學(xué)習(xí)方法

①聽錄音不看原文（猜測意思）

②聽錄音看原文（核對自己的猜想）

③最大聲、最清晰、最快速瘋狂操練

④經(jīng)常找別人賣弄你的學(xué)的英文（能脫口而出）

雨天

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the moldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

天冷、陰暗,、沉悶,；

下著雨，風(fēng)也刮個不停,；

藤還攀附著頹垣殘壁,，

每來一陣狂風(fēng)，枯葉附落紛紛,，

天真是陰暗而沉悶,。

My life is cold and dark and dreary;

It rains and the wind is never weary;

My thought still cling to the moldering past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

我的生活寒冷,、陰郁,、沉悶；

下著雨,，風(fēng)也刮個不停,；

我的思想還糾纏著消逝的往事，

大風(fēng)里,，我的青春希望相繼熄滅,，

天真是陰暗而沉悶。

Be still, sad heart! And cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

安靜吧,，憂傷的心,！別再悔恨；

烏云后面太陽依然輝煌燦爛,；

你的命運和大家的一樣,，

每個人一生都得逢上陰雨，

有些日子必然陰暗而沉悶,。

The melancholy days are come，the saddest of the year,

陰郁的日子將來臨,，這終年最悲傷的時光,，

Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sear.

狂風(fēng)怒吼，樹林凋敝,，牧場焦黃如燃,。

Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the withered leaves lie dead;

成堆的枯葉在林間洼地，靜臥凋亡，

They rustle to the eddying gust, and to the rabbit’s tread.

沙沙作響于狂風(fēng)的逐旋,，兔子的踏踐,。

The robin and the wren are flown, and from the shrubs the jay,

知更鳥和鷦鷯已飛遠(yuǎn)，陰沉的一整天

And from the wood-top calls the crow, through all the gloomy day.

灌木飛出松鴉,，烏鴉在樹冠上叫喚,。

Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers, that lately sprang and stood.

花兒在哪里，年輕美麗的花朵,，婷婷玉立于新近的綻放,。

In brighter light and softer airs, beauteous sisterhood?

哪里有明媚陽光和柔和氣氛里的美麗姐妹情緣？

Alas! They all are in their graves, the gentle race of flowers

唉,！溫順的花兒,，她們現(xiàn)正躺在自己的墳塋，

Are lying in their lowly beds, with the fair and good of ours.

帶著我們稱道的美麗和善良,，低臥土床板,。

The rain is falling where they lie, but the cold November rain

Calls not, from out the gloomy earth, the lovely ones again

21,、Hamlet

哈姆雷特

The seeming inconsistencies in the conduct and character of Hamlet have long exercised the

conjectural ingenuity of critics; and, as we are always loth to suppose that the cause of defective apprehension is in ourselves, the mystery has been too commonly explained by the very easy process of setting it down as in fact inexplicable, and by resolving the phenomenon into a misgrowth or lusus of the capricious and irregular genius of Shakespeare. The shallow and stupid arrogance of these vulgar and indolent decisions I would fain do my best to expose.

哈姆雷特的行動和性格似乎很不一致。長期以來,，這已使文藝評論家絞盡腦汁,，加以推測；而由于我們總是不愿設(shè)想,，理解上存在缺陷的原因在于我們自身,，所以通常都以一種非常簡單的方式來解釋這個奧秘，即把它看成實際上是無法說明的現(xiàn)象,，并把這一現(xiàn)象歸之于莎士比亞的變幻莫測和不同尋常的天才的畸形發(fā)展,。對于這些卑俗和怠惰導(dǎo)致的結(jié)論所表現(xiàn)出來的淺薄而愚昧的狂妄態(tài)度，我愿盡力予以揭露,。

I believe the character of Hamlet may be traced to Shakespeare’s deep and accurate science in mental philosophy. Indeed, that this character must have some connection with the common fundamental laws of our nature may be assumed from the fact, that Hamlet has been the darling of every country in which the literature of England has been fostered. In order to understand him, it is essential that we should reflect on the constitution of our own minds. Man is distinguished from the brute animals in proportion as thought prevails over sense: but in the healthy processes of the mind, a balance is constantly maintained between the impressions from outward objects and the inward operations of the intellect; for if there be an overbalance in the contemplative faculty, man thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and loses his natural power of action.

