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1、To Build a FireTo Build a Fire 大学英语作文大学英语作文day had broken cold and gray, eceedingly cold and gray,when the man turned aside from the main yukon trail andclimbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and littletraveled trail led eastward through the fat sprucetimberland。 it was a steep bank, and he paused
2、 for breathat the top, ecusing the act to himself by looking at hiswatch。 it was nine oclock。 there was no sun nor hint ofsun, though there was not a cloud in the sky。 it was aclear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over theface of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, andthat wa
3、s due to the absence of sun。 this fact did notworry the man。 he was used to the lack of sun。 it hadbeen days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a fewmore-days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south,would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately fromview。the man flung a look b
4、ack along the way he had e。 theyukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice。on top of this ice were as many feet of snow。 it was allpure white, rolling in gentle, undulations where the icejams of the freeze-up had formed。 north and south, as faras his eye could see, it was unbroken white
5、, save for adark hairline that curved and twisted from around thespruce-covered island to the south, and that curved andtwisted away into the north, where it disappeared behindanother spruce-covered island。 this dark hair-line was thetrail-the main trail-that led south five hundred miles tothe chilc
6、oot pass, dyea, and salt water; and that led northseventy miles to dawson, and still on to the north athousand miles to nulato, and finally to st。 michael onbering sea, a thousand miles and half a thousand more。but all this-the mysterious, far-reaching hair-linetrail。 the absence of sun from the sky
7、, the tremendouscold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all-made noimpression on the man。 it was not because he was long usedto it。 he was a newer! in the land, a chechaquo, and thiswas his first winter。 the trouble with him was that he waswithout imagination。 he was quick and alert in the thi
8、ngsof life, but only in the things, and not in thesignificances。 fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odddegrees of frost。 such fact impressed him as being coldand unfortable, and that was all。 it did not lead him tomeditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, andupon mans frailty in gen
9、eral, able only to live withincertain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there onit did not lead him to the conjectural field of immortalityand mans place in the universe。 fifty degrees below zerostood forte bite of frost that hurt and that must beguarded against by the use of mittens, ear-fla
10、ps, warmmoasins, and thick socks。 fifty degrees below zero was tohim just precisely fifty degrees below zero。 that thereshould be anything more to it than that was a thought thatnever entered his head。as he turned to go on, he spat speculatively。 therewas a sharp, eplosive crackle that startled him。
11、 he spatagain。 and again, in the air, before it could fall to thesnow, the spittle crackled。 he knew that at fifty belowspittle crackled on the snow, but this spittle had crackledin the air。 undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below-how much colder he did not know。 but the temperature didnot matter
12、。 he was bound for the old claim on the leftfork of henderson creek, where the boys were already。 theyhad e over across the divide from the indian creek country,while he had e the roundabout way to take; a look at thepossibilities of getting out logs in the spring from theislands in the yukon。 he wo
13、uld be in to camp by si oclock;a bit after dark, it was true, but the boys would be there,a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready。 asfor lunch, he pressed his hand against the protrudingbundle under his jacket。 it was also under his shirt,wrapped up in a handkerchief and lying against
14、 the nakedskin。 it was the only way to keep the biscuits fromfreezing。 he smiled agreeably to himself as he thought ofthose biscuits, each cut open and sopped in bacon grease,and each enclosing a generous slice of fried bacon。he plunged in among the big spruce trees。 the trailwas faint。 a foot of sn
15、ow had fallen since the last sledhad passed over, and he was glad he was without a sled,traveling light。 in fact, he carried nothing but the lunchwrapped in the handkerchief。 he was surprised, however, atthe cold。 it certainly was cold, he concluded as he rubbedhis numb nose and cheek-bones with his
16、 mittened hand。 hewas a warm-whiskered man, but the hair on his face did notprotect the high cheek-bones and the eager nose that thrustitself aggressively into the frosty air。at the mans heels trotted a dog, a big native husky,the proper wolfdog, gray-coated and without any visible ortemperamental d
