[英语诗歌及翻译]-working on the railroad

[英语诗歌]-working on the railroad

I've been working on the railroad

All the live-long day

I've been working on the railroad

Just to pass the time away

Can't you hear the whistle blowing?

Raise up so early in the mom

Can't you hear the captain shouting

"Dinah, blow your hom!"

Dinah, won't you blow?

Dinah, won't you blow?

Dinah, won't you blow your hom?

Dinah, won't you blow?

Dinah, won't you blow?

Dinah, won't you blow your hom?

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

Someone's in the kitchen, I know

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinan

Strummin' on the old banjo

And he's singn'

"Feel-fi-fiddley-l-oh!

Fee-fi-fiddley-l-oh!

Fee-fi-fiddley-l-oh!"

Strummin' on the old banjo, oh

Strummin' on the old banjo

I've been working on the railroad

All the live-long day

I've been working on the railroad

Just to pass the time away

Can't you hear the whistle blowing?

Raise up so early in the mom

Can't you hear the captain shouting

"Dinah, blow your hom

Dinah, blow your hom

[英语诗歌]-匆匆 Rush

文：朱自清

燕子去了，有再来的时候；杨柳枯了，有再青的时候；桃花谢了，有再开的时候。但是，聪明的，你告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？--是有人偷了他们罢：那是谁？又藏在何处呢？是他们自己逃走了：现在又到了哪里呢？

Swallows may have gone, but there is a time of return; willow trees may have died back, but there is a time of regreening; peach blossoms may have fallen, but they will bloom again. Now, you the wise, tell me, why should our days leave us, never to return? - If they had been stolen by someone, who could it be? Where could he hide them? If they had made the escape themselves, then where could they stay at the moment?

我不知道他们给了我多少日子；但我的手确乎是渐渐空虚了。在默默里算着，八千多日子已经从我手中溜去；象针尖上一滴水滴在大海里，我的日子滴在时间的流里，没有声音也没有影子。我不禁头涔涔而泪潸潸了。

I don’t know how many days I have been given to spend, but I do feel my hands are getting empty. Taking stock silently, I find that more than eight thousand days have already slid away from me. Like a drop of water from the point of a needle disappearing into the ocean, my days are dripping into the stream of time, soundless, traceless. Already sweat is starting on my forehead, and tears welling up in my eyes.

[英语散文]-我的挚友阿诺德

I recently lost my best friend Arnold in an automobile accident while moving my family to our new home in Arizona. Arnold was an 8-month-old pot belly who taught me so much about love, devotion and companionship. I am devastated by his loss, but thank God daily for blessing me with the joy of having Arnold for his short life.

Anyone contemplating a pot belly as a pet should know that if you are a true pet lover and devote yourself to them, a pot belly will make the most wonderful friend. You will be assured of endless hours of fascination and entertainment as you both grow together in understanding the human/pot belly relationship. Words cannot describe this relationship and it can only be fully understood by experiencing it.

Arnold didn't know he was a pig -- he thought he was just another member of our family -- modeling his behavior through observing me, my wife, my two daughters and our beagles. He was convinced he was loved by all; and he was, even when he was ornery trying to just get our attention. He learned his name, how to sit and how to use the litter box all in the first week we had him (at 7 weeks old!).

He loved to sleep on your lap as you sat on the couch watching TV. He didn't care if he grew to weigh 45lbs, he still expected you to hoist him onto your lap at precisely 8:00 pm every evening where he would fall fast asleep within seconds after snuggling his wet nose between your neck and shoulder. If you didn't respond to his initial "honks" letting you know it was his nap time, he would bump your legs with his nose until you picked him up. With his weight as it was, you couldn't hold him all evening as he preferred, so you had to slide him off onto the couch next to you where he would sleep for hours with all four legs and his nose sticking straight up in the air. He would snore as long as he could feel you next to him but would immediately wake up if you tried to leave the couch. We had hours of fun balancing objects like a salt shaker on his flat nose while he slept soundly.

Arnold helped me in all my chores around our five acres in the country. Just being there at my feet, interested in what I was doing made even the most mundane tasks enjoyable. When he was out roaming and foraging and you would call out his name, he would come running at top speed, honking the whole way until he got close to you where he would dodge you, zigzagging around with a few victory roles turning in circles before settling down and calmly walking up to you with his tail wagging as if to say (winking) "hah, got-cha."