我相信哈姆雷特的性格根植于莎士比亞對心理學(xué)準(zhǔn)確而深刻的認(rèn)識,。在每個受過英國文學(xué)熏陶的國家里，哈姆雷特都是人們心愛的人物,；從這個事實我們可以設(shè)想：哈姆雷特這個人物和我們性格中的共同基本規(guī)律,，一定有某種聯(lián)系。為了理解他,，我們必須思考我們自己的心理構(gòu)造,。人和野獸的區(qū)別，同思想駕馭感官知覺的程度成正比,?？墒牵谡５乃季S活動過程中，外界事物所產(chǎn)生的印象和內(nèi)心的智力活動之間經(jīng)常保持平衡,；因為,，如果思維的機(jī)能占了優(yōu)勢，人就會變成思索的中心,，而喪失了行動的本能,。

Now one of Shakespeare’s modes of creating characters is, to conceive any one intellectual or moral faculty in morbid excess, and then to place himself, Shakespeare, thus mutilated or diseased, under given circumstances. In Hamlet he seems to have wished to exemplify the moral necessity of a due balance between our attention to the objects of our senses, and our meditation on the workings of our minds, -- an equilibrium between the real and the imaginary worlds.

莎士比亞塑造人物的方式之一是：設(shè)想任何一種智能或精神官能處于不健康的過度發(fā)展?fàn)顟B(tài)，接著就把因此變得帶有心理傷殘或病態(tài)的他自己――莎士比亞――至于特定的環(huán)境之中,。他似乎想以哈姆雷特為例,，說明對感覺對象的注意和對心理活動的深思研究之間，也就是現(xiàn)實世界和想象世界之間,，保持應(yīng)有的平衡在精神上的必要性,。

In Hamlet this balance is disturbed: his thoughts, and the images of his fancy are far more vivid than his actual perceptions, and his very perceptions, instantly passing through the medium of his contemplations, acquire, as they pass, a form and a colour not naturally their own. Hence we see a great, an almost enormous, intellectual activity, and a proportionate aversion to real action consequent upon it, with all its symptoms and accompanying qualities.

在哈姆雷特身上，這種平衡被破壞了：他的思想,，以及他幻想的形象,，比他實際感覺到的東西生動得多；而他所感覺到的那些東西本身,，因為要立即通過一種媒介,，即他的種種沉思，所以在通過的時候便獲得了一種非其自身天然具有的形狀和色彩,。因此,，我們見到一種巨大的、甚至是龐大無比的理性活動,，我們還見到了隨此理性活動產(chǎn)生，并與之成正比例的,，對采取具體行動反感,，以及此反感的種種表現(xiàn)和固有特點。

This character Shakespeare places in circumstances, under which it is obliged to act on the spur of the moment: -- Hamlet is brave and careless of death; but he vacillates from sensibility, and procrastinates from thought, and loses the power of action in the energy of resolve. Thus it is that this tragedy presents a direct contrast to that of ’Macbeth;’ the one proceeds with the utmost slowness, the other with a crowded and breathless rapidity.

莎士比亞將這個人物置于特定的使他不能不在一時的沖動下行動的環(huán)境之中：哈姆雷特是勇敢的,，他把生死置于度外,，可是他由于過分敏感而動搖，由于思慮太多而拖延,，由于致力于下決心而失掉了行動的力量,。這就是這個悲劇和麥克佩斯的悲劇形成截然相反對照的緣故：前者的發(fā)展過程極其緩慢，而后者則頭緒紛繁,，并且是以令人透不過氣的速度展開的,。

隨感錄

This matter of other people’s learning and accomplishments has been worrying me for some time. I never read the life of any important person without discovering that he knew more and could do more than I could ever hope to know or to do in half a dozen life-times. To begin with, unless these people chance to be obvious invalids like Stevenson or Tchehov, they are always tremendous athletes with surprising strength, powers of endurance, and so forth.

