【正确答案】 They realized either the flowing stream or mighty rivers are gone forever. They found that as time passed by, youngsters would become old and the green grass wither in almost a blink of an eye. A sense of urgency naturally arose over the elusiveness of time. Time might flow slowly, but no matter how slowly time flowed, the very fear of its transiency compelled people to use the word "passage" to warn the new generations of the necessity of taking prompt action; thus instilling the word with a sense of tension.

【答案解析】背景介绍
文章选自当代著名作家韩少功1996年出版的《马桥词典》。这是一部长篇小说，但以词条为引子，讲述了古往今来引人入胜的故事，更像是一部百科全书。它从历史到当代，从精神到物质，揭示出深邃的思想内涵。汉语句式比较松散，在汉译英时考生须考虑合理断句的问题，使译文行文顺畅，符合目的语的用语规范。
难点解析
- 子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫：孔子以流水不分昼夜地奔腾不息这一习性来勉励人们不断进取。这句不做考查内容，但奠定了文章的基调。考生应该予以重视。
- 一去不复返：英语中有许多表达方式，包括be gone forever；be gone，never return；go away forever；go for good and all；leave：for good；once gone，never come back．
- 很自然有惜阴的紧迫感：原文的逻辑关系是人们自然而然地产生紧迫感，因为时光流逝，难以捉摸。译文可以表达暗含的因果关系，比如，A sense of urgency naturally arose over the elusiveness of time．
- 流逝：这是文章的核心词汇，前后需要统一，可以使用名词passage表示时间的流逝。