Our neighbour,the river
原文
Lesson 56
Our neighbour, the river
Why had the neighbours left their farm?
The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives.
Without it we could not make a living.
There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house so we have to pump from the river for farm use.
We tell the river all our secrets.
We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees,
that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
We have special river birthday parties in the summer.
Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater,
sometimes we have our party at the boathouse,
which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving.
In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all.
We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring,
holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.
After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks.
This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes.
We are lucky in that only the lower fields,
which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are affected by flooding,
but other farms are less favourably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows.
All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little.
We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district.
As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing.
From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours,
and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point.
The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down.
Next came a horse, swimming bravely,
but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted.
Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.
We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood,
for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged.
The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boat hooks,
in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towrds our bank.
We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.
译文
第56课
我们的邻居——河流
邻居为什么离开他们的农场？
没有它，我们就无法谋生。
这里的泉水仅够满足房屋的需求，因此我们必须从河里抽水来用于农场灌溉。
我们会把所有的秘密都告诉这条河流。
我们凭直觉明白：就像养蜂人对待他们的蜜蜂一样，如果我们生活中的重要事件没有告诉这条河流，不幸就可能降临到我们头上。
我们凭直觉明白，就像养蜂人对待他们的蜜蜂一样，
如果我们生活中的重要事件没有告诉这条河流，不幸就可能降临到我们头上。
夏天，我们会为这条河流举办特别的“生日派对”。
有时我们会去上游一个我们喜欢的小水湾，
有时则会在船屋里举行派对。
这是我们农场的一位前辈在草地上建造的，就在最深的池塘旁边，供游泳和跳水使用。
在热浪期间，我们选择在午夜举办生日派对——这真的是所有庆祝方式中最令人兴奋的。
我们在河边迎接四季的更替；春天来临时，我们会用鲜花为最年幼的女孩戴上花环。
在仲夏夜举办夏季庆典，感谢秋天的丰收；而在冬天，则将冬青花环抛入河流中。
经过长时间的降雨，河流可能会泛滥出河岸。
这种情况很少见，因为我们的气候很少会走极端。
我们很幸运的是，只有下方的田地，
这些田地只占我们农场的很小一部分，会受到洪水影响，
但其他农场的地理位置较为不利，洪水有时会对农场主造成严重的灾难性后果。
有一个严冬，我们眼睁睁看着河水逐渐淹没了下游的草地。
所有的牛都被赶进了牛棚里，所以我们几乎不会有什么损失。
然而，我们很担心我们的近邻——他们的农场位于地势较低的地方，而且他们是刚搬到这个地区来的新居民。
由于洪水使电话中断，我们无法知道他们的情况如何。
从阁楼的窗户里，我们可以看到河流的全景；他们的土地与我们的土地在那里交汇。
在最关键的时刻，我们轮流监视那个地点。
灾难的第一个征兆是一只死羊漂浮在水面上。
接下来是一匹马，它勇敢地游着。
但我们担心，水流的力量会使它在精疲力竭之前无法靠岸。
突然，一只木筏出现了，它看起来很像诺亚方舟；木筏上载着整个家庭、几只母鸡、几只狗、一只猫，以及一只关在笼子里的鸟。
我们意识到，他们一定是被不断上涨的洪水吓坏了。
他们的房子地基非常坚固，即使几乎被水淹没，也能依然屹立不倒。
我们家的男人们拿着船钩，蹚过被洪水淹没的草地。
希望能钩住木筏的一角，把它从急流中拉到我们岸边。
我们至今仍认为他们能这样做是个奇迹。