At the Edge of the Sea

By Rachel Carson

As I stood above the tide near the entrance to the pool， the promise of that rosy light was sustained. From the base of the steep wall of rock on which I stood， a moss-covered ledge jutted seaward into deep water. In the surge at the rim of the ledge the dark fronds of oarweeds swayed， smoth and gleaming as leather. The projecting ledge was the path to the small hidden cave and its pool. Occasionally a swell， stronger than the rest， rolled smoothly over the rim and broke in foam against the cliff. But the intervals between such swells were long enough to admit me to the ledge and long enough for glimpse of that fairly pool， so seldom and so briefly exposed.

……

Under water that was clear as glass the pool was carpeted with green sponge. Gray patches of sea squirts glistened on the ceiling and colonies of soft coral were a pale apricot color. In the moment when I looked into the cave a little elfin starfish hung down， suspended by the merest thread， perhaps by only a single tube foot. It reached down to touch its own reflection， so perfectly delineated that there might have been， not one starfish， but two. The beauty of the reflected images and of the limpid pool itself was the poignant beauty of things that are ephemeral， existing only until the sea should return to fill the little cave.

趣味成語

a storm in a teacup大驚小怪，小題大做。直譯“茶杯里的風波”。在小小的茶杯里怎能產(chǎn)生大風波呢？所以比喻大驚小怪，小題大做。

The couple next door are always quarrelling but it is usually a storm in a teacup.

bury one’s head in the sand逃避現(xiàn)實，自欺欺人。直譯“把頭埋在沙里”。源自鴕鳥的愚蠢行為。鴕鳥每遇獵人或猛獸逃避不及時，就把頭部鉆進沙里，以為自己看不見險情，危險就不存在了。

Don’t bury head in the sand by pretending that the difficulties will naturally go away. Be a man and face the facts.

小幽默

Economical or Not?

The scotch are not the only economical people in the world. The Japanese run them a close second.

Two Japanese were talking about their fans， “my fan，” said the first one， “has lasted for twenty years. And this is how I managed it: I had it made in four sections， and each five years I opened only one of the sections.”

“That is nothing，” replied the other one scornfully， “my fan has lasted lifetime. I open it wide， and hold it motionless under my nose. Then I wave my head.”