LESSON 3 Above the clouds

第三课 云层之上

In 1856 an attempt was made, under the auspices of the British Government, to commence a series of observations in some region "above the clouds," where the serene and quiet air would be specially favourable for viewing the heavenly bodies. The island of Teneriffe was selected for this purpose, as combining more of the required advantages than any other mountain within easy reach of Europe.

1856年，在英国政府的赞助下，人们试图对“云层之上”的某些领域开始一系列的探索，那片宁静安详的天空是一览天体的绝佳之处。特里芬岛屿也因此被选为（探索之地），因为它除了容易到达欧洲之外，比起其他山脉具备观测的更多优势。

The expedition was under the direction of Piazzi Smyth, the distinguished astronomer at Edinburgh; who, in a remarkable and interesting work, has since published a narrative of the expedition. In an article contributed to a popular magazine he thus graphically describes the ascent of Teneriffe to a point high "above the clouds:"

考察队是来自爱丁堡的著名天文学家Piazzi Smyth的指导下进行的，这位从事非凡且有趣的工作的人曾发表了关于这次考察的文章。在为一本流行杂志撰写的一篇文章中，他生动地描述了攀登特里芬岛屿的一定高度——称为“云层之上”:

It was only a few days after—on a morning also cloudy, and with north-east cloud too—that the little party set forth from the town of Orotava, on the northern coast of Teneriffe, to climb the great mountain, and put to the only true test of actual practice their hopes of getting "above the clouds." Through long, winding, stony pathways, between vineyards and cactus plantations, between orange groves and fig-trees, they proceeded, always ascending; past gardens, and then past orchards, still ever ascending; past corn-fields and oat-fields, ascending yet higher, and then amongst natural vegetation only—ferns and heath and some few wild laurels; and now, at a height of 3,000 feet vertical, they are close under the cloud.

仅仅在几天以后——也是一个多云的早晨，同时东北方也是布满云——一支队伍从位于特里芬北部海岸边的Orotava小镇出发，向宏伟的山脉迈进，将“云层之上”的希望付诸实践。经过长长的，蜿蜒的石径，在葡萄园和仙人掌种植园之间穿行，漫步橘子园与无花果树林间，他们向前进，一直向上攀登；穿过花园后，经过果园；经过了玉米地与燕麦地，向更高处攀登，身处天然蕨类植被与许多野生桂树中。现在，他们到达了垂直高度3000尺的地方，那里已接近云层之下了。

Before entering therein, let us pause for a moment and survey the beauties of creation in the region we are leaving behind. If, for that one purpose of severe astronomy, a position below the clouds is unsuitable, yet what an infinite amount of benefit for man to enjoy, and of beauty for him to contemplate, is connected therewith! Beneath the clouds are kindly rains and gentle dews; and these, assisted by a warm climate, encourage all those exquisite forms of vegetation which we have admired clothing the lower slopes of the mountain. Without these, where were the fruits to support human life; where the buds and blossoms and fading flowers which teach us many a lesson useful to life eternal?

在到达那之前，让我们稍作停留，欣赏一下那些我们留在身后的美丽风景。如果仅仅是出于严谨的天文学的目的去探索，那么在未到达云层之上的观赏是不合适的，一路上无数的美景与收益对观测者而言也是不合适的！然而，云层之下温柔的雨与轻柔的水珠，以及在温暖的气候下形成的精致的植被，那些我们已经欣赏过的覆盖在再山脉下斜坡处的植物，没有它们，哪来的水果供人类生存；没有它们，我们如何能从花的萌芽、绽放到凋零中学会生命的永恒？

But duty now calls us on our upward way. Before many more seconds are passed, first comes one cold hurrying blast, with mist upon its wings, and then another, and another. Then, in the midst of a constant dense wet fog, all creation is shut out of our view, except the few feet of sloping earth on which we are treading, and that appears of a dull gray; and the occasional spiders' webs seen across our path are loaded with heavy drops of moisture.

但是肩上的责任召唤着我们继续向上。过了一会儿，一阵冷风袭来，风中夹杂着薄雾，接着一阵一阵寒风吹向我们。然后，在不断的浓雾中，所有美景都从视野里消失了，除了我们脚下的那片土地，呈现出暗灰色，偶尔有蜘蛛网横在我们行走的小道上，上面挂着许多欲坠的水滴。