(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Abel Halleck was 59 years old when his wife Estelle died. Her death was sudden and unexpected, the kind of death you cannot forget. Abel Halleck buried his wife, then he stopped doing anything. His work, the world, life and all its possibilities were no longer important to him. He had learned quickly that the laws about life he had trusted did not really exist after all. For a year, Abel Halleck did nothing, but one morning, he decided to study Latin. He chose Latin because it was a dead language. It would never be important or even useful to him in the years he had left to live. And so, Abel Halleck entered a Latin class taught by Silvia Warren on Monday evenings.
Silvia Warren was thin and small; her long straight hair was silver-gray. She smiled easily at everything like a young person. She had taught Latin for 23 years at the local high school. When she was 53, the school stopped offering Latin. Latin was not useful in a world excited by technology and space travel. Silvia Warren retired, now she spent her time painting, taking pictures, playing the piano and visiting with her friends. She also taught Latin to adults at the local high school in the evening. She had never married or even been in love. She wondered about this more than anything else about her life. Men had found her good-looking and still did, but no one had come along, ever. During the first Latin class that night, a storm darkened the sky. After class, Abel Halleck walked with Silvia Warren to the door near the school parking lot; they stood near the open door watching the storm. "It's a bad night to be out," he said. She nodded, "but it can't rain this hard for long," she said. She held her books tightly to her body and disappeared into the rain.
When Abel Halleck left the building a few minutes later, he saw her bending over the engine of her car. "It won't start," she said. He looked at the engine, after a moment, he found the problem. "It's the radio static depressor," he said, "try it now." The car started at once. "Wait," he said, "you might still have problems before you get home, stop at my house and I will fix it for you."He drove home slowly and put his car into the large garage connected to his house. Silvia Warren drove in after him. Abel Halleck's garage was really a workshop. Here he had all the tools and equipment he needed to create or repair anything. In less than 5 minutes, he fixed her car. "There," he said, "better than new. Um, would you like a cup of coffee?" She walked with him to the door that connected the garage to the house. Abel Halleck moved his fingers over a metal square on the door and it opened. "What are you, Mr. Halleck, a magician?" Silvia Warren laughed excitedly. "I'm retired," he said, "but I was an inventor. I understood how things worked and I found ways to make them work better." He told her about the work he had done. He had not spoken so much to someone for a long time.
The following Monday evening, Abel Halleck went back to Silvia Warren's Latin class and he returned every Monday night. They got to know each other better. Silvia Warren introduced him to her closest friend, Mildred Lethem who taught biology and collected rare butterflies. One afternoon, the 3 of them met for a coffee. "I think you'll be interested in insects, Mr. Halleck." Mildred Lethem told him. "They are a lot like machines. They are fascinating because they are perfectly predictable. You always know what they will do." "I'm too busy." Abel Halleck said sharply. "My head is too full of Latin." He finished his coffee, said goodbye and left. Halfway home from Mildred Lethem's house, he turned around and drove to the local public library. He wanted to find out if she was right when she said insects were perfectly predictable. In one book called "The Life of Insects", he learned about diapause. He read "this condition is a means for surviving adverse seasons. The insect enters a deep sleep, all growth stops and its body functions slow down. The state of diapause can last for 2 or 3 years or even longer, but finally it ends and the insect awakes to continue its normal life." Abel Halleck closed the book.
His days filled up. He studied Latin, visited his daughter and her family once a week. He met with Silvia Warren and Mildred Lethem for dinner often, and when April came, he went with them into the country. The experience was new to Abel Halleck. He knew about engines and machines, but the woods and the river, the animals and the insects of the fields belonged to another world. He watched Mildred Lethem and Silvia Warren as they explored ahead of him. Silvia jumped up on a wide, flat rock. Throwing open her arms to the sky, she began reciting Latin poetry to the wild flowers and the blue sky. Abel Halleck smiled and looked up the sky himself. When he looked down, she was gone. Mildred Lethem was running to the rock. He stood up quickly and hurried down the side of the hill to them. Silvia was lying very still on the ground when he reached her. Mildred Lethem was by her side, crying softly.
