Unit 9 匆匆
①If swallows go away, they will come back again. ②If willows wither, they will turn green again.③If peaches shade their blossoms, they will flower again. ④But, tell me, you the wise, why should our days go by never to return? ⑤Perhaps they have been stolen by someone.⑥But who could it be and where could he hide them? ⑦Perhaps they have just run away by themselves. ⑧But where could they be at the present moment?
⑨I don't know how many days I am entitled to altogether, but my quota of them is undoubtedly wearing away. ⑩Counting up silently, I find that more than 8,000 days have already slipped away through my fingers.⑪Like a drop of water falling off a needle point into the ocean, my days are quietly dripping into the stream of time without leaving a trace.⑫At the thought of this, sweat oozes from my forehead and tears trickle down my cheeks.
⑬What is gone is gone, what is to come keeps coming. ⑭How swift is the translation in between! ⑮When I get up in the morning, the slanting sun casts two or three squarish patches of light into my small room. ⑯The sun has feet too, edging away softly and stealthily.⑰And, without knowing it, I am already caught in its revolution.
Key words and phrases
blossom [ˈblɒsəm] n．花，开花时期
silently[ˈsaɪləntlɪ]ad．沉默地
slanting[ˈslɑ:ntɪŋ]ad．倾斜的
at the present moment目前
trickle down向下滴流
revolution [ˌrevəˈlu:ʃn] n．革命
句构分析
译 燕子去了，有再来的时候。
译 杨柳枯了，有再青的时候。
译 桃花谢了，有再开的时候。
④But, tell me, you the wise, why should our days go by never to return?
译 但是，聪明的你，告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？
译 许是有人偷了他们罢。
⑥But who could it be and where could he hide them?
译 那是谁？又藏在何处呢？
译 是他们自己逃走了。
译 现在又到了哪里呢？
译 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。
译 在默默里算着，八千多日子已经从我手中溜去；
译 像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。
结构分析 本句运用极新奇巧妙的比喻，作者把自己过去的八千多日子比喻成极小极小的针尖上的水滴，把时间的流比喻成浩瀚的大海。
译 想到这里，我不禁头涔涔而泪潸潸了。
⑬What is gone is gone, what is to come keeps coming.
译 去的尽管去了，来的尽管来着。
⑭How swift is the translation in between!
译 去来的中间，又怎样地匆匆呢！
译 早上我起来的时候，小屋里射进两三方斜斜的阳光。
译 太阳他有脚啊，轻轻悄悄地挪移了。
译 我也茫茫然跟着旋转。