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原文：

THE FIRST SNOW

The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.  

注释：

① the living: 活着的人； the dead: 死去的人。形容词（或分词）前面加上定冠词 the 表示具有某一特性的一类人。

② all white=All was white,省略句。

③ save: 除……以外，介词。

④ marked its course: 标示出它所经过的路线。

⑤ against the leaden sky: 在铅灰色天空的衬托下。

⑥ intricacies: 这里指树枝的缠结交错。

⑦ was muffled: （声音）被压抑而变得低沉。

⑧ beating…as the hearts of children = beating … as the hearts of children beat, 这个被省略的beat作“（心脏的）搏动”解，前面那个beating指铃儿的碰击。

译文：

初     雪

作者：亨利·沃兹沃思·朗费罗

　　初雪飘临。多么美啊！它整日整夜那么静静地飘着，落在山岭上，落在草地上，停在世人的屋顶上，盖在逝者的坟墓上！在一片白茫茫之中，只有河流在美丽的画面上划出一道曲曲弯弯的黑线；还有那叶儿落净的树木，映衬着铅灰色的天空，此刻更显得枝丫交错，姿态万千。雪花飘落时，是何等的宁静 ，何等的肃穆！一切声响都趋沉寂，一切噪音都化作柔和的音乐。再也听不到马蹄得得，再也听不见车轮辚辚，唯有雪橇的铃铛奏出和谐的乐声，那明快欢乐的节拍犹如孩子们心房的跳动！