约翰 斯坦贝克 Chrysanthemums 菊花_译文
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The Chrysanthemums is the work by John Steinbeck who is an American author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), East of Eden (1952) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937). Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". In his work, he wrote about poor and sad people, and he also showed his sympathy for these people whose life is in low level.The Chrysanthemums is a short story from his collection The Long Valley first published in 1938. It was set in John Steinbeck’s hometown, the Salina’s valley in California. It is a story about a poor woman called Elisa Allen who was suppressed by the life for a long time. Elisa Allen and her husband Henry live peacefully on their farm. When Elisa is busy with her chrysanthemums in the garden, a tinker passes by and asks for work .She refused directly. Later when the man enquires about her chrysanthemums and asks for some “seeds” to bring to“a lady”, Elisa gets emotional and finds him two pots to mend. The tinker drives away with fifty cents and the cuttings. When riding on the road with her husband, Elisa sees the chrysanthemum shoots she sent to the "lady" thrown on the road. She is dismayed and cries sadly.And the main characters in the novel are concluded as following.Elisa AllenA passionate woman who leads an unsatisfying life. As a result, she devotes all of her energy to maintaining her house and garden. Elisa is so frustrated with life that she readily looks for stimulating conversation and even sex.The TinkerHe is clever and canny enough to convince the skeptical Elisa to give him work, begging at first and finally resorting to flattery. In fact, he is just a con man. Henry AllenElisa’s husband, Henry, is everything a woman should want in a husband by the standards of his society. He provides for her, treats her with respect. However, Henry is also stolid and unimaginative. Henry functions in the story as a stand-in for patriarchal society as a whole. He believes that a strict line separates the sexes.And the theme of this passage is the critique of the society for there is no place for intelligent women to realize their values. Elisa is smart and energetic, but she is limited by her sex. By the contrast, her husband, Henry is not smart as her, but he runs the ranch to support the family. Steinbeck uses Henry and the tinker as stand-ins for the paternalism of patriarchal societies in general: just as they ignore women’s potential, so too does society. It is an inequality of gender.Besides, John Steinbeck uses many symbols in this passage.1. At the beginning, the Salinas Valley symbolizes Elisa’s emotional life. The story opens with a lengthy description of the valley. The valley was closed of the high-flannel gray fog of winter. This symbolized that Elisa’s life was suppressed buy the in equality of the gender. She can not realize her intelligence just like the valley can not show its beauty because of the annoyed high-flannel gray fog of winter.2.The chrysanthemums symbolize both Elisa and the limited scope of her life.The chrysanthemums are beautiful, strong, and thriving, like Elisa Allen.Elisa identifies herself with the flowers, even saying that she becomes one with the plants when she tends to them.She offers the chrysanthemums to thinker at the same time she offers herself, both of which he ignores and tosses aside Just like her, the flowers are unimportant: both are merely decorative and add little value to the world.3.Fences symbolize the barriers that separate Elisa from the rest of the world, including her husband Henry. Her fences protect flower garden from cattle, dogs, and chickens which represent her husband’s world while her flower garden represents Elisa’s world.4. Elisa’s clothing changes as her handsome, masculine persona becomes more feminine after the visit from the tinker. When the story begins, Elisa is wearing a gardening outfit, complete with heavy shoes, thick gloves, a man’s hat, and an apron filled with sharp implements. The narrator even describes her body as “blocked and heavy.” At the later passage, after Elisa changes her cloth, feminine items