雙語美文欣賞：我的單車時代

我的單車時代

It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this ,small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.

與年邁的母親一起重游童年的故鄉(xiāng)是一件美妙的事情，我在這里的成長過程就像是發(fā)生在幾個世紀前一樣?；叵氘敵?，這個小鎮(zhèn)僅僅是我童年生活一個絲毫不起眼的背景。

Mom’s doing great for her age, but she's moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.

在她的年紀看來，母親的身體還不錯，但這些天行動卻遲緩了一些。我們在書房里進行了一次溫馨長談，說起我的妻子、孩子和離這里很遙遠的、即將返回的大城市里工作的事情。我們把現(xiàn)有的一切都談了個遍。

What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed,and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it's like!’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did,

這可是出門散步和呼吸新鮮空氣的最佳時刻，窗外的世界在大聲地召喚著我去看周遭的一切，去看世事如何變遷，又是如何保持原樣的。當我走過街道，一切似乎又回到了我的少年時代，我又騎上了我心愛的單車，又要在單車上開始另一段莊嚴的旅程了。噢，那些單車載我去過的地方!

There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where!can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap.Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers? The freedom to decide continues unabated only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.

在騎車從一條街轉(zhuǎn)進另一條街的拐角地方，有一間小商店，在那兒我能買到一玻璃瓶、有著紅色金屬蓋子的冰凍汽水。商店里面是條長長的糖果長廊，站在這兒，我得謹慎考慮我的選擇:是買一個糖果塊，一套附贈泡泡糖的足球卡，還是一把火球樣的硬球糖?這種決定接下來怎么做的自由從未消減，只是隨著時間推移，事情愈加復雜，相應的需要更多的智慧。

There's the bridge over the lazy river where I love to park my bike, and just sit on the tail ledge to think penetrating thoughts, as I look down the river into the expansive horizon. How far does this river go, and what is beyond the river, and even what is beyond that? Maybe someday I can travel to experience it on my own when I get older. Many are the places I've since traveled, only to enlarge my curiosity further, as my awareness of the unknown has grown.

在一條靜靜的河上有一座橋，我喜歡將單車停在那里，然后坐在高高的橋欄上，一邊俯視著河邊廣闊的地平線，一邊思考著頭腦中千奇百怪的想法。這條河會流多遠?河的前面是什么?前面的前面呢?或許有一天，當我長大了，我可以獨自前行，去探索這一切……從踏出第一步起，我已去過很多很多地方，只是為了擴大好奇心，我越來越意識到自己的無知。

It's only a quick ride to reach the old retired doctor’s house, whose lawn I mow weekly. He pays me a modest wage to help maintain his large yard. We always enjoy talking as we work together. I don't remember exactly all that we talked about, but I do remember that he always listened and I felt appreciated. He sure did know a lot about what fifie has in store that is common to every man. His example of deliberate kindness and thoughtful wisdom showed me how to pass on the same to others younger than myself, many times over the years.

騎車到那個退休的老醫(yī)生家里僅需很短的時間，我每周都去給他家修剪草坪。他會給予我適當?shù)膱蟪辏屛規(guī)兔Υ蚶硭拇笸ピ?。我們很享受一起工作時的聊天時光。我已經(jīng)不能確切地憶起我們到底說了些什么，但我卻記得他總是在聆聽，這讓我感覺自己倍受尊重。他當然知道對每個普通人來說，即將面對的生活會是什么樣子……這些年來，有多少次，我將他傳遞給我的善意與智慧繼續(xù)傳遞給比我年輕的人。

Up ahead is her house, just three houses down from that corner. I sure do have a crush on her. She is so lovely with pretty blond hair. I need to ride past her house yet again to see if I might find her outside where I could maybe, just maybe,have the chance to talk with her after school. I'm not sure what to say given the chance, but it’s worth the risk. Too bad she never really noticed me at school,even though we shared the same classes; I wonder where she is now.

前方是她的家，只需拐角過去再走過三所房子就到了。我確信自己瘋狂迷戀上她了。她有著美麗的金發(fā)，十分可愛。我騎著車一次次地經(jīng)過她家門前，幻想著或許能碰見她出門，或許一月又僅是或許，能在放學后有跟她說話的機會。我不知道老天能否賜予這個機會，但值得冒險一試。很不幸，在學校里她從來沒留意過我，即使我們在同一個班里上課?，F(xiàn)在我很想知道她身在何方……

Years later in college, it was just as awkward when I first met my future bride and struggled to start a conversation, but those moments surprisingly became the initial spark that turned into the real communication of our now 25-year marriage.

