The Enchantment of Creeks

佚名 / Anonymous

Nearly everybody has a creek in his past， a conf？iding waterway that rose in the spring of youth. A park ranger’s voice softens as he talks of a boyhood creek in Louisiana where he swam and f？ished. A conservationist’s eyes sparkle as he recalls building dams on Strawberry Creek in California of his youth. An Ohio woman feels suddenly at home again as she remembers catching crayf？ish in the creek behind her parents’ house.

My creek would between Grandfather’s apricot orchard and a neighbor’s hillside pasture. Its banks were shaded by cottonwoods and redwood trees and a thick tangle of blackberries and wild grapevines. On hot summer days the quiet water f？lowed clear and cold over gravel bars where I f？ished for trout.

Nothing historic ever happens in these recollected creeks. But their persistence in memory suggests that creeks are bigger than they seem， more a part of our hearts and minds than mighty rivers.

Creek time is measured in the lives of strange creatures in sand-f？lecked caddis worms under the rocks， sudden gossamer clouds of mayf？lies in the afternoon， or minnows darting like slivers of inspiration into the dimness of creek fate. Mysteries f？loat in creeks under the roots of trees.

While rivers are heavy with sophistication and sediment， creeks are clear， innocent， boisterous， full of dream and promise. A child can wade across them without a parent’s cautions. You can go it alone， jig for crayf？ish， swing from ropes along the bank. Creeks belong to childhood， drawing you into the wider world， teaching you the curve of the earth.

Above all， a creek offers the mind a chance to penetrate the alien universe of water， of tadpoles and trout. What drifts in creek water is the possibility of other worlds inside and above our own. Poet Robert Frost wrote： “It f？lows between us， over us， and with us. And it is time， strength， tone， light， life， and love.”

幾乎每個(gè)人的過去都有一條小溪，一條源于青春之泉、傾訴往事的小溪。公園護(hù)林員談起自己小時(shí)候在路易斯安那的一條小溪上游泳、釣魚時(shí)，聲音變得柔和了；環(huán)保員回想起他在加利福尼亞的斯特羅伯利溪流上筑水壩的年輕歲月時(shí)，眼睛發(fā)出光芒；當(dāng)一位俄亥俄州婦女想起自己在父母屋后的小溪里捉小蝦時(shí)，頓感重返故里。

我的小溪在祖父家的杏樹園與臨近的山邊草地之間蜿蜒流淌。小溪兩岸覆蓋著三角葉楊和紅杉，濃密的黑莓和野葡萄藤交織在一起；酷暑時(shí)節(jié)，我坐在礫石灘上釣鱒魚，清澈涼爽的溪流就從上面靜靜流過。

雖然，從來不曾有歷史性的巨變發(fā)生這些平靜的小溪上，但它們卻在我們的記憶中永葆青春，預(yù)示著它們似乎比我們看到的更為寬廣；在我們心目中的分量也比任何氣勢宏偉的江川更大。

小溪的時(shí)光是用溪流中奇妙的生靈——隱藏在巖石下的沙斑石蠶來計(jì)量的；午后出現(xiàn)的蜉蝣薄如云翼；鯉科小魚如同閃閃靈光飛快地游向小溪深處。神秘之物漂浮在樹根下的小溪上。

河流因其渾濁和沉積而顯得沉重，但小溪卻清澈見底、潔凈無瑕、喧囂吵鬧，充滿夢想和期待。孩子可以涉水而過，父母們完全可以放心。你也可以獨(dú)自前往，歡快地捉蝦米，在岸邊掛起繩索蕩秋千。小溪屬于童年，引領(lǐng)你進(jìn)入更寬廣的世界，教你大地的蜿蜒。

最為重要的是，小溪能給心靈一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，去看看水中的另一個(gè)世界，走近蝌蚪和鱒魚。溪水中的漂流之物可能是內(nèi)部的另一個(gè)世界，超越了我們的世界。詩人羅伯特·弗羅斯特曾寫道：“它在我們之間流淌，超越我們，與我們同在。它是時(shí)間、力量、樂章、光芒、生命和愛。”

記憶填空

1. My creek would Grandfather’s apricot orchard and a neighbor’s hillside pasture. Its banks were shaded cottonwoods and redwood trees and a thick tangle of blackberries and wild grapevines. On summer days the quiet water f？lowed clear and over gravel bars where I f？ished for trout.

2. A child can wade across them a parent’s cautions. You can go it ， jig for crayf？ish， swing from ropes along the bank. Creeks belong childhood， drawing you into the wider world， teaching you the curve of the .

佳句翻譯

1. 幾乎每個(gè)人的過去都有一條小溪，一條源于青春之泉、傾訴往事的小溪。

2. 酷暑時(shí)節(jié)，我坐在礫石灘上釣鱒魚，清澈涼爽的溪流就從上面靜靜流過。

3. 河流因其渾濁和沉積而顯得沉重，但小溪卻清澈見底、潔凈無瑕、喧囂吵鬧，充滿夢想和期待。