# 第三册 Lesson 48 The silent village 沉默的村庄

## 一、课文原文

In this much-travelled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists. We always assume that villagers in remote places are friendly and hospitable. But people who are cut off not only from foreign tourists, but even from their own countrymen can be hostile to travellers. Visits to really remote villages are seldom enjoyable — as my wife and I discovered during a tour through the Balkans.

We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity. These attracted many visitors, for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town. This was more than we could bear, so we decided to spend our last day exploring the countryside. Taking a path which led out of the town, we crossed a few fields until we came to a dense wood. We expected the path to end abruptly, but we found that it traced its way through the trees. We tramped through the wood for over two hours until we arrived at a deep stream. We could see that the path continued on the other side, but we had no idea how we could get across the stream. Suddenly my wife spotted a boat moored to the bank. In it there was a boatman fast asleep. We gently woke him up and asked him to ferry us to the other side. Though he was reluctant to do so at first, we eventually persuaded him to take us.

The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain. The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks. The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby. Sitting down on a dilapidated wooden fence near the field, we opened a couple of tins of sardines and had a picnic lunch. All at once, I noticed that my wife seemed to be filled with alarm. Looking up I saw that we were surrounded by children in rags who were looking at us silently as we ate. We offered them food and spoke to them kindly, but they remained motionless. I concluded that they were simply shy of strangers. When we later walked down the main street of the village, we were followed by a silent procession of children. The village which had seemed deserted, immediately came to life. Faces appeared at windows. Men in shirt sleeves stood outside their houses and glared at us. Old women in black shawls peered at us from doorways. The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard. There was no doubt that we were unwelcome visitors. We needed no further warning. Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream where we hoped the boatman was waiting.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| inaccessible | /ˌɪnəkˈsesəbl/ | adj. | 难以到达的 | inaccessible to tourists 游客难以到达 |
| hospitable | /hɒˈspɪtəbl/ | adj. | 好客的 | friendly and hospitable 友好好客 |
| hostile | /ˈhɒstaɪl/ | adj. | 敌意的 | hostile to travellers 对旅行者有敌意 |
| vicinity | /vɪˈsɪnəti/ | n. | 附近，邻近 | in the vicinity 在附近 |
| fresco | /ˈfreskəʊ/ | n. | 壁画 | beautifully preserved frescoes 保存完好的壁画 |
| descend | /dɪˈsend/ | v. | 蜂拥而至 | descended on the town 蜂拥来到小镇 |
| tramp | /træmp/ | v. | 步行，跋涉 | tramped through the wood 穿过树林 |
| moor | /mʊə/ | v. | 停泊 | a boat moored to the bank 停泊在岸边的船 |
| perch | /pɜːtʃ/ | v. | 位于高处 | perched on the steep sides 坐落在陡坡上 |
| straggling | /ˈstræɡlɪŋ/ | adj. | 零落的 | straggling unmade road 零落的土路 |
| forbidding | /fəˈbɪdɪŋ/ | adj. | 令人生畏的 | the village looked forbidding 村庄看起来令人生畏 |
| dilapidated | /dɪˈlæpɪdeɪtɪd/ | adj. | 破旧的 | dilapidated wooden fence 破旧的木栅栏 |
| shawl | /ʃɔːl/ | n. | 披肩 | old women in black shawls 披黑披肩的老妇 |
| procession | /prəˈseʃən/ | n. | 行列，队伍 | a silent procession of children 一队沉默的孩子 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 独立主格结构

> The village seemed deserted, **the only sign of life being** an ugly-looking black goat...

名词 + 现在分词，构成独立主格，补充说明主句情境。

### 2. not only...but (also)... 不但……而且……

> People who are cut off **not only** from foreign tourists, **but even** from their own countrymen can be hostile...

### 3. more than one can bear 超过某人的承受能力

> This was **more than we could bear**.

= unbearable; intolerable

### 4. 现在分词作状语

> **Taking a path which led out of the town**, we crossed a few fields...
> **Turning back down the main street**, we quickened our pace...

