Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: Why was the village silent?
Vocabulary:
inaccessible adj. 难接近的，达不到的
hospitable adj. 好客的
hostile adj. 不友好的，有敌意的
vicinity n. 周围，近邻
architectural adj. 建筑的
fresco n. 壁画
abruptly adv. 突然地，意外地
tramp v. 徒步行进
moor v. （用绳、链、锚）系（船）
ferry v. （用渡船）运
straggle v. 蔓延，散乱分布
dilapidated adj. 陈旧破烂的，倒塌的
sardine n. 沙丁鱼，沙丁鱼罐头
rag n. 破烂衣服
motionless adj. 不动的
procession n. 行列，成队的人群
shawl n. 披巾，围巾
peer v. 凝视，盯着
quicken v. 加快
Passage:
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.
在这个游客往来频繁的世界上，仍有成千上万个游人足迹未至的地方。人们总是
以为偏僻地方的村民们热情好客。但是，那些不但与外国旅游者隔绝，而且与本
国同胞隔绝的人们有可能对游客抱有敌意。到真正偏僻的村庄去旅游并不是一件
愉快的事情，我与妻子在一次周游巴尔干半岛时对此深有体会。
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.
我们在一座小镇上逗留了几天，参观了附近的许多古老的教堂。这些教堂吸引了
大量游客，不仅是因为建筑风格奇特，而且还存有大量保存完好的壁画。我们离
开小镇的前一天，镇上来了几辆满载游客的公共汽车。人多得使我们难以忍受，
于是我们决定利用最后一天去乡间一游。我们走上了一条出镇的小路，穿过几块
农田，来到一片茂密的树林。我们原以为小路会到此突然终止，没想到它在树林
中继续向前延伸。我们在树林中跋涉了两个多小时，到了一条深溪边。我们可以
看到小路在深溪对岸继续向前伸展，但却不知如何越过这道深溪。突然，妻子发
现岸边泊着一条小船，船上有一船夫在呼呼大睡。我们轻轻地把他唤醒，请他把
我们摆渡过溪。一开始，他很不愿意，但经劝说，终于同意了。
Notes:
1 much-travelled world ，经常有游客往来的世界。
2 be inaccessible to…，是……难以到达的。
3 be cut off from…，与……隔绝。
4 Balkans，巴尔干半岛，它位于欧洲东南部，包括阿尔巴尼亚、保加利亚、希腊、
罗马尼亚东南部分、土耳其欧洲部分和前南斯拉夫各州。
5 descend on ，突然到来。
6 taking a path which led out of the town 是现在分词短语作时间状语，which 引导
定语从句修饰 path。意即“走上了一条出镇的小路”。
7 (be) fast asleep，熟睡，此处作定语，修饰 boatman。
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 village, 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.
顺着小路，我们来到一个座落在陡峭山坡上的小村庄。这儿有一条未经修筑的弯
弯曲曲的道路，路两边排列着一些矮小的农舍。农舍全用灰色的土坯建成，因此，
即使在晴朗的蓝天底下，村庄看上去也会令人感到难以亲近。村里似乎无人居住，
唯一的生命迹象是附近田里一只面目可憎的黑山羊，用一截短绳拴在一棵树上。
我们在田边一堵东倒西歪的篱笆墙上坐了下来，打开几听沙丁鱼罐头，吃了一顿
野外午餐。突然，我注意到妻子十分惊恐。我抬头一看，发现我们被一群衣衫褴
褛的小孩团团围住了，他们在默不作声地看着我们吃饭。我们给他们东西吃，客
客气气地同他们交谈，但他们却一动也不动。我认为这不过是他们在陌生人面前
表现出的害羞。后来，我们在村里的主要街道上行走的时候，一队默不作声的孩
子跟在我们后头。刚才还似乎空荡荡的村庄一下子活跃了起来，窗口露出了一张
张面孔，只穿着衬衣的男人们站在屋子外面凶狠地盯着我们，披黑纱巾的老妇人
站在门口偷偷地瞅着我们。最令人害怕的是到处没有一点声音。毫无疑问，我们
的来访是不受欢迎的。我们不需要进一步的警告了，便掉转身子，沿着那条主要
的街道加快步伐，快速地朝深溪边走去，希望船夫还在那儿等着我们。
Notes:
8 the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat，这是一个由名词和分词组成
的独立主格结构，作状语，说明 seemed deserted。
9 by shy of…，作“对……畏缩”，“害怕……”解。
10 come to life，苏醒过来，活跃起来。
48.2【阅读理解】The silent village
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 Are there still thousands of places inaccessible to tourists? (Yes, there are.)
2 What do we always think villagers are like in remote places? (Friendly and
hospitable.)
3 Can people in remote villages be hostile to travellers? (Yes, they can.)
4 Did the writer and his wife go on a tour through the Balkans? (Yes, they did.)
5 What had they visited in the vicinity? (A number of old churches.)
6 What did these churches contain? (A large number of beautifully preserved
frescoes.)
