【大紀元11月5日訊】自由時報 ◎俞智敏

Reclining against the trunk of a western hemlock tree, arms behind his head, Gordon Hempton listens closely to the quiet symphony of nature.

斜倚在西部鐵杉的樹幹上，雙臂放在腦後，戈登．漢普頓仔細聆聽大自然的安靜交響樂。

The rumble of the Hoh River in the distance. A winter wren’s trill. The chattering of a Douglas squirrel.

霍河在遠方發出低沈的聲響。鷦鷯正在鳴囀。道格拉斯松鼠發出吱吱叫聲。

Perhaps more striking is what’s missing. There is no sound of airplane traffic, campground generators or overchatty hikers — all sounds that Hempton says are disturbing the peace at national parks across the country.

或許更引人注意的是這裡沒有的東西。這裡聽不到飛機、營地發電機或過度喋喋不休的徒步遊客的聲音—漢普頓認為這些聲音干擾全美各國家公園的安寧。

The abundance of quiet in this small spot led Hempton to place a small reddish-brown rock on a moss-covered log here last year, designating the remote spot in western Washington’s Hoh Rain Forest “One Square Inch of Silence.”

這一塊充滿寂靜的地方，使漢普頓去年在此處一根覆滿青苔的圓木上放了一小塊紅棕色的石塊，把這個位於華盛頓州西部霍河雨林的偏遠一隅命名為「一平方英寸的寂靜」。

The acoustic ecologist’ s hope is that by protecting this tiny spot from man-made sound, a much larger part of the park will reap benefits.

這位聲音生態學者的希望是，透過保護這一塊淨土不受人為聲音打擾，讓國家公園的大部份地區都能受益。

“Quiet is going extinct,” Hempton said. “I wanted to find a quiet place and hang on to it and protect it.”

「寂靜快要絕跡了，」漢普頓說。「我想找到一個安靜的地方，緊緊守住它並保護它。」

新聞辭典

extol：讚美、頌揚。They were extolled as heroes.（他們被當作英雄般頌揚。 )

abundance：指充足、豐富。There were deer in abundance in these forests.（這些森林中有許多鹿。 )亦可作可數名詞，如 At the feast there was an abundance of food and drink.（宴會上有豐盛的食物和飲料。 )

reap ：原指收割、收穫，如 The farmers were busy reaping the rice in the field.（農民們忙著在田裡割稻。 )可引申為獲得、得到，如 Our firm is likely to reap a big profit this year.（今年我們公司可能獲得巨額利潤。 )

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