The1)Thawing of the Rivers Is a Season of Its Own in Alaska

⊙ By James Honeyborne

翻譯：丁一

The1)Thawing of the Rivers Is a Season of Its Own in Alaska

阿拉斯加：河流解凍，自成一季

⊙ By James Honeyborne

翻譯：丁一

世界之大，無奇不有，在迎春這件事上也不例外。有人往身上涂顏料，有人“棒打”親朋，有人燃燒紙偶。而在美國阿拉斯加中部的一個鎮上，人們將冰河上木架倒下的一刻視為春天到來的神圣時刻。一切從每年的三月一日開始……

An Alaskan spring moves fast and if you don’t seize the moment, it will pass you by. The exact arrival of spring is hard to predict. But for some, working out when it might arrive has become a total2)obsession.

Deep in central Alaska, the Tanana River freezes to over one metre down. And every spring the3)townsfolklook forward to the day when it will break up and flow again. It’s such abig deal; they’ve held a festival for nearly a hundred years to celebrate. It begins on the first of March with the digging out of the heart of the frozen river, setting the stage for a truly Alaskan event. The whole town joins in.

(People are setting up a wooden4)tripod.)

“On the count of three: one, two, three!”

The day the river breaks up, this wooden tripod will fall,5)markingthe first day of spring, a day everyone is waiting for. As part of the celebrations, everyone has a bet or two on when the tripod will actually drop.6)Whoevergets it right to the nearest second will hit the7)jackpot.

And then, the wait begins. The tripod is8)tetheredto a9)watchtowerwhere the official clock will stop as soon as the tripod10)collapses. They take it so seriously, there is even a watchman on 24-hour duty. The nights become shorter. Still the tripod stands. Each day11)bulks upwith seven minutes more daylight. Four weeks later, the tripod is starting to shift. At long last, on the 25th of April at 3:48 in the afternoon, spring arrives. Round here though, they don’t call it spring. This season is what they call “break-up.” The thawing of the rivers is a season all of its own. That’s how much it means to an Alaskan soul.

1) thawing [θ????] n. 解凍，融化

2) obsession [?b?se?(?)n] n. 迷戀，著魔

3) townsfolk [?ta?nzf??k] n. 市鎮居民

4) tripod [?tra?p?d] n. 三腳架

5) mark [mɑ?k] v. 標示

6) whoever [hu??ev?(r)] pron. 不論什么人，不論是誰

7) jackpot [?d??kp?t] n. （彩票）頭獎

8) tether [?tee?(r)] v. 拴，系

9) watchtower [?w?t?ta??(r)] n. 望塔

10) collapse [k??l?ps] v. 倒坍

11) bulk up 積累，增加

On the count of three∶ one, two, three!

日常生活中在做某件事時為了保證眾人步調一致，我們常常會一起數數，on the count 正是領頭人說的話，目的是在數數之前提醒大家準備好。當然，后面的“of three”可以視具體情況而變，也可以省略不要，因為數到三是一種慣例。這個表達的變通方式可以是on my count，如：On my count, one, two, three!（聽我的口令，一、二、三！）

At long last, on the 25th of April at 3∶48 in the afternoon, spring arrives.

At last我們都很熟悉，其含義與finally相同，義為“終于”，但它不僅僅是指發生在最后的事，更指在經過許多煩惱或麻煩之后，或經過漫長等待之后才發生的事。如果你要對等待的過程或等待者的急切心情加以強調，那么at long last正好可以表達這個意思。這個詞組與其說是時間的表示，還不如說它是心情的反映，如：Here,at long last, was the moment he had waited for.（經過漫長的等待后，他終于迎來了盼望已久的時刻。）

阿拉斯加的春天來去匆匆，你若不抓緊時機，便會與其失之交臂。春天來臨的準確時刻難以預測，但有些人對于計算春天到來的日子極度執迷。

位于阿拉斯加內陸中部的塔納諾河結了超過一米厚的冰。每年春天，鎮民都熱切期待著河冰破裂，河水再度流動的那天。他們很重視這一天，近百年來都會舉行慶祝活動。慶典在3月1日開始，人們先挖出冰河中間的冰，為這個真正屬于阿拉斯加人的慶典設好舞臺。整個鎮的居民都會參與其中。

（人們正在豎起木制三腳架。）

“數三下，一……二……三！”

河冰破裂，木制腳架倒下的那一天便是萬眾期待的春季首日。作為慶祝活動的其中一項內容，每人都會買上一兩注，預測腳架倒下的準確時間。時間以秒計算，答案最接近者將獲得大獎。

然后眾人開始等候。腳架用繩連著一座望樓，腳架一旦倒下，望樓上眾人認可的計時鐘便會停止。他們對此事高度重視，甚至派了看守員24小時值班。黑夜越來越短，腳架仍然屹立不倒。每一天的日照時間都比前一天長7分鐘。四周后，腳架開始有動靜了。終于，在4月25日下午3點48分，春天來了。不過，這里的人不稱其為春天，他們稱這個季節為“破冰”——河流解凍，自成一季，可見阿拉斯加人對此事的重視程度。