The Beginning

1

There are songs that come free from the?

blue-eyed grass

, from the dust of a thousand country roads.?

blue-eyed grass n.?庭菖蒲

2

This is one of them.

3

In?

late

?afternoon, in the autumn of 1989, I’m at my desk, looking at a blinking?

cursor

?on the computer screen before me, and the telephone rings.

late /le?t/ adj.?近日暮的

cursor /'k?s?/ n.?光標

4

On the other end of the wire is a?

former

?lowan named Michael Johnson. He lives in Florida now. A friend from?

Iowa

has sent him one of my books.

former /?f??rm?r/ adj.?以前的

Iowa /?a??w?/ n.?愛荷華州(美國中西部的一州)

5

Michael Johnson has read it; his sister, Carolyn, has read it; and they have a story in which they think I might be interested.

6

He is?

circumspect

, refusing to say anything about the story, except that he and Carolyn are willing to travel to Iowa to talk with me about it.

circumspect /?s??rk?mspekt/ adj.?謹慎小心的

7

That they are prepared to make such an?

effort

?

intrigues

?me, in spite of my?

skepticism

?about such?

offers

.

effort /?ef?rt/ n.?努力

intrigue /?n?tri?ɡ/ vt.?激起...的好奇心

skepticism /'sk?pt?,s?z?m/ n.?懷疑態(tài)度

offer /???f?r/ n.?提供

8

So I agree to meet with them in?

Des Moines

?the?

following

?week.

Des Moines /d? ?m??n/?得梅因(美國衣阿華Iowa州的首府)

following /?fɑ?lo???/ adj.?接著的

9

At a Holiday?

Inn

?near the airport, the introductions are made,?

awkwardness

?gradually?

declines

, and the two of them sit across from me, evening coming down outside,?

light snow

?falling.

inn /?n/ n.?小旅館

awkwardness /? ?k w?dn?s/ n.?難為情

decline /d??kla?n/ v.?衰退

light snow n.?小雪

10

They?

extract

?a promise:

extract /?ekstr?kt/ v.?設(shè)法得到

11

If I decide not to write the story, I must agree never to?

disclose

?what?

transpired

?in Madison County, Iowa, in 1965?

disclose /d?s?klo?z/ vt.?透露

transpire /tr?n'spa??/ vi.?發(fā)生

12

or other related events that followed over the next twenty-four years.

13

All right, that’s?

reasonable

. After all, it’s their story, not mine.

reasonable /?ri?zn?bl/ adj.?合乎情理的

14

So I listen. I listen hard, and I ask hard questions. And they talk.?

On and on

?they talk.?

on and on adv.?繼續(xù)不停地

15

Carolyn cries?

openly

?

at times

, Michael?

struggles

?not to.

openly /?o?p?nli/ adv.?公然地

at times?有時

struggle /?str?ɡl/ vi.?努力

16

They show me documents and magazine clippings and a set of?

journals

?written by their mother, Francesca.

journal /?d???rnl/ n.?日記

17

Room service

?comes and goes. Extra coffee is?

ordered

.?

room service n.?客房服務(wù)

18

As they talk, I begin to see the images. First you must have the images, then come the words.

19

And I begin to hear the words, begin to see them on pages of writing.?

20

Sometime just after midnight, I agree to write the story — or at least attempt it.

21

Their decision to make this information public was a difficult one for them.?

22

The circumstances are delicate, involving their mother and, more?

tangentially

, their father.

tangential /t?n?d?en?l/ adj. <正>間接相關(guān)的

23

Michael and Carolyn recognized that?

coming forth

?with the story might?

result in

?

tawdry

?

gossip

come forth?被公布

result in?導(dǎo)致

tawdry /?t??dri/ adj. (故事、事件)不道德的

gossip /?ɡɑ?s?p/ n.?流言蜚語

unkind /??n'ka?nd/ adj.?無情的

debasement /di'beism?nt/ n.?降低

24

and?

unkind

?

debasement

?of whatever memories people have of Richard and Francesca Johnson.

unkind /??n'ka?nd/ adj.?無情的

debasement /di'beism?nt/ n.?降低

25

Yet in a world where personal?

commitment

?in all of its forms seems to be?

shattering

?and love has become a matter of?

convenience

,?

commitment /k??m?tm?nt/ n.?承諾

shatter /???t?r/ vi.?粉碎

convenience /k?n?vi?ni?ns/ n.?方便

26

they both felt this?

remarkable

?

tale

?was worth the telling.

remarkable /r??mɑ?rk?bl/ adj.?不尋常的

tale /te?l/ n.?故事

27

I believed then, and I believe even more?

strongly

?now, they were correct in their?

assessment

.

strongly /?str??l?/ adv.?強烈地

assessment /??sesm?nt/ n.?估計

28

In the?

course

?of my research and writing, I asked to meet with Michael and Carolyn three more times.