一直以來,，對別人學(xué)識淵博及造詣之深,，我感到很不理解。只要你隨便讀一讀哪一位重要人物的傳記，就總會發(fā)現(xiàn)他的學(xué)問和才能,，就算我活六輩子也休想學(xué)到和做到,。首先，除了碰到像史蒂文森或契訶夫那樣的,，有明顯殘疾的人以外,，他們總是成績頂呱呱的運動員，他們有著驚人的氣力,、耐力,。

They could all walk and run and climb our heads off, even when they were seventy. Then they all have the gift of tongues. You never catch a glimpse of them sitting down to learn a new language, not even running an eye over its irregular verbs, yet it is admitted that they speak any number with an astonishing fluency and purity of accent. They never confine themselves to one science, but are inevitably masters of several. The big book of Nature they know by heart. Only the other day I was reading an account of a great novelist, a most sophisticated and subtle person, and was told that he knew the name and habits and history of every wild flower and plant and tree and bird in the country. Nor is that all. There is not one of these bigwigs who is not (I quote the customary phrases) a sensitive and accomplished musician, or an extraordinarily fine amateur water-colourist, or the possessor of a magnificent prose style. We are always told that, had circumstance been different, their talents were such that they need only have given their serious attention to one or other of these arts to have procured for themselves lasting and perhaps world-wide reputation. So runs the legend of the eulogists.

他們即使年屆七旬，在走路,，跑步,，翻山越嶺時我們都趕不上他們。其次,，他們大都是語言方面的天才,。你從來沒有看見他們坐下來學(xué)習(xí)一種新的語言，甚至連不規(guī)則動詞表也沒有看見他們?yōu)g覽—下,。但是大家都認(rèn)為他們隨便可以講幾種語言,，不僅流利，而且發(fā)音純正,。他們一般都精通幾門,，而不會使局限在一門科學(xué)里。大自然這部巨著被他們熟記于心,。不久以前,，我還讀到一位杰出的小說家的事跡。他是一位非常老練而又精細(xì)的人,，據(jù)說他熟悉鄉(xiāng)村每一種野花野草,、樹木和禽鳥的名稱、習(xí)性和生活史,。除此之外,，請原諒我用一些套語來形容，這些大人物都是富于靈感的音樂大師,，或是精妙絕倫的業(yè)余水彩畫家,，或是風(fēng)格優(yōu)美的文體家。更使我們感到驚訝的是,，要是他們的境遇不同,，只要他們認(rèn)真從事這門或那門藝術(shù)，憑著他們的才能,，而且日后一定會獲得不朽的聲譽(yù),，再者還會享譽(yù)全球,。這些對他們的描述真是神乎其神。

I am baffled. How is it done? I ask the question again, my voice rises to a scream of envy and vexation. Consider what is involved in this matter (so lightly touched upon and dismissed) of music or water-colour painting or fine writing, what years of serious application, of drudgery at the keyboard, the easel, or the writing-desk. It is one thing to strum on the piano, as you and I do, faking the left-hand passages as we go along, or to daub a few patchy water colours, or to paste on to clumsy prose some old spangles of rhetoric, and it is quite another thing to be an accomplished musician or artist or writer. If the first were meant, I could understand it; but the second —— and as a mere recreation, too! And then to add the athleticism, the sciences, the tongues, the natural history! I am bewildered and crushed. The very idle rumour of fellow-creatures so wonderfully gifted makes me dwindle in my own estimation to the size of a gnat.

但是我被搞糊涂了,。他們憑什么做得到?我再次想問這個問題,，甚至忌妒和煩惱得要遙問蒼天。我們應(yīng)該仔細(xì)地想一想一首樂曲,、一幅水彩畫或一篇美妙的文章究竟意味著什么(這一點卻被他們輕輕帶過或略而不論),，這需要很多年專心致志地在鍵盤上、在畫架上或者在寫字臺上辛勤操作,，這樣才能有所成就,。而像你我這樣，胡亂彈奏鋼琴曲,，同時還用左手插入即興的過門,，或者不管色彩是否協(xié)調(diào)，亂涂幾筆蘸上水彩,，或者在一篇粗制濫造的散文里貼上幾句閃閃爍爍的陳詞濫調(diào)是一回事,；而要成為一個有成就的音樂家、畫家或作家,，卻是另一回事,。要是那指的是前者，我可以理解,；但是如果指的是后者呢?——尚且還不過是作為一種業(yè)余的消遣!更不用說他們還要從事體育運動,，研究各門科學(xué)，學(xué)習(xí)各種語言,，或者博物學(xué)!這使我迷惑不解,，而且佩服得五體投地。這就是使我自己越看越小,，小得像個小蚊蟲的原因,。他們有如此神奇的天賦!正像傳說中講的那樣。

生活靠我們自己創(chuàng)造

Are you dissatisfied with today’s success? It is the harvest from yesterday’s sowing. Do you dream of a golden morrow? You will reap what you are sowing today. We get out of life just what we put into it.

