Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell bad settled on the community： mysterious maladiesmalady n.疾病 swept the flocks of chickens； the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among their families. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients. There had been several sudden and unexplained deaths not only among adults but even among children， who would be stricken suddenly while at play and die within a few hours.
There was a strange stillness. The birds， for example - where had they gone？ Many people spoke of them， puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund. They trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbedthrob n.悸动， 脉搏 vi.悸动， 抽动， 颤动， 跳动着作痛， 充满活力 with the dawn choruschorus n.合唱， 合唱队， 齐声 of robins， catbird， doves， jays， wrens， and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound； only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.
On the farms the hens brooded， but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs - the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms， so there was no pollinationpollination n.授粉 and there would be no fruit.
The roadsides， once so attractive， were now lined with browned and withered vegetation as though swept by fire. These， too， were silent， deserted by all living things. Even the streams were now lifelesslifeless adj.无生命的， 无生气的. Anglers no longer visited them， for all the fish had died.
In the gutters under the eaves and between the shingles of the roofs， a white granular powder still showed a few patches； some weeks before it had fallen like snow upon the roofs and the lawns， the fields and streams.
No witchcraft， no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves.
This town does not actually exist， but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America or elsewhere in the world. I know of no community that has experienced all the misfortunes I describe. Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere， and many real communities have already suffered a substantialsubstantial adj.坚固的， 实质的， 真实的， 充实的 number of them. A grimgrim adj.严酷的 specter has crept upon us almost unnoticed， and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know.
为明天写的一则寓言
［美］R．卡森
在美国的心脏地区从前有一个小镇，那里的生活跟周围的环境相处得十分融洽。小镇坐落在星罗棋布的农场中央。平地上的庄稼和山坡上的果园呈现出一片欣欣向荣的景象。春天，果树绽开白花，像片片白云在绿色的田野上飘荡。秋天，橡树、枫树和白桦树散射出彩色的火焰，在松树织成的绿色帷幕上闪烁跳跃。狐狸在小丘上嘶嚎，野鹿隐蔽在秋天的晨雾里悄悄地越过田野。
在大路边，月桂、荚莲、桤木、大蕨草以及各种野花，一年四季竞相开放，着实让路人赏心悦目、乐此不疲。即使在冬天大路两侧仍然景色宜人，成群的小鸟飞来觅食，啄取暴露在白雪上面的各种浆果和干草籽。事实上，这里的乡村久以鸟类数量充盈、品种繁多而闻名遐迩。每当春秋时节候鸟纷纷飞来栖息时，四方游人不辞路遥前来观鸟。还有一些人来这里是为了到溪边垂钓。溪水从山间流出，清澈透凉，细细涓流汇聚成一个个浅池，鳟鱼在池中嬉游。这景象居此有年，从第一批殖民者在这里建屋、凿井、造谷仓时起便是如此。
后来，一个奇怪的祸害潜入了这个地区，一切都开始变了。一个邪魔降临在这个地区，神秘的瘟疫先是在雏鸡中流传，然后蔓延到牛群、羊群中去，病的病，死的死。死亡的阴影笼罩着每一个角落。农民们在怨诉家人的病痛，镇上的医生对病人中不断出现的各种怪病感到困惑。好些人不明不白地突然死去，其中不仅有成年人，还有小孩。有的孩子在玩耍时突然发病，不出几个小时便撒手人寰。
这里变得寂静异常。就说鸟吧，它们到哪里去了？许多人在谈论它们时既迷惑又不安。他们后院喂鸟的食具显得凄然萧索，偶然在什么地方看到几只鸟都是病恹恹的，哆哆嗦嗦，飞也飞不动。这是一个鸦雀无声的春天。原来的清晨，百鸟齐鸣：鸫鸟、猫鸟、鸽子、松鸦、鹪鹩等几十种鸟响起了黎明大合唱，可是现在什么声音也听不见了：只有寂静滞留在田野、树林和沼泽地的上空。
在农场里，母鸡在抱窝，但是没有小鸡破壳而出。农民们抱怨他们没法养猪了，猪崽太小，存活不了几天便都夭折了。苹果树开花不结果，因为没有蜜蜂在花间飞舞授粉。
原来让人流连忘返的道路两旁，现在只有一些杂草野枝，焦黄枯萎，仿佛被烟熏火燎过似的。它们也是悄然无声，失去了一切生机。甚至那溪水也丧失了活力。垂钓者不再光顾这里，因为水里的鱼已经死绝。
在屋檐下的排水槽里，还有在屋顶的盖板之间，仍可依稀看到一小团一小团白色粉末状的东西。几个星期以前这东西像雪花一样撒落在屋顶上、草地上，撒落在田野里、小溪里。
没有人施巫术，也没有敌人的进攻，却使这个备受摧残的世界里的生命变得哑然无声，一片死寂。那是人们自作自受，自食其果啊！
这个小镇并不真正存在，是虚构的，但在美国和在世界的其他地方随处可以见到类似的小镇。我知道还没有一个地方完完全全经历了我所描写的种种不幸。然而这样或那样的灾祸无处不在发生，有些地方屡屡遭殃遇灾。一个阴森可怕的幽灵已经偷偷地潜入我们中间来了。这个想像的悲剧也许很快会成为家喻户晓的凄凉现实。
