散文英譯漢佳作賞析：輝煌壯麗的暴風雨

Glories of the Storm
輝煌壯麗的暴風雨

It begins when a feeling of stillness creeps into my consciousness. Every thing has suddenly gone quiet. Birds do not chirp. Leaves do not rustle. Insects do not sing.
起初，有一種平靜的感覺悄悄襲上我的心頭。剎那間，萬物都突然寂靜無聲。鳥兒不在啁啾，樹葉不再沙沙作響，昆蟲也停止了歡唱。

The air that has been hot all day becomes heavy. It hangs over the trees, presses the heads of the flowers to the ground, sits on my shoulders. With a vague feeling of uneasiness I move to the window. There, in the west, lies the answer - cloud has piled on cloud to form a ridge of mammoth while towers, rearing against blue sky.
整日悶熱的空氣變得格外呆滯，它籠罩着樹木，逼得花朵垂向地面，也壓得我的肩頭沉甸甸的。我懷着隱隱約約的煩躁不安，信步走到窗前，原來答案就在西邊天際，雲層重重疊疊，就像一排嵯峨的白塔，高聳在藍天之上。

Their piercing whiteness is of brief duration. Soon the marshmallow rims flatten to anvil tops, and the clouds reveal their darker nature. They impose themselves before the late-afternoon sun, and the day darkens early. Then a gust of wind ships the dust along the road, chill warning of what is to come.
雲彩那耀眼的白色轉瞬便消失了。頃刻間，棉花糖狀的雲彼岸變得像鐵砧一樣平展，雲層也露出了陰暗的本來面目。它強行遮住西斜的太陽，使天色早早就黑了下來。接着，勁風驟起，一路捲起塵土飛揚。冷嗖嗖的，預示着即將來臨的一切。

In the house a door shuts with a bang, curtains billow into the room. I rush to close the windows, empty the clothesline, secure the patio furnishings. Thunder begins to grumble in the distance.
砰的一聲，風關上了一扇房門。窗簾也隨風揚起，向屋內翻卷着。我急忙跑上去關上窗戶，收下晾曬的衣服，安頓好露臺上的傢什。遠處開始響起隆隆的雷聲。

The first drops of rain are huge. They splat into the dust and imprint the windows with individual signatures. They plink on the vent pipe and plunk on the patio roof. Leaves shudder under their weight before rebounding, and sidewalk wears a coat of shiny spots.
最初落下來的是大顆大顆的水珠，撲撲地打在塵土裏。在玻璃窗是留下了一個個印記。雨點把排氣管敲得叮叮噹噹，把露臺頂棚打得噼噼啪啪，樹葉被砸得瑟瑟發抖，難以擡頭。人行道披上了一層亮閃閃的水點。

The rhythm accelerates; plink follows plunk faster and faster until the sound is a roll of drums and the individual drops become an army marching over fields and rooftops. Now the first bolt of lightning stabs the earth. It is heaven's exclamation point. The storm is here!
雨加快了節奏，叮叮噹噹緊跟着噼噼啪啪，一陣緊似一陣，終於連成一片緊密的鼓點，顆顆雨滴也彙集成一支行進在田野和屋頂的大軍。這時，第一道閃電刺向大地，這是老天劃的驚歎號。暴風雨來了。

In spite of myself, I jump at the following crack of thunder. It rattles the windowpane and sends the dog scratching to get under the bed. The next bolt is even closer. It raises the hair on the back of my neck, and I take an involuntary step away from the window.
隨即響起了一聲霹靂，我不禁跳了起來，雷聲震得窗戶格格作響，嚇得狗兒三抓兩爬鑽到牀底下。第二道閃電離得更近。我驚得寒毛倒立，不由得從牀邊後退了一步。

The rain now becomes a torrent, flung capriciously by rising wind. Together they batter the trees and level the grasses. Water streams off roofs and out of rain spouts. It pounds against the window in such a steady wash that I am sightless. There is only water. How can so much fall so fast? How could the clouds have supported this vast weight? How can the earth endure beneath it?
這時，雨下的簡直是傾盆如注，狂風吹得雨水飄搖不定。風雨交加，恣意地抽打樹木，夷平草地。雨水從屋頂奔流而下，漫出了排水管，不停地潑灑在窗戶上，使我什麼也看不清楚。眼前只有水。這麼多雨水，怎麼能下得這麼急？雲層怎麼能承受得這麼巨大的重量？大地怎麼能經受得起這樣的衝擊？

Pacing through the house from window to window, I am moved to openmouthed wonder. Look how the lilac bends under the assault, how the day lilies are flattened, how the hillside steps are a new made waterfall! Now hailstones thump upon the roof. They bounce white against the grass and splash into the puddle. I think of the vegetable garden, the fruit trees, the crops in the fields; but, thankfully, the hailstones are not enough in numbers or size to do real damage. Not this time.
我在房裏踱來踱去，從一個窗口走到另一個窗口，屋外的景色使我瞠目結舌，驚歎不已。瞧，在暴風雨的襲擊下，丁香折彎了腰，萱草倒伏在地，山坡上的石階小道變成了一簾新闢的瀑布！這是突然下起冰雹。乒乒乓乓地砸在屋頂上，頃刻間草地上銀珠紛飛，稅窪裏水花四濺，我開始擔心園裏的蔬菜、水果，還有田裏的莊稼；不過，謝天謝地，冰雹個頭不大，數量也不多，還不足以造成什麼實際損失。至少這一次是不會了。

From this storm is already beginning to pass. The tension is released from the atmosphere, the curtains of rain let in more light. The storm has spend most of its energy, and what is left will be expended on the countryside to the east.
因爲這場暴風雨即將過去，緊張的氣氛緩和了，從雨幕中透出更多的亮光。暴風雨已經耗去了大部分的精力，還有一點餘威只能到東邊的鄉間去施展了。

I am drawn outside while the rain still falls. All around, there is a cool and welcome feeling. I breathe deeply and watch the sun's rays streaks through breaking clouds. One ray catches the drops that form on the edge of the roof, and I am treated to a row of tiny, quivering colors - my private rainbows.
雨仍在淅淅瀝瀝地下着，我卻忍不住走到室外，環境是那麼清新宜。我深深地呼吸着新鮮空氣，仰望着那船運而出的道道陽光，有一束陽光恰巧映射在屋檐邊的水珠上，我便看到一條細細的、微微顫動着的七色彩帶——一條供我個人欣賞的彩虹。

I pick my way through the west grass, my feet sinking into the saturated soil. The creek in the gully runs bank - full of brown water, but the small lakes and puddles are already disappearing into the earth. Every leaf, brick, single, and blade of grass is fresh-washed and shining.
我小心翼翼地穿過溼漉漉的草地，雙腳不時陷入雨水浸透的土壤中。河谷裏的小溪滿載着渾濁的泥水奔流而去，但那些小水窪和小水坑裏的水已滲入地下，都不見了蹤影。每片樹葉和草葉，每塊磚頭和卵石都衝得纖塵不染，熠熠發光。

Like the land, I am renewed, my spirits cleansed. I feel an infinite peace. Fro a time I have forgotten the worries and irritations I am nurturing before. They have been washed away by the glories of the storm.
像大地一樣，我也煥然一新，心靈得到了淨化。我感到無比的平靜，一時間全然忘掉了以往鬱積在心頭的煩惱與憂愁。他們都已被這輝煌壯麗的暴風雨滌盪得乾乾淨淨。