你對今天的成就感到不滿意嗎？今天的豐收源自昨日的播種,。你夢想有一個金色的明天嗎,？你今天種下了什么，將來就會收獲什么,。我們從生活中獲取我們所投入的,。

Nature takes on our moods: she laughs with those who laugh and weeps with those who weep. If we rejoice and are glad, the very birds sing more sweetly, the woods and streams murmur our song. But if we are sad and sorrowful, a sudden gloom falls upon Nature’s face; the sun shines, but not in our hearts; the birds sing, but not to us.

大自然呈現(xiàn)著我們的情緒；你笑她也笑,，你哭她就哭,。如果我們的心情是喜悅的,，鳥兒們的歌聲會分外甜美，森林和小溪也會吟唱著我們的歌兒,。但如果我們本身充滿憂傷,，大自然很快就會被一層陰暗的氣氛籠罩。太陽雖然燦爛,，但照不到我們的心里:鳥兒雖然在歌唱,，卻不是在為我們歌唱。

The future will be just what we make it. Our purpose will give it its character. One’s resolution is one’s prophecy. Leave all your discouraging pessimism behind. Do not prophesy evil, but good. Men of hope come to the front.

未來是我們自己創(chuàng)造的,。我們的人生目標(biāo)決定著它的性質(zhì),；我們的決心是一個人的預(yù)言。拋開所有令人沮喪的悲觀情緒吧,！不要預(yù)言邪惡,，要看到美好的事物。心里充滿希望的人總能走在前面,。

片刻的歡樂

Twenty years ago, I drove acabfor a living. It was a cowboy’s life, a life for someone who wanted no boss.

二十年前，我以開出租車為生,。這是一種富有冒險精神的生活,，適合那些不想受老板管制的人。

What I didn’t realize was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the nightshift, mycabbecame a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in totalanonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me,ennobled me, made me laugh and weep, but none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

開始我沒有意識到它也是一種牧師職業(yè),。由于我上夜班,，我的出租車就成為一個流動的懺悔室。乘客們爬進(jìn)車?yán)?，坐在我后面,，素不相識，然后給我講述他們的生活,。我遇到過很多人,，有些人的生活讓我感到驚奇，有些人的生活讓我肅然起敬,，有些人帶給我歡笑和哭泣,。然而最使我感動的，是在八月的一個晚上乘車的一位老婦人,。

I was responding to a call from a small brickfourplexin a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some people who had been partying, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an earlyshiftat some factory for the industrial part of town.

我正在接電話,，是從一座磚造四套公寓住宅小樓打來的。我想可能是讓我去那里接一些參加舞會的人,，或者剛與愛人打過架的人,，或者要去城鎮(zhèn)工業(yè)區(qū)的某個工廠趕早班的工人。

When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would justhonkonce or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too manyimpoverishedpeople who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

凌晨兩點半我趕到的時候,，樓里除了第一層窗戶那兒亮著一盞孤燈外,，漆黑一片,。在這種情況下，很多司機(jī)都是按一兩下喇叭,，等一會兒,，然而就開車離開了。但我見過太多窮困的人們,，他們把出租車作為唯一的交通工具,。除非嗅到危險的氣氛，我總是走到門前,。這位乘客也許需要我的幫助,，我為自己找理由。于是我走到門前,，敲門,。

’Just a minute,’ answered afrail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing aprintdress and apillboxhat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

“請等一下?！币粋€虛弱而蒼老的聲音答道,。我能聽到在地板上拖著東西的聲音，過了好一會,，門開了,。一位80多歲的弱小老婦人站在我面前。她穿著印花外套,，戴著別有面紗的筒狀女帽,，就像從20世紀(jì)40年代的電影里走出來的人。她身旁是一個小型的尼龍手提箱,。

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered withsheets. There were no clocks on the walls, noknickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the comer was a cardboard box filled with photos andglassware.

這座公寓看上去很多年沒人住過了,，所有的家具都用帆布蒙著，墻上沒有掛鐘,，柜臺上也沒有任何裝飾物或家用器具,。墻角放著一個紙箱，里面堆滿了照片和玻璃器皿,。

’Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said.

