1
The first snow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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!(1) All with(2) save(3) the river, that marked its cour(4) by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky(5) now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies(6) of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what clusion! Every sound was muffled(7), every noi 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(8).
*注释
(1) the living:活着的人；the dead:死去的人。形容词（有时是分词）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 cour：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,默这个被省略的 beat确作"（心脏的）搏动"解，前面那个 beating指铃儿的碰击。
初雪
享利•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，落在世人的屋顶上，落在死才的坟墓上！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。初雪飘落时，是何等的宁谧，何等的幽静！一切声响都趋沉寂，一切噪音都化作柔和的音乐。再也听不见马蹄得得，再也听不见车轮辚辚！唯有雪橇的铃铛，奏和谐的乐声，那明快欢乐的节拍犹如孩子们心房的搏动。
2
THE HUMMING-BIRD
George Louis Leclerc Buffon
Of all animated beings this is the most elegant in form and the most brilliant in colors. The stones and metals polished by our arts are not comparable to(1) this jewel of Nature(2). She(3) has placed it least in size of(4) the order of birds(5), "maxime miranda in minimis."(6) Her masterpiece is this little humming-bird, and upon it she has heaped all the gifts(7)
which the other birds may only share. Lightness, rapidity, nimbleness, grace, and rich apparel(8) all belong to this little favorite. The emerald(9), the ruby(10), and the topaz(11) gleam upon its dress(12). It never soils them with the dust of earth, and in its aerial life scarcely touches the turf an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it has their freshness as well as their brightness. It lives upon their nectar, and dwells only in the climates where they perennially bloom.
*注释
(1) are not compareble t 比不上……的。
(2) this jewel of Nature: 这个大自然的珍宝。这里作者把美丽无比的蜂鸟比作大自然中的一颗天然珍宝。
(3) she: 指 Nature.
(4) in size of: 按……大小。
(5) the order of birds: 鸟类。
(6) maxime niranda in minimis: 拉丁语。卖火柴的小女孩读后感 maxime 解作"最大"， miranda 解作"值得称羡的东西"，minimis 解作"最小"。
(7) upon it she has heaped all : 大自然赋予蜂鸟……的一切资质。
(8) rich apparel: 原义为色彩鲜艳的衣服，这里借喻蜂鸟绚丽的羽毛。
(9) emerald: 原义绿宝石，这里指翠绿色。
(10) ruby: 原义红宝石，这里指艳红色。
(11) topaz: 原义黄玉，这里指嫩黄色。
(12) dress: 这里借喻蜂鸟的羽毛。
艾草治什么病蜂 鸟
毕国军乔治·路易·勒克莱尔·布封
在一切生物中，要算蜂鸟体形最优美、颜色最鲜艳。经过工艺加工的各种宝石和金属是无
法跟这个大自然的珍宝媲美的。大自然按照鸟类的大小把它列为最小号，真是"最小的绝妙珍品"。这种小蜂鸟是大自然的杰作。大自然把其他鸟类只能分有其中的一部分的种种天赋全部慷慨地给了它。这个不宠儿具有轻盈、敏捷、灵活、优雅以及羽毛绚丽等一切妙处。那翠绿的、艳红的、嫩黄色的羽毛闪闪发光。蜂鸟从不让它的羽毛沾染尘土，它生活在天空中，一刻也不碰到草皮。它总是空中飞翔，从花丛飞向花丛；它象花一样的新鲜，又象花一样的艳丽。鸟*花蜜为生，它只生活在四季鲜花盛开的地带。
3
Pines
John Ruskin
The pine, placed nearly always among scenes disordered and desolate, brings into them all possible elements of order and precision. Lowland trees may lean to this side and that, though it is but a meadow breeze that bends them, or a bank of cowslips(1) from which their trunks lean aslope(2). But let storm and avalanche do their worst(3), and let the pine
find only a ledge of vertical precipice to cling to, it will nevertheless grow straight. Thrust a rod from its last shoot down the stem; it shall point to the center of the earth as long as the tree lives.(4) It may be well also for what they need, and to take all kinds of irregular shape and extension. But the pine is trained to need nothing and endure everything. I is resolvedly whole, lf-contained, desiring nothing but rightness, content with resrticted completion. Tall or short, it will be straight.
*注释
(1) a bank of cowslips ：一排野樱草。它与上文中的a meadow breeze 是并列成分。
(2) from which their trunks lean aslope：树干由于野樱草的影响而倾斜。
(3) do their worst：让……恣意肆虐。
(4) Thrust as long as the tree lives：这个句子的意思是：松树活着永远长得笔直，象插在一旁的杆子一样的直。松树如果长弯了，就会把插一旁的杆子推歪而不能笔直地指着地心了。 it shall shall用于第三人称时表示说话者的意向。这里作“应该”解。
(5) reach hither and thither：向个方向伸展。 hither and thither=here and there.
松树
约翰·拉斯金 10月6日
松树几乎总是长在凌乱荒凉地地方，但它却把周围的景色点缀得井井有条，蔚然可观。低地上的树木会东倒西歪，虽说使它们弓腰曲背的，不过是草地上吹过的一阵阵微风；或者，它们的躯干歪到一边，不过时由于一排野樱草的影响。可是，尽管风暴和寻崩姿意摧残，尽管松树所能依附的只是陡壁上一块凸出的岩石，它依然长得笔挺。从它初发的嫩枝旁沿茎插一根笔直的杆子，只要这树活着，杆子将一直指着地的中心。低地上的树，可能为了获得它们所需要的东西，枝桠四下仲延，形成各种不规则的形状，任意扩张。然而松树却饱经锻炼，什么也不需要，什么都能忍受。它坚定完整，独立成长，除了长得挺拔正直，别无所求，虽受限制而依然完美，它便感到满足。不管是高是矮，它总是长得笔直。
4
Trees
Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never e
A poem lovely as a tree;
A tree who hungry mouth is prest(1)
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast(2); 世界贵车排行榜
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms(3) to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon who bosom snow has lain,
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
*注释
(1) prest: presd的变体，为了与下面一行最后一个词breast押韵而采用。
(2)flowing breast： 相当于虚拟内存有用吗breast flowing with milk，解作"流出奶汁的乳房’，用来比喻土壤的肥沃。
(3)leafy arms： 指叶子茂盛的树枝
树
乔埃斯·基尔默
我想我永远也不会看到
象一棵树那样优美的诗篇，
树那饥渴的嘴唇紧紧贴住
大地乳汁甘美的胸脯，
它整天仰望着上帝，
举起枝叶繁茂的手臂祈祷，雷锋月活动
它那茂密如发的枝叶里
夏天会筑起知更鸟的安乐窝，简历封皮
雪花飘落在它怀里，
它同雨水亲密无间。
诗歌出自我等愚人之手，
而树却是造化的天工。
5
Reading Good Books
Henry Addington Bruce
Devote some of your leisure, I repeat, to cultivating a love of reading good books. Fortunate indeed are tho who contrive to make themlves genuine book-lovers. For book- lovers have some noteworthy advantages over other people. They need never know lonely hours so long as they have books around them, and the better the books the more delightful the company(1). From good books, moreover, they draw much besides entertainment. They gain mental food such as few companions can supply.(2) Even while resting from their labors they are, through the books they read, equipping themlves to perform tho labors more efficiently. This albeit~ they may not be deliberately reading to improve their mind. All unconsciously the ideas they derive from the printed pages(4) are stored up, to be worked over(5) by the imagination for their future profit.
