The Cross-Roads

时间:2007-10-19 07:33:28

(单词翻译:单击)

A bullet through his heart at dawn.  On
the table a letter signed
with a woman's name.  A wind that goes howling round the
house,
and weeping as in shame.  Cold November dawn peeping through
the windows,
cold dawn creeping over the floor, creeping up his cold legs,
creeping over his cold body, creeping across his cold face.
A glaze1 of thin yellow sunlight on the staring eyes.  Wind
howling
through bent2 branches.  A wind which never dies down.  Howling,
wailing3.
The gazing eyes glitter in the sunlight.  The lids are
frozen open
and the eyes glitter.

The thudding of a pick on hard earth.  A spade grinding
and crunching4.
Overhead, branches writhing5, winding6, interlacing, unwinding, scattering;
tortured twinings, tossings, creakings.  Wind flinging
branches apart,
drawing them together, whispering and whining7 among them.  A
waning,
lobsided moon cutting through black clouds.  A stream
of pebbles9 and earth
and the empty spade gleams clear in the moonlight, then is rammed10
again
into the black earth.  Tramping of feet.  Men
and horses.
Squeaking11 of wheels.
"Whoa!  Ready, Jim?"
"All ready."
Something falls, settles, is still.  Suicides
have no coffin12.
"Give us the stake, Jim.  Now."
Pound!  Pound!
"He'll never walk.  Nailed to the ground."
An ash stick pierces his heart, if it buds the
roots will hold him.
He is a part of the earth now, clay to clay.  Overhead
the branches sway,
and writhe13, and twist in the wind.  He'll never walk with
a bullet
in his heart, and an ash stick nailing him to the cold, black ground.

Six months he lay still.  Six months.  And the
water welled up in his body,
and soft blue spots chequered it.  He lay still, for the
ash stick
held him in place.  Six months!  Then her face
came out of a mist of green.
Pink and white and frail14 like Dresden china, lilies-of-the-valley
at her breast, puce-coloured silk sheening about her.  Under
the young
green leaves, the horse at a foot-pace, the high yellow wheels of
the chaise
scarcely turning, her face, rippling15 like grain a-blowing,
under her puce-coloured bonnet16; and burning beside her, flaming
within
his correct blue coat and brass17 buttons, is someone.  What
has dimmed the sun?
The horse steps on a rolling stone; a wind in the branches makes
a moan.
The little leaves tremble and shake, turn and quake, over and over,
tearing their stems.  There is a shower of young leaves,
and a sudden-sprung gale18 wails19 in the trees.
The yellow-wheeled chaise is rocking -- rocking,
and all the branches
are knocking -- knocking.  The sun in the sky is a flat,
red plate,
the branches creak and grate.  She screams and cowers20,
for the green foliage
is a lowering wave surging to smother21 her.  But she sees
nothing.
The stake holds firm.  The body writhes22, the body squirms.
The blue spots widen, the flesh tears, but the stake wears well
in the deep, black ground.  It holds the body in the still,
black ground.

Two years!  The body has been in the ground two years.  It
is worn away;
it is clay to clay.  Where the heart moulders23, a greenish
dust, the stake
is thrust.  Late August it is, and night; a night flauntingly
jewelled
with stars, a night of shooting stars and loud insect noises.
Down the road to Tilbury, silence -- and the slow flapping of large
leaves.
Down the road to Sutton, silence -- and the darkness of heavy-foliaged
trees.
Down the road to Wayfleet, silence -- and the whirring scrape of
insects
in the branches.  Down the road to Edgarstown, silence
-- and stars like
stepping-stones in a pathway overhead.  It is very quiet
at the cross-roads,
and the sign-board points the way down the four roads, endlessly
points
the way where nobody wishes to go.
A horse is galloping24, galloping up from Sutton.  Shaking
the wide,
still leaves as he goes under them.  Striking sparks with
his iron shoes;
silencing the katydids.  Dr. Morgan riding to a child-birth
over Tilbury way;
riding to deliver a woman of her first-born son.  One
o'clock from
Wayfleet bell tower, what a shower of shooting stars!  And
a breeze
all of a sudden, jarring the big leaves and making them jerk up
and down.
Dr. Morgan's hat is blown from his head, the horse swerves25, and
curves away
from the sign-post.  An oath -- spurs -- a blurring26 of
grey mist.
A quick left twist, and the gelding is snorting and racing
down the Tilbury road with the wind dropping away behind him.
The stake has wrenched27, the stake has started,
the body, flesh from flesh,
has parted.  But the bones hold tight, socket28 and ball,
and clamping them down
in the hard, black ground is the stake, wedged through ribs29 and
spine30.
The bones may twist, and heave, and twine31, but the stake holds them
still
in line.  The breeze goes down, and the round stars shine,
for the stake
holds the fleshless bones in line.

