大学英语六级词汇Unit4Part2

　　With a greater clarity

　　of the knowledge of the area,

　　we walked from the church

　　a little farther inland

　　to what used to be

　　the post office and

　　the school that our mother attended,

　　the skeletal shells of

　　which were still standing precariously.

　　From there, stopping periodically

　　to eat some edible berries,

　　we struggled behind our cousins

　　through the heavily brush and

　　shrub covered footpaths to

　　Black Duck Cove to visit

　　the cemetery where our grandmother,

　　whom we never knew, was buried.

　　This sacred ground was

　　in very bad condition,

　　with many badly corroded gravestones

　　buried under brush and long grass.

　　After searching for a few minutes

　　in the midst of tangled vegetation,

　　we found our grandmothers

　　resting place beside which

　　we paid our respects.

　　It was a good thing that

　　our cousins stayed with us,

　　as the footpaths that traversed

　　the island, were overgrown with brush.

　　It would have been

　　virtually impossible for my brother

　　and me, to walk to

　　the other communities on the island.

　　We made our way back

　　to the church on the hill

　　and descended to the boat

　　for a half hour boat ride

　　to the other side of the island.

　　Sailing through a number of islets,

　　we arrived at what

　　remains of the small village

　　of Traytown, where our grandparents

　　had lived. There, we met

　　some more long lost relatives

　　at a small cottage.

　　One, a bit of an eccentric,

　　who now lives in Toronto

　　but takes summer refuge in Traytown,

　　showed us the remnants of what

　　had once been our grandparentshouse.

　　Beside these ruins, was

　　the still flourishing cluster

　　of wild rose bushes, planted

　　there many years ago

　　by our step grandmother.

　　A lot of people, many whom

　　were more lost cousins,

　　continually dropped in or

　　gathered on the porch outside.

　　After a cup of tea and

　　some more chitchat

　　and some comic relief,

　　we made our departure

　　for the mainland. On the way,

　　we passed other inlets with

　　ghost communities on Irelands Eye.

　　To add to the excitement

　　of that special day,

　　my brother spotted a humpback

　　whale quite close, between

　　the boat and the island.

　　Our visit to Irelands Eye

　　was a bittersweet experience for us.

　　On the one hand, there was

　　a sense of being at

　　the very place where our relatives

　　and ancestors had lived,

　　worked and played.

　　On the other hand, there was

　　a sense of agonizing loss

　　of what were once thriving

　　communities on the island.

　　It was difficult to reconcile

　　the past with the present,

　　after a gap of fifty years

　　of chronic degeneration of

　　the communities. Today, the area

　　is notorious for smuggling.

　　However, our mission was invaluable

　　in that we were able to

　　find out more about ourselves.

　　The entire expedition to

　　Newfoundland was a major highlight

　　in each of our lives.

　　It tugged at our emotions

　　at every turn. The people

　　of Newfoundland, especially those

　　of genetic connection, couldnt do

　　enough for us. It was

　　really like coming home,

　　but then, that has always been

　　the nature of Newfoundland courtesy,

　　even to non-Newfoundlanders.

　　It was reassuring to see that

　　the Newfoundland charm has

　　transcended time. It has

　　endured so many changes

　　since Confederation in 1949.

　　My brother and I, eternally,

　　will be Newfoundlanders and hope

　　to go down home more often

　　in the years to come.