The silent village

原文

In this much-travelled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists. We always assume that villagers in remote places are friendly and hospitable. But people who are cut off not only from foreign tourists, but even from their own countrymen can be hostile to travellers. Visits to really remote villages are seldom enjoyable -- as my wife and I discovered during a tour through the Balkans.

We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity. These attracted many visitors, for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town. This was more than we could bear, so we decided to spend our last day exploring the countryside. Taking a path which led out of the town, we crossed a few fields until we came to a dense wood. We expected the path to end abruptly, but we found that it traced its way through the trees. We tramped through the wood for over two hours until we arrived at a deep stream. We could see that the path continued on the other side, but we had no idea how we could get across the stream. Suddenly my wife spotted a boat moored to the bank. In it there was a boatman fast asleep. We gently woke him up and asked him to ferry us to the other side. Though he was reluctant to do so at first, we eventually persuaded him to take us.

The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain. The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks. The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby. Sitting down on a dilapidated wooden fence near the field, we opened a couple of tins of sardines and had a picnic lunch. All at once, I noticed that my wife seemed to be filled with alarm. Looking up I saw that we were surrounded by children in rags who were looking at us silently as we ate. We offered them food and spoke to them kindly, but they remained motionless. I concluded that they were simply shy of strangers. When we later walked down the main street of the villager, we were followed by a silent procession of children. The village which had seemed deserted, immediately came to life. Faces appeared at windows. Men in shirt sleeves stood outside their houses and glared at us. Old women in black shawls peered at us from doorways. The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard. There was no doubt that we were unwelcome visitors. We needed no further warning. Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream where we hoped the boatman was waiting.

译文

在这个旅游频繁的世界里，仍然有数以千计的地方游客无法到达。我们总是以为偏远地方的村民友好而好客。但是，那些不仅与外国游客隔离，甚至与本国人隔绝的人们，对旅行者可能充满敌意。访问真正偏远的村庄很少是愉快的——正如我和我妻子在巴尔干半岛旅行中所发现的那样。

我们已经在那个小镇上逗留了数日，并参观了附近的一些古老教堂。这些教堂吸引了许多游客，因为它们不仅在建筑学上极富趣味，而且还保存着大量精美的壁画。在我们离去的前一天，几大车游客突然涌入小镇。这实在叫我们难以忍受，因此我们决定用最后一天的时间去乡间探险。我们沿着一条通往镇外的小径前行，穿过几片田野，直达一片茂密的树林。我们原以为小径会突然中断，却发现它蜿蜒穿行于树丛之中。我们在树林里跋涉了两个多小时，最后来到一条深溪。我们可以看到小径在对岸继续延伸，但却不知该如何渡过溪流。突然，我妻子发现岸边有一只系泊着的船，船上有个船夫正在酣睡。我们轻轻地叫醒了他，请他把我们渡到对岸。虽然起初他很不情愿，但我们最终说服了他。

小径通向一个依山傍崖的 Tiny 村庄。这个地方只有一条坑坑洼洼的土路，两旁排列着几间小屋。即使在晴朗的蓝天下，这个村庄看起来也令人生畏，因为所有的房屋都是用灰色的泥砖建成的。村庄似乎空无一人，唯一的生机就是附近田野里，一只丑陋的黑山羊被拴在树上的一段短绳上。我们在一道破旧的木栅栏上坐下来，打开几听沙丁鱼罐头，吃了一顿野餐。突然，我注意到妻子似乎充满了惊恐。抬头一看，我发现我们已被一群衣衫褴褛的孩子团团围住，他们默默地注视着我们进食。我们递给他们食物，并和颜悦色地同他们说话，但他们一动不动。我断定他们只是对陌生人害羞。后来，当我们走在村庄的主要街道上时，一队沉默的孩子跟在我们身后。原本显得荒凉的村庄顿时活跃起来。窗后出现了面孔。穿着衬衫的男人们站在屋外，怒视着我们。披着黑头巾的老妇人从门廊里窥视着我们。最令人恐惧的是，四周鸦雀无声。毫无疑问，我们是 unwelcome 的访客。我们无需更多的警告。掉头走下主要街道，我们加快了步伐，迅速向溪边走去，希望船夫还在那里等候。

词汇表

inaccessible

形容词

英:/ˌɪnəkˈsɛsəbl/

美:/ˌɪnəkˈsɛsəbəl/

定义

1. 无法进入的 - Not able to be reached or entered, often due to physical barriers or restrictions.

例子: The remote village is inaccessible by car during the rainy season.

例子: Some parts of the forest are inaccessible to tourists for safety reasons.

2. 难以获得的 - Not obtainable or understandable.

例子: Advanced scientific concepts can be inaccessible to beginners.

例子: The old manuscript's language is inaccessible without translation.

