原文
The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the houses, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
We have special river birthday parties in the summer. Sometimes were go upstream to a favourite backwater, sometimes we have our party at the boathouse, which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving. In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all. We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and throwing a holy wreath into the current in the winter.
After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks. This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom guest to extremes. We are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are effected by flooding, but other farms are less favorably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
One had winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows. All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little. We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbors, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district. As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing. From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours, and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point. The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down. Next came a horse, swimming bravely, but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted. Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, cat, and bird in a cage. We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood, for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged. The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks, in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank. We still think it a miracle that they we able to do so.
译文
这条形成我们农场东边边界的河流，在我们的生活中一直扮演着重要的角色。没有它，我们就无法维持生计。只有足够的泉水供应房屋的需要，所以我们不得不从河里抽水用于农场。我们向河流倾诉我们所有的秘密。我们本能地知道，就像养蜂人对待他们的蜜蜂一样，如果我们生活中的重要事件不与它相关联，灾难就可能降临到我们头上。
我们在夏天举行特别的河边生日派对。有时我们逆流而上到一处最喜爱的死水湾，有时我们在船棚里举办派对，那船棚是我们农场的前任在草地深处，为游泳和跳水的最深水潭旁建造的。在热浪中，我们选择午夜生日派对，那是最令人兴奋的。我们在河边迎接季节：在春天，给最年轻的女孩戴上花冠；在仲夏夜举行夏季节日；在秋天，为丰收表示感谢；在冬天，向河水投掷圣花环。
经过长时间的降雨，河流可能 overflow its banks。这是一种罕见的情况，因为我们的气候很少极端。我们很幸运，只有下方的田地——它们只占我们农场很小一部分——会受到洪水的影响，但其他农场位置不佳，洪水有时会给它们的主人带来灾难。
在一个严冬，我们看着河流慢慢漫上下方的草地。所有的牛都已转移到牛棚，我们几乎没有损失。然而，我们担心最近的邻居，他们的农场地势低洼，而且是这个地区的 newcomers。由于洪水使电话中断，我们无法得知他们的情况。从阁楼窗户，我们可以一览无余地看到河流与他们土地接壤的地方，在最关键的时刻，我们轮流监视那一点。灾难的第一个迹象是一只死羊漂下来。接着是一匹马，勇敢地游泳，但我们担心水流的强度会让它在精疲力尽前无法上岸。突然，一只筏子出现了，看起来颇像诺亚方舟，载着全家、一只母鸡、狗、猫和关在笼子里的鸟。我们意识到，他们一定是由于洪水上涨而过度恐慌，因为他们的房子地基坚固，即使几乎被淹没，也能屹立不倒。我们家的男人们趟过被洪水淹没的草地，手持船钩，希望能钩住筏子的一角，将它从水流中拉向我们的河岸。我们仍然认为他们能做到这一点是个奇迹。