He even helped me build a kit aircraft and a customized trailer to haul it around in. I was planning on taking him flying with me some day. He loved to play with my sockets and rolled them around on the shop floor. Just as I would struggle and get frustrated with some difficult task, Arnold would show up underneath the trailer, with his wet nose in my ear and honking -- seeming to say, "take a break and laugh with me for a while, that should make it all better." And it did, every time. God's marvelous creations minister to us in the most special ways if we can just stop for a few moments and observe them. God used Arnold to teach us this very important lesson in life which we will never forget.

My wife and two daughters began to say that Arnold and I were so close that he had become the son that I never had in our family. It seemed that we could no longer have any kind of conversation in our family or with our friends without Arnold being a main topic. The neighborhood kids would make appointments to come visit Arnold and couldn't wait to come over and play with him.

Arnold went most everywhere with us--Pet's Mart, Wal-Mart, birthday parties, Christmas vacation to Grandma's. He loved riding in the car/shopping basket and was a big hit everywhere he went. Arnold had become such an important part of our life that when we found out that our family would have to move to another state, we insisted that the contract on our new house be contingent on the homeowners' association approval of Arnold in writing before we would agree to purchasing in our prestigious neighborhood.

On the day we left our old home town, we had a going away lunch with our friends from church. Everyone there just had to go out to the truck where Arnold and all our other pet were and say goodbye. Arnold trusted me to take care of him and get him to his new home. Tragically, along the way, the wind blast from a semi knocked our trailers out of control and pushed our truck off a 40' bridge. We lost a big part of our family that day when our pets Arnold, Sweeti and Leanna were killed. I feel terrible for not being able to protect Arnold the way he trusted me to. However, I will be forever grateful for the fond memories of him which I will cherish forever.

Thank you for reading this and allowing me to share some of Arnold's life with you. If you decide that a pot belly is the right choice for you both, I pray that you will be rewarded in the same way my family was with Arnold.

在我们搬家到亚利桑那州的途中发生了交通意外，从此我失去了我最好的朋友阿诺德。阿诺德是一只八个月大的宠物猪，是他令我更懂得爱，懂得投入和维系情谊。他的离去令我伤心欲绝，不过我还是常感谢上帝赐予我与阿诺德相处的那段短暂却快乐的时光。

凡是考虑想养宠物猪的人都应该知道，如果你真心疼它，全身心地伺候它，小猪就会成为你最棒的朋友。在这个与小猪一起探索相处的过程中，你一定会非常着迷，发现其中有无穷的乐趣。言语是无法描绘这种关系的，只有亲身经历才能充分体会。

阿诺德并不知道自己是一只猪，他以为自己就是我们家的一员，所以他会观察模仿我、我太太、我两个女儿还有我家小猎犬的.一举一动。他深信我们所有人都爱他，事实的确是这样，就算有时候他会耍脾气来吸引我们的注意力。他来到我们家的第一个星期（7周大的时候）就已经学会了自己的名字，学会了怎么坐，还有怎么用那个小盒子。

他喜欢在你坐在沙发上看电视的时候睡在你大腿上。他也不管自己已经长到45磅重，就是要你每天晚上八点准时把他抬到你大腿上来，湿乎乎的鼻子在你的脖子和肩膀之间温存一番后，眨眼功夫这家伙就酣睡起来了。开始的时候他会“鼾鼾”地提醒你他到点休息了，而如果你没反应，他就会用鼻子撞你的脚，直到你把他抱起为止。他倒想一整晚睡在你腿上，但他这么重，你根本是受不了的，所以得把他顺势滑到旁边的沙发上，让他鼻子四脚朝天地呼呼大睡。只要他感觉到你就在他身边，他会放心尽情地打他的呼噜睡他的觉；但是一旦你想走开，他会马上醒过来。他沉睡的时候，我们会玩个游戏，在他那扁鼻子上摆像盐瓶那样的小玩艺而要保持平衡不倒，这样一玩就是几个小时，大家玩得不亦乐乎。

在我们那方圆五英亩的乡下地方，我做什么家务杂事阿诺德都会帮我一把。只要他挨在你脚跟，兴致勃勃地看你在忙，就足以让最索然无味的杂务变得有趣起来。他在外面溜达觅食的时候，只要你喊他的名字，他就会以最快的速度朝你奔来，“鼾鼾”地一路叫着，跑到离你不远的地方他又会跟你玩起迷藏来，左转右转地走着，绕着圈，一副凯旋而归的模样，然后才静下来慢慢走到你跟前，摇摇尾巴，好像眨着眼跟你说“哈，总算找到你啦！”

