# 第三册 Lesson 57 Back in the old country 重返故里

## 一、课文原文

I stopped to let the car cool off and to study the map. I had expected to be near my objective by now, but everything still seemed alien to me. I was only five when my father had taken me abroad, and that was eighteen years ago. When my mother had died after a tragic accident, he did not quickly recover from the shock and loneliness. Everything around him was full of her presence, continually reopening the wound. So he decided to emigrate. In the new country he became absorbed in making a new life for the two of us, so that he gradually ceased to grieve. He did not marry again and I was brought up without a woman's care; but I lacked for nothing, for he was both father and mother to me. He always meant to go back one day, but not to stay. His roots and mine had become too firmly embedded in the new land. But he wanted to see the old folk again and to visit my mother's grave. He became mortally ill a few months before we had planned to go and, when he knew that he was dying, he made me promise to go on my own.

I hired a car the day after landing and bought a comprehensive book of maps, which I found most helpful on the cross-country journey, but which I did not think I should need on the last stage. It was not that I actually remembered anything at all. But my father had described over and over again what we should see at every milestone, after leaving the nearest town, so that I was positive I should recognize it as familiar territory. Well, I had been wrong, for I was now lost.

I looked at the map and then at the milometer. I had come ten miles since leaving the town, and at this point, according to my father, I should be looking at farms and cottages in a valley, with the spire of the church of our village showing in the far distance. I could see no valley, no farms, no cottages and no church spire — only a lake. I decided that I must have taken a wrong turning somewhere. So I drove back to the town and began to retrace the route, taking frequent glances at the map. I landed up at the same corner. The curious thing was that the lake was not marked on the map. I felt as if I had stumbled into a nightmare country, as you sometimes do in dreams. And, as in a nightmare, there was nobody in sight to help me. Fortunately for me, as I was wondering what to do next, there appeared on the horizon a man on horseback, riding in my direction. I waited till he came near, then I asked him the way to our old village. He said that there was now no village. I thought he must have misunderstood me, so I repeated its name. This time he pointed to the lake. The village no longer existed because it had been submerged, and all the valley too. The lake was not a natural one, but a man-made reservoir.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| alien | /ˈeɪliən/ | adj. | 陌生的，异己的 | everything seemed alien 一切都显得陌生 |
| emigrate | /ˈemɪɡreɪt/ | v. | 移居国外 | emigrate to a new country 移居新国家 |
| absorb | /əbˈzɔːb/ | v. | 全神贯注 | became absorbed in 沉浸于 |
| grieve | /ɡriːv/ | v. | 悲伤 | ceased to grieve 不再悲伤 |
| embed | /ɪmˈbed/ | v. | 扎根 | firmly embedded 深深扎根 |
| mortally | /ˈmɔːtəli/ | adv. | 致命地 | mortally ill 病入膏肓 |
| comprehensive | /ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv/ | adj. | 全面的，详尽的 | comprehensive book of maps 详尽的地图册 |
| milometer | /maɪˈlɒmɪtə/ | n. | 里程计 | — |
| spire | /ˈspaɪə/ | n. | 尖塔 | church spire 教堂尖塔 |
| retrace | /rɪˈtreɪs/ | v. | 折回，原路返回 | retrace the route 原路折回 |
| submerge | /səbˈmɜːdʒ/ | v. | 淹没 | the village had been submerged 村庄被淹没了 |
| reservoir | /ˈrezəvwɑː/ | n. | 水库 | man-made reservoir 人工水库 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. had + 过去分词（过去完成时）

> I **had expected** to be near my objective by now.
> My father **had taken** me abroad eighteen years ago.
> My mother **had died** after a tragic accident.

过去完成时表示在过去某个时间之前已经发生的动作，本课大量使用以叙述过去事件的先后顺序。

### 2. as if + 虚拟语气

> I felt **as if I had stumbled** into a nightmare country.

as if引导的从句用过去完成时，表示与过去事实相反的假设。

### 3. It was not that... 但……

> **It was not that** I actually remembered anything at all. But my father had described...