“你能幫我把包拿到車上嗎,？”她說。

I took the suitcase to thecab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward thecab. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

我把箱子放到車上,，又回來攙扶老婦人,。她挽住我的胳膊，我們慢慢走到車旁,。她不停地感謝我的好心。

’It’s nothing, I told her.’ I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.’

“沒什么,，”我對她說,，“我想要別人這樣對待我的母親,，我就得盡力這樣對待我的乘客?！?/p>

’Oh, you’re such a good boy,’ she said.

“哦,，你真是個好孩子?！彼f,。

When we got in thecab, she gave me an address, then asked, ’Could you drive through downtown?’

當(dāng)我們坐進(jìn)車?yán)飼r，她遞給我一個地址,，然后又問道：“你能從城鎮(zhèn)中心穿過去嗎,？”

’It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly.

“那不是最近的路?！蔽液芸旎卮?。

’Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ’I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to ahospice.’

“哦，沒關(guān)系,，”她說,，“我不急著趕路，我就要去臨終關(guān)懷醫(yī)院了,?！?/p>

I looked in therearview mirror. Her eyes wereglistening. ’I don’t have any family left,’ she continued. ’he doctor says I don’t have...’

我從后視鏡看了看，她的眼睛閃著光,。她繼續(xù)說著：“我沒有任何家人了,，醫(yī)生說我沒有…”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

我輕輕地伸手關(guān)掉了計量表。

’What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.

“您想讓我走哪條路線,？”我問,。

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they werenewlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

接下來的兩個小時，我們開車穿過了整個城市,。她指給我看當(dāng)年她做電梯操作負(fù)的那座大廈,，她和她的丈夫當(dāng)年新婚時生活過的小區(qū)，她讓我在一家家具商店前面停車,，那兒以前是個舞廳,，她還是個小姑娘時常去那兒跳舞。

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

有時經(jīng)過一個特殊的大樓或角落時她會讓我放慢車速,，她會坐在那里注視著夜空,，默默無語。

As the firsthintof sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ’I’m tired. Let’s go now.’

當(dāng)?shù)谝豢|陽光打破了地平線,，她突然說：“我累了,，咱們現(xiàn)在就走吧?！?/p>

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a smallconvalescent home, with a driveway that passed under aportico.

我們默默地驅(qū)車向她給我的那個地址駛?cè)?。那是一座低矮的樓房,，就像一個小療養(yǎng)院，在門廊的下面有一條車道,。

Two orderlies came out to thecabas soon as we pulled up. They weresolicitousandintent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened thetrunkand took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

我們剛停車,，就有兩個護(hù)理員出來向我們走來。她們關(guān)切而熱心地注視著她的一舉一動,，看樣子一定是在等著她的到來,。我打開車尾的行李箱，把她的小型手提箱提到門口,。老婦人已經(jīng)坐進(jìn)輪椅里,，

’How much do I owe you?’ she asked, reaching into her purse.

“我該給你多少錢？”她邊說邊把手伸進(jìn)錢包,。

’Nothing.’ I said.

“不用了,，”我說。

’You have to make a living.’ she answered.

“你得謀生呢,，”她說,。

’There are other passengers.’ I responded.

“還有其他的乘客，”我回答,。

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

幾乎想也沒想,，我彎下腰擁抱了她一下。她也緊緊地抱著我,。

’You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ’Thank you.’

“你給了一個老婦人片刻的歡樂,，”她說，“謝謝你,?！?/p>

Isqueezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

我緊緊地握了握她的手，便走進(jìn)了微弱的晨光中,。門在我身后關(guān)上了,。這也是生命關(guān)閉的聲音。

I didn’t pick up any more passengers thatshift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient at the end hisshift? What if I had refused to take the run, or hadhonked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.

那晚我沒有拉其他的乘客,。我漫無方向地開著車,，陷入沉思中。那天其余的時間,，我?guī)缀跽f不出話,。如果那位老婦人碰到一位狂暴的司機(jī)，或者急著結(jié)束晚班的司機(jī),，那會怎么樣呢,？如果我拒絕跑這趟車，或者只是按一聲喇叭，便開車離開,，那又會怎么樣呢,？匆忙回顧了一下，我認(rèn)為我做了一件生命中再重要不過的事情,。

We’re conditioned to think that our livesrevolvearound great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware--beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

我們習(xí)慣性地認(rèn)為我們的生命中有一些重大的時刻，然而重大的時刻往往在不經(jīng)意時降臨到我們身上——也許在別人眼中是小事,，但它有著美麗的包裝,。人們可能不會完全記住你所做的事，或者你所說的話…但他們卻會永遠(yuǎn)記住你帶給他們的感覺,。

Take a moment to stop and appreciate the memories you have made, the memory making opportunities around you and make someone feel special today.

