第5章 “ABOVE THE CLOUDS”在云端

In 1856 an attempt was made, under the auspices of the British Government, to commence a series of observations in some region “above the clouds,” where the serene and quiet air would be specially favourable for viewing the heavenly bodies. The island of Teneriffe was selected for this purpose, as combining more of the required advantages than any other mountain within easy reach of Europe.

The expedition was under the direction of Piazzi Smyth, the distinguished astronomer at Edinburgh; who, in a remarkable and interesting work, has since published a narrative of the expedition. In an article contributed to a popular magazine he thus graphically describes the ascent of Teneriffe to a point high “above the clouds:”—

It was only a few days after—on a morning also cloudy, and with north-east cloud too—that the little party set forth from the town of Orotava, on the northern coast of Teneriffe, to climb the great mountain, and put to the only true test of actual practice their hopes of getting “above the clouds.” Through long, winding, stony pathways, between vineyards and cactus plantations, between orange groves and fig-trees, they proceeded, always ascending; past gardens, and then past orchards, still ever ascending; past corn-fields and oat-fields, ascending yet higher, and then amongst natural vegetation only—ferns and heath and some few wild laurels; and now, at a height of 3000 feet vertical, they are close under the cloud.

Before entering therein, let us pause for a moment and survey the beauties of creation in the region we are leaving behind. If, for that one purpose of severe astronomy, a position below the clouds is unsuitable, yet what an infinite amount of benefit for man to enjoy, and of beauty for him to contemplate, is connected therewith! Beneath the clouds are kindly rains and gentle dews; and these, assisted by a warm climate, encourage all those exquisite forms of vegetation which we have admired clothing the lower slopes of the mountain. Without these, where were the fruits to support human life; where the buds and blossoms and fading flowers which teach us many a lesson useful to life eternal?

But duty now calls us on our upward way. Before many more seconds are passed, first comes one cold hurrying blast, with mist upon its wings, and then another, and another. Then, in the midst of a constant dense wet fog, all creation is shut out of our view, except the few feet of sloping earth on which we are treading, and that appears of a dull gray; and the occasional spiders' webs seen across our path are loaded with heavy drops of moisture.

For half an hour we must toil on and on through this winding-sheet of gloom;perpetually on the same upward way, but strong in faith and hope of what must in the end be presented to our eyes; on still, and up higher, when suddenly a momentary break appears overhead, and a portion of sky is seen—oh, so blue! —but it is lost again.

In a few minutes, however, another opening, another blue patch is seen; and then another, and another. Before three minutes more are passed, all the hurrying clouds seem blown on one side. Fair sky is everywhere above and around, a brilliant sun is shining, and there, there below us, is the upper surface of the clouds, extending far and wide, like a level plain, shutting out lowland and city and sea all from view, and in their place substituting brilliant reflections of solar light, which make the surface of this new mist-country look winter than snow! Yes, indeed, we are now “above the clouds;” and this view that we have attempted to describe is the first example of the heightened, the advanced, the glorified appearance of even Earth's sombre fog-banks to those who are privileged for a time to look on them from the heavenward side.

“Above the clouds!”—not only no rain, no mist, no dew, but a scorching sun, and an air, both by day and by night, dry to almost an alarming degree. The further we advance, and the higher we ascend, the drier becomes the air; while at the same time the strength of the north-east trade-wind is continually decreasing, and at the height of about six or seven thousand feet has completely died away.

Not that it has ceased elsewhere as well, for the driving clouds below show that it is still in its accustomed violence there. The distant movements of those rollers of white cloud betray that it must yet be raging down there in all its strength, tearing the mist piecemeal, and bowing down the heads of suffering palm-trees, and lashing the sea into foam-crested waves. Heaven grant that no cry of shipwrecked mariners be borne on the breeze; and, more still, that no evil thoughts be engendering in the cities of men.

It was when our party on the mountain were in the fullest enjoyment of their daily and nightly views of the heavens, that their friends in the towns of Teneriffe near the sea-coast wrote to them most sympathizingly:

“Oh! what dreadful weather you must have been suffering! Down here we have had for three weeks the most frightful continuance of storms—constant clouds, rain, and howling winds; and if that was the case with us, what must it not have been with you at the greater height!”

Yet at the greater height, at that very time, the air was tranquil and serene, the sky clear, and bad weather entirely confined to that lower depth in the atmosphere beneath“the grosser clouds.”

Words

accustomed,usual.

actual,real.

alarming,disquieting.

ascending,mounting.

auspices,patronage.

brilliant,gorgeous.

commence,begin.

completely,entirely.

confined,limited.

contemplate,consider.

continuance,succession.

decreasing,diminishing.

distinguished,eminent.

dreadful,terrible.

engendering,growing.

expedition,enterprise.

exquisite,dedicate.

graphically,forcibly.

heightened,elevated.

mariners,seamen.

momentary,transient.

narrative,account.

observations,investigations.

perpetually,constantly.

practice,expedience.

privileged,permitted.

region,district.

serene,tranquil.

severe,accurate.

substituting,exchanging.

survey,examine.

sympathizing,compassionately.

treading,walking.

unsuitable,inconvenient.

vegetation,plant life.

violence,vehemence.

hurrying,fleeting.