course /k??rs/ n.?過程

29

On each?

occasion

, and without?

complaint

, they traveled to Iowa. Such was their?

eagerness

?to make sure the story was told?

accurately

.

occasion /??ke??n/ n.?場合

complaint /k?m?ple?nt/ n.?抱怨

eagerness / ?iɡ?n?s/ n.?渴望

accurately /'?kj?r?tli/ adv.?正確無誤地

30

Sometimes we?

merely

?talked; sometimes we slowly drove the roads of Madison County while they pointed out places having a?

significant

?

role

?in the story.

merely /?m?rli/ adv.?只是

significant /s?ɡ?n?f?k?nt/ adj.?重要的

role /rol/ n.?角色

31

In addition to

?the help provided by Michael and Carolyn,?

in addition to?除...之外(還)

32

the story as I tell it here is based on information contained in the journals of Francesca Johnson;

33

research?

conducted

?in the north-western United States, particularly?

Seattle

?and?

Bellingham

, Washington;

conduct /k?n?d?kt/ v.?進行

Seattle /si??tl/ n.?西雅圖（美國一港市）

Bellingham /?b?l???h?m/?貝靈漢(美國華盛頓州西北部城市)

34

research?

carried out

?

quietly

?in Madison County, Iowa;?

carry out vt.?實行

quietly /?k wa??tl?/ adv.?秘密地

35

information?

gleaned

?from the photographic?

essays

?of Robert Kincaid;

glean /ɡli?n/ vt.?收集（資料）

essay /?ese?/ n.?隨筆

36

assistance

?provided by magazine editors;?

assistance /??s?st?ns/ n.?幫助

37

detail supplied by?

manufacturers

?of photographic?

films

?and equipment;

manufacturer /?m?nju?f?kt??r?r/ n.?制造商

film /f?lm/ n.?膠卷

38

and long discussions with several wonderful?

elderly

?people in the county home at Barnesville,?

Ohio

, who remembered Kincaid from his?

boyhood

?days.

elderly /?eld?rli/ adj.?上了年級的

Ohio /o?ha?o/ n.?俄亥俄州（美國一個州）

boyhood /'b??h?d/ n.?少年時期

39

In spite of

?the?

investigative

?effort,?

gaps

?

remain

.

in spite of?盡管

investigative /?n?vest?ɡe?t?v/ adj.?調(diào)查性質(zhì)的

gap /ɡ?p/ n.?空白

remain /r?'men/ vi. & link v.?依舊是

40

I have added a little of my own imagination in those?

instances

,

instance /??nst?ns/ n.?事例

41

but only when I could make?

reasoned

?judgments?

flowing from

?the intimate?

familiarity

?with Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid I gained through my research.

reasoned /'riznd/ adj.?合乎邏輯的

flow from?來自......

familiarity /f??m?li??r?ti/ n.?熟悉

42

I am confident that I have come very close to what actually happened.

43

One major gap?

involves

?the?

exact

?details of a trip made across the northern United States by Kincaid.

involve /?n?vɑ?lv/ vt.?涉及

exact /?ɡ?z?kt/ adj.?準確的

44

We knew he made this journey, based on a number of photographs that?

subsequently

?were published,?

subsequently /?s?bs??kw?ntl?/ adv.?隨后

45

a brief mention of it by Francesca Johnson in her journals, and handwritten notes he left with a magazine editor.

46

Using these sources as my?

guide

, I?

retraced

?what I believe was the path he took from Bellingham to Madison County in August of 1965.

guide /ɡa?d/ vt.?向?qū)?/p>

retrace /r??tre?s/ vt.?重走(別人走過的路線)

47

Driving toward Madison County at the end of my travels, I felt I had, in many ways, become Robert Kincaid.

48

Still, attempting to?

capture

?the?

essence

?of Kincaid was the most challenging part of my research and writing.

capture /?k?pt??r/ vt.?捕獲

essence /?esns/ n.?本質(zhì)

49

He is an?

elusive

?figure. At times he seems rather ordinary. At other times?

ethereal

, perhaps even?

spectral

.

elusive /i?lu?s?v/ adj.?難以捉摸的

ethereal /i?θ?ri?l/ adj.?飄渺的

spectral /?spektr?l/ adj.?幽靈的

50

In his work he was a?

consummate

?

professional

.?

consummate /?kɑ?ns?m?t/ adj.?完美的

professional /pr??fe??nl/ n.?專家

51

Yet

?he saw himself as a?

peculiar

?kind of male animal becoming?

obsolete

?in a world?

given over to

?increasing amounts of organization.

yet /j?t/ conj.?然而

peculiar /p??kju?li?r/ adj.?特殊的

obsolete /?ɑ?bs??li?t/ adj.?淘汰的

be given over to?沉溺于

52

He once talked about the “

merciless

?wail” of time in his head,?