他还帮我一起组装了一架小型飞机和一辆运载飞机的特制拖车。我打算哪天把他带上跟我一起飞翔蓝天。他很喜欢玩那些插座零件，在工场里把它们推来推去。每当我为一些高难度的工作伤透脑筋，灰心丧气的时候，阿诺德就会从拖车的下面钻出来，湿乎乎的鼻子伸到我的耳边，“鼾鼾”地似乎在说“休息一会儿，跟我笑一会儿，然后什么事都好办啦！”果真有效，而且每次都行。只要我们能停一停，仔细看看，就会发现上帝绝妙的创造物总以最特别的方式照顾我们。上帝派阿诺德来给我们上了这人生的重要一课，我们毕生难忘。

我太太和两个女儿都说阿诺德跟我亲密得就像成了我儿子一样，一个我们家一直缺少的角色。家里聊天或者和朋友聊天都好像离不开阿诺德这个主题。邻居的小孩会预约来我们家，迫不及待要来和阿诺德玩。

我们去哪里，阿诺德几乎都跟我们在一起——宠物用品超市、沃尔马超市、生日派对，圣诞假期他还跟我们一起到奶奶家去。他喜欢坐在手推车或者购物篮里，所到之处都大受欢迎。阿诺德已经在我们生活中占据了一个重要的位置，所以当我们要搬到另一个州买房子时，我们都坚持要在合同里附上街坊邻居的联合书面允诺，同意让阿诺德在该区生活，这样我们才会考虑在那些名区里买房。

离开老家的那天，我们和教友一起吃了饯行午餐。在场的每个人都走到货柜车旁边，跟里面的阿诺德和我们的其他宠物告别。可悲的是，在路上一辆半拖车呼啸而过，强烈的侧风气流使我们的拖车失控，货柜继而被抛到40英尺的桥下。那天家中成员损失惨重，我们的宠物阿诺德、甜甜和莲娜都离开我们了。阿诺德如此地信任我，我却没法保护他，我真的很难受。不过，我将永远珍藏和他一起的深情片断，感激他带来的这段美好回忆。

[英语诗歌]-两幅母亲肖像前

Before Two Portraits of My Mother

两幅母亲肖像前

I love the beautiful young girl of this

portrait, my mother, painted years ago

when her forehead was white, and there was no

shadow in the dazzling Venetian glass

of her gaze. But this other likeness shows

the deep trenches across her forehead’s white

marble. The rose poem of her youth that

her marriage sang is far behind. Here is

my sadness: I compare these portraits, one

of a joy-radiant brow, the other care-

heavy: sunrise—and the thick coming on

of night. And yet how strange my ways appear,

for when I look at these faded lips my heart

smiles, but at the smiling girl my tears start.

—Emile Nelligan (1879-1941)

我深爱这名美丽少女的

画像，她是我的母亲，绘制于多年前

当时她的前额白皙无瑕

如同威尼斯玻璃般闪亮，没有一丝阴影

在她双眸中。但另一幅肖像显出

深深的纹痕布满她皎白大理石般平滑的前额

她少女时的那

首玫瑰情诗

曾在她婚礼中被咏唱，如今已经远去。

此时我心悲伤：比较这两幅肖像，一幅显得

神情愉悦，另一幅显得心事

重重：一幅如同朝阳初升——另一幅则如迎面而来的阴郁

黑夜。然而我的反应却显得非比寻常，

因为当我看着她失去光泽的双唇，我心

发出微笑，但看着那名微笑的少女，我的泪竟开始涌出。

—艾米里·奈利根 (1879-1941)

Vocabulary

● 1. portrait n. a painting, photograph, or drawing of sb. 画像；肖像

It took only thirty minutes for the artist in the park to draw a portrait of Jerome.

公园里的画家只花了30分钟，就完成了杰罗姆的画像。

2. marble n. a kind of smooth, light-colored stone; usually used for statues or floors 大理石

Nearly all of the surviving ancient Greek and Roman statues are made of marble.