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. cut off from 与……隔绝
> People who are **cut off** not only from foreign tourists, but even from their own countrymen...

### 2. descend on 蜂拥而至
> Several bus loads of tourists **descended on** the town.

带有"突然大量到来"的贬义色彩。

### 3. shy of strangers 对陌生人害羞
> They were simply **shy of** strangers.

### 4. 长难句分析
> The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard.

简洁有力的句子。"not a sound"强调绝对寂静，与村庄标题"沉默"呼应。

## 五、课文翻译

在这个旅行频繁的世界里，仍然有成千上万的地方是游客难以到达的。我们总是以为偏远地区的村民是友好好客的。但是那些不仅与外国游客隔绝，甚至与本国同胞隔绝的人可能对旅行者怀有敌意。访问真正偏远的村庄很少是令人愉快的——正如我和妻子在巴尔干半岛旅行时所发现的那样。

我们在一个小镇上待了几天，参观了附近的一些古老教堂。这些教堂吸引了许多游客，因为它们不仅有很高的建筑价值，还保存着大量精美的壁画。在离开的前一天，好几车游客涌入了小镇。这让我们无法忍受，于是决定最后一天去乡间探险。沿着一条通向镇外的小路，我们穿过几块田地，来到一片密林。我们以为小路会突然中断，但发现它蜿蜒穿过树林。我们在林中跋涉了两个多小时，来到一条深溪旁。我们能看到小路在溪流对岸延续，但不知道怎么过河。突然我妻子发现岸边停着一条船。船里有个船夫正在酣睡。我们轻轻叫醒他，请他渡我们过去。虽然他起初不太愿意，但我们最终说服了他。

小路通向一个坐落在陡峭山坡上的小村庄。这个地方由一条零落的土路组成，两旁排列着小房子。即使在晴朗的蓝天下，村庄看起来也令人生畏，因为所有的房子都是用灰色的泥砖建造的。村庄似乎空无一人，唯一的生命迹象是附近田里拴在树上的一只丑陋的黑山羊。我们在田边一段破旧的木栅栏上坐下，打开几罐沙丁鱼野餐。突然间，我注意到妻子似乎惊恐万分。抬起头来，我看到我们被一群衣衫褴褛的孩子包围了，他们在我们吃东西时默默地看着我们。我们给他们食物，和蔼地和他们说话，但他们纹丝不动。我断定他们只是对陌生人害羞。后来当我们沿着村子的主街走时，一队沉默的孩子跟在我们后面。原本看似空无一人的村庄立刻活了过来。面孔出现在窗户上。穿衬衫的男人站在房子外面瞪着我们。披黑披肩的老妇人从门口窥视我们。最令人害怕的是听不到一点声音。毫无疑问，我们是不受欢迎的来访者。我们不需要更多的警告。转身沿着主街回去，我们加快脚步，匆匆向溪流走去，希望船夫还在那里等着。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **悬念营造**：从宁静到诡异，气氛逐渐紧张
2. **感官描写**：视觉（灰泥砖、黑山羊、衣衫褴褛的孩子）、听觉（绝对寂静）
3. **反差对比**：以为村民友好→实际遭受敌意

### 文化背景
- 巴尔干半岛（the Balkans）是欧洲东南部地区，有许多偏远的山村
- 壁画（fresco）是东正教教堂的传统装饰艺术
- 黑色披肩是巴尔干地区老年妇女的传统服饰

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **独立主格**：the only sign of life being...
2. **分词作状语**：taking a path, turning back
3. **词汇搭配**：cut off from, descend on, shy of
4. **写作练习**：描述一次旅行中的意外经历，营造紧张气氛

## 八、本课小结

本课讲述了在巴尔干半岛偏远村庄遭遇敌意对待的经历。语法重点是独立主格结构和现在分词作状语。词汇方面掌握inaccessible、hospitable、hostile、fresco、dilapidated等核心词。写作上学习悬念营造和感官描写。