At the hospital, the doctor asked them, "Are you her family?" "No," Mildred Lethem said, "there is no family, we are her friends." They were sitting in a small office where they had been waiting for hours. "We don't have all the tests back yet," the doctor continued, "but it looks like a form of lupus erythematosus. "What is that?" Abel Halleck asked. The doctor explained. "It was a blood disease that caused the body to attack its own tissues. In time, it killed." "How much time?"Abel asked. "It's not predictable," the doctor said, "the disease suddenly goes away and then just as it suddenly returns. With lupus, you never know." Abel Halleck did not sleep well. He woke up at 4 'o clock in the morning, got dressed and drove to the university, three hours away. At the university, he went to the library. He took the Latin that he knew and used it to make a gift for her. He wanted to say what he wanted her to know in language better than his own. So he worked his way through books of Latin poetry and stories. When he found a sentence he wanted, he wrote it down in Latin.
From Lucretius, he wrote, "Like children trembling in the dark, we sit and are afraid. And all our fears are empty like the things children imagine in the dark." From Horace, "The ice melts and spring comes, followed by summer soon to die. For after her comes autumn and then back to winter when nothing moves." From Cattulus, her favorite poet, he copied, "If a wished-for thing and a thing past hoping for should come to a man, will he not welcome it the more? "Therefore, it is more welcome to me than gold that Lesbia brings back my desire of old." Then, he picked up his pen to write to her in his own words. "All of this means that we like the insects must die. Death must come to all living creatures. If there is comfort anywhere, it is in the truth and in the act of these words." Mildred Lethem was with her when he came into the hospital room. He handed Silvia Warren the paper, she read it and cried then she dried her eyes. She looked up at him, smiling and nodded at once. And together they settled down to wait for the long night soon to come.
重点解析
1.no longer 不再；再也不
They no longer had him as a friend.
他们再也不把他看成朋友了。
2.more than 多于；超过
He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers.
他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。
3.for a long time 长时间；很长一段时间
He has been waiting here for a long time.
他在这儿等了许久。
4.pick up 拿起；拾起
Ridley picked up a pencil and fiddled with it.
