雙語(yǔ)對(duì)照 ● The Boy Under the Tree　樹下的男孩

The Boy Under the Tree　樹下的男孩

◎ David Coleman & Kevin Randall

In the summer recess between freshman and sophomore[33]years in college, I was invited to be an instructor at a high school leadership camp hosted by a college in Michigan. I was already highly involved in most campus activities, and I jumped at the opportunity.

在大一生活結(jié)束的那個(gè)暑假，我受邀到密歇根州一所大學(xué)主辦的高中領(lǐng)導(dǎo)才能夏令營(yíng)擔(dān)任輔導(dǎo)員一職。我參加過(guò)許多大學(xué)舉辦的活動(dòng)，于是便欣然接受了這次邀請(qǐng)。

About an hour into the first day of camp, amid the frenzy of icebreakers and forced interactions, I first noticed the boy under the tree. He was small and skinny, and his obvious discomfort and shyness made him appear frail and fragile. Only fifty feet away, two hundred eager campers were bumping bodies, playing, joking and meeting each other, but the boy under the tree seemed to want to be anywhere other than where he was. The desperate loneliness he radiated almost stopped me from approaching him, but I remembered the instructions from the senior staff to stay alert for campers who might feel left out.

夏令營(yíng)的第一天，我花了一個(gè)小時(shí)來(lái)緩和氣氛，強(qiáng)迫大家進(jìn)行互動(dòng)。那時(shí)我第一次注意到那個(gè)樹下的男孩。他又小又瘦，明顯的不安和羞怯讓他看起來(lái)更加弱不經(jīng)風(fēng)。離他只有50英尺遠(yuǎn)的地方，兩百個(gè)狂熱的露營(yíng)愛好者正在蹦蹦跳跳地鬧著說(shuō)著，互相結(jié)識(shí)。可那個(gè)樹下的男孩看樣子只要不待在這里，去哪兒都可以。他表現(xiàn)出令人絕望的孤寂，仿佛要拒我于之千里之外。這時(shí)，我想起那些資深輔導(dǎo)員給我的提醒——給那些可能感到被忽略的隊(duì)員一些特殊關(guān)注。

As I walked toward him, I said, “I, my name is Kevin, and I’m one of the counselors. It’s nice to meet you. How are you?” In a shaky, sheepish voice he reluctantly answered, “Okay, I guess.” I calmly asked him if he wanted to join the activities and meet some new people. He quietly replied, “No, this is not really my thing.”

我朝他走去，說(shuō)道：“你好，我叫凱文，我是夏令營(yíng)的輔導(dǎo)員。很高興見到你。你好嗎？”他用顫抖羞怯的聲音不情愿地回答道，“還好吧?！蔽依潇o地問(wèn)他是否愿意參加一些活動(dòng)，結(jié)交一些新朋友。他靜靜地答道：“不，這真的不是我想做的事情?！?

I could sense that he was in a new world, that this whole experience was foreign to him. But I somehow knew it wouldn’t be right to push him, either. He didn’t need a pep talk; he needed a friend. After several silent moments, my first interaction with the boy under the tree was over.

我能感覺(jué)到，他處在一個(gè)嶄新的世界里，這里的一切對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)都是陌生的?？墒?，我有時(shí)覺(jué)得強(qiáng)迫他也不是什么好辦法。他需要的不是鼓勵(lì)的話語(yǔ)，而是一位朋友。一段沉默過(guò)后，我和樹下男孩的第一次互動(dòng)也宣告結(jié)束了。

At lunch the next day, I found myself leading camp songs at the top of my lungs for two hundred of my new friends. The campers eagerly participated. My gaze wandered over the mass of noise and movement and was caught by the image of the boy from under the tree, sitting alone, staring out the window. I nearly forgot the words to the song I was supposed to be leading. At my first opportunity, I tried again, with the same questions as before, “How are you doing? Are you okay?” To which he again replied, “Yeah, I’m all right. I just don’t really get into this stuff.” As I left the cafeteria, I realized this was going to take more time and effort than I had thought—if it was even possible to get through to him at all.

