么疯狂的游戏啊！记得有一次，在那*、兴奋的一刻，雪橇上的防护锁链啪地折断了，于是，我们的手紧紧地握在了一起，伴随着耳边的疾风，我们觉得自己就像驾云飞翔的神灵！