Changing of the Guard

时间：2015-07-22 05:22:15

（单词翻译:单击）

Changing of the Guard
Timothy Steele
 
 
Prior to sunrise, as it's growing light, 
             Nocturnal birds relay 
       The burden of their vocal1 arts 
       To their diurnal2 counterparts. 
 An owl3 hoots4 as a coda to the night; 
 A finch5 chirps6 as a prelude7 to the day. 
 
It is as if the birds, wings notwithstanding, 
             Are passing a baton8. 
       They make me think, as they converse, 
       Of when my mother was a nurse: 
 Each morning, as the night shift was disbanding, 
 The day shift at her hospital came on. 
 
Our breakfasts fit whichever shift she drew. 
             By an unspoken rule, 
       Leaving for work or coming from it 
       She held a little family summit. 
 (We kids, the instant she excused us, flew 
 Out of the kitchen to prepare for school.) 
 
I liked the way the shifts aligned9, the flow 
             And order they created. 
       While the white dress all nurses wore 
       Expressed their brisk esprit de corps, 
 Their caps had different designs to show 
 The colleges from which they'd graduated. 
 
Listening to the birds, I can't infer 
             Which schools they went to. Still, 
       Like sensitively trained musicians, 
       They're good at managing transitions, 
 Just as my mother and her colleagues were 
 In looking after the infirm and ill. 
 
So though it is a signal to a mate 
             Most birds send through the air --
       Or else a claim to territory --
       Their chorus seems to tell a story 
 Of former mornings and to correlate 
 The continuities of song and care.

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1 vocal vhOwA     
adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目
参考例句：
  • The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
  • Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
2 diurnal ws5xi     
adj.白天的，每日的
参考例句：
  • Kangaroos are diurnal animals.袋鼠是日间活动的动物。
  • Over water the diurnal change in refraction is likely to be small. 在水面上，折光的周日变化可能是很小的。
3 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰，枭
参考例句：
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。
4 hoots 328717a68645f53119dae1aae5c695a9     
咄，啐
参考例句：
  • His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
  • The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。
5 finch TkRxS     
n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等)
参考例句：
  • This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
  • In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚，它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。
6 chirps 6a10ab5f46899527c1988cd37ebb3054     
鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾
参考例句：
  • The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
  • She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。
7 prelude 61Fz6     
n.序言，前兆，序曲
参考例句：
  • The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
  • The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。
8 baton 5Quyw     
n.乐队用指挥杖
参考例句：
  • With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
  • The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。
9 aligned 165f93b99f87c219277d70d866425da6     
adj.对齐的，均衡的
参考例句：
  • Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

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