Twenty years now!  Twenty long years!  The body
has powdered itself away;
it is clay to clay.  It is brown earth mingled32 with brown
earth.  Only flaky
bones remain, lain together so long they fit, although not one bone
is knit
to another.  The stake is there too, rotted through, but
upright still,
and still piercing down between ribs and spine in a straight line.
Yellow stillness is on the cross-roads, yellow
stillness is on the trees.
The leaves hang drooping33, wan8.  The four roads point four
yellow ways,
saffron and gamboge ribbons to the gaze.  A little swirl34
of dust
blows up Tilbury road, the wind which fans it has not strength to
do more;
it ceases, and the dust settles down.  A little whirl
of wind
comes up Tilbury road.  It brings a sound of wheels and
feet.
The wind reels a moment and faints to nothing under the sign-post.
Wind again, wheels and feet louder.  Wind again -- again
-- again.
A drop of rain, flat into the dust.  Drop! -- Drop!  Thick
heavy raindrops,
and a shrieking35 wind bending the great trees and wrenching36 off their
leaves.
Under the black sky, bowed and dripping with rain,
up Tilbury road,
comes the procession.  A funeral procession, bound for
the graveyard
at Wayfleet.  Feet and wheels -- feet and wheels.  And
among them
one who is carried.
The bones in the deep, still earth shiver and pull.  There
is a quiver
through the rotted stake.  Then stake and bones fall together
in a little puffing37 of dust.
Like meshes38 of linked steel the rain shuts down
behind the procession,
now well along the Wayfleet road.
He wavers like smoke in the buffeting39 wind.  His
fingers blow out like smoke,
his head ripples40 in the gale.  Under the sign-post, in
the pouring rain,
he stands, and watches another quavering figure drifting down
the Wayfleet road.  Then swiftly he streams after it.  It
flickers
among the trees.  He licks out and winds about them.  Over,
under,
blown, contorted.  Spindrift after spindrift; smoke following
smoke.
There is a wailing through the trees, a wailing of fear,
and after it laughter -- laughter -- laughter, skirling up to the
black sky.
Lightning jags over the funeral procession.  A heavy clap
of thunder.
Then darkness and rain, and the sound of feet and wheels.
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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 glaze glaze     
v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞,毫无表情
参考例句:
  • Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。
  • Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。
2 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
3 wailing 25fbaeeefc437dc6816eab4c6298b423     
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱
参考例句:
  • A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
  • The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
4 crunching crunching     
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 );嘎吱作响;(快速大量地)处理信息;数字捣弄
参考例句:
  • The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 writhing 8e4d2653b7af038722d3f7503ad7849c     
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
  • He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。
6 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
7 whining whining     
n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
  • The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着(要进来)。
8 wan np5yT     
(wide area network)广域网
参考例句:
  • The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。
9 pebbles e4aa8eab2296e27a327354cbb0b2c5d2     
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
  • Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石,以确保排水良好。
10 rammed 99b2b7e6fc02f63b92d2b50ea750a532     
v.夯实(土等)( ram的过去式和过去分词 );猛撞;猛压;反复灌输
参考例句:
  • Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来,出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
  • I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 squeaking 467e7b45c42df668cdd7afec9e998feb     
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
参考例句:
  • Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗? 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材,灵柩
参考例句:
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
13 writhe QMvzJ     
vt.挣扎,痛苦地扭曲;vi.扭曲,翻腾,受苦;n.翻腾,苦恼
参考例句:
  • They surely writhe under this pressure.他们肯定对这种压力感到苦恼。
  • Her words made him writhe with shame.她的话使他惭愧地感到浑身不自在。
14 frail yz3yD     
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。
15 rippling b84b2d05914b2749622963c1ef058ed5     
起涟漪的,潺潺流水般声音的
参考例句:
  • I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
  • The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。
16 bonnet AtSzQ     
n.无边女帽;童帽
参考例句:
  • The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光,使之不刺眼。
  • She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽,帽上缀着褪了色的假花。
17 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
18 gale Xf3zD     
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等)
参考例句:
  • We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
  • According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报,明天有大风。
19 wails 6fc385b881232f68e3c2bd9685a7fcc7     
痛哭,哭声( wail的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The child burst into loud wails. 那个孩子突然大哭起来。
  • Through this glaciated silence the white wails of the apartment fixed arbitrary planes. 在这冰封似的沉寂中,公寓的白色墙壁构成了一个个任意的平面。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻
20 cowers fa626aa57abb67755b34e5fc107b157d     
v.畏缩,抖缩( cower的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
21 smother yxlwO     
vt./vi.使窒息;抑制;闷死;n.浓烟;窒息
参考例句:
  • They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
  • We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。
22 writhes 0ae70a9a9ef39eaea22ba402bb017d17     
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • He pats her kindly on the shoulder. She writhes. 他和和气气地拍拍她的肩膀。她扭动了一下。
  • A little girl writhes on water face about, I ask what she has incorrect. 一个小女孩在水上翻腾转身,我问她有什麽不对。
23 moulders 0aecc7711e1ef345da5ffa22b6492a4d     
v.腐朽( moulder的第三人称单数 );腐烂,崩塌
参考例句:
  • Injection moulding without rejects is the ideal moulders try to attain. 避免不良品的注射成型是很多成型工艺员努力想达到的理想。 来自互联网
  • That rotting inward slowly moulders all. 让它侵蚀就逐渐糜烂一切。 来自互联网
24 galloping galloping     
adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下,它就奔驰起来了。
  • Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速,日新月异。
25 swerves 1adf92417306db4b09902fcc027bc4f0     
n.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的名词复数 )v.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The road swerves to the right. 道路向右转弯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • At the last moment, Nina swerves and slams into a parked car. 在最后关头,尼娜突然转弯,将车猛烈撞入一辆停着的车中。 来自互联网
26 blurring e5be37d075d8bb967bd24d82a994208d     
n.模糊,斑点甚多,(图像的)混乱v.(使)变模糊( blur的现在分词 );(使)难以区分
参考例句:
  • Retinal hemorrhage, and blurring of the optic dise cause visual disturbances. 视网膜出血及神经盘模糊等可导致视力障碍。 来自辞典例句
  • In other ways the Bible limited Puritan writing, blurring and deadening the pages. 另一方面,圣经又限制了清教时期的作品,使它们显得晦涩沉闷。 来自辞典例句
27 wrenched c171af0af094a9c29fad8d3390564401     
v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛
参考例句:
  • The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
  • He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 socket jw9wm     
n.窝,穴,孔,插座,插口
参考例句:
  • He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
  • The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。
29 ribs 24fc137444401001077773555802b280     
n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 );(船或屋顶等的)肋拱;肋骨状的东西;(织物的)凸条花纹
参考例句:
  • He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
  • Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。
30 spine lFQzT     
n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊
参考例句:
  • He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
  • His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。
31 twine vg6yC     
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕
参考例句:
  • He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
  • Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。
32 mingled fdf34efd22095ed7e00f43ccc823abdf     
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
参考例句:
  • The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
  • The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
33 drooping drooping     
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词
参考例句:
  • The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
  • The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。
34 swirl cgcyu     
v.(使)打漩,(使)涡卷;n.漩涡,螺旋形
参考例句:
  • The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
  • You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿,看着雪花飘飘。
35 shrieking abc59c5a22d7db02751db32b27b25dbb     
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 wrenching 30892474a599ed7ca0cbef49ded6c26b     
n.修截苗根,苗木铲根(铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土)v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的现在分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛
参考例句:
  • China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
  • A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛,把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
37 puffing b3a737211571a681caa80669a39d25d3     
v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
38 meshes 1541efdcede8c5a0c2ed7e32c89b361f     
网孔( mesh的名词复数 ); 网状物; 陷阱; 困境
参考例句:
  • The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢,疏而不漏。
  • This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。
39 buffeting c681ae460087cfe7df93f4e3feaed986     
振动
参考例句:
  • The flowers took quite a buffeting in the storm. 花朵在暴风雨中备受摧残。
  • He's been buffeting with misfortunes for 15 years. 15年来,他与各种不幸相博斗。
40 ripples 10e54c54305aebf3deca20a1472f4b96     
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。

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