contrast sharply with her gardening clothes and reflect the newly Elisa. At the end of the story, after Elisa has seen the castoff shoots, she pulls up her coat collar to hide her tears, a gesture that suggests a move backward into the repressed state in which she has lived most, if not all, of her adult life.5.Elisa lets the tinker into the yard; she goes and gets a bright red flower pot. The red is important here because red is the symbol of power and passion. At this point in the story, Elisa is beginning to feel her own power. She is realizing she can bring forth life in her flowers, even if she is not powerful in other aspects of her life. Also, since the encounter with the tinker is likened to a sexual experience, the red flower pot is significant of their passion. The pot is symbolic of her self and her feelings.This passage uses the third person point of view to tell the story clearly and not limited by the time, place or characters.As for me, I think the passage encouraged all intelligent woman to realize their values and critic the social limitation for the women.。
《山菊花》仁爱精神作文英文回答:In the poignant short story, "Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck, the protagonist, Elisa Allen, embodies the essence of selflessness and compassion, illuminating the transformative power of empathy and the profound impact of genuine care.Elisa's life is marked by isolation and a longing for connection. Her dreams of a fulfilling existence arestifled by her oppressive marriage to Henry, a brusque and unfeeling man who treats her more like a servant than a companion. Despite her despair, Elisa finds solace and purpose in her love for gardening. The vibrant chrysanthemums, with their rich colors and delicate petals, become a symbol of her unfulfilled potential and suppressed desires.When a tinker visits their ranch, Elisa is drawn to histales of adventure and freedom. In his presence, she feels a glimmer of hope and the possibility of transcending her current circumstances. However, her budding connection with the tinker is cut short by Henry's jealous outburst. Inthat moment, Elisa's dreams are shattered, and she resigns herself to a life of loneliness and disappointment.Yet, amidst her despair, Elisa exhibits an extraordinary act of kindness. She gives her prized chrysanthemums to the tinker, a seemingly insignificant gesture that carries tremendous weight. In this act of giving, Elisa transcends her own pain and finds a way to nurture the hopes and dreams of another.Through Elisa's story, Steinbeck explores the transformative power of compassion. By sacrificing her own happiness for the well-being of the tinker, she not only brings him joy but also finds a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Her selfless act serves as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, the human spirit can prevail through acts of kindness and empathy.Moreover, Elisa's story highlights the importance of recognizing and valuing the dreams and aspirations of others. In a world often driven by self-interest, Steinbeck invites us to consider the profound impact that genuine care and empathy can have on the lives of those around us. By embracing a spirit of compassion, we can not only bring happiness to others but also ignite the flame of hope and possibility within ourselves.中文回答:在约翰·斯坦贝克的感人短篇小说《菊花》中,主人公艾丽莎·艾伦体现了无私和同情心的精髓,阐明了同理心的变革力量以及真正关怀的深远影响。
摘要约翰·斯坦贝克的著名短篇小说<菊花>,通过农村妇女艾丽莎的日常生活和人生经历,反映了美国20世纪30年代男性和人类至上的二元对立思维模式对女性和自然的忽视、压迫、摧残和统治,揭示了女性精神和大自然之间的天然联系,表达了作者对父权制意识形态、功利主义及人类中心主义思想的深刻批评,体现了他对自然和女性命运同等关注的远见和情怀.年轻媳妇伊利莎住在一家偏僻的农场,一手高超的种花技能令她自豪。
一天,她突然有了与外界交流的愿望。
有什么故事发生呢?请您往下看。
飘荡在半空中的冬雾呈现出灰法兰绒色,将萨利纳斯山谷严实地罩了起来;同时也把它与外界分隔开。
雾气锁着山头,四面象顶盖子,而山谷则成了一口盖得严严实实的深锅。
农民在宽阔平坦的土地上深耕,犁铧过处,黑色的土地闪着金属的光泽。
在横卧萨利纳斯河的丘陵地上,农场里的茬地泛着黄色,象是沐浴在冷冷的苍白日光下;不过,现在时至腊月,山谷里没什么阳光。
河边上密密麻麻的柳丛上的黄叶颜色鲜浓,象着了火似的。
这是一个安静,叫人等待的季节。
空气凉凉的,柔柔的。
从西南方向吹来一阵轻风,农民们隐隐地感到不久会有一场及时雨,但雨和雾是不一起来的。
河对岸亨利?埃伦家位于丘陵上的农场里已经没什么活计了:干草都收割过并存放了起来,果园业已深翻过,好等到有雨的时候浇个透底墒。
高处山坡上的牛变得毛皮杂乱粗糙。
伊利莎?埃伦正在花园里干活儿,穿过院子朝远处望时,她看见丈夫亨利正在与两个身着工作服的人交谈。
三个人都站在拖拉机棚边上,一只脚蹬在那辆小型福特牌拖拉机的一侧。
说话的时候,他们边抽着烟,边打量拖拉机。
伊利莎看了他们一会儿,又继续忙自己的活儿。
她今年三十五岁,脸庞瘦俏并透着坚毅,一双眼睛清澈如水。
由于穿着园艺工作服,她显得鼓囊囊的、有点儿笨拙。
她头上戴着一顶男式的黑帽子,拉得很低,直到她的眼睛。
脚上是一双粗笨的鞋子。
下面穿的印花裙子几乎全给那个大号的灯心绒围裙遮盖了起来。