几乎所有保存至今的古希腊和古罗马雕像都是由大理石雕刻的。

● 3. fade v. to become less bright 失去光泽；褪色

As the years went by, the deep blue color of Mary’s favorite pair of jeans faded.

随着时光流逝，玛丽最喜欢的那件深蓝色牛仔裤已褪了色。

More Information

1. dazzling adj. 璀璨的；耀眼的

2. Venetian glass n. 威尼斯玻璃（以做工精美华丽而著称，可做成烛台、酒杯、灯盏、花瓶等精致用品）

3. likeness n. 肖像；画像（正式说法）

4. trench n. 沟；渠（诗中指母亲额头上的纹痕）

5. joy-radiant adj. 洋溢欢乐喜悦的（radiant 本意为发光的，容光焕发的，诗中用来指因欢乐而满面春风喜乐；而 care-heavy则指心事重重的样子）

6. thick adj. （天空或夜色）阴霾的；深浓的（用来形容诗句中的 the coming on of night，意指夜色如毯子般浓烈地逼近）

[英语散文]-Snacks

Snacks are I suppose defined as things that we eat between regular meals. In fact, if you are eating something and it is not breakfast, lunch or dinner-time then it is a snack. So, if you are having an apple sometime in the afternoon then that apple is a snack. However, on the whole when we talk about snacks we are not really talki

ng about fruit and healthy things. The category of snacks is usually filled with things that are not so good for us.

What are these traditional snacks? Chips, or as they are called in Britain, crisps, are a favourite snack and as with most popular snacks they are not a healthy option (选择). Laden with grease (油脂) because of their origin in the fat fryer (油炸用的食品) they are the dieters curse (咒骂). Another great favourite is chocolate and again it is a food option that is well capable of converting a sleek (光滑的) physique (体形) into something a little more wobbly (不稳定的)!

Regarding the healthiness of snacks a big problem of so many of the regular popular options out there is generally their low quality. What you might buy in the stores on the high streets has been mass produced with all sorts of rubbish added to boost the flavour at minimum (最小的) cost. If you were to actually get many of these snack types made at home then they would probably be a lot better for you. For instance, chocolate comes from South America. The original examples of chocolate are very different to what we are now used to. Our chocolate has so much sugar and fat added to it that it would be quite unpalatable (不好吃的) to someone used to the traditional version. However, because we have all been brought up on food and snacks with no subtlety (狡猾，微妙) of flavour then we cannot appreciate the more traditional examples of snacks.

So because of this way our snacks are made we have developed a love-hate relationship with them. Our taste buds (味蕾) demand the satisfaction only snacks can give but the diet industry condemns (指责) them as the road to obesity (肥胖). So there is a conflict between the advertising of snacks and promotion of the lifestyle associated with them of having a good time and the attack on them as dangerous to our health from the just as aggressive diet industry. My advice, is to ignore the propaganda of both sides and enjoy snacks for what they are, which means bearing in mind that too much is too bad.

[英语散文]-It is my brithday

Two weeks ago was my 45th birthday, but I wasn'tfeeling too hot that morning anyway. I went to breakfast knowing my wife would be pleasant andsay "Happy Birthday" and probably have a presentfor me.

But, she didn't even say "Good Morning," let alone any "Happy Birthday."

I thought, 's a wife for you. I guess, the children will remember. Then, thechildren came into breakfast, but, they didn'tsay a word.

When I started to the office, I was feeling pretty low and despondent. As I walked into myoffice, my secretary Janet said, "Good morning,Boss, happy birthday." And I felt a little better,someone had remembered.

I worked until noon. Then, Janet knocked on my door and said, "You know, it's such a beautifulday outside, and it's your birthday, let's goto lunch, just you and me."

I said, "That's the greatest thing I've heardall day. Let's go."

So, we went to lunch. We didn't go where wenormally go. We went out into the country toa little private place. We had two martinis and enjoyed lunch tremendously.

On the way back to the office, Janet said,"You know, it's such a beautiful day. We don't need to go back to the office, do we?"

I said, "No, I guess not."

She said, "Let's go to my apartment."

After arriving at her apartment, she said,"Boss, if you don't mind, I think I'll go in to the bedroom, and slip into something more comfortable."

"Sure," I excitedly replied.

Janet went into the bedroom and, in about sixminutes, she came out carrying a big birthdaycake, followed by my wife, children and dozensof my friends. All were singing "Happy Birthday".. and there I sat on the couch ... naked.