May I ask a question?what's the meaning of "steel harbor waters"and"every shade a stone"?Thank you.
It was still breathtaking. Islands rose
out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven
summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a
thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into
millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a
distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta,
sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold.
多谢！

Question

May I ask a question?what's the meaning of "steel harbor waters"and"every shade a stone"?Thank you.
It was still breathtaking. Islands rose
out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven
summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a
thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into
millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a
distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta,
sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. 
多谢！

Answer

It's not clear to me what 'steel' means there. I guess it could mean that the waters are steel-coloured. Or it may be an error, and it should be 'still'? I checked an original, and I know you have copied it correctly. The author and the editor may have made a mistake?
The second one is much easier. The writer has omitted the word 'that'.  ...the stones...were...every shade that a stone could be. In other words - the stones were every colour that a stone can be.

Answers · 2

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