Questions

What place was selected for the astronomical expedition of 1856? Who directed it? At what height was the party close under the cloud? What benefits arise to man from being beneath the clouds? How long was the party in piercing the cloud? What was the state of the sky above it? What was the appearance of the clouds from above? What was the state of the air as they ascended higher? What change did the trade-wind undergo? What showed that it had not ceased elsewhere? What was the state of the weather near the sea-coast? What, above the clouds?

1856年，在英国政府的资助下，一个太空系列观测项目在部分地区展开。这些地区僻静而天气晴朗，对于观测空中的天体而言再好不过了。特纳利夫岛就是这部分地区中的一个，它得天独厚的条件要胜过所有能够容易到达的欧洲山地。

这次探险活动是在皮亚兹·史密斯的带领下进行的。史密斯是爱丁堡负有盛名的天文学家，他在一本备受追捧且生动有趣的书中，描写了此次探险活动。在一篇写给大众杂志的文章中，他如此形象地描述了特纳利夫山高耸“在云端”：

仅仅过了几天的时间——也是一个多云的早晨，云朵向东北方漂移——小分队从位于特纳利夫岛北海岸的斯特拉瓦出发，向着特纳利夫山攀登，以实现他们到达“云端”的梦想。他们走过那些又长又蜿蜒而且布满砾石的山路，跨过那些葡萄藤和仙人掌盘踞的荒原，又穿过橘子林和无花果树林，仍然向前行进，不停地登攀；他们又过了几个花园，穿过了几个农场，仍然继续前行；接着又过了几片玉米田和麦田，他们攀登得更高，到达了只有原始植被——蕨类、石楠和一些野生月桂树的地方；而现在，在海拔3000英尺的地方，他们离着云端只有几步之遥了。

在到达前，我们先停下来看看那些生长在我们走过的路途中的美丽生物吧。因为，如果只是为了严肃的天文学的话，攀爬到云端下的地方实在是不值得，但如果能把一路上所闻所见的美丽事物都冥想一番，那该是怎样的一种美妙境界啊！云端下是温和的雨露；它们在温暖的气候下，给所有多姿多彩的植物提供了生长条件，而那些植物，我们多希望它们能点缀海拔低的山坡啊！没有它们的话，哪里有滋养我们的鲜果，哪里有让我们见证花朵从盛开再到花瓣凋零的机会，从而明白了人生的许多道理。

但我们现在肩负重任，必须向前。又过了许多时候，我们先是到了一处荒芜的寒冷之地，迷雾萦绕其间，然后又过了一处，再过一处。之后，在久久不散的潮湿的浓雾中，一切生物都从我们视野中消失不见了，只有脚下的几英尺陡峭的土地发出毫无生机的灰白色，偶尔能看到几处蛛网横结在路上，上面净是水坑。

我们必须继续跋涉，穿越着蜿蜒的晦暗，一直走上半个钟头；我们永远在同样的路上向上攀登，而内心保持着最后会看见美景的强烈信念和希望；然后继续前行，攀登得更高，直到突然头顶出现了一瞬间的闪亮，露出天空的一角——噢，如此湛蓝的天啊！——但不久又看不到了。

不过，过了几分钟，又看到了天空一角，看到那湛蓝的一角；再过几分钟，又看到一处。不出三分钟的时间，所有那些行迹匆匆的流云都被吹拂到一边了。清澈的天空随处可见，呈现在头顶和周围，明亮的太阳在闪耀着，而就在那里，就在我们站立的地方，已经到了云端，它向外无限延展着，取代了那太阳光的明亮的倒影，让这迷雾萦绕的地方更像冬季的雪天！是的，没错，我们现在已经“在云端”了；而我们希望描述的这个场景，是对晦暗的、烟雾萦绕之地的升华的、提升的、光辉的场景的首次描述，把这样的景象描述给曾经有幸仰视过它们的人们听。

“在云端”！这里没有雨水，没有雾气，没有朝露，有的只是灼人的太阳和干燥到几乎令人惊异的空气，昼夜环绕在那里。我们越往前走，越往高处攀登，就发现空气变得越干燥；同时北风的强度也在减小，到海拔六七千英尺的高度，几乎就没什么风了。

这并不是说风停了，因为从下面风卷残云的景象看来，它依然强劲。远处云朵的卷动表明在低处，风一定是在用尽全力呼啸，在迷雾中间撕开口子，让那忍受强风吹拂的棕榈树低下了头，这风还拍打着大海，卷起一波波白沫冠顶的波浪。上天为证，已经葬身海底的、见识到这劲风的船员绝对不会发出哭嚎，而在这里生活的人们心中也没有邪恶的念头。

当我们在山上满心欢喜地庆贺白天和夜晚看到的天空的美景的时候，那生活在海岸边的特纳利夫城的朋友，用最同情的口吻写了一封信：

“哦！你们该遭受了怎样恶劣天气啊！在山下，我们一连经历了三个星期的暴风雪，可怕极了——乌云不散，雨水连连，还有呼啸的风一直吹个不停；如果我们这里都是这样的话，那你们在高处该是怎样一副光景啊！”

但在高处，就在那一刻，气氛静谧而宁和，天空清澈，坏天气完全是在低处缠绵，在那“更潮湿的云朵”之下。