讀點好英文:The DaffodiI PrincipIe　水仙定律

The DaffodiI PrincipIe　水仙定律

·Jaroldeen Edwards·

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say，“Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.”I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

“I will come next Tuesday.”I promised, a little reIuctantIy, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy.Still, I had promised, and so I drove there.When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said，“Forget the daffodils, Carolyn！The road is invisibIe in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch！”

My daughter smiled calmly and said，“We drive in this all the time, Mother.”

“Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home！”I assured her.

“I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car.”

“How far will we have to drive?”

“Just a few blocks，”Carolyn said，“I'll drive. I'm used to this.”

After several minutes, I had to ask，“Where are we going?This isn't the way to the garage！”“We're going to my garage the long way，”Carolyn smiled，“by way of the daffodils.”

“Carolyn，”I said sternIy，“please turn around.”

“It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read，“Daffodil Garden”.

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.Before me lay the most glorious sight.It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes.The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow.Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.There were five acres of flowers.

“But who has done this?”I asked Carolyn.

“It's just one woman.”Carolyn answered.“She lives on the property. That's her home.”Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.We walked up to the house.On the patio, we saw a poster.“Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking”was the headIine.

The first answer was a simple one.“50，000 bulbs.”it read.

The second answer was，“one bulb at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and a very little brain”.

The third answer was，“Began in 1958”.

There it was. The Daffodil Principle.For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time often just one baby-step at a time-and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.We can change the world.

“It makes me sad in a way.”I admitted to Carolyn.“What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it‘one bulb at a time'through all those years?Just think what I might have been able to achieve！”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way.“Start tomorrow.”she said.

賈洛德·愛德華思

好幾次了，我女兒打電話來說：“媽媽，你務(wù)必得在那些水仙花凋謝之前來看看它們。”我是想去，可從拉古娜到箭頭湖要開兩小時的車。

“那我下周二去吧?！痹谒谌未騺黼娫挄r，我極不情愿地答應(yīng)道。到了那個周二，清晨很冷又下著雨，不過既然答應(yīng)了，我還是開車去了。等我終于到了卡羅琳家，擁抱問候過我的外孫們，說：“卡羅琳，別想那水仙了！天陰又有霧，路都看不清。這世上除了你和這些孩子，沒有什么能讓我為想去看他們再開一步車了！”

女兒平靜地笑著說：“媽媽，我們一直都在這種天氣里開車的呀！”

“那反正你甭想讓我再開車上路了，除非天晴了，否則我就直接開車回家！”我重申道。

“我本來指望你能開車捎我去修車廠取我的車呢！”

“我們得開多遠??？”

“就幾條街，”卡羅琳說，“我來開，反正我習(xí)慣了這種天氣。”

過了幾分鐘，我不得不問：“我們這是去哪兒??？這不是去修車廠的路??！”卡羅琳笑了：“我們要去的那個修車廠很遠，要經(jīng)過水仙花?！?/p>

“卡羅琳，”我嚴厲地說，“請你掉頭回去?！?/p>

“沒事的，媽媽，我保證，如果你錯過了這次經(jīng)歷，你將永遠不會原諒自己的?！?/p>

大概過了二十分鐘，我們轉(zhuǎn)到了一條碎石小路上，我看到一個小教堂。在教堂的稍遠一側(cè)，我看見一個手寫的牌子，上面寫著“水仙花園”。

我們走下車，一人領(lǐng)著一個孩子。我跟著卡羅琳順小道而行，轉(zhuǎn)到小道的一角，我抬頭一看，驚住了。在我面前的是極為壯觀的景象，看上去仿佛有人把一大缸金子傾倒下來，覆蓋了峰頂和山坡。那些花栽種成宏偉的旋渦圖案——寬寬窄窄的條紋有很多顏色，有深橘、白、檸檬黃、橙紅、番紅和乳黃。不同色系的花種植為一組，這樣看上去每組都用自己獨特的色調(diào)一圈圈地在自己的河流中流淌。那兒有五畝花。

“這是誰種的呢？”我問卡羅琳。

“就一個女人，”卡羅琳回答，“她就以這片花為生。那是她的家?！笨_琳指著一座整修得很好的A字形房子，在一片壯麗的景象當(dāng)中，這房子看起來小而樸素。我們走到房子跟前，在院子里，我看到一張海報，標(biāo)題是“答案——我知道你要問的這些問題”。

第一個答案很簡單，寫著：“五萬株。”

第二個答案是：“一次種一株，一個女人，兩只手，兩只腳，不需多動腦?！?/p>

第三個答案是：“開始于1958年。”

這就是“水仙定律”。對于我，那一刻是一次改變生活的經(jīng)歷。我在琢磨這個我從未謀面的女人，她，在三十五年前，開始——一次種一株——給她自己帶來了美的景象和花滿山頂?shù)目鞓贰?/p>

就這樣一次種一株，年復(fù)一年，這個不知名的女人永遠地改變了她所居住的世界，她創(chuàng)造了無法形容的壯麗、美好和感動。

在這個水仙花園中得出的定律是值得慶祝的最偉大的定律之一。那就是，懂得向我們的目標(biāo)邁進，只求一步一個腳印——通常一次就一小步——懂得去熱愛正在做的事，懂得利用時間的積累。當(dāng)我們把時間的碎片疊加，再加上每天的一點兒努力，我們會發(fā)現(xiàn)我們也能成就輝煌。我們也能改變這個世界。

“這讓我在某種意義上有點兒喪氣。”我跟卡羅琳說，“如果我三十五年前有一個宏偉的目標(biāo)，然后也像這樣，‘一次種一株’地做下去，這些年我會有什么成就呢？想想我到底能做成什么！”

女兒直截了當(dāng)?shù)乜偨Y(jié)了這一天的收獲，她說：“從明天開始?！?/p>

核心單詞

reIuctantIy[ri'l?kt?ntli]adv.不情愿地；勉強地

invisibIe[in'viz?bl]adj.看不見的；無形的

sternIy['st?：nli]adv.嚴格地；嚴厲地

majestic[m?'d?estik]adj.雄偉的；威嚴的

headIine['hedlain]n.（報紙等的）標(biāo)題；大標(biāo)題

obscure[?b'skju?]adj.黑暗的；朦朧的；晦澀的

increment['inkrim?nt]n.增加；增額

實用句型

She had created something of ineffabIe magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

她創(chuàng)造了無法形容的壯麗、美好和感動。

①過去完成時：had+P.P.（動詞的過去分詞）。

②ineffable說不出的，類似帶有否定前綴的詞還有imbalance不均衡狀態(tài)；illegal非法的；irresponsible不負責(zé)任的等。

翻譯練習(xí)

1.他昨晚到十二點才睡覺。（not until）

2.我們在大雨中離去。（in the midst of）

3.所有這些都說明了同樣的結(jié)論。（point to）