里德利拿起一支铅笔，不停地在手里摆弄着。
参考译文
《在不利的季节生存》。亚伯·哈立克的妻子埃斯特尔去世时，他59岁。她的去世很突然又出乎意料，让人难以忘记。亚伯·哈立克埋葬妻子后，什么都不做了。他的工作、世界、生活和一切可能对他来说都不再重要了。他很快认识到，他所相信的有关生命的法则毕竟并不存在。一年来，亚伯·哈立克什么也没做。但有一天早上，他决定学习拉丁语。他选择拉丁语，是因为这是一种死气沉沉的语言。在他的余生里，对他来说都不重要，甚至都不会用到。于是，亚伯·哈立克在周一晚上参加了西尔维娅·沃伦教授的拉丁语课程。
西尔维娅·沃伦又瘦又小，一头长而直的银灰色头发。她像个年轻人一样对任何事都轻松地报以微笑。她在当地高中教了23年拉丁语。53岁时，学校停了拉丁语课程。在一个人们对科技和太空旅行感到兴奋的世界里，拉丁语并没有用处。西尔维娅·沃伦退休了，现在她把时间花在绘画、拍照、弹钢琴和拜访朋友上。晚上，她还在当地的高中教成人拉丁语。她从未结婚，甚至从未恋爱过。她最想知道的就是这件事。男人们觉得她长得很漂亮，现在仍然如此，但从来没人来追求她。当晚第一堂拉丁语课上，一场暴风雨使天空变得暗淡。下课后，亚伯·哈立克和西尔维娅·沃伦一起走到学校停车场附近的门口；他们站在敞开的门旁，看着暴风雨。“这样的夜晚外出很糟糕。”。她点了点头，说：“但这么大的雨下不了多久。”。她把书紧紧地抱在身上，消失在雨中。
几分钟后，亚伯·哈立克离开大楼时，他看到她正俯身在汽车引擎上。“不启动了，”她说。他看了看发动机，过了一会儿，找到了问题。“是收音机的静电抑制器，”他说，“现在试试看。”汽车立刻发动起来了。“等等，”他说，“你在回家之前可能还会出问题，在我家停一下，我帮你修好。”他慢慢地开车回家，把车停在与他家相连的大车库里。西尔维娅·沃伦开车跟着他。亚伯·哈立克的车库真是个作坊。他在这儿拥有制造或修理任何东西所需的所有工具和设备。不到5分钟，他就修好了她的车。“好了，”他说，“比新车都好。嗯，你想喝杯咖啡吗？”她和他走到连接车库和房子的门前。亚伯·哈立克用手指摸了摸门上的一个金属正方形，门就开了。“你是什么人，哈立克先生，魔术师吗？”西尔维娅·沃伦兴奋地笑了起来。“我退休了，”他说，“但我是个发明家。我明白事物是如何运作的，我找到了让它们更好地工作的方法。”他给她讲述自己所做的工作，他很久没跟人说过这么多话了。
接下来的周一晚上，亚伯·哈立克回去上西尔维娅·沃伦的拉丁课，他每周一晚上都会来。他们更了解对方了。西尔维娅·沃伦把他介绍给自己最亲密的朋友，米尔德里德·莱瑟姆，她教生物，收集稀有蝴蝶。一天下午，他们三人碰面一起喝咖啡。“我想你会对昆虫感兴趣，哈立克先生。”米尔德里德·莱瑟姆对他说。“它们很像机器。它们之所以引人入胜，是因为它们完全可以预测。你总是知道它们会做什么。”“我太忙了。”亚伯·哈立克急促地说道。“我的脑袋里都是拉丁语。”他喝完咖啡，说完再见就走了。从米尔德里德·莱瑟姆家回家的路上，他转了个弯，开车去了当地的公共图书馆。她说昆虫完全可以预测，他想知道她说的是否是正确。在一本名为《昆虫的生活》的书中，他了解到滞育。他读到“这种状况是在不利的季节中生存的一种手段。昆虫进入深度睡眠，所有的生长停止，其身体功能也减慢。滞育状态可以持续2、3年，甚至更长时间，但最终会结束。昆虫醒来，继续正常生活。” 亚伯·哈立克合上了书。
他的日子过的很充实。他学习拉丁语，每周去看望女儿和她的家人一次。他经常与西尔维娅·沃伦和米尔德里德·莱瑟姆共进晚餐。4月份到来时，他就和她们一起去了乡下。这种经历对亚伯·哈立克来说是新鲜事。他了解发动机和机器，但是树林和河流，田野里的动物和昆虫属于另一个世界。他看着米尔德雷德·莱瑟姆和西尔维娅·沃伦在他前面探险，西尔维亚跳到一块又宽又平的岩石上，她向着天空张开双臂，开始向野花和蓝天朗诵拉丁诗歌。亚伯·哈立克笑了笑，自己抬头看着天空。他低头一看，她就不见了。米尔德雷德·莱瑟姆跑向岩石。他很快站起来，急忙下山去到她们那儿。他来到西尔维亚身边时，她躺在地上一动不动。米尔德雷德·莱瑟姆在她身边，轻轻地哭泣。
在医院，医生问他们：“你们是她的家人吗？”“不是，”米尔德雷德·莱瑟姆说，“不是家人，我们是她的朋友。”他们坐在一间小办公室里，他们在那里已经等了好几个小时。“我们还没有拿到所有的检查结果，”医生继续说，“但看起来像是红斑狼疮。”“那是什么？”亚伯·哈立克问道。医生解释道。“这是一种血液病，导致身体攻击自己的组织。最终，造成死亡。”“要多长时间？”亚伯问道。“这没法预测，”医生说，“这种病突然消失，然后又突然复发。对于红斑狼疮来说，你永远无法知道。”亚伯·哈立克没睡好。他早上4点醒来，穿好衣服，开车去了要三小时车程的一所大学。在大学里，他去了图书馆。他用他懂的拉丁语给她制作礼物。他想用她更了解的语言来表达想让她知道的话。所以，他努力阅读拉丁诗歌和故事。当他找到一个想要的句子时，就用拉丁文写下来。
从卢克莱修那里，他抄写道：“我们就像在黑暗中颤抖的孩子们般，感到恐惧的坐着。我们所有的恐惧都是空虚的，就像孩子们在黑暗中想象的那样。”从霍勒斯那里，他抄写道“冰融春来，夏天也要结束。因为在她之后到来的是秋天，然后又回到冬天，万物静止。”他从她最喜欢的诗人卡特卢斯那里抄写道，“如果一个人想要的东西和曾经所希望的事情发生了，他会更不珍视吗？”“因此，莱斯比亚把我对旧日的渴望带回来，对我来说比金子更珍贵。”然后，他拿起笔，用自己的话给她写道。“所有这些都意味着，我们就像昆虫一样肯定会死去。所有的生物都会死去。如果真的存在慰藉，那么这些话都是真实的。”亚伯·哈立克走进病房时，米尔德雷德·莱瑟姆正陪着西尔维娅·沃伦。他把纸递给西尔维娅·沃伦，她看后哭了，然后擦干眼睛。她抬头看着他，微笑着，立刻点了点头。他们一起平静下来，等待即将到来的漫漫长夜。