sad people, and he also showed his sympathy for these people whose life is in low level.The Chrysanthemums is a short story from his collection The Long Valley first published in 1938. It was set in John Steinbeck’s hometown, the Salina’s valley in California. It is a story about a poor woman called Elisa Allen who was suppressed by the life for a long time. Elisa Allen and her husband Henry live peacefully on their farm. When Elisa is busy with her chrysanthemums in the garden, a tinker passes by and asks for work .She refused directly. Later when the man enquires about her chrysanthemums and asks for some “seeds” to bring to“a lady”, Elisa gets emotional and finds him two pots to mend. The tinker drives away with fifty cents and the cuttings. When riding on the road with her husband, Elisa sees the chrysanthemum shoots she sent to the "lady" thrown on the road. She is dismayed and cries sadly.And the main characters in the novel are concluded as following.Elisa AllenA passionate woman who leads an unsatisfying life. As a result, she devotes all of her energy to maintaining her house and garden. Elisa is so frustrated with life that she readily looks for stimulating conversation and even sex.The TinkerHe is clever and canny enough to convince the skeptical Elisa to give him work, begging at first and finally resorting to flattery. In fact, he is just a con man.Henry AllenElisa’s husband, Henry, is everything a woman should want in a husband by the standards of his society. He provides for her, treats her with respect. However, Henry is also stolid and unimaginative. Henry functions in the story as a stand-in for patriarchal society as a whole. He believes that a strict line separates the sexes.And the theme of this passage is the critique of the society for there is no place for intelligent women to realize their values. Elisa is smart and energetic, but she is limited by her sex. By the contrast, her husband, Henry is not smart as her, but he runs the ranch to support the family. Steinbeck uses Henry and the tinker as stand-ins for the paternalism of patriarchal societies in general: just as they ignore women’s potential, so too does society. It is an inequality of gender.Besides, John Steinbeck uses many symbols in this passage.1. At the beginning, the Salinas Valley symbol izes Elisa’s emotional life. The story opens with a lengthy description of the valley. The valley was closed of the high-flannel gray fog of winter. This symbolized that Elisa’s life was suppressed buy the in equality of the gender. She can not realize her intelligence just like the valley can not show its beauty because of the annoyed high-flannel gray fog of winter.2.The chrysanthemums symbolize both Elisa and the limited scope of her life. The chrysanthemums are beautiful, strong, and thriving, like Elisa Allen.Elisa identifies herself with the flowers, even saying that she becomes one with the plants when she tends to them.She offers the chrysanthemums to thinker at the same time she offers herself, both of which heignores and tosses aside Just like her, the flowers are unimportant: both are merely decorative and add little value to the world.3.Fences symbolize the barriers that separate Elisa from the rest of the world, including her husband Henry. Her fences protect flower garden from cattle, dogs, and chickens which represent her husband’s world while her flower garden represents Elisa’s world.4. Elisa’s clothing changes as her handsome, masculine persona becomes more feminine after the visit from the tinker. When the story begins, Elisa is wearing a gardening outfit, complete with heavy shoes, thick gloves, a man’s hat, and an apron filled with sharp implements. The narrator even describes her body as “blocked and heavy.” At the later passage, after Elisa changes her cloth, feminine items contrast sharply with her gardening clothes and reflect the newly Elisa. At the end of the story, after Elisa has seen the castoff shoots, she pulls up her coat collar to hide her tears, a gesture that suggests a move backward into the repressed state in which she has lived most, if not all, of her adult life.5.Elisa lets the tinker into the yard; she goes and gets a bright