56 · 河流，我们的邻居
Our Neighbour, the River
读懂长句与段落衔接，分清事实、推断和观点，再连贯复述或说明。
原稿 effected by flooding 表示受洪水影响，通常应使用 affected。正文保留原稿，注意 affect（影响）与 effect（使发生）的区别。
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The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell the river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
We have special river birthday parties in the summer. Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater, sometimes we have our party at the boathouse, which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving. In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all. We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.
After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks. This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes. We are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are effected by flooding, but other farms are less favourably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows. All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little. We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbors, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district. As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing. From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours, and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point. The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down. Next came a horse, swimming bravely, but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted. Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage. We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood, for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged. The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks, in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank. We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.
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The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell the river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
We have special river birthday parties in the summer. Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater, sometimes we have our party at the boathouse, which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving. In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all. We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.
After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks. This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes. We are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are effected by flooding, but other farms are less favourably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows. All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little. We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbors, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district. As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing. From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours, and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point. The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down. Next came a horse, swimming bravely, but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted. Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage. We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood, for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged. The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks, in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank. We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.
我们农场东边的界线，是一条河，它在我们的生活中一直占据重要地位。没有这条河，我们就无法维持生计。泉水只够家里日用，农场用水必须从河里抽取。我们把所有秘密都告诉河流，像养蜂人对待自己的蜜蜂一样，本能地觉得：人生中的大事若不告诉它，厄运就可能降临。
夏天，我们会举办别具一格的河上生日聚会。有时沿河而上，去一处喜爱的静水湾；有时在船屋聚会。这座船屋是农场的一位前主人建的，就在草地上，紧挨着最适合游泳和跳水的深潭。遇上酷暑，我们会把生日聚会安排在午夜，那是最令人兴奋的。我们也在河边迎接四季：春天，给最小的女孩戴上花冠；仲夏前夜，举行夏日庆典；秋天，感谢丰收；冬天，则把冬青编成的花环投入流水。
久雨之后，河水可能漫过堤岸。但这种情况很少发生，因为这里的气候很少走极端。我们算是幸运的，受淹的只有低处田地，而它们在整个农场中只占很小一部分。别的农场地势没这么好，洪水有时会给农场主带来灾难。
有一年冬天情况很糟，我们眼看着河水一点点漫上低处的草场。牛都已转移到棚里，我们自己不会损失多少，却很担心最近的邻居。他们刚搬到这一带，农场地势又低。洪水弄坏了电话，我们无从得知他们的处境。从阁楼窗口望出去，可以看清两家土地交界处的一大片河面；到了最危急的时候，我们就轮流守在那里观察。第一个不祥之兆，是一只死羊顺流漂下。接着来了一匹马，奋力在水中游着，可我们担心，水流太急，它还没能靠岸，就会筋疲力尽。突然，一只木筏出现了，模样活像诺亚方舟：上面坐着邻居全家，带着几只母鸡、几条狗、一只猫，还有一只关在笼里的鸟。我们这才明白，他们一定是被上涨的洪水吓过了头。其实，他们的房屋地基牢固，即使几乎全被水淹没，也本来撑得住。我们家的男人拿着带钩长篙，蹚过被淹的草场，想钩住木筏的一角，把它从急流中拉向岸边。他们居然真的做到了，直到今天，我们仍觉得这是个奇迹。
学完这一课
转述一种信念时，先标是谁相信，再保留条件和可能性。
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201—204页，2022年2月第3版。