花上片刻的時間,，停下腳步欣賞一下你的回憶，那些為周圍的人創(chuàng)造了機(jī)會的回憶,，那些使他人今天仍然感覺特別的回憶,。

八月的憂傷

Lin Huiyin

林徽因

In a yellow pond there are white ducks swimming.

黃水塘里游著白鴨,，

Only a little taller than people, sorghums are still green.

高粱梗油青的剛高過頭,，

Where should I put, in this pounding heart,

這跳動的心怎樣安插，

A narrow path in the field, this sadness in August.

田里一窄條路,，八月里這憂愁,？

Rain washed the sky clean last night, sun shines

On hills and leaves some shadows,

照著太陽又留一片影,；

Sheep follow the shepherd into the village,

羊跟著放羊的轉(zhuǎn)進(jìn)村莊,，

And shading a well, a big tree looks like a heart.

一大棵樹蔭下罩著井，又像是心,！

No one ever spoke of August, summer is over

從沒有人說過八月什么話,，

And fall isn’t here. I look onto a farmland

夏天過去了，也不到秋天,。

And then at the squashes over the earth wall,

但我望著田壟,，土墻上的瓜，

I just don’t understand how life and dream connect.

仍不明白生活同夢怎樣的連牽,。

隨感錄

This matter of other people’s learning and accomplishments has been worrying me for some time. I never read the life of any important person without discovering that he knew more and could do more than I could ever hope to know or to do in half a dozen life-times. To begin with, unless these people chance to be obvious invalids like Stevenson or Tchehov, they are always tremendous athletes with surprising strength, powers of endurance, and so forth.

一直以來，對別人學(xué)識淵博及造詣之深,，我感到很不理解,。只要你隨便讀一讀哪一位重要人物的傳記，就總會發(fā)現(xiàn)他的學(xué)問和才能,，就算我活六輩子也休想學(xué)到和做到,。首先，除了碰到像史蒂文森或契訶夫那樣的，有明顯殘疾的人以外,，他們總是成績頂呱呱的運動員,，他們有著驚人的氣力、耐力,。

They could all walk and run and climb our heads off, even when they were seventy. Then they all have the gift of tongues. You never catch a glimpse of them sitting down to learn a new language, not even running an eye over its irregular verbs, yet it is admitted that they speak any number with an astonishing fluency and purity of accent. They never confine themselves to one science, but are inevitably masters of several. The big book of Nature they know by heart. Only the other day I was reading an account of a great novelist, a most sophisticated and subtle person, and was told that he knew the name and habits and history of every wild flower and plant and tree and bird in the country. Nor is that all. There is not one of these bigwigs who is not (I quote the customary phrases) a sensitive and accomplished musician, or an extraordinarily fine amateur water-colourist, or the possessor of a magnificent prose style. We are always told that, had circumstance been different, their talents were such that they need only have given their serious attention to one or other of these arts to have procured for themselves lasting and perhaps world-wide reputation. So runs the legend of the eulogists.

他們即使年屆七旬,，在走路，跑步,，翻山越嶺時我們都趕不上他們,。其次，他們大都是語言方面的天才,。你從來沒有看見他們坐下來學(xué)習(xí)一種新的語言,，甚至連不規(guī)則動詞表也沒有看見他們?yōu)g覽—下。但是大家都認(rèn)為他們隨便可以講幾種語言,，不僅流利,，而且發(fā)音純正。他們一般都精通幾門,，而不會使局限在一門科學(xué)里,。大自然這部巨著被他們熟記于心。不久以前,，我還讀到一位杰出的小說家的事跡,。他是一位非常老練而又精細(xì)的人，據(jù)說他熟悉鄉(xiāng)村每一種野花野草,、樹木和禽鳥的名稱,、習(xí)性和生活史。除此之外,，請原諒我用一些套語來形容,，這些大人物都是富于靈感的音樂大師，或是精妙絕倫的業(yè)余水彩畫家,，或是風(fēng)格優(yōu)美的文體家,。更使我們感到驚訝的是，要是他們的境遇不同,，只要他們認(rèn)真從事這門或那門藝術(shù),，憑著他們的才能，而且日后一定會獲得不朽的聲譽(yù),，再者還會享譽(yù)全球,。這些對他們的描述真是神乎其神。

