---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-3/48-the-silent-village.md
description: 新概念英语第三册：The Silent Village。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 48 · 沉默的村庄

### 第1段

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.

中文理解：如今，人们四处旅行，世界上却仍有成千上万个地方，游客难以到达。我们总以为，偏远地方的村民一定友善好客。可有些人不仅接触不到外国游客，甚至和本国人也很少往来，对旅客反而可能充满敌意。探访真正偏僻的村庄，往往并不愉快。我和妻子在巴尔干半岛旅行时，就有过这样的体会。
我们在一座小城住了几天，参观了附近许多古老的教堂。这些教堂不光建筑本身很有看头，里面还保存着大量精美壁画，因此吸引了不少游客。离开前一天，好几车游客突然涌进小城，我们实在受不了，决定把最后一天留给乡间。沿着一条出城的小路，我们穿过几块田地，来到一片密林。本以为小路会就此中断，却发现它仍在树间蜿蜒向前。我们在林里跋涉了两个多小时，来到一条水很深的溪流前。对岸还能看见小路延伸，却不知道怎样过去。突然，妻子发现岸边泊着一只小船，船夫正在船里熟睡。我们轻轻叫醒他，请他送我们过河。他起初不太情愿，但最后还是被我们说动了。
小路通向一个依着陡峭山坡而建的小村庄。村中只有一条弯弯曲曲、没有铺设路面的土路，两旁散落着小屋。房子全是灰色土坯砌的，即使头顶晴空湛蓝，村子仍显得阴沉、令人却步。四周像是空无一人，唯一有生气的，是附近田里一只模样难看的黑山羊，用一根短绳拴在树上。我们在田边破旧的木篱笆上坐下，打开两罐沙丁鱼，吃起了野餐。突然，我发现妻子神色惊恐。抬头一看，一群衣衫褴褛的孩子已经围住我们，默不作声地看着我们吃东西。我们给他们食物，和气地说话，可他们一动不动。我以为，他们只是怕生。后来，我们沿着村里的大路走，那群孩子也一声不响地排成队跟在后面。原本像是无人居住的村子，突然有了动静：窗前露出一张张脸，男人穿着衬衫站在屋外，怒目盯着我们，披黑披肩的老妇则从门口探头打量。最令人害怕的是，自始至终听不见一点声音。毫无疑问，我们是不受欢迎的来客，也不需要更多警告了。我们掉头沿原路往回走，不由得加快脚步，匆匆赶向溪边，盼着船夫还在那里等候。

* **inaccessible to tourists**：游客难以到达的；be inaccessible to + 人群，不是当地人必然不友好。

* **friendly and hospitable**：友善好客；两个并列形容词分别强调态度和待客方式。

* **cut off**：使隔绝；切断；本课指与外界来往隔绝。

* **in the vicinity**：在附近；比 nearby 稍正式，可具体说明哪里附近。

* **a large number of**：许多；若干；表示若干个；加 great 或 large 强调数量多，后接复数谓语。

* **more than we could bear**：超出我们能忍受的程度；more than + 从句表达超过限度，bear 在此是忍受。

* **a dense wood**：一片茂密的树林；wood 可数指树林，不可数指木材。

* **on the other side**：在另一边；可补 of the river / road，明确对照的边界。

* **had no idea**：完全不知道；have no idea + 疑问词从句，用陈述语序。

* **fast asleep**：熟睡；fast表示睡得沉，不是睡得快。

* **was reluctant to**：不情愿……；be reluctant to do；与 willing to 对照。

* **on either side**：在两侧；在这类分布语境 either side 指两边各一侧，不是只在某一边。

* **the only sign of life**：唯一有生气的迹象；sign of life 是观察线索，不一定涉及判断生死。

* **filled with alarm**：满怀惊恐；描述人的反应，比一般 worried 强。

* **in rags**：衣衫褴褛；衣着描述不能直接推出人物品行，复述保留事实与判断区别。

* **shy of strangers**：怕生；见到陌生人拘谨；be shy of / around strangers，是行为解释，仍须与实际态度区分。

* **came to life**：活跃起来；本课村子突然有动静，非字面从死亡复活。

* **glared at us**：怒视我们；glare at 带敌意，与 stare at 的持续注视不同。

* **not a sound**：一点声音也没有；not a + 单数可加强彻底否定，不能漏 not。

* **quickened our pace**：加快脚步；quicken one's pace / step，别机械说 increase our feet。

#### 原文注释 · In this much-travelled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists.

注释：①inaccessible = difficult or impossible to reach。这里描述交通或地理上的难以到达，不能据此推断这些地方从未有人到访。②hospitable = welcoming, friendly。③hostile = aggressive, unfriendly。

#### 原文注释 · We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity.

注释：①than 引导比较分句，和 more 配合：more than we could bear 表示“超过了我们能忍受的程度”，不是说明行为方式。②状语中有一个which 引导的定语从句修饰path。③vicinity = neighbourhood, surrounding area。④end abruptly = suddenly come to an end。⑤traced = found…by following a path。⑥eventually = finally。

#### 原文注释 · The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain.

注释：①that 引导的宾语从句中含一个who 引导的定语从句修饰children，以及一个 as 引导的时间状语从句。 ②where 引导的定语从句中含有一个宾语从句作hoped 的宾语。

#### Summary 摘要

The village contained one street and looked forbidding. Apart from a goat, it seemed deserted, so they sat down and had a picnic. Looking up, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by children in rags. The children were silent and motionless. As they walked down the street followed by the children, the village came alive with faces in windows and people watching them silently from doorways. The visitors were clearly unwelcome. They hurried back down to the stream and the boatman. (80 words)

#### Composition 作文

\[1]When we reached the stream where we had stepped out of the ferry and where the boatman said he would wait, there was no one. There was no boat and no boatman.

\[2]At first we were surprised and thought that we had perhaps mistaken the place where he said he would wait. We walked along the bank of the stream for a few hundred yards in one direction, and then in the other. He was definitely not there. I was worried that the villagers would be coming down the mountain after us, but we couldn't see anybody, and the only noise was the noise of the running stream. We called across the stream to attract the attention of anyone on the other side, but nothing happened. It seemed that we were stranded.

\[3]We sat down on the bank of the stream and just looked at each other.

\[4]"Come on," I said. "We've been in worse situations than this. What about that time we got lost in the forest in Germany, and the time the car broke down in Australia?"

\[5]"You're right," she said, cheering up. "There is something we can do."

\[6]And, since I certainly couldn't think of anything better, we did just what she suggested. We both took off our shirts, tied our personal belongings in them (purse, money, passport, keys and so on), tied the shirts round our waists, and waded into the water until we had to swim. And we swam to the other side, where we squeezed out our shirts and put them on again wet. Then we walked back to our small hotel in the town.

\[7]Perhaps the most surprising thing was that when we walked into the hotel still wet from our swim across the stream, no one said a word! (301 words)

## 学完这一课

用 can be… 而非 always are… 复述一项带条件的判断。

[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-3/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

*译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第167—170页，2022年2月第3版。*