春來到

“常恨春歸無覓處，不覺轉入此中來。”誰說春的痕跡無處可尋？那漸漸消融的冬雪、破土而出的嫩芽、漸暖的春日陽光，還有“竹外桃花三兩枝，春江水暖鴨先知”和“幾處早鶯爭暖樹，誰家新燕啄春泥”的勃勃生機，無不都在向人們傳遞著同一個信息：春天真的來了！

Spring was slow in unfolding. For the last few weeks it had been steadily fine frosty2) weather. In the daytime it thawed3) in the sun， but at night there were even seven degrees of frost. There was such a frozen surface on the snow that they drove the wagons anywhere off the roads. Easter came in the snow. Then all of a sudden， on Easter Monday， a warm wind sprang up， storm-clouds swooped down4)， and for three days and three nights the warm， driving5) rain fell in streams. On Thursday the wind dropped， and a thick grey fog brooded over the land as though hiding the mysteries of the transformations that were being wrought6) in nature.

Behind the fog there was the flowing of water， the cracking and floating of ice， the swift rush of turbid7)， foaming torrents; and on the following Monday， in the evening， the fog parted， the storm-clouds split up into little curling crests of cloud， the sky cleared， and the real spring had come. In the morning the sun rose brilliant and quickly wore away the thin layer of ice that covered the water， and all the warm air was quivering8) with the steam that rose up from the quickened9) earth. The old grass looked greener， and the young grass thrust up its tiny blades; the buds of the guelder rose10) and of the currant11) and the sticky birch-buds were swollen with sap， and an exploring bee was humming about the golden blossoms that studded12) the willow. Larks trilled13) unseen above the velvety green fields and the ice-covered stubble14)-land; peewits15) wailed over the low lands and marshes flooded by the pools; cranes and wild geese flew high across the sky uttering their spring calls. The cattle， bald in patches where the new hair had not grown yet， lowed16) in the pastures; the bow-legged17) lambs frisked18) round their bleating19) mothers. Nimble20) children ran about the drying paths， covered with the prints of bare feet. There was a merry chatter of peasant women over their linen at the pond， and the ring of axes in the yard， where the peasants were repairing ploughs and harrows. The real spring had come.

春天的腳步緩緩而至。過去的幾周一直是晴朗而嚴寒的天氣。白天陽光普照，冰雪漸融，但到了晚上，溫度甚至能降到零下七度。如此一來，積雪的表層全都結了冰，趕馬車的人是萬萬不敢在這么滑的路面上行駛了。復活節來的時候雪還都沒融化。卻不想第二天，一陣暖風驟起，烏云壓空，暖暖的傾盆大雨連綿不絕，足足下了三天三夜。到了周四，風勢減弱，灰色的濃霧籠罩著大地，仿佛是要將大自然里正在發生的種種神奇變化隱藏起來。

濃霧之下有潺潺的流水，有逐漸坼裂的冰層，有漂浮水面的裂冰，水勢較急的地方，渾濁的河水一路奔瀉、泡沫翻飛。復活節過去一個星期后，周一傍晚，濃霧散去，朵朵烏云裂變為層層云峰，天空放晴，春天真的來了。清晨，旭日東升，燦爛的陽光很快就融化了覆蓋在水面上的那一層薄冰。大地解凍復蘇，水汽裊裊上升，騰騰水汽中溫熱的空氣在微微地顫動。去年的小草看上去更綠了，今年的新草那細嫩的葉片也破土而出。雪球花和紅醋栗新長出的花蕾還有樺樹上粘呼呼的新芽一個個看上去飽滿水靈。柳樹已經開花，金黃色的花朵點綴其中，一只前來探路的蜜蜂正圍著這滿樹黃花嗡嗡地打轉。綠色的田野如天鵝絨一般柔軟光滑，留茬地里卻依舊冰雪覆蓋。百靈鳥在天空中顫聲歌唱，只聞其聲，不見其影。田鳧在“嗚嗚”地鳴叫，仿佛在為池塘水漲、漫過了洼地與沼澤而哀泣慟哭。大鶴與野雁從高空掠過，發出了春天的呼喚。牧場上，牛群在“哞哞”地叫著，因為身上有的地方新毛還未長出，所以看上去一片斑駁。小羊羔們雖然腿還伸不直，卻仍然又蹦又跳，圍在媽媽身邊撒歡兒，而羊媽媽則開心地“咩咩”直叫。一群聰明可愛的孩子光著小腳丫在尚未全干的小路上跑來跑去，滿地都是他們可愛的小腳印。池塘邊浣衣的農婦們在快活地閑談，院子里傳出陣陣斧聲，那是農夫們在修理犁耙。春天真的來了。

1.Leo Tolstoy: 列夫·托爾斯泰，全名列夫·尼古拉耶維奇·托爾斯泰，俄國作家、思想家，19世紀末20世紀初最偉大的文學家，主要作品有長篇小說《戰爭與和平》《安娜·卡列尼娜》《復活》等。本文節選自《安娜·卡列尼娜》。

2.frosty [#712;fr#594;sti] adj. 霜凍的；嚴寒的

3.thaw [θ#596;#720;] vi. (冰、雪等)融化，融解

4.swoop down: 迅速蔓延；快速移動

5.driving [#712;dra#618;v#618;#331;] adj. (風、雨等)猛烈的，強烈的

6.wrought [r#596;#720;t] vt. <古> work的過去式和過去分詞。work [w#604;#720;k] vt. 造成，產生

7.turbid [#712;t#604;#720;b#618;d] adj. 渾濁的；污濁的

8.quiver [#712;kw#618;v#601;(r)] vi. 顫抖，發抖

9.quicken [#712;kw#618;k#601;n] vt. 使有生氣；使復蘇

10.guelder rose: 【植】歐洲莢 ；雪球花

11.currant [#712;k#652;r#601;nt] n. 醋栗

12.stud [st#652;d] vt. (星星點點地)裝飾，點綴

13.trill [tr#618;l] vi. (鳥)囀鳴

14.stubble [#712;st#652;bl] n. (作物收割后遺留的)殘株，茬

15.peewit [#712;pi#720;w#618;t] n. (= pewit) 【鳥】鳳頭麥雞，又名田鳧。

16.low [l#601;#650;] vi. (牛)哞哞叫

17.bow-legged [#716;b#601;#650; #712;leɡ#618;d] adj. 弓形腿的，膝內翻的

18.frisk [fr#618;sk] vi. 歡躍；跳蹦

19.bleat [bli#720;t] vi. (羊或小牛)咩咩叫

20.nimble [#712;n#618;mbl] adj. 聰明的，機智的，敏銳的