red flower pot. The red is important here because red is the symbol of power and passion. At this point in the story, Elisa is beginning to feel her own power. She is realizing she can bring forth life in her flowers, even if she is not powerful in other aspects of her life. Also, since the encounter with the tinker is likened to a sexual experience, the red flower pot is significant of their passion. The pot is symbolic of her self and her feelings.This passage uses the third person point of view to tell the story clearly and not limited by the time, place or characters.As for me, I think the passage encouraged all intelligent woman to realize their values and critic the social limitation for the women.。
A Woman’s Frustration in the Gender-Divided World--An A nalysis of Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums”In his 1933 letter to a friend, John Steinbeck talks about his newly composed short story “The Chrysanthemums”: “It is entirely different and is designed to strike without the rea der’s knowledge” (qtd. in Segal 214). It has indeed achieved the effect: ever since its publication, critics and readers, who unanimously “feel that something profound has happened to him”(qtd. in Segal 214), try in each way to figure out under and between the lines the theme of the story. While generally interpreting the tale as one about a woman’s frustration, critics put forward different reasons to explain th e “what” and the “how." Some critics relate the protagonist Elisa Allen’s discontent and loneliness to the fact that she has no children and therefore is thwarted in her motherhood; and others, perceiving that Elisa and her husband Henry’s relation lacks deep understanding and passion, suggest that sex-starvation is the cause of her sense of repression; still others treat the story as a tale of a bored middle-age housewife, believing that Elisa’s discontent is caused by her vague longing for illusive “romance” (Segal214).Undoubtedly these analyses help, in various degrees, shed light on the understanding of the tale. However, they haven’t exhausted the complexity of the theme yet. If we approach the story by a close reading, taking adequate notice of the images and symbols which Steinbeck has carefully woven into the story, we may find that “The Chrysanthemums” is also a “profound” tale of “gender”, a story of the doomed frustration of a female who, in her attempt at self-fulfillment, unwittingly and yet inevitably “trespasses upon” the world branded as belonging to male gender.As we know, “gender” as a social construction, is the way we are socially defined. As Scott Carpenter points out: “[o]ur lives are steeped in distinctions based on gender, and these distinctions have a real, demonstrable impact on the way people live and interact” (89). As a woman, Elisa’s gender decides the role she should play, the work she is allowed to do, and the very style of life she has but to accept. In the binary oppositions of gender there exist two and only two possibilities: male and female, or “Ladies and Gents”. “Transgressions are not tolerated,” as Carpenter maintains, for binary oppositions “are rarely even-handed, one term of the pair almost always enjoying the pr ivileged status over the other” (95). Therefore, in order to maintain male dominance and privilege over female, this proposi tion is “rigorously maintained--or even policed”(Carpenter 90). As soon as Elisa tries to break through the confinement of her gender, she inevitably bruises herself.The opening imagery sets the tone for the whole story. It not only depicts the protagonist Elisa Allen’s repressive life, but also foreshadows her inevitable disillusionment. The Salinas Valley is described as “closed off” by the “highgrey-flannel fog of winter”; the fog “sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot” (Steinbeck169).There is a prevailing sense of repression and confinement. Yet the repressive sense is mixed somehow with glimmering hope. We are told that the land floor of the valley is plowed deeply to receive the expected rains. “It was a time of quiet and of waiting…the light wind blew up …so that the farmers were hopeful of a good rain” (169). The land is expecting the