雙語 ● This Boy and His Bicycle 騎單車的男孩
This Boy and His Bicycle 騎單車的男孩
◎ Franklin B. Holleman
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.
與年邁的母親攜手重游兒時的故鄉(xiāng)，是一件很美妙的事情！我在這兒長大的事情就像發(fā)生在幾世紀以前一樣。想當初，這個小鎮(zhèn)只是我童年生活一個不起眼的背景罷了。
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.
母親年事已高，但按這個年紀來說，她的身體還算是硬朗的，只是這幾天動作遲緩了一些。我們在書房里進行了一次暖人心房的長談，談到我的妻子、孩子以及遠在大城市里的工作事宜。我們把眼前的一切說了個遍。
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 I’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.
這真是到戶外散散步，呼吸一下新鮮空氣的完美時刻??！我仿佛聽到一個聲音，它在召喚著我看看身邊的一切，看世事如何變遷又如何保有原樣。我走過街道，就好像重新騎上我那心愛的單車，回到我的少年時代。我又將開始一次美妙的單車之旅了。?。诬噷е抑赜喂实?。
There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I 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.
街角有個小店，就是騎單車從一條街轉(zhuǎn)向另一條街的那個拐角。我能從小店里買到一杯玻璃瓶裝的冰鎮(zhèn)蘇打汽水，還有一個大紅色的金屬蓋子。小店里面有一條長長的糖果長廊，讓我不得不認真考慮自己的選擇：是買一塊糖果呢，還是買一套隨贈泡泡糖的足球卡，還是買形狀酷似火球的硬糖？……選擇的自由不曾消失過，只是隨著時間的推移，這種自由需要與之相稱的智慧來調(diào)配。
There’s the bridge over the lazy river where I love to park my bike, and just sit on the tall 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.
潺潺流動的河面上架著一座高橋，我總喜歡把單車停在那兒，然后靜靜地坐著冥想。當我低頭望著小河，眺望無際的地平線時，我的腦中總會閃現(xiàn)出一些奇怪的念頭：“這條河會流到哪里呢？河的前面會是什么呢？那前面的前面又會是什么呢？也許有一天，當我長大的時候，我可以獨自去旅行，去體驗……我去過許許多多地方，只是為了擴大我的好奇心，因為我已然意識到自己對這個世界有多么的無知。
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 life 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.
騎單車去那個已經(jīng)退休的老醫(yī)生家里，不一會兒功夫就到了。我每個星期都會為他修剪草坪。他也會多少給我一些報酬，讓我?guī)退蚶硭拇笤鹤印Ｒ黄鸸ぷ鲿r我們聊得十分開心。雖然我早已記不清我們具體聊了些什么，但是我記得他總會耐心聆聽，這讓我覺得他十分尊重我。當然，他確實知道對每個平凡的人來說，生活的真正面目會是什么。多年以來，擁有善良和智慧的他成了我的榜樣，激勵著我將這些美德傳播給比我年輕的人們。
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... 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.
前面拐角過去再過三棟房子便是她的家了。我很確定自己迷上了她。她留著一頭漂亮的金發(fā)，可愛至極。放學(xué)后，我騎著單車一次又一次經(jīng)過她家門前，想著她是不是剛好從屋內(nèi)出來，或許，就只是或許，我能有機會跟她說上話。其實即使有這種機會，我也不知道該說些什么，但無論如何都值得一試。可不幸的是，她在學(xué)校從未真正注意到我，即使她跟我是同班同學(xué)。我很想知道如今她身在何方……多年以后，我在大學(xué)里第一次碰見我的未來新娘時，我還是那么害羞，甚至不知道怎樣開始我們的談話。然而，奇妙的是，這些時刻竟成了點燃我們到如今持續(xù)25年婚姻的愛情之火。
Where is that special tree? I know it’s somewhere around here between these two houses, or is it the next house? I 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 unrestrained. 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! 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.
那棵特別的樹去哪兒了呢？我知道它就在這附近，可能在這兩棟房子中間，也可能在下一棟房子旁邊。我猜那棵樹已經(jīng)消失很久了。我為自己準備了午餐，是花生醬和果凍三明治，它們就放在單車前面的籃子里。這樣，我就可以一整天都待在樹上，無拘無束地想著。這兒對我來說是一個絕佳的避難所，每一根粗大的樹枝都是一個華麗的房間，都是我美麗城堡里的一部分。能夠找到這樣一個有趣的專屬堡壘，我真是一個富有的人啊！我總喜歡爬上最高的地方，因為爬得越高，看得越遠。可那兒的樹枝很細，我必須緊緊抓住它，任由自己在風中搖擺。我甚至還能看見超市，瞥見一公里以外的海洋。我很慶幸母親不知道我會爬到這么高的地方……從那以后，我深深地覺得，為了欣賞生活的最美景致爬上那個致高點是值得的。
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.
我的單車曾帶著我在這個小鎮(zhèn)里冒險——穿過安全的人行道和寂靜的街道。有了它，我更能享受探索的自由。單車帶著我去過許多地方，包括那些只有我知道的地方?？雌饋硖剿鞯臋C會是無窮無盡的，探索的經(jīng)歷是驚心動魄的，甚至想象中的危險也能令人興奮不已。
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.
如今，我的生活有了更廣闊的空間去行駛，然而，也有了足夠安全的定義分明的界限。我早已計劃好去創(chuàng)造、去享受那種美好生活。那將會是一個不需要任何冒險的地方。
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. Life 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.
少年時代的探索已然過去數(shù)十年了，我的舊單車肯定也早已銹跡斑斑了吧！然而，雖然現(xiàn)在一切看似早已不同往日，但事實上什么都不曾改變過。生活依舊是一種冒險，依舊不停地召喚著我們。雖然如今的我也算是小有成就，可我仍然不停地建造屬于我的城堡，讓自己生活的空間變大。我仍舊要為前進的方向計劃著，并小心地航行在智慧的道路上。
This wonderful little town—this special appointed place—provided a significant time of preparation which was a microcosm of my life, where I learned, without realizing I was learning, the most important things before I ever lived them.
這個奇特的小鎮(zhèn)，這個與眾不同的地方，是我人生中一段意義深遠的準備，就像我生活里的一個微觀世界。在這兒，我接受了無聲無息的教育，學(xué)到了對于此后生活無比重要的東西。