17、ifference from its brother, the wild wolf。the animal was depressed by the tremendous cold。 it knewthat it was no time for traveling。 its instinct told it atruer tale than was told to the man by the mans judgment。in reality, it was not merely colder than fifty below zero;it was colder than sity below
18、, than seventy below。 it wasseventy-five below zero。 since the freezing point isthirty-two above zero, it meant that one hundred and sevendegrees of frost obtained。 the dog did not know anythingabout thermometers。 possibly in its brain there was nosharp consciousness of a condition of very cold such
19、 as wasin the mans brain。 but the brute had its instinct。 iteperienced a vague but menacing apprehension that subduedit and made it slink along at the mans heels, and that madeit question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man asif epecting him to go into camp or to seek sheltersomewhere and bui
20、ld a fire。 the dog had learned fire, andit wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddleits warmth away from the air。the frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on itsfur in a fine powder of frost, and especially were itsjowls, muzzle, and eyelashes whitened by its crystalledbreath。
21、the mans red beard and mustache were likewisefrosted, but more solidly, the deposit taking the form ofice and increasing with every warm, moist breath heehaled。 also, the man was chewing tobao, and the muzzle ofice held his lips so rigidly that he was unable to clearhis chin when he epelled the juic
22、e。 the result was that acrystal beard of the color and solidity of amber wasincreasing its length on his chin。 if he fell down itwould shatter itself, like glass, into brittle fragments。but he did not mind the appendage。 it was the penalty alltobao-chewers paid in that country, and he had been outbe
23、fore in two cold snaps。 they had not been so cold asthis, he knew, but by the spirit thermometer at sity milehe knew they had been registered at fifty below and atfifty-five。he held on through the level stretch of woods forseveral miles, crossed a wide flat of rigger-heads, anddropped down a bank to
24、 the frozen bed of a small stream。this was henderson creek, and he knew he was ten miles fromthe forks。 he looked at his watch。 it was ten oclock。 hewas making four miles an hour, and he calculated that hewould arrive at the forks at half-past twelve。 he decidedto celebrate that event by eating his
25、lunch there。the dog dropped in again at his heels, with a taildrooping discouragement, as the man swung along the creek-bed。 the furrow of the old sled-trail was plainly visible,but a dozen inches of snow covered the marks of the lastrunners。 in a month no man had e up or down that silentcreek。 the
26、man held steadily on。 he was not much given tothinking, and just then particularly he had nothing tothink about save that he would eat lunch at-the forks andthat at si oclock he would be in camp with the boys。 therewas nobody to talk to; and, had there been, speech wouldhave been impossible because
27、of the ice-muzzle on hismouth。 so he continued monotonously to chew tobaconce in a while the thought reiterated itself that itwas very cold and that he had never eperienced such cold。as he walked along he rubbed his cheek-bones and nose withthe back of his mittened hand。 he did this automatically,no
28、w and again changing hands。 but rub as he would, theinstant he stopped his cheek-bones went numb, and thefollowing instant the end of his nose went numb。 he wassure to frost his cheeks; he knew that, and eperienced apang of regret that he had not devised a nose-strap of thesort bud wore in cold snap
29、s。 such a strap passed acrossthe cheeks, as well, and saved them。 but it didnt mattermuch, after all。 what were frosted cheeks? a bit painful,that was all; they were never serious。empty as the mans mind was of thoughts, he was keenlyobservant, and he noticed the changes in the creek, thecurves and b
30、ends and timber jams, and always he sharplynoted where he placed his feet。 once ing around a bend, heshied abruptly, like a startled horse, curved away from theplace where he had been walking, and retreated severalpaces back along the trail。 the creek he knew was frozenclear to the bottom,-no creek
31、could contain water in thatarctic winter,-but he knew also that there were springsthat bubbled out from the hillsides and ran along under thesnow and on top the ice of the creek。 he knew that thecoldest snaps never froze these springs, and he knewlikewise their danger。 they were traps。 they hid pool
32、s ofwater under the snow that might be three inches deep, orthree feet。 sometimes a skin of ice。 half an inch thickcovered them, and in turn was covered by the snow sometimesthere were alternate layers of water and ice-skin, so thatwhen one broke through he kept on breaking through for awhile, somet
33、imes wetting himself to the waist。that was why he had shied in such panic。 he had feltthe give under his feet and heard the crackle of a snow-hidden ice-skin。 and to get his feet wet in such atemperature meant trouble and danger。 at the very least itmeant delay, for he would be forced to stop and bu