merciless /?m?..s?l?s/ adj.?殘忍的

53

and Francesca Johnson?

characterized

?him as living “in strange,?

haunted

?places,?

far back

?along the?

stems

?of Darwin’s logic.”

characterize /?k?r?kt?ra?z/ vt.?描述(人或物)的特性

haunted /'h?nt?d/ adj.?（地方，場所）幽靈出沒的

far back?久遠

stem /stem/ v.?起源于

54

Two other?

intriguing

?questions are still?

unanswered

.

intriguing /?n?tri:g??/ adj.?令人感興趣的

unanswered /?n'ɑns?d/ adj.?未解決的

55

First, we have been unable to?

determine

?what?

became of

?Kincaid’s photographic files.

determine /d??t??rm?n/ vt.?確定

become of?發(fā)生......情況

56

Given the?

nature

?of his work, there must have been thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of photographs.

nature /'net??/ n.?性質(zhì)

57

These never have been?

recovered

.

recover /r??k?v?r/ vt.?重新獲得

58

Our best guess — and this would be consistent with the way he saw himself and his place in the world — is that he destroyed them?

prior

?to his death.

prior /?pra??r/ adv.?在前

59

The second question deals with his life from 1975 to 1982. Very little information is available.

60

We know he?

earned a sparse living

?as a?

portrait

?photographer in Seattle for several years and continued to photograph the Puget Sound area.

earn a living /??rn/?謀生

sparse /spɑ?rs/ adj.?簡樸的

portrait /?p??rtr?t/ n.?肖像

61

Other than that, we have nothing.

62

One interesting note is that all letters mailed to him by?

the Social Security Administration

?and?

Veterans Administration

?were marked “Return to Sender” in his handwriting and sent back.

the Social Security Administration?社會保障局

Veterans Administration (美國)退伍軍人管理局

63

Preparing and writing this book has?

altered

?my?

world view

,?

transformed

?the way I think,?

alter /???lt?r/ vt,?改編

world view?世界觀

transform /tr?ns?f??rm/ vt. & vi.?改變

64

and, most of all, reduced my?

level

?of?

cynicism

?about what is possible in the?

arena

?of?

human relationships

.

level /?levl/ n.?程度

cynicism /?s?n??s?z?m/ n.?憤世嫉俗

arena /??ri?n?/ n.?舞臺

human relationship?人際關(guān)系

65

Coming to know

?Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid as I have through my research, I find the?

boundaries

?of such relationships can be?

extended

?farther than I?

previously

?thought.

come to know?開始了解到

boundary /?ba?ndri/ n.?邊界

extend /?k?stend/ vt. & vi. (空間、時間等)延伸

previously /?pri?vi?sli/ adv.?以前

66

Perhaps you will hasthesame experience in reading this story.

67

That will not be easy. In an increasingly?

callous

?world, we all exist with our own?

carapaces

?of?

scabbed

-over

sensibilities

.

callous /?k?l?s/ adj.?起老繭的

carapace /'k?r?pes/ n.?殼

scabbed /'sk?b?d/ adj.?有疙瘩的

sensibility /?s?ns?'b?l?ti/ n.?敏感性

68

Where great?

passion

?leaves off and?

mawkishness

?begins, I’m not sure.

passion /?p??n/ n.?激情

mawkish /?m??k??/ adj.?淡而無味的

69

But our tendency to?

scoff

?at the possibility of the former and to label?

genuine

?and?

profound

?feelings as?

maudlin

scoff /skɑ?f/ v.?嘲笑

genuine /?d?enju?n/ adj.?真實的

profound /pr??fa?nd/ adj. (感情)強烈的

maudlin /'m?dl?n/ n.?脆弱的感情

70

makes it difficult to enter the?

realm

?of?

gentleness

?required to understand the story of Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid.

realm /relm/ n.?（知識、活動、思想的）領(lǐng)域

gentleness /?d ? ?nt l..n?s/ n.?柔和

71

I know I had to?

overcome

?that?

tendency

?

initially

?before I could begin writing.

overcome /?o?v?r?k?m/ vt. & vi.?克服

tendency /?tend?nsi/ n.?傾向

initially /??n???li/ adv.?開始

72

If, however, you?

approach

?what?

follows

?with a willing?

suspension

?of disbelief, as Coleridge?

put

?it,?

approach /??pro?t?/ v.?對待

follow /?fɑ?lo?/ v.?遵循

suspension /s??spen?n/ n.?暫停

put /p?t/ vt.?說

73

I am confident you will?

experience

?what I have experienced.

experience /?k'sp?r??ns/ vt.?感受

74

In the?

indifferent

?spaces of your heart, you may even find, as Francesca Johnson did, room to dance again.

indifferent /?n?d?fr?nt/ adj.?漠不關(guān)心的

75

Summer 1991

76