用于否定一种可能性，再提出真正的原因。

### 4. so that 结果/目的状语从句

> He became absorbed in making a new life, **so that** he gradually ceased to grieve.

so that引导结果状语从句，表示"以至于"。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. cool off 冷却
> I stopped to let the car **cool off**.

### 2. on my own 独自
> He made me promise to go **on my own**.

= by myself; alone

### 3. be positive that 确信
> I **was positive** I should recognize it as familiar territory.

= be certain/sure that

### 4. 长难句分析
> The village no longer existed because it had been submerged, and all the valley too.

简洁有力的结尾句。村庄和山谷都沉入了水底——这是全课情感高潮。

## 五、课文翻译

我停下车让发动机冷却，同时查看地图。我原以为现在应该接近目的地了，但一切对我来说仍然很陌生。父亲带我出国时我才五岁，那是十八年前的事了。母亲在一次悲惨的事故中去世后，父亲没有很快从震惊和孤独中恢复过来。他周围的一切都充满了她的影子，不断触动着他的伤痛。于是他决定移居国外。在新的国家里，他全神贯注地为我们两人营造新生活，渐渐地他不再悲伤了。他没有再婚，我在没有女性照管的环境中长大；但我什么都不缺，因为他既是父亲又是母亲。他一直想有一天回去看看，但不是留下来。他的根和我的根都已经在新土地上扎得太深了。但他想再看看老朋友，去母亲的墓前祭拜。在我们计划出发的前几个月，他病入膏肓，当他知道自己即将离世时，他让我答应独自回去。

着陆后第二天我就租了一辆车，买了一本详尽的地图册，我发现它在乡间旅行中非常有用，但我认为在最后一段路上用不着。并不是我真的记得什么。而是父亲曾经一遍又一遍地描述离开最近的城镇后在每个里程碑处应该看到什么，所以我很确信我会认出这是熟悉的地方。然而，我错了，因为我现在迷路了。

我看了看地图，又看了看里程计。我离开城镇已经走了十英里，按照父亲的说法，在这一点上我应该看到山谷中的农场和农舍，远处可以看到我们村庄教堂的尖塔。我看不到山谷、农场、农舍和教堂尖塔——只有一个湖。我断定我一定是在某个地方走错了路。于是我开车回到城镇，开始重新走那条路，不时看看地图。我又到了同一个地方。奇怪的是地图上没有标出这个湖。我觉得仿佛误入了一个噩梦般的国度，就像你在梦中有时会做的那样。而且就像在噩梦中一样，周围没有一个人可以帮助我。幸运的是，正当我不知下一步该怎么办时，地平线上出现了一个骑马的人，朝我的方向走来。我等到他走近，然后问他去我们旧村庄的路怎么走。他说现在没有村庄了。我以为他误解了我，所以我重复了村名。这次他指了指那个湖。村庄已经不存在了，因为它已经被淹没了，整个山谷也是。这个湖不是天然的，而是一个人工水库。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **悬念设置**：迷路→找不到村庄→发现真相，逐步揭示
2. **情感渲染**：父亲的思乡之情贯穿全文
3. **噩梦比喻**：将迷路比作噩梦，渲染焦虑不安

### 文化背景
- 欧洲许多村庄因修建水库而被淹没，这是工业化进程中的常见现象
- 教堂尖塔（church spire）是欧洲乡村的地标性建筑
- 里程计（milometer）是汽车上显示行驶里程的仪表

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **过去完成时**：had done的用法
2. **虚拟语气**：as if + had done
3. **词汇辨析**：emigrate vs. immigrate vs. migrate
4. **写作练习**：写一篇重返故地的记叙文

## 八、本课小结

本课讲述了重返故里却发现村庄已被水库淹没的感伤故事。语法重点是过去完成时和as if虚拟语气。词汇方面掌握alien、emigrate、embed、submerge、reservoir等核心词。写作上学习悬念设置和情感渲染。