Day 20 | Daily Note | The Gay Genius

POET OF THE RED CLIFF 赤壁赋 | Chapter 16
2017年12月23日, 星期六

Su Tungpo now lived an enchanted life. Perhaps Huangchow was a sordid little town, but infinite leisure, the landscape, a poet's sensitive imagination, and devotion to the moonlight and to wine produced a powerful combination to make the poet's life what it was.

produced a powerful combination 这个搭配我觉得略有一点奇怪…

enchanted

(formal) filled with great pleasure 狂喜的，极乐的

sordid

derog贬 (of conditions, places, etc) dirty and unpleasant; squalid （指状况、地方等）肮脏不堪的，邋遢的

devotion

vocabulary.com上对 devotion 有生动的解释：If you feel loyal and loving toward someone or something, that's devotion. If your devotion to your pet hamster truly knows no limits, you might splurge on a solid-gold hamster wheel.

释义中的hamster是仓鼠~

hamham

After every few rounds of chess, Li would turn about and remark, "I have just slept one round. How many rounds have you played?"

turn about

turn about (especially BrE) to turn around quickly so as to face in the opposite direction 急向后转，突然转身，回头：

• She turned about and went into the kitchen.
  她一转身进了厨房。

字典中还指出，常用 about turn 这一形式作为军事口令“向后转”：

• 'About turn!' barked the sergeant-major.
  “向后转！”军士长厉声喊道。

round

1. a set of events which form part of a longer process 阶段；轮次

   • the next round of peace talks
     下一轮和谈

   • the final round of voting in the election
     选举的最后一轮投票

2. a stage in a sports competition 比赛阶段；轮次；局；场

   • the qualifying rounds of the National Championships
     全国锦标赛的资格赛

   • Hewitt was knocked out of the tournament in the third round.
     休伊特在锦标赛的第三轮被淘汰出局。

在原文中round应该分别对应上述两个意思，“睡了一回合”(I have just slept one round.)强调阶段；“下了几局棋”(How many rounds have you played?)强调轮次。

一般都说睡一会儿或睡一觉，而在调侃或强调睡得多时，会有睡了好几觉的说法。根据原文的用法，我想这个时候就可以用 two/three rounds of sleep 来表达。

It was a kind of insubstantial dream life.

insubstantial

(literary) not real or solid 非真实的；非实体的；虚幻的

• as insubstantial as a shadow
  虚无缥缈
• She seemed somehow insubstantial - a shadow of a woman.
  她好像并不真实存在似的——一个影子般的女人。

A cool night, the sound of a flute, and the moon upon the mountains——
夜凉吹笛千山月
A darkening valley, a riot of flowers, and the wanderer lost his way.
路暗迷人百种花
After a game of chess, one is not aware that a whole generation of time has passed.
棋罢不知人换世
The wine is finished, time hangs heavy, and the traveler thinks of home.
酒阑无耐客思家

darkening

becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over

Time hangs heavy.

saying said when minutes, hours, weeks, etc. seem to go past very slowly 时间难以打发
time hangs/lies heavy on one's hands： time passes too slowly (esp because one has nothing to do) 时间过得太慢（尤指因无所事事）

• Time hangs heavy in prison.
  在监狱里真是度日如年。

roit

extremely colourful and bright 绚丽多彩；色彩斑斓

• All the cacti were in flower, so that the desert was a riot of colour.
  所有的仙人掌都开花了，整个沙漠里五彩缤纷。
• The flower-beds were a riot of colour.
  花坛里色彩缤纷。

profuse display (of sth) 充分的表现或展示

• a riot of emotion
  感情的宣泄

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前后赤壁赋和记承天寺夜游，是从小熟读成诵的篇章，也一直知道其中苏轼表达的旷达人生态度。但唯独今日在英语语境并且是个人传记下的阅读，才有一种与主人公共鸣的孤独感受，以及由此而生直面的勇气。能将困境用诗意和释然所表达，不是文学，而是人生。

以上。

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