冰島假期

2015-01-23 13:35:24SusanBreslowSardone,海月

瘋狂英語·初中天地 2015年10期

冰島假期

Iceland Travel Holiday

by Susan Breslow Sardone

翻譯：海月

來到冰島就仿佛置身于人間仙境，讓人飄飄欲仙、流連忘返。在那里，你似乎可以放下所有的煩惱，體驗許多之前從未感受過的美好。怎么樣，開始想和作者一起來場奇妙的冰島之旅了嗎？

Iceland? Who goes to Iceland on vacation? It turns out the answer is growing numbers of culture and adventure lovers looking for something a bit different, something they’ve never seen before, experiences as unique as they come.

Having recently visited the country for a short time, I have seen the light.(Of course,1)giventhe fact that the summer sun’s up 23.5 hours every day, that light is hard to miss.) 1) given ['gIv?n] prep.由于，考慮到

冰島？誰會去冰島度假？答案是越來越多的文化和探險愛好者們，他們在尋找與眾不同、從未見過的東西，期待來到這里獲得獨一無二的非凡經歷。

我最近在這個國家待過一小段時間，看到了極晝。（由于夏天太陽每天都掛在天上23.5個小時，所以自然很難錯過它。）

It certainly helped starting off the journey in Icelandair’s2)Saga(business) Class.I was properly greeted,3)cossettedin acomfortable seat,4)satedwith5)salmon, and delivered safely to Kefavik, a manageable little jewel of an airport with an6)extensivedutyfree shopping7)arcade.FromJFK注1注1：John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 指肯尼迪國際機場。, the fight took less than fve hours.

For the first 20 minutesen route from Keflavik to Reykjavik by cab, the land looks8)barrenbut the9)Nordicsky is10)luminous.There are no trees, just11)lavafelds covered with12)velvetygreen moss.Soon enough I make out a13)pale bluebody of water—the Atlantic, of course—then scattered houses and mountains.As we drive closer to the city, I notice the mountaintops aredotted with snow.詞匯積累

2 ) saga ['sɑ?g?] n.中世紀北歐傳說

3 ) cosset ['k?sIt] v.寵愛，疼愛

4 ) sate [seIt] v.充分滿足，使飽享

5 ) salmon ['s?m?n] n.三文魚

6 ) extensive [Ik'stensIv] a.廣闊的

7 ) arcade [ɑ?'keId] n.店鋪商場

8 ) barren ['b?r?n] a.荒蕪的，貧瘠的

9 ) Nordic ['n??dIk] a.北歐的

10) luminous ['lu?mIn?s] a.發光的，明亮的

11) lava ['lɑ?v?] n.熔巖

12 velvety ['velvItI] a.天鵝絨般的，柔軟的

13) pale blue 淡藍色

14) sweltering ['swelt?rI?] a.悶熱的

15) evaporate [I'v?p?reIt] v.蒸發

16) dire ['daI?r] a.可怕的，恐怖的

17) volcanic eruption 火山爆發

18) geothermal [,d?i??u'θ?m?l] a.地熱的

19) adjacent [?'d?eIs?nt] a.相鄰的，鄰近的

20) aesthetic [i?s'θetIk] a.審美的

21) imperative [Im'per?tIv] a.必要的

22) geyser ['gi?z?r] n.間歇泉

23) spellbound ['spelba?nd] a.著迷的

24) kayak ['kaI?k] n.愛斯基摩人用的皮艇

搭乘冰島航空商務艙開始這趟旅程顯然是有好處的。我受到了周到的款待，坐在舒適的座位上，心滿意足地享受著三文魚，并安全抵達凱夫拉維克機場。機場就像一顆小巧玲瓏的寶石，旁邊就是寬敞的免稅商場。從肯尼迪國際機場飛到這里，只用了不到五個小時。

乘出租車從凱夫拉維克到雷克雅未克途中，前面20分鐘的路程滿眼都是荒涼的曠野，但這片北歐的天空依然明亮。沒有樹，只有覆蓋著天鵝絨般綠色苔蘚的熔巖原。很快，我就看到一片淡藍色的海水—那當然是大西洋—接著還有山和零星分布的房屋。在去市區的路上，我看到山頂點綴著積雪。

It’s mid-summer...New York is14)sweltering...and I’m seeing snow!(Later I learn that one of many Icelandic legends has to do with this summer snow.They say that if it all15)evaporatesby August, something16)direwill occur.It happened in 1996...and there was a17)volcanic eruptionoutside the city.)

時值盛夏，紐約正是悶熱的時候，我卻看到了雪！（后來我聽說，這里夏天的積雪還與一個冰島傳說有關。據說，如果這些雪在八月之前全部蒸發殆盡，就會有可怕的事情發生。1996年，這個傳說成為現實，那一年城外就有火山爆發。）

Anyway, there’s snow up there in July, and the weather’s a comfortable5 5 degrees Fahrenheit.I’m willing to pack a lot into the days, since it stays light for all but half an hour.The first place I visit is a community swimming pool heated entirely by underwater18)geothermal springs.Icelanders frequent these facilities every day of the year, meeting friends, debating politics, and simply luxuriating in the pool and19)adjacent Jacuzzis注2注3：薩克斯百貨，美國大型零售商。.No wonder they look so healthy and enjoy such longevity.