7 What happened on the day before their departure? (Several bus loads of tourists
descended on the town.)
8 What did they come to after they crossed a few fields? (A dense wood.)
9 Did the path end abruptly? (No, it didn’t.)
10 How long did they tramp through the wood? (For over two hours.)
11 What did they arrive at? (A deep stream.)
12 Who took them to the other side of the stream? (A boatman.)
13 Where was the tiny village? (It was perched on the steep sides of a mountain.)
14 Why did the village look forbidding? (Because all the houses were built of grey
mud bricks.)
15 What was the only sign of life in the village? (An ugly-looking black goat.)
16 The writer and his wife sat down to have a picnic lunch. Where? (On a dilapidated
wooden fence.)
17 Who were they soon surrounded by? (Some children in rags.)
18 Who were they followed by when they walked down the main street of the village?
(Children.)
19 Did the village suddenly come to life? (Yes, it did.)
20 Did any of the villagers say anything? (No, they didn’t)
21 Did the writer and his wife feel they were unwelcome visitors? (Yes, they did.)
22 Who did they hope was waiting for them at the stream? (The boatman.)
48.3【拓展写作】The silent village
Step 3: Composition
Write a composition in about 300 words on the following topic:
• Continue the above passage. Imagine the boatman was not waiting for the author
and his wife. Describe what happened.
Key to composition
Title: An unexpected swim
Introduction: Reached the stream— no one there— no boat, no boatman
Development: At first surprised— mistaken the place? walked along bank —
definitely not there
Tried to attract attention of anyone on other side— stranded
Sat down on bank of stream— discussed problem— wife suggested something —
take off shirts, tie personal belongings in them — swim to other side
Walked back to hotel
Conclusion: Most surprising thing— walked into hotel still wet — no one said a word
Composition
When we reached the stream where we had stepped out of the ferry and where the
boatman said he would wait, there was no one. There was no boat and no boatman.
At first we were surprised and thought that we had perhaps mistaken the place
where he said he would wait. We walked along the bank of the stream for a few
hundred yards in one direction, and then in the other. He was definitely not there. I
was worried that the villagers would be coming down the mountain after us, but we
couldn't see anybody, and the only noise was the noise of the running stream. We
called across the stream to attract the attention of anyone on the other side, but
nothing happened. It seemed that we were stranded.
We sat down on the bank of the stream and just looked at each other.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We've been in worse situations than this. What about that time
we got lost in the forest in Germany, and the time the car broke down in Australia?’
‘You’re right, ’ she said, cheering up. ‘There is something we can do.’
And, since I certainly couldn't think of anything better, we did just what she
suggested. We both took off our shirts, tied our personal belongings in them (purse,
money, passport, keys and so on), tied the shirts round our waists, and waded into the
water until we had to swim. And we swam to the other side, where we
squeezed out our shirts and put them on again wet. Then we walked back to our small
hotel in the town.
Perhaps the most surprising thing was that when we walked into the hotel still
wet from our swim across the stream, no one said a word!
课外练习：
1 On the last day of their visit to a Balkan town, the writer and his wife .
(a) followed a path which they found to their surprise led them into a wood
(b) went exploring for churches further afield, having seen those nearby
(c) decided to visit a small village some distance away from the town
(d) discovered their own countrymen to be hostile when they are cut off
2 The village looked forbidding in that .
(a) the road leading up to it was so steep and rough
(b) it had a deserted and gloomy appearance
(c) the mountain threw its shadow over the small brick houses
(d) there was nobody in the village
3 What made the writer and his wife feel they were unwelcome visitors?
(a) Apart from the children, no one had come out to greet them.
(b) When they had first gone through the village, the people had hidden.
(c) Nobody said a single word as they watched them walk down the street.
(d) The men were too shy to speak to them and the women too shy to come out.
4 that the path continued on the other side, we wondered how we could
get across the stream.
(a) Being able to see
(b) It could be seen
(c) At the sight of
(d) Seeing
5 Though he was reluctant to at first, we ...
(a) ferry us across
(b) ferry
(c) take to the other side
(d) do that
6 -unmade road small houses lining it on either side.
(a) with
(b) which
(c) by
(d)and
7 of all was that not a sound could be heard.
(a) It frightened us most
(b) The thing that most frightened us
(c) What frightened us most
(d) We were most frightened by
8 -where we hoped the boatman was waiting and us back.
(a) was ferrying
(b) ferrying
(c) ferried
(d) would ferry
9 In it there was a boatman asleep.
(a)dead
(b) sound
(c) quickly
(d) hard
10 The fence the writer and his wife sat down on was
(a) no longer in use
(b) sheltered by trees
(c) in a state of disrepair
(d) made of very hard timber
11All at once, I noticed that my wife to be filled with alarm.
(a) came
(b) appeared
(c) turned
(d) looked
12 Men stood outside their houses and angrily at us.
(a) stared
(b) frowned
(c) grimaced
(d) winked
答案：1a 2b 3c 4d 5a 6a 7c 8d 9b 10c 11b 12a