West Lake is as captivating as Beauty Xi Shi---飲湖上初晴後雨（蘇軾）

蘇東坡的一個比喻激發我們對西湖的無限遐想。

飲湖上初晴後雨

(北宋）蘇軾

水光瀲灧晴方好，山色空濛雨亦奇。

欲把西湖比西子，淡妝濃抹總相宜。

Drinking in Boat at West Lake on a Rainy after Sunny Day

By Su Shi

Translated by Wen Xin Jiao (文心交)

The West Lake water rippling in the sunlight is fascinating,

The hills around veiled in the drizzling rain are as well amazing.

If the West Lake were Beauty Xi Shi,

Wearing light or heavy makeup would make her equally captivating.

注1：根據朗文英英在線詞典(http://www.ldoceonline.com)，下面四個詞的意思依次為：

Fascinating: extremely interesting.

Amazing: very good, especially in an unexpected way.

Captivating: very attractive and interesting, in a way that holds your attention.

Veil (literary): to partly hide something so that it cannot be seen clearly, e.g., A fine rain was beginning to veil the hills.

注2：最後一句 would make her equally captivating其實是would make no difference.

譯文

西湖水波蕩漾在日光中，晴天景色美好；周圍的山巒在濛濛細雨中，雨天景色也特別。

如果把西湖比作美女西施，那麼無論是晴天如淡妝、雨天如濃妝，都同樣迷人而美麗。