幾年后，當在大學里遇見我未來的新娘時，我還是那樣笨拙地，盡力去開始一段談話。然而那些時刻，很意外地，成為燃起我們?nèi)缃?5年婚姻的星星之火。

Where is that special tree? I know it's somewhere around here between these two houses, or is it the next house? l guess the tree is now long gone. Having packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch in my bicycle basket, I'm set to spend almost the entire day climbing around in it, where i can think and dream unrestrrained. It is here I have found a glorious refuge; each large branch is its own lavish room comprising my expansive estate. What a rich man I am to have found such an interesting place that I can call my own!

那棵特別的樹在哪呢?我知道它就在附近的某個地方，不過是在這兩所房子之間，還是在下一座房子旁邊?我猜那棵樹已經(jīng)消失很久了。那時我常把做午餐的花生醬和果凍三明治裝好，放進車筐里，然后來到這里。我會爬到樹上，不著邊際地肆意幻想，幾乎能在這消磨一整天的時光。我在這)L找到了華麗的庇護所:每一根粗壯的樹枝都是一個寬大的房間，共同構(gòu)筑成我的豪華莊園。能夠找到如此有趣的獨屬于我的領(lǐng)地，我是多么的富有啊!

I love to climb to the very top where the highest branch is so narrow, I must hold on tight as I sway widely with it in the wind, because the higher I go, the more I can see. I can even see past the supermarket, with a glimpse of the ocean a mile beyond that.I'm glad my mother never knew how high I dared to climb. Ever since then, I have always found it well worth paying the price to reach the vantage point that affords life's best perspective.

我喜歡爬上最高的地方，因為只有我上得越高，才能看得越遠。不過最高處的樹枝太細，我必須得緊緊抓住它，隨風搖擺。我的目光甚至可以越過商場，瞥見一英里外的海洋。我很高興母親從來不知道我敢爬到多高……從那時起，我一直都覺得為了看見生活的光明遠景，付出代價爬上有利位置是十分值得的。

My bicycle enabled so much adventure along the safe sidewalks and sleepy streets of my town. It offered great freedom to explore. There were so many places to ride my bike, including special places that only I knew about. There were seemingly endless opportunities for discovery, compelling experiences, and even the thrill of imagined danger.

沿著安全人行道和安靜的長街，我的單車載著我在這個小鎮(zhèn)經(jīng)歷了許多冒險，它為我提供了足夠的自由去探索。騎上我的單車，可以去的地方實在太多了，包括很多只有我一個人知道的地方。似乎總有無盡的機會去尋求發(fā)現(xiàn)、扣人心弦的歷險，以及可以想象到的令人發(fā)抖的危險。

My life then had space wide enough to ride but secure enough with all its well-defined boundaries, where I purposed to set my course towards creating an engaging life to enjoy.This was a place that couldn't have been more adventurous.

然后，我的生活中就有了足夠廣闊的空間等待我去行駛，但已有定義分明的安全界限。無論去哪，我都計劃好我的步伐，去創(chuàng)造、享受我充實的生活。這里已是一個沒有任何冒險性的地方。

It's been decades since those days of boyhood exploration, and I’m sure that rust has long since consumed my old bike. But even though everything is different now, nothing has changed. bife remains an adventure that continually beckons. Although I am more established now, I still fashion the places I call my own so that I may live large. I still must plan to set a direction and be careful to navigate a wise path.

少年時代的探險已經(jīng)過去了幾十年了，我確信舊單車上也早已生滿了銹。然而，雖然現(xiàn)在一切都不一樣了，其實卻什么都沒有改變。生活總是存在著一場冒險，它在不停地召喚著我們。盡管我現(xiàn)在被越來越多的人肯定，但我依然在不停地構(gòu)筑屬于自己的領(lǐng)地，以獲得更大的生活空間。我仍要計劃前進的方向，小心地在智慧的道路上航行。

This wonderful little town-this special appointed place-provided a significant time of preparation which was a microcosm of my life, where ! learned,without realizing I was learning, the most important things before I ever lived them.

這個奇妙的小鎮(zhèn)，這個特別的地方，為我提供了一段意義深遠的準備時間。這里曾是我人生中的小小世界，我在這里接受潤物無聲的教育，學會了那些我此后生活中最重要的事情。