nouri shing rains; the protagonist is in a vague yearning of a relief from the barren and confined life. But the promise of rain is an irony: “fog and rain do not go together” (169). Similarly, the hope of breaking through the “closed pot” for Elisa is an illusi on.When Elisa Allen first appears in the story, she is working in her flower garden with her chrysanthemums, while across the yard, her husband Henry is talking business with two businessmen by the tractor shed. Distinctly two worlds in binary oppositions of gender are presented to us: one is the female world of gardening and housekeeping, the other is the male world of business, machinery and farming. However, the problem of this distinction is immediately shown in the images of Elisa’s house and her way of gardening. The little house is “hard-swept”, the windows are “hard-polished” and even the mud-mat on the front steps is “clean” (italics added). She is doing more than good. Obviously, housekeeping is far from being a sufficient challenge for such an energetic and strong woman. Consequently, she pours her energy onto the gardening. Wearing a heavy “gardening costume”, “a man’s black hat”, and “clodhopper shoes”, she works in a way a man treats his occupation; “even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy”(169). Elisa’s bounded energy and potential finds its only outlet in growing chrysanthemums. But Henry’s remarks on her flowers revealingly indicate the significance, or rather insignificance of her gardening: “You’ve got a strong new crop coming”(170). It’s ironical praise, with the implication that the chrysanthemums are NOT crops and therefore are not of any value in a pragmatic sense. If we regard chrysanthemums as a symbol related to Elisa’s potential, then this potential is neither recognized nor valued.The tinker comes, bringing double illusions for “rains-expecting” Elisa. First, he enchants Elisa with an aura of a free life which Elisa has never had a taste of except in her imagination. In term of physical appearance, the sloppy stubble-beard tinker is by no means attractive. In fact, stopping in front of Elisa’s house, this strange sloppy team of man, horse, burro, and mongrel dog strikingly contrast with Elisa’s neat and clean house and wire-fenced garden. However, the tinker’s nomadic and free way of life in the wagon “sounds like a nice kind of a way to live” to Elisa, awakening her lurking yearning for a different unbounded life (172). After conversing with the tinker for a while, she expresses her wish explicitly: “It must be nice. I wish women could do such things.” But, the tinker’s answer-- “[i]t ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman” (175)--indicates equally explicitly that this way of living is only for man, not “right” for woman. Elisa is wishing for something beyond her gender.The tinker’s insincere praise of the chrysanthemums constitutes a deceiving evaluation of Elisa’s worth and potential, bringing another illusion for Elisa. Finding that the tinker is interested in her flowers, “[t]he irritation and resistance melted from Elisa’s face” (173). Too excited in finding a person who knows the worth and value of her work, Elisa fails to notice the discernible lies in the tinker’s oily words. She ea gerly and excitedly transplants the buds for the tinker so that he can bring the flower to a lady who, as the reader knows, actually does not exist. The dramatic irony here echoes the irony in the opening imagery of false promise of the rain, building up continually until the last revelation for the protagonist.The encounter of the tinker and Elisa is also a confrontation between a man and a woman. Elisa’s eagerness to show her chrysanthemums results only from her excitement in finding a kindred spirit, but also is partly due to her intention to compete with the tinker in terms of competency for work. As we have noticed, the tinker’s sloppiness is in striking contrast to Elisa’s competent neatness. He is not efficient and competent except when he starts his work. When Elisa hands the saucepans for him to repair, “[h]is manner changed. He became professional” (174). But, Elisa launches her challenge. “You might be surprised to have a rival