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down the river . What river must this be that flows by great cities ?
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his own father, his neighbor’s own father.
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hard, hard-hearted; not easily influenced emotionally; unfeeling.
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cold. Two meanings: cold in the sense of low temperature, for in winter the ground is actually very cold; cold in the emotional sense, in that the earth was not sympathetic, was unfeeling, unmoved, apathetic.
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shrimps， 虾．
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dysentery， 赤痢—a disease of the bowels, with inflamed mucous membrane and intestinal glands, griping pains, and mucous and bloody evacuations.
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sprouting dandelions, dandelions which were beginning to put forth shoots, to grow. The dandelion is a yellow-flowered composite plant with widely toothed leaves. It grows wild, especially in well-kept lawns, where it is a pest. Sprouting dandelions show that spring was coming.
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heavily, sadly; despondently; dolefully; melancholicly.
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as a leaf tossed upon the flood . This is a mode of expressing abstract （not concrete） ideas by words which suggest pictures or images and is known as a figure of speech . This particular figure of speech that we give here is a simile , which is an imaginative comparison between objects essentially unlike, except in certain aspects, and declares that A is like B, or, “he felt helpless as a leaf tossed upon the flood.” A simile may be condensed into a metaphor , which imaginatively identifies one object with another, and ascribes to the one qualities of the other. A metaphor assumes that A is B, or, “he was a leaf tossed upon the flood.” A metaphor may usually be expanded into a simile.
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he could be grateful for nothing . Why could he be grateful for nothing? Why was he comforted by nothing? Why did tears come now when they had not even come when he buried his old mother?
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Questions
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1. How did Farmer Liu know that spring was coming? In other years what signs could he have pointed to?
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2. What had seemed to him “the last sacrifice”?
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3. What further sacrifices did he have to make?
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4. Summarize all that the winter’s famine had taken?
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5. Why the title “Barren Spring”?
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参考译文
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【作品简介】
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《贫瘠的春天》一文选自赛珍珠所著《第一任妻子和其他故事》，纽约约翰·戴出版公司1933年出版，279—283页。
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【作者简介】
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赛珍珠（1892—1973），美国小说家，因其父母曾在中国传教而生长于中国。她的首任丈夫卜凯曾任金陵大学（现南京大学前身）农业经济学教授。赛珍珠在其1935年出版的为母亲所写的传记《流亡者》中提及了自己的这段早年经历。是年，她与卜凯离婚，并嫁给后来的丈夫，约翰·戴出版公司的所有人理查德·沃尔什。她以赛珍珠的笔名创作的小说《大地》1931年获普利策奖，被评为当年在美国出版的最佳小说，也被认为是赛珍珠关于中国的小说中最出色的一部。
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1 贫瘠的春天
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农民老刘坐在自己只有一间房的门口。那是二月末的一个温煦的黄昏，他瘦削的身体已经感知到春天的来临。他怎会知道正是这时候树木的汁液开始颤动，泥土中的生命开始苏醒呢？他无法给自己一个答案。可是在往年，这本是一件极容易的事情。他本可以指着屋子四周的柳树，给大家看就要抽条的嫩芽。但是现在树已经没有了，严冬饥荒时被他全砍了，一棵一棵地卖了。或者他本来还可以指着父亲年轻时亲手栽种的三株桃树和六棵杏树，给大家看那粉嫩的花苞。这些果树正值壮年，每年都会结下累累的果实。但是这些树也没有了。最重要的是，往年他还会指着麦地给大家看。在这块地上，他冬天种麦子，因为那个时令没法种水稻；快入夏时，他就会插秧种稻子，而且收成很好。水稻是他田里的主要农作物。但是今年地里啥也没有。没有离离的麦子，因为该种麦子的时候，田地被洪水淹没了，现在地都开裂了，像刚干不久的黏土一样。
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好吧，在这样一个日子里，要是还和往年一样，他的水牛还在，耕犁还在，他应该早已经出门去耕种那片已经开裂的土地了。他很想念犁地，想念平整耕田的样子，是的，就算他连一颗可以播撒的种子也没有。但如今他没有水牛了。要是先前有人劝他把他的水牛宰了吃，他一定会痛骂那个人是个王八犊子。他的水牛可是耕地能手，丰收时还可以帮拉石磨碾谷子。但这都是过去时了。他已经吃掉了自己的水牛。他和他的妻子、父母还有四个孩子一起把水牛给吃了。
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