近义词

unreachable: 强调完全无法到达，常用于物理距离；与 'inaccessible' 类似，但更侧重于实际可达性。

impassable: 特指道路或路径被阻挡，无法通行；'inaccessible' 更广泛，包括抽象概念。

inapproachable: 更强调难以接近或亲近，常用于人或情感；'inaccessible' 更常用于物理位置。

反义词:

accessible, reachable, approachable

用法

常用于描述地理位置、交通或信息，语境包括旅游、探索或限制访问，常搭配如 'inaccessible to' 表示对某人或物不可达。

形式:

比较级: more inaccessible, 最高级: most inaccessible

深入解析：关键句型 "People who are cut off not only from ..., but even from ... can be hostile to travellers."

定义

这个句型是一种使用定语从句的结构，用于描述特定人群或事物的特征，并强调对比或扩展。基本结构为：主句 + who/which + 从句，其中 "who" 引导定语从句修饰前面的名词（如 "People"），并结合 "not only ... but even ..." 来突出对比。权威教材如《新概念英语》或《剑桥英语语法》定义这种句型为相对从句的典型应用，旨在提供更多细节，使句子更具描述性。核心含义是表达某种状况下的事物或人的状态，例如 "People who are cut off ..." 表示 "那些被隔离的人"，并连接到主句的结论。

用法

此句型常用于叙述性或描述性文章中，强调事物的特定条件或特征。使用场景包括旅游、历史或社会评论，如文章中描述偏远村庄的居民。规则是："who" 用于修饰人，紧跟在主语后；"not only ... but even ..." 用于并列结构，强调程度递进。在语法体系中，它属于复杂句的一部分，链接到定语从句知识，帮助学生从简单句过渡到复杂句。跨语法点联系：它与并列连词（如 "but"）结合，还可与情态动词（如 "can be"）一起使用，形成更丰富的表达，例如与条件句（如 "If people are isolated, they can be hostile"）对比，展示如何用从句代替简单条件。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 "which" 代替 "who"（"which" 用于物，而 "who" 用于人）；忽略逗号或连接词，导致句子不完整，例如说 "People cut off not only from tourists but even from countrymen can be hostile"，缺少 "who are"；另一个偏误是过度使用 "not only ... but also ..." 而忽略语境，导致句子冗长。纠正建议：练习识别主句和从句的界限，并通过朗读文章中的例子强化。还需注意在正式写作中保持句子平衡，避免从句过长影响可读性。

练习

一个额外的例子：在旅游语境中，你可以说："Villages which are hidden in the mountains not only lack modern facilities, but even face isolation can be dangerous for visitors." 这个例子帮助学生应用定语从句和对比结构。通过替换关键词，如用 "places" 代替 "people"，学生可以创建自己的句子，并尝试在口语中表达类似经历。

额外内容

背景知识：这种句型源于英语的复杂句发展，常见于19世纪文学中，如狄更斯的作品。对比分析：在中文中，这类似于 "那些被...的人可能会..."，但英语更强调从句的独立性。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生能更好地处理描述性写作，提升阅读理解，例如在旅游文章中识别潜在风险，丰富语言表达能力。

深入解析：关键句型 "Though he was reluctant to do so at first, we eventually persuaded him to take us."

定义

这个句型是一种让步状语从句的结构，用于表达转折或让步，强调尽管有障碍，但结果还是发生了。基本结构为：Though + 从句, + 主句，其中 "Though" 表示让步，引导一个表示相反或障碍的从句。权威教材如《新概念英语》定义它为状语从句的常见形式，核心含义是展示矛盾对比，例如 "尽管他起初不愿意，但我们最终说服了他"。它帮助连接两个相互对立的观点，形成更流畅的叙述。

用法

此句型常用于故事叙述、个人经历或议论文中，突出事件的转折。使用场景包括日常生活中的说服或改变，如文章中描述说服船夫。规则是："Though" 置于从句开头，从句通常用过去时或一般时，主句表达积极结果。在语法体系中，它属于状语从句的一部分，链接到其他连词如 "although" 或 "even though"，帮助学生建立句间逻辑。跨语法点联系：它可与动词不定式（如 "to do so"）结合，强化动作的细节；同时，与对比句型（如 "but" 句）相关，形成更复杂的段落结构，例如与条件句（如 "If he had agreed, we wouldn't have persuaded him"）对比，展示假设与现实的差异。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：将 "Though" 误用为 "But"，导致句子缺乏让步意味，例如说 "But he was reluctant, we persuaded him"，这会使语言显得生硬；另一个偏误是时态不一致，如用现在时在从句中，而主句用过去时。纠正建议：通过分析文章中的例子，学生应练习区分 "Though" 和 "But" 的细微差别，并确保从句和主句时态匹配。此外，注意在口语中不要过度重复此类句型，以免显得啰嗦。

练习

一个额外的例子：在类似语境中，你可以说："Though the weather was bad at first, we still managed to finish our hike." 这个例子让学生练习让步从句的应用，通过替换内容如 "Though the villagers were unfriendly, we explored the area"，学生可以模拟文章中的场景，并在写作中应用以增强叙述性。

额外内容

背景知识：让步状语从句起源于古英语的连接词，现代英语中常用于小说和游记以增加张力。对比分析：与中文的 "虽然...但是..." 类似，但英语更注重从句的独立性。补充信息：此句型有助于学生在英语学习中处理情感冲突，例如在旅游日记中表达意外转折，进而提升整体写作技巧和文化理解。