34、ild afire, and under its protection to bare his feet while hedried his socks and moasins。 he stood and studied thecreek-bed and its banks, and decided that the flow of watercame from the right。 he reflected a while, rubbing hisnose and cheeks, then skirted to the left, steppinggingerly and testing t
35、he footing for each step。 once clearof the danger, he took a fresh chew of tobao and swungalong at his four-mile gait。in the course of the two hours he came upon severalsimilar traps。 usually the snow above the hidden pools hada sunken, candied appearance that advertised the danger。once again, howev
36、er, he had a close call; and once,suspecting danger, he pelled the dog to go on in front。the dog did not want to go。 it hung back until the manshoved it forward, and then it went quickly across thewhite, unbroken surface。 suddenly it broke through,floundered to one side, and got away to firmer footi
37、ng。 ithad wet its forefeet and legs, and almost immediately thewater that clung to it turned to ice。 it made quickefforts to lick the ice off its legs, then dropped down inthe snow and began to bite out the ice that had formedbetween the toes。 l his was a matter of instinct。 topermit the ice to rema
38、in would mean sore feet。 it did notknow this。 it merely obeyed the mysterious prompting thatarose from the deep crypts of its being。 but the man knew,having achieved a judgment on the subject, and he removedthe mitten from his right hand and helped tear out the ice-particles。 he did not epose his fi
39、ngers more than a minute,and was astonished at the swift numbness that smote them。it certainly was cold。 he pulled on the mitten hastily,and beat the hand savagely across his chest。at twelve oclock the day was at its brightest。 yet thesun was too; far south an its winter journey to clear thehorizon。
40、 the bulge of the earth intervened between it aridhenderson creek, where the man walked under a clear sky atnoon and cast no shadow。 at half-past twelve, to theminute, he arrived at the forks of the creek。 he was。pleased at the speed he had made。 if he kept it up, hewould certainly be with the boys
41、by si。 he unbuttoned hisjacket and shirt and drew forth his lunch。 the actionconsumed no more than a quarter of a minute, yet in thatbrief moment the numbness laid hold of the eposed fingers。he did not put the mitten on, but, instead struck thefingers a dozen sharp smashes against his leg。 then he s
42、atdown on a snow-covered log to eat。 the sting that followedupon the striking of his fingers against his leg ceased soquickly that he was startled。 he had had no chance to takea bite of biscuit。 he struck the fingers repeatedly andreturned them to the mitten, baring the other hand for thepurpose of
43、eating, he tried to take a mouthful, but theice-muzzle prevented。 he had forgotten to build a fire andthaw out。 he chuckled at his foolishness, and as hechuckled he noted the numbness creeping into the eposedfingers。 also, he noted that the stinging which had firste to his toes when he sat down was
44、already passing away。he wandered whether the toes were warm or numb。 he movedthem inside the moasins and decided that they were numb。he pulled the mitten on hurriedly and stood up。 he wasa bit frightened。 he stamped up and down until thestinging returned into the feet。 it certainly was cold,was his
45、thought。 that man from sulphur creek had spokenthe truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in thecountry。 and he had laughed at him at the time! thatshowed one must not be too sure of things。 there was nomistake about it, it was cold。 he strode up and down,stamping his feet and threshing his ar
46、ms, until reassuredby the returning warmth。 then he got out matches andproceeded to make a fire。 from the undergrowth, where highwater of the previous spring had lodged a supply ofseasoned twigs, he got his firewood。 working carefullyfrom a small beginning, he soon had a roaring fire, overwhich he t
47、hawed the ice from his face and in the protectionof which he ate his biscuits。 for the moment the coldspace was outwitted。 the dog took satisfaction in the fire,stretching out close enough for warmth and far enough awayto escape being singed。when the man had finished, be filled his pipe and tookhis
48、fortable time over a smoke。 then he pulled on hismittens, settled the ear-flaps of his cap firmly about hisears, and took the creek trail up the left fork。 the dogwas disappointed and yearned back toward the fire。 thisman did not know cold。 possibly all the generations of hisancestry had been ignora
49、nt of cold of real cold, of coldone hundred and seven degrees below freezing point。 butthe dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inheritedthe knowledge。 and it knew that it was not good to walkabroad in such fearful cold。 it was the time to lie snugin a hole in the snow and wait for a curtain
50、of cloud to bedrawn across the face of outer space whence this coldcame。 on the other hand, there was no keen intimacybetween the dog and the man。 the one was the toil-slave ofthe other, and the only caresses it had ever received werethe caresses of the whiplash and of harsh and menacingthroat-sound