some time. I can sharpen scissors, too. And I can beat the dents out of little pots. I could show you what a woman might do” (175). In terms of capability, Elisa is probably a far better worker. In offering the chrysanthemum buds she plants, Elisa shows her capacity and obtains a sense of triumphant pride.Enchanted by the free life of the tinker, and intoxicated by her sense of unfolding potential, Elisa imagines the night in the wagon: “Every pointed star gets driven into your body. It’s like that. Hot and sharp and—lively” (174). If the statement is tinted with a sexual overtone, it’s more directed to the fascinating uninhibite d life associated with the tinker rather than to the sloppy person himself. In this state of high-spirited fantasy, she murmurs good-bye to the tinker: “That’s bright direction. There’s a glowing there” (175).In the same state of mind, she returns to her house to have a bath before going to town with her husband. “In the bathroom she tore off her soiled clothes and flung them into the corner. And then she scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice…until her skin was scratched and red” (176). She has t o hold back the surging passion by dressing slowly. “She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips” (176). Here the image of Elisa forms a contrast to her image in the garden. If we believe the garden image indicates Elisa’s so-called “masculinity,” then this one obviously asserts her “femininity.” Elisa seems to take on different gender features. Once again, gender features are called into question. A single either /or designation of gender, which speaks of our tendency for binary oppositions, is problematic when used to describe Elisa, who cannot be comfortably put into this arbitrary label.On the other hand, t his change also corresponds to Elisa’s development of her sense of self. In the garden, Elisa assumes a man’s image in order to snatch a slice of privilege from man’s world—the privilege of having one’s own occupation. Convinced, after the encounter with the tinker, of her female potential, she is more confident with her female self. Instead of hiding her female self under the guise of a man, she is now proudly manifesting it, unfolding herself like her chrysanthemums in full bloom.This change is, howeve r, quite puzzling for Elisa’s husband. The latter blunders bewilderedly and helplessly upon seeing his wife in the house: “you look different, strong a nd happy.” When Elisa boasts, “I am strong,” Henry is almost stricken with fear. The familiar image of his wife seems to have undergone a mysterious change. However, “Henry looked down toward the tractor shed, when he brought his eyes back to her, they were his own again” (176). He regains his composure. The world is still the old world under his--man’s--control.The realization of the same fact does not come to Elisa until she is on the way to Salinas. “Far ahead on the road E lisa saw a dark speck. She knew” (177). The tinker has deserted her chrysanthemum buds on the road. The chrysanthemum, whose value has not been recognized by the husband, is now more heartlessly deserted by the tinker. Ironically, that man has thrown away her treasure and kept the pot; the latter is obviously regarded as more useful. The unusual briefness of the statement “she knew” is charged with tension between the overwhelming pang of disappointment and Elisa’s ultimate effort to hold it down. The briefness of the sentence also implies the simplicity of the truth revealed to Elisa. This is the moment of epiphany for Elisa. She knows that all the while she has been manipulated by the tinker and cheated by the illusion he brings to her; she knows that her aspiration of unconfined fulfillment is totally impossible in this male dominated world; she knows that if she goes outside of the “fence” of her confined world and attempts something beyond what the society assigns for her gender, she inevitably bruises herself.Seized by an impulse to fight back and disgusted by the cruelty of men in their subjugation of their fellow creatures, Elis a asks Henry: “at those prize fights, do the men hurt each other very much?” (177) But when Henry asks her whether she really