中英文本

On one of those sober and rather melancholy days in the latter part of autumn when the shadows of morning and evening almost mingle together,
时方晚秋，气象肃穆，略带忧郁，早晨的阴影和黄昏的阴影，几乎连接在一起，
and throw a gloom over the decline of the year, I passed several hours in rambling about Westminster Abbey.
不可分别，岁云将暮，终日昏暗，我就在这么一天，到西敏大寺去信步走了几个钟头。
There was something congenial to the season in the mournful magnificence of the old pile,
古寺巍巍，森森然似有鬼气，和阴沉沉的季候正好相符；
and as I passed its threshold it seemed like stepping back into the regions of antiquity and losing myself among the shades of former ages.
我跨进大门，觉得自己好像已经置身远古世界，忘形于昔日的憧憧鬼影之中了。
I entered from the inner court of Westminster School,
我是从西敏学校的内庭走进去的，

through a long, low, vaulted passage that had an almost subterranean look,
先走过一条弧顶的矮矮的长廊，墙壁很厚，墙上有圆孔，
being dimly lighted in one part by circular perforations in the massive walls.
略有光线透入，廊中幽暗，幽幽然似在地下行走。
Through this dark avenue I had a distant view of the cloisters,
黑廊尽头，我远远的看见大寺里的回廊，一个老年香火道人，
with the figure of an old verger in his black gown moving along their shadowy vaults,
身穿黑袍，正沿着拱廊阴影里踽踽走去，
and seeming like a spectre from one of the neighboring tombs.
看起来就像从附近的古坟里爬出来的鬼魂。
The approach to the abbey through these gloomy monastic remains prepares the mind for its solemn contemplation.
我从当年僧院遗址那条路进入古寺，景象分外凄凉，我心也更适宜于往凄凉方面冥想了。
The cloisters still retain something of the quiet and seclusion of former days.
回廊一带依然保留有几分当年的幽静出世之慨。
The gray walls are discolored by damps and crumbling with age;
灰色的墙壁为霉气所蒸，显得斑斑驳驳，年代己久，颓坏之象，也很明显。
a coat of hoary moss has gathered over the inscriptions of the mural monuments,
墙上长了一层白苍苍的苔薛，
and obscured the death’s heads and other funeral emblems.
非但上面的碑文不可读，连骷髅像和别的丧用标志都模糊不清。
The sharp touches of the chisel are gone from the rich tracery of the arches;
弧顶布满雕刻花纹，可是斧钻的痕迹，也已模糊；
the roses which adorned the keystones have lost their leafy beauty;
拱心石上面雕有玫瑰花，可是当年枝叶茂美之状，已经不可复见。
everything bears marks of the gradual dilapidations of time,
每样东西都可以看出年久衰败之象，
which yet has something touching and pleasing in its very decay.
可是即使处在颓朽之中，依然不乏赏心悦目之处。
作者介绍

华盛顿欧文

华盛顿欧文是19世纪美国最著名的作家，号称美国文学之父。1783年4月3日出生在纽约一个富商家庭。欧文从少年时代起就喜爱阅读英国作家司各特、拜仑和彭斯等人的作品。欧文的第一部重要作品是《纽约外史》。 1820年，欧文的《见闻札记》出版，引起欧洲和美国文学界的重视，这部作品奠定了欧文在美国文学史上的地位。