Night is a dead monotonous period under a roof; but in the open would it passes lightly, with its stars and dews and perfumes, and the hours are marked by changes in the face of Nature. What seems a kind of death to people choked between walls and curtains, is only light and living slumber to the man who sleep afield. All night long he can hear Nature breathing deeply and freely; even as she take her rest, she turns and smiles; and there is one stirring hour unknown to those who dwell in houses when a wakeful influence goes abroad over the sleeping hemisphere, and all the outdoor world are on their feet. It is then that the cock first crows, not this time to announce the dawn, but like a cheerful watchman speeding the course of night. Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides, and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the night. (from Travels with a Donkey by Robert Louis Stevenson) torpid 麻痹的，迟缓的，迟钝的，蛰伏的 slothful 偷懒的 negligent 疏忽的，粗心大意的 afield 离开（家乡），在战场上，在田野

monotonous 单调的，乏味的dew 露水choke 窒息，闷闭slumber 睡眠dwell 居住，寓于hemisphere 半球，范围crow 鸡啼lair 兽穴，躲藏处fern 蕨类植物behold 看见，注视