wants to go to the prizefights, she “relaxe[s] limply in the seat.” “Oh, no. No. I don’t want to go. I’m sure I don’t” (177). She has no courage to venture any further into man’s world now. “It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty” (177). From “gardening” to “wine”, that’s the farthest way Elisa could go. Gardening, which is usually a female job but also occasionally attempted by men, can be done by Elisa with a tint of so-called “masculinity”; wine, which is a drink usually for a man, but is also allowed for a woman, can be drunk by Elisa without the danger of raising brows from the society. Elisa has been venting her repressed energy and emotion through planting chrysanthemums, and now she can only resort to the wine to quench her frustrated aspiration and to solace her bruised self-esteem. Elisa “was crying weakly—like an oldwoman” (177). She is a withered chrysant hemum now.The use of third-person objective point of view in the story is significant. First, it forms a constrained point of view, corresponding with the fact that a female’s heart is generally not understood by the male world. In the story, neither husband nor tinker tries to comprehend Elisa’s inner feelings. Second, this narrative technique helps add ambiguity and complexity to the theme of the story, leaving enough space for the reader to speculate on the implied message. Most importantly of all, by using this objective point of view, Steinbeck refrains from making “The Chrysanthemums” a personal story, but instead, opens up a symbolic dimension. Elisa’s frustration is depicted not as a personal misfortune, but rather an indication of a prevailing issue in the gender-divided world: the impossibility for a woman to unfold her potential when she is confined to a subjugated role and receives only a limited possibility in the male-dominated world.It’s amazing that as a male writer writing in an age whe n most writers concentrated on characterizations of men and their problems, Steinbeck could have such a keen perception of a woman’s aspiration and frustration. It’s also amazing that by his adept use of symbols and carefully drawn images, Steinbeck renders so compellingly the vague and inarticulate yearnings and discontent of a woman, forcing the readers to make an attempt to understand and respect a woman’s heart and to rethink the validity of one of the basic foundations of the society—the division of gender.Works CitedCarpenter, Scott. Reading Lessons—An Introduction to Theory. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.Segal, David, et al. ed.Short Story Criticism. V ol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992.Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” British and American Fiction. Ed. Wang Shouren and Zhao Yu. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 1994.。
作文菊花冲天香阵透长安英文回答:"Chrysanthemums bloom, filling the air with their fragrant scent, as I stroll through the streets of Chang'an. The city is bustling with life, and the sight of these beautiful flowers brings a sense of joy to my heart. The chrysanthemum, known as the 'flower of autumn', holds a special place in Chinese culture. Its vibrant colors and delicate petals symbolize longevity, joy, and purity.As I admire the chrysanthemums, I am reminded of a Chinese idiom: '菊花冲天香'. This phrase translates to 'the fragrance of chrysanthemums reaches the sky', and it isused to describe something that is truly remarkable and extraordinary. Just like the chrysanthemums that bloom to their fullest, this idiom signifies the ability to achieve greatness and leave a lasting impact.In the context of Chang'an, the idiom '菊花冲天香' canbe applied to the city itself. Chang'an, the ancientcapital of China, was a vibrant hub of culture, trade, and innovation. It was a city that reached great heights andleft a lasting legacy. The chrysanthemums that bloomed in Chang'an represented not only the beauty of nature but also the greatness of the city.Furthermore, '菊花冲天香' can be used to describe individuals who possess extraordinary talents or achievements. For example, a famous poet from the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu, was known for his exceptional writingskills. His poems were so profound and impactful that they were compared to the fragrance of chrysanthemums reaching the sky. Du Fu's ability to touch people's hearts throughhis words was truly remarkable, just like the chrysanthemums in full bloom.中文回答:“菊花冲天香,我漫步在长安的街道上。