I am baffled. How is it done? I ask the question again, my voice rises to a scream of envy and vexation. Consider what is involved in this matter (so lightly touched upon and dismissed) of music or water-colour painting or fine writing, what years of serious application, of drudgery at the keyboard, the easel, or the writing-desk. It is one thing to strum on the piano, as you and I do, faking the left-hand passages as we go along, or to daub a few patchy water colours, or to paste on to clumsy prose some old spangles of rhetoric, and it is quite another thing to be an accomplished musician or artist or writer. If the first were meant, I could understand it; but the second —— and as a mere recreation, too! And then to add the athleticism, the sciences, the tongues, the natural history! I am bewildered and crushed. The very idle rumour of fellow-creatures so wonderfully gifted makes me dwindle in my own estimation to the size of a gnat.

但是我被搞糊涂了,。他們憑什么做得到?我再次想問這個問題,，甚至忌妒和煩惱得要遙問蒼天,。我們應(yīng)該仔細(xì)地想一想一首樂曲、一幅水彩畫或一篇美妙的文章究竟意味著什么(這一點卻被他們輕輕帶過或略而不論),，這需要很多年專心致志地在鍵盤上,、在畫架上或者在寫字臺上辛勤操作，這樣才能有所成就,。而像你我這樣,，胡亂彈奏鋼琴曲，同時還用左手插入即興的過門,，或者不管色彩是否協(xié)調(diào),，亂涂幾筆蘸上水彩，或者在一篇粗制濫造的散文里貼上幾句閃閃爍爍的陳詞濫調(diào)是一回事,；而要成為一個有成就的音樂家、畫家或作家,，卻是另一回事,。要是那指的是前者，我可以理解,；但是如果指的是后者呢?——尚且還不過是作為一種業(yè)余的消遣!更不用說他們還要從事體育運動,，研究各門科學(xué)，學(xué)習(xí)各種語言,，或者博物學(xué)!這使我迷惑不解,，而且佩服得五體投地。這就是使我自己越看越小,，小得像個小蚊蟲的原因,。他們有如此神奇的天賦!正像傳說中講的那樣。

生活是杯咖啡

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -- porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

一群畢業(yè)生,，各自在事業(yè)上都已有所建樹，相約一起去看望他們年老的大學(xué)教授,。談話一會兒就變成了各自對工作和生活壓力的抱怨,。在用咖啡招待這些客人時，教授去廚房端來一大壺咖啡,，并拿出各式各樣的咖啡杯——陶瓷的,、塑料的、玻璃的,、水晶的,，有看上去普通的、有價值不菲的,、有做工精細(xì)的——讓他們自己倒咖啡喝,。

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

當(dāng)所有學(xué)生手中都端了一杯咖啡后，教授發(fā)話了 ：

If you noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

“如果你們注意一下，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)所有好看的昂貴的杯子都被挑走了,，剩下的只是那些普通的和便宜的,。當(dāng)然，每個人都只想擁有最好的,，這很正常,，但這也正是你們的問題和壓力的根源所在?！?/p>

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other’s cups.

“其實你們真正想要的是咖啡,，而不是杯子，但你們卻又都下意識去挑選最好的杯子,，并觀察別人拿到的杯子,。”

Now consider this: Life is the coffee and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and do not change the quality of life. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided. So, don’t let the cups drive you ... enjoy the coffee instead.

“現(xiàn)在設(shè)想一下：如果生活是杯中的咖啡,，工作,、財富和社會地位就是那些杯子。它們只是維持生活的工具而已,，并不改變生活質(zhì)量,。有時候，我們在過于關(guān)注杯子的同時卻忘了去品 味上帝賜予的咖啡,。所以,，不要成為杯子的奴隸…好好品味杯中的咖啡?！?/p>

每一天都是特殊的日子

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. ’This,’ he said, ’is not a slip. This is lingerie.’ He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip.

