读过曹明伦先生发表在《中国翻译》上的译本，一则挺喜欢这篇英文，二则课堂讲授的时候还是自己动手翻过比较有体会。试译如下，

First Snow

Gilean Douglas

初  雪

吉丽安·道格拉斯著 

One evening I look out the window of my secluded cabin, and there are soft languid flakes falling in the golden lamplight. They fall all night, while the voice of the Teal River becomes more and more hushed and the noises of the forest die away. By dawn, the whole world of stream and wood and mountain has been kindled to a white flame of beauty.

    一天晚上，从我那僻静的小木屋朝窗外望去，金黄的灯光中只见柔软的雪花正纷纷扬扬地飘洒。雪下了整整一夜，奔腾的梯尔河渐渐沉寂，热闹的森林也不再喧嚣。黎明时分，溪流河谷、树木山峰都已是银装素裹，分外妖娆。

I go out in the early morning and there is such silence that even breath is a profanation. The mountain to the north has a steel-blue light on it, and to the west the sky still holds something of the darkness of the night. To the east and the south a faint pink is spreading. I look up and see the morning star keeping white watch over a white world.

    一大早我便走到屋外，雪后的世界是如此静谧，即使是最轻微的呼吸也会破坏这周遭的宁静。北方的山脉笼罩在一片铁青色之中；西边的天空也还残存着些许的夜色；而东面和南面却已露出熹微的红光。抬头仰望，启明星闪闪烁烁，俯瞰着这个白茫茫的世界。

Soon the whole sky is azure and flaming. Every branch of every tree is weighted with cold and stillness; every stump is crowned with crystal; every fallen log is overlaid with silver. The wild berry bushes have puffballs of jeweler's cotton here and there along their branches, and the stark roots of hemlocks and cedars have become grottoes of quartz and chrysolite.

    不一会儿，已是碧空万里，一片火红。雪压枝头，寂静无声。一个个树墩戴上了水晶皇冠，一根根原木披上了厚厚银装。灌木丛的枝条上，好似挂上了一个个的闪亮棉球，铁杉和雪松光秃秃的树根，也如同冰雕玉砌一般。

After heavy snowfalls, it is the evergreens that are the loveliest. with their great white branches weighted down until they are almost parallel with the trunks. They seem like giant birds with their wings folded against the cold.

    大雪之后，最可爱的当属常绿植物。挂满白雪的粗大树枝低垂于树干周围，好似垂下翅膀包裹身子来抵御严寒的大鸟。

    But after a light fall, it is the deciduous trees that are the most beautiful. They are so fragile, so ethereal, that it seems even the sound of the rivers might shatter them as they appear to drift like crystal smoke along the banks. The bushes are silver filigree, so light, so much on tiptoe in this enchanted world. Even the slightest breeze sends the snow shimmering down form them, leaving the branches brown and bare and rather pitiful.

    若是小雪，最美的就要数那些落叶树木了。它们那样纤弱，那样轻盈，像晶莹剔透的烟雾沿河飘动，仿佛潺潺水声也会将它们震得粉碎。低矮的灌木丛犹如银丝饰物，踮着脚尖立于这个令人沉醉的世界。最轻柔的微风拂过，也会把雪花从它们身上吹散，闪着银光飘落地上，露出光秃秃黑乎乎的枝条，可怜兮兮的。

The sky is clear blue now and the sun has flung diamonds down on meadow and bank and wood. Beauty, the virgin, walks here quietly, no sign upon the immaculate snow. The silence is dense and deep. Even the squirrels have stopped their ribald chattering. And faint snowbird whisperings seems to emphasize the stillness.

    此时，天空已是湛蓝澄澈，阳光普照大地，好似把千万颗钻石撒在草地上，撒在河流旁，撒在树林间。美，这位纯洁的少女，在这里悄悄地走过，没在这洁白无瑕的雪地上留下一丝痕迹。静谧弥深，连松鼠儿都停止了它们不合时宜的喧闹，唯有雪鸟发出几声微弱的鸣叫，却愈发衬托出这世界的幽静。

Night comes, and the silence holds. There is a feeling about this season that is in no other—a sense of snugness, security and solitude. It is good to be out in the bracing cold, which cleans the mind and invigorates the heart. It is equally good to come in and feel the warmth wrap around the body like a soft fluffy blanket. Fire is a first-rate companion. The coffee is full-bodied and fragrant; shadows dance on the walls and the world outside my windows is very still. I am more than content to begin and end a day like this amid all the calm clarity of wintered earth.

    夜幕降临，天地间依然万籁俱寂。唯有在这样的季节，我会感到舒适、安宁，却又有些孤寂。置身室外，那种清冷荡涤心灵，振奋心情，让我心旷神怡。回到屋内，温暖立刻包裹全身，好像披上了一条毛绒绒的松软毯子，那种感觉也同样令人愉悦。炉火温暖贴心，咖啡醇香浓郁，墙上光影绰绰，窗外宁静无比。能在这样的冬日清幽明净中度过一天，我感到非常满足。

Outside the moon is high with a dark-blue sky behind it and with mountains, plains, and forests of silver lying below. The trees, the bushes and the tall ferns are carved with alabaster. The river runs like quicksilver between the porcelain of its banks.

    窗外，深蓝的天幕上一轮冷月高挂，天幕下山川河岳一片银辉。无论乔木、灌木还是蕨草，都似玉砌冰雕。小河好似陶瓷夹岸，急速流淌。

Earth and heavens glitter, and the sword-fern clumps are diamond sunbursts pinned to the silver-sequined ground. But it is all in silence. There are shadows from the stars. They are white, sharp lights in the midnight blue sky and appear literally to spark with coldness. I feel as though I can see every star in the universe.

    天地一色，银光闪闪。雪中的蕨丛恍若镶满钻石的旭日胸针，别在银色大地上。万物沉寂。午夜的繁星闪烁着凛凛寒光，在雪地上投下它们的影子。我仿佛能看见浩渺夜空中的每一颗星星。

It seems impossible for one human heart to contain all this loveliness without breaking. Perhaps the ache that is in mine comes from the knowledge that all this beauty is so ephemeral, that it will be gone almost before I have done more than touch it with my fingertips.

    看来没有谁能将这万千美景尽收心底。也许我心中的痛楚正是源于此，我知道美景不常在，才刚刚触及，转瞬它却消失无踪。