ChrysanthemumsElisa is a young married lady working on an isolated farm and proud of her skills in growing flowers. One day, she suddenly feels a desire to communicate with the outside world. What happens to her? Please read the following story.年轻媳妇伊利莎住在一家偏僻的农场,一手高超的种花技能令她自豪。
一天,她突然有了与外界交流的愿望。
有什么故事发生呢?请您往下看。
The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot. On the broad, level land floor the gang plows bit deep and left the black earth shining like metal where the shares had cut. On the foothill ranches across the Salinas River, the yellow stubble fields seemed to be bathed in pale cold sunshine, but there was no sunshine in the valley now in December. The thick willow scrub along the river flamed with sharp and positive yellow leaves.飘荡在半空中的冬雾呈现出灰法兰绒色,将萨利纳斯山谷严实地罩了起来;同时也把它与外界分隔开。
雾气锁着山头,四面象顶盖子,而山谷则成了一口盖得严严实实的深锅。
农民在宽阔平坦的土地上深耕,犁铧过处,黑色的土地闪着金属的光泽。
在横卧萨利纳斯河的丘陵地上,农场里的茬地泛着黄色,象是沐浴在冷冷的苍白日光下;不过,现在时至腊月,山谷里没什么阳光。
河边上密密麻麻的柳丛上的黄叶颜色鲜浓,象着了火似的。
It was a time of quiet and of waiting. The air was cold and tender. A light wind blew up from the southwest so that the farmers were mildly hopeful of a good rain before long; but fog and rain do not go together.这是一个安静,叫人等待的季节。
空气凉凉的,柔柔的。
从西南方向吹来一阵轻风,农民们隐隐地感到不久会有一场及时雨,但雨和雾是不一起来的。
Across the river, on Henry Allen's foothill ranch there was little work to be done, for the hay was cut and stored and the orchards were plowed up to receive the rain deeplywhen it should come. The cattle on the higher slopes were becoming shaggy and rough-coated.河对岸亨利·埃伦家位于丘陵上的农场里已经没什么活计了:干草都收割过并存放了起来,果园业已深翻过,好等到有雨的时候浇个透底墒。
高处山坡上的牛变得毛皮杂乱粗糙。
Elisa Allen, working in her flower garden, looked down across the yard and saw Henry, her husband, talking to two men in business suits. The three of them stood by the tractor shed, each man with one foot on the side of the little Fordson. They smoked cigarettes and studied the machine as they talked.伊利莎·埃伦正在花园里干活儿,穿过院子朝远处望时,她看见丈夫亨利正在与两个身着工作服的人交谈。
三个人都站在拖拉机棚边上,一只脚蹬在那辆小型福特牌拖拉机的一侧。
说话的时候,他们边抽着烟,边打量拖拉机。
Elisa watched them for a moment and then went back to her work. She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with. She wore heavy leather gloves to protect her hands while she worked.伊利莎看了他们一会儿,又继续忙自己的活儿。
她今年三十五岁,脸庞瘦俏并透着坚毅,一双眼睛清澈如水。
由于穿着园艺工作服,她显得鼓囊囊的、有点儿笨拙。
她头上戴着一顶男式的黑帽子,拉得很低,直到她的眼睛。
脚上是一双粗笨的鞋子。
下面穿的印花裙子几乎全给那个大号的灯心绒围裙遮盖了起来。
围裙上有四个大口袋,用来放她干活时用的剪刀、泥铲、刮管器、种子和刀。
干活时她戴着厚厚的皮手套,免得弄伤手。
She was cutting down the old year's chrysanthemum stalks with a pair of short and powerful scissors. She looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then.Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.她这会儿正用一把锋利的小剪子把去年的菊花枝剪短,还不时朝站在拖拉机棚边上的三个男人望一望。
她的脸上充满着渴望,看起来成熟漂亮——甚至连她拿着剪刀干活的样子都显得那么有力,饱含期待,以至于那些菊花的枯杆相比之下都显得纤细柔弱,容易收拾了。
She brushed a cloud of hair out of her eyes with the back of her glove, and left a smudge of earth on her cheek in doing it. Behind her stood the neat white farm house with red geraniums close-banked around it as high as the windows. It was a hard-swept looking little house with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps.她用手套的背部将眼前的一绺乌发抹开,一点污渍就留在了她的脸颊上。
她身后是整洁的白色农舍,红色的天竺葵紧紧地簇拥着,直到窗户附近。
看得出这座不大的屋子好好打扫过,窗户也曾细心地擦拭过,就连前面台阶上的擦鞋垫都收拾得干干净净。
Elisa cast another glance toward the tractor shed. The strangers were getting into their Ford coupe. She took off a glove and put her strong fingers down into the forest of new green chrysanthemum sprouts that were growing around the old roots. She spread the leaves and looked down among the close-growing stems. No aphids were there, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms. Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started.伊利莎又朝拖拉机棚的方向看了一眼,那些陌生人正钻进他们的福特牌小客车里。
她脱掉一只手套,将自己有力的手指伸到从老的菊花根部新生的一丛幼苗里,然后分开叶子,在长得郁郁葱葱的幼苗里查看。
里面蚜虫、潮虫、蜗牛、毛虫什么的都没有。
如果真有的话,她那犀利无比的手指也会在这些害虫逃跑之前就将它们消灭。
Elisa started at the sound of her husband's voice. He had come near quietly, and he leaned over the wire fence that protected her flower garden from cattle and dogs and chickens.听到丈夫的声音,伊利莎吃了一惊。