After the swim I got to experience two outdoor sculpture gardens accompanied by a learned guide.First was Asmundur Sveinsson’s, whose creations call upon Nordic sagas for inspiration.Historic and heartfelt, his work provides a window into the Icelandic soul.Ainar Jonsson, a contemporary, may have been the more masterful technician, but his work lacks Sveinsson’s warm emotion.Contemplating and comparing the displays with my enlightening guide is an20)aesthetic delight.

Touring outside the city is21)imperative, though.There’s everything from22)geysers to glaciers, to hold one as23)spellbound as a mid-season sale at Saks注3注3：薩克斯百貨，美國大型零售商。.Up north, adventurers can go snowmobiling, dogsledding, and experience other chilly adventures in an Arctic Jeep.Elsewhere you can river raft, sea24)kayak, fsh, and whale watch.

總之，這里七月有雪，而氣候也是舒適的55華氏度（約13攝氏度）。我愿意把白天的行程排得滿滿的，因為這里幾乎一整天都是白天，而夜晚只有半個小時。我游覽的第一個地方是一個完全由地下溫泉供熱的社區游泳池。冰島人一年到頭頻繁光顧這里，在這兒會見朋友、探討政治或者純粹享受一下游泳池和它旁邊的按摩浴缸。難怪他們看起來都很健康且長壽。

游完泳，我又跟著博學多聞的導游去參觀了兩個室外雕塑公園。第一個是奧斯門德·斯文松雕塑公園。奧斯門德·斯文松的作品以北歐傳奇為靈感來源，其歷史性和誠意為游客提供了一扇去了解冰島靈魂的窗戶。另一個是艾納·瓊森雕塑公園。作為當代人的艾納·瓊森也許技藝是更為嫻熟，但他的作品缺乏斯文松的溫暖情感。和我那循循善誘的導游一起思索并對比著這些展品，很有審美樂趣。

到城外看看也是必不可少的節目。從間歇泉到冰川等各種景觀，就像美國薩克斯百貨的季中促銷那樣，足以令人如著魔般流連忘返。冒險家們可以到城北玩雪地摩托和狗拉雪橇，坐著極地吉普車體驗其他刺激的探險活動。除此之外，你還可以去玩河道漂流、海上皮劃艇、釣魚和觀鯨。

Thingvellir National Park, closer to Reykjavik, is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet andstretch apart.One side holds grassy25)meadowsand26)placidlakes; the other rough lava terrain.A place of great significance to the Icelandic people, the park is also where Europe’s first parliament27)convenedin 930 A.D.Today, it’s a magnifcent place to picnic.

距離雷克雅未克不遠的辛格維爾國家公園位于北美和歐亞板塊接壤與拉伸分裂的邊界處。一邊是如茵草地和平靜湖泊，另一邊是粗獷的熔巖地貌。這個公園對冰島人意義重大，公元930年的首次歐洲議會就是在這里召開的。今天，這里是一個野餐的好地方。

Hot springs hissing with steaming water, hillsidesplanted with28)blue lupine, and29)puffinperches are among the sights in nature’s30)repertoire.And one of the best ways to experience them is on horseback.The sturdy little Icelandic horses are so gentle, anyone but a31)tenderfootlike me would feel at ease32)canteringacross these magical landscapes.

The Blue Lagoon turns out to be my kind of place, not a spa as Americans know it.In fact, they sell ice cream here, lots of it.The draw is the lagoon’s33)therapeuticwaters, surrounded by black lava fields.The34)opaqueblue-green reservoir of mineral-rich water is heated to about 100 degrees.Since the air’s only about 60 degrees, steam continually rises from the milkywater.

I paddle around,35)peeringthrough the fog at the old folks and kids, the lovers and the lonely, all bobbingin this36)etherealhuman soup.Stress just melts away.

I start to think that perhaps heaven isn’t composed of clouds but of Iceland’s naturally warm,37)buoyant, healing waters.It’s a real possibility.But you ought to visit and decide for yourself.

嘶嘶冒著蒸汽的溫泉、長滿藍花羽扇豆的山坡和海鸚棲息地都是這里的自然景觀。體驗它們的最佳方式之一就是騎馬。健壯的冰島小馬是如此溫順，除了像我這樣的生手，任何人都能安心地騎著它們在這夢幻般的風景里悠然馳騁。

藍湖是我鐘愛的那種地方，它和美國人所知的水療中心不同。事實上，這里有冰淇淋賣，大把大把的冰淇淋。這里吸引人的地方在于那被黑色熔巖包圍著的、有治療效果的湖水。富含礦物質、呈不透明藍綠色的湖水被加熱到約100華氏度（約38攝氏度）。由于空氣的溫度只有約60華氏度（約16攝氏度），所以不斷有蒸汽從不透明的湖水中升起。

我四處游動，透過霧氣，看著這些男女老少、成雙成對或形單影只的人們沉浸在這人間仙境般縹緲的湖水中，壓力一下子煙消云散。

我開始覺得，也許天堂不是用云做的，而是用冰島那自然溫暖、生機勃勃而又有治愈性的泉水做的。確實有這種可能。但你應該試著身臨其境、自己判斷了。

詞匯積累

25) meadow ['med??] n.草地

26) placid ['pl?sId] a.寧靜的，平靜的

27) convene [k?n'vi?n] v.召開

28) blue lupine 藍花羽扇豆

29) puffn ['p?fIn] n.海鸚

30) repertoire ['rep?twɑ?r] n.所有組成部分

31) tenderfoot ['tend?f?t] n.生手，新手

32) canter ['k?nt?] v.慢跑

33) therapeutic [θer?'pju?tIk] a.治病的