妹夫打開了妹妹衣柜的底層抽屜，拿出一個用紙包裝的包裹,?！斑@個，”他說不是件普通村裙內(nèi)衣,，而是一件做工非常精細(xì)的內(nèi)衣,。”他把薄紙撕開,，遞給我那件內(nèi)衣,。

It was exquisite, silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.

它的確精致無比，絲質(zhì),、全手工縫制,，周圍還有一圈網(wǎng)狀花邊。價簽都尚未拆去,，上面的數(shù)字高得驚人,。

Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.

“這是我們第一次去紐約時簡買的,，至少已是八九年前的事了。她從沒有穿過它,。她保留著它,，想等一個特殊的日子再穿?！?/p>

Well, I guess this is the occasion.

唉,，我想現(xiàn)在便是那特殊的日子了。

He took the slip from me and put it on the bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me,’Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion.’

妹夫從我手中拿過內(nèi)衣放在床上,，和其他我們要帶給殯儀服務(wù)人員的衣服放在一起,。他的手在那柔軟織物上徘徊了一會兒，隨即砰然關(guān)上抽屜,，轉(zhuǎn)身對我說：“永遠(yuǎn)不要把任何東西留給什么特殊日子,。你活著的每一天就是一個特殊的日子?！?/p>

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the mid-western town where my sister’s family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.

在葬禮上和幫妹夫,、侄女處理妹妹意外死亡后的傷心后事的那幾天，我一直記著這些話,。我乘飛機(jī)從位于中西部的妹妹家的小鎮(zhèn)上返回加州時，還在想這些話,。我想著妹妹沒有去看到,、去聽或去做的事。我想著她雖然做過卻沒有意識到其特殊性的事,。

I’m still thinking about his words, and they’ve changed the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with ray family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not endure. I’m trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

我至今還在想著妹夫說的話,，正是它們改變了我的花園里的雜草。我花更多的時間與家人朋友在一起,，而少花時間在那些委員會議上,。無論何時，生活應(yīng)當(dāng)是一種“品味”而非一種“忍受”,。我在試著欣賞每一刻,，并珍惜每一刻。

I’m not ’saving’ anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom... I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I’m not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends.

我不再去“珍藏”任何東西,；只要有一件特別的事情,，比如說當(dāng)體重減了一磅時，當(dāng)廚房水槽堵塞通了時,，當(dāng)?shù)谝欢渖讲杌ㄟ@放時…我們就會使用精美的免器和水晶制品,。如果我想穿，我就穿上我的品質(zhì)優(yōu)良顏色鮮亮的運動衣去市場購物,。我的理論是:如果我看上去還富足的話,，我可以毫不畏縮地為一袋雜貨付28.49美元,。我不再為特殊的派對而珍藏我上好的香水；五金店售貨員和銀行出納員們的嗅覺,，不會比派對上朋友們來得差,。

’Someday’ and ’one of these days’ are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I’m not sure what my sister would’ve done had she known that she wouldn’t be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted.

“有朝一日”和“終有一天”這樣的詞正從我的詞匯中淡出。如果值得去看,、去聽或去做,，我當(dāng)即就要去看、去聽,、去做,。我們總是理所當(dāng)然地以為自己必然有明天，不知假如妹妹知道她將沒有明日,，她會做些什么,。

I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize, and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I’m guessing. I’ll never know.

我想她會給家人和幾位密友打電話。她可能還會給幾位昔日朋友打電話主動道歉,，摒棄前嫌,，重歸于好。我想她可能會外出吃頓中餐,，那是她最喜歡的,。我只是猜想而已。我永遠(yuǎn)也不會知道,。

It’s those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday. Angry because I hadn’t written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn’t tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.

假如我知道我的時間不多了,，那些沒來得及做的小事會讓我惱火。惱火是因為我一拖再拖沒能去看看“有朝一日”會去看的好友們,。惱火是因為我還沒有寫出我“終有一天”要寫的信,。惱火與遺憾是因為我沒能更經(jīng)常地告訴我的丈夫和女兒：我是多么真切地愛他們。

I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath truly, is... a gift from God.

我正努力不再拖延,、保留或珍藏那些能給我們生活帶來歡笑和光彩的東西,。每天清晨當(dāng)我睜開雙眼，我便告訴自己每一天,、每一分鐘,、每一瞬間都是…上帝賜予的禮物。