英语散文：The First Snow

The First Snow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the tombs of the dead! All was white except the river, which made its way by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, which against the grey sky now showed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of the sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children. 【赏析】 《初雪》是美国十九世纪诗人朗费罗所写的一篇抒情散文。这是一篇文字和意境都极为优美的散文，初雪降临，多么美丽！它给人们带来的是异常的惊喜。给大地换上的是新装----山岭、草地、屋顶、坟墓，到处银装素裹！在这一片广袤的银色世界里，只有河流在这美丽的画面上蜿蜒曲折，构成清晰可辨的线条；还有那叶儿落净的树木，映衬着灰色的天空，此刻更显得枝丫交错，姿态万千。翘首初雪降临的人们仿佛远离尘嚣，往日的喧闹不再有了，有的只是静谧，还有那雪橇的铃铛所奏出的和谐乐声，那欢快的节拍犹如孩子们心房的搏动。 全文一共七句，其中有三个感叹句，从含义上看逐渐深入：第一个感叹句感叹初雪降临时大地的美丽，这一句较长，附在分词falling之后有六个短语，这六个短语仿佛使人觉得是片片雪花再漫天飞舞。第二个感叹句感叹初雪给人们带来的静谧，作者先使用silence一词，后似乎觉得该词不够表达此情此景的“寂静”，于是又更上一层地选用了seclusion一词。第三个感叹句是文中的第六句，严格的说，这不是一个句子，因为它是由两个动名词短语构成的，但作者这一句以及下一句中采用这种简短句式，目的是为了强调初雪的降临立即帮助人们赶走了喧闹，给人们带来了和谐的乐声。 Text Source: http://bbs.joyen.net/thread-2097-1-3.html