The1)Thawing of the Rivers Is a Season of Its Own in Alaska

⊙ By James Honeyborne

翻译：丁一

The1)Thawing of the Rivers Is a Season of Its Own in Alaska

阿拉斯加：河流解冻，自成一季

⊙ By James Honeyborne

翻译：丁一

世界之大，无奇不有，在迎春这件事上也不例外。有人往身上涂颜料，有人“棒打”亲朋，有人燃烧纸偶。而在美国阿拉斯加中部的一个镇上，人们将冰河上木架倒下的一刻视为春天到来的神圣时刻。一切从每年的三月一日开始……

An Alaskan spring moves fast and if you don’t seize the moment, it will pass you by. The exact arrival of spring is hard to predict. But for some, working out when it might arrive has become a total2)obsession.

Deep in central Alaska, the Tanana River freezes to over one metre down. And every spring the3)townsfolklook forward to the day when it will break up and flow again. It’s such abig deal; they’ve held a festival for nearly a hundred years to celebrate. It begins on the first of March with the digging out of the heart of the frozen river, setting the stage for a truly Alaskan event. The whole town joins in.

(People are setting up a wooden4)tripod.)

“On the count of three: one, two, three!”

The day the river breaks up, this wooden tripod will fall,5)markingthe first day of spring, a day everyone is waiting for. As part of the celebrations, everyone has a bet or two on when the tripod will actually drop.6)Whoevergets it right to the nearest second will hit the7)jackpot.

And then, the wait begins. The tripod is8)tetheredto a9)watchtowerwhere the official clock will stop as soon as the tripod10)collapses. They take it so seriously, there is even a watchman on 24-hour duty. The nights become shorter. Still the tripod stands. Each day11)bulks upwith seven minutes more daylight. Four weeks later, the tripod is starting to shift. At long last, on the 25th of April at 3:48 in the afternoon, spring arrives. Round here though, they don’t call it spring. This season is what they call “break-up.” The thawing of the rivers is a season all of its own. That’s how much it means to an Alaskan soul.

1) thawing [θɔːɪŋ] n. 解冻，融化

2) obsession [əb΄seʃ(ə)n] n. 迷恋，着魔

3) townsfolk [΄taʊnzfəʊk] n. 市镇居民

4) tripod [΄traɪpɒd] n. 三脚架

5) mark [mɑːk] v. 标示

6) whoever [huː΄evə(r)] pron. 不论什么人，不论是谁

7) jackpot [΄dʒækpɒt] n. （彩票）头奖

8) tether [΄teðə(r)] v. 拴，系

9) watchtower [΄wɒt΄taʊə(r)] n. 望塔

10) collapse [kə΄læps] v. 倒坍

11) bulk up 积累，增加

On the count of three∶ one, two, three!

日常生活中在做某件事时为了保证众人步调一致，我们常常会一起数数，on the count 正是领头人说的话，目的是在数数之前提醒大家准备好。当然，后面的“of three”可以视具体情况而变，也可以省略不要，因为数到三是一种惯例。这个表达的变通方式可以是on my count，如：On my count, one, two, three!（听我的口令，一、二、三！）

At long last, on the 25th of April at 3∶48 in the afternoon, spring arrives.

At last我们都很熟悉，其含义与finally相同，义为“终于”，但它不仅仅是指发生在最后的事，更指在经过许多烦恼或麻烦之后，或经过漫长等待之后才发生的事。如果你要对等待的过程或等待者的急切心情加以强调，那么at long last正好可以表达这个意思。这个词组与其说是时间的表示，还不如说它是心情的反映，如：Here,at long last, was the moment he had waited for.（经过漫长的等待后，他终于迎来了盼望已久的时刻。）

阿拉斯加的春天来去匆匆，你若不抓紧时机，便会与其失之交臂。春天来临的准确时刻难以预测，但有些人对于计算春天到来的日子极度执迷。

位于阿拉斯加内陆中部的塔纳诺河结了超过一米厚的冰。每年春天，镇民都热切期待着河冰破裂，河水再度流动的那天。他们很重视这一天，近百年来都会举行庆祝活动。庆典在3月1日开始，人们先挖出冰河中间的冰，为这个真正属于阿拉斯加人的庆典设好舞台。整个镇的居民都会参与其中。

（人们正在竖起木制三脚架。）

“数三下，一……二……三！”

河冰破裂，木制脚架倒下的那一天便是万众期待的春季首日。作为庆祝活动的其中一项内容，每人都会买上一两注，预测脚架倒下的准确时间。时间以秒计算，答案最接近者将获得大奖。

然后众人开始等候。脚架用绳连着一座望楼，脚架一旦倒下，望楼上众人认可的计时钟便会停止。他们对此事高度重视，甚至派了看守员24小时值班。黑夜越来越短，脚架仍然屹立不倒。每一天的日照时间都比前一天长7分钟。四周后，脚架开始有动静了。终于，在4月25日下午3点48分，春天来了。不过，这里的人不称其为春天，他们称这个季节为“破冰”——河流解冻，自成一季，可见阿拉斯加人对此事的重视程度。