第二天午餐的時(shí)候，我為兩百位新朋友高聲唱起了夏令營(yíng)之歌。隊(duì)員們興高采烈地跟著我一起唱。我的目光穿過(guò)嘈雜流動(dòng)的人群，停在了那個(gè)單獨(dú)坐在樹下凝望著窗外的男孩身上。我差點(diǎn)忘了正在領(lǐng)唱的歌詞。我又抓住機(jī)會(huì)試著再一次接近他，我像上一次那樣問(wèn)道：“你感覺(jué)怎么樣？你還好嗎？”他還是那樣回答我：“是的，我還好。我只是不太想做這些事情?！睆牟蛷d走出來(lái)的時(shí)候，我明白了，要想打開他的心扉，需要的時(shí)間和精力比我之前預(yù)計(jì)的還要多。

That evening at our nightly staff meeting, I made my concerns about him known. I explained to my fellow staff members my impression of him and asked them to pay special attention and spend time with him when they could.

那天晚上，在全體工作人員例行會(huì)議上，我說(shuō)出了對(duì)他的憂慮。我向我的同事說(shuō)明了我對(duì)他的印象，并且請(qǐng)他們多留意他，多抽點(diǎn)時(shí)間陪他。

The days I spend at camp each year fly by faster than any others I have known. Thus, before I knew it, mid-week had dissolved into the final night of camp, and I was chaperoning[34]the “l(fā)ast dance”. The students were doing all they could to savor every last moment with their new “best friends”—friends they would probably never see again.

每一年我在夏令營(yíng)的日子，比我所知道的其他任何時(shí)候都要過(guò)得快。于是不知不覺(jué)，周三成為了此次夏令營(yíng)的最后一夜，我陪伴著他們跳最后一支舞。學(xué)生們和新交的“摯友”——或許今后再也無(wú)法相見的朋友——盡情享受這最后時(shí)刻。

As I watched the campers share their parting moments, I suddenly saw what would be one of the most vivid memories of my life. The boy from under the tree, who had stared blankly out the kitchen window, was now a shirtless dancing wonder. He owned the dance floor as he and two girls proceeded to cut a rug. I watched as he shared meaningful, intimate time with people at whom he couldn’t even look just days earlier. I couldn’t believe it was the same person.

正當(dāng)我看著隊(duì)員們共享臨別時(shí)刻時(shí)，我突然看見了生命中最動(dòng)人的一幕：那個(gè)曾經(jīng)茫然凝望著廚窗外的樹下男孩，此時(shí)早已脫去外上衣，正在熱情地舞蹈著。當(dāng)他和兩個(gè)女孩一起熱舞時(shí)，他吸引了全場(chǎng)的目光。我看著他與人分享著意義深長(zhǎng)又親密無(wú)間的時(shí)光。可就在幾天前，他甚至都不愿意看這些人一眼，我簡(jiǎn)直不敢相信這是同一個(gè)人。

In October of my sophomore year, a late-night phone call pulled me away from my chemistry book. A soft-spoken, unfamiliar voice asked politely, “Is Kevin there?”

大二那年10月的一個(gè)深夜，我放下手中的化學(xué)書，接了一個(gè)電話。聽筒里傳來(lái)一個(gè)陌生、溫柔、彬彬有禮的聲音：“您是凱文嗎？”

“You’re talking to him, who’s this?”

“我是。請(qǐng)問(wèn)哪位？”

“This is Tom Johnson’s mom. Do you remember Tommy from leadership camp?”

“我是湯姆·約翰遜的媽媽。您還記得參加過(guò)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)才能夏令營(yíng)的湯米嗎？”

The boy under the tree. How could I not remember?

那個(gè)樹下男孩，我怎么會(huì)不記得呢？

“Yes, I do.” I said. “He’s a very nice young man. How is he?”

“當(dāng)然，”我說(shuō)，“他是個(gè)非常不錯(cuò)的年輕人。他還好嗎？”

An abnormally long pause followed, then Mrs. Johnson said, “My Tommy was walking home from school this week when he was hit by a car and killed.” Shocked, I offered my condolences[35].

很長(zhǎng)的停頓后，約翰遜夫人接著說(shuō)：“這周我的湯米在回家的路上被車撞了，就那樣走了?！蔽艺痼@極了，并請(qǐng)她節(jié)哀。

“I just wanted to call you,” she said, “because Tommy mentioned you so many times. I wanted you to know that he went back to school this fall with confidence. He made new friends. His grades went up. And he even went out on a few dates. I just wanted to thank you for making a difference for Tom. The last few months were the best few months of his life.”

“我只是想打個(gè)電話給你，”她說(shuō)，“因?yàn)闇自啻蜗蛭姨崞鹉恪Ｎ蚁胱屇阒?，這個(gè)秋天，他信心滿滿地回到學(xué)校，結(jié)交了新朋友，學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)也提高了，甚至還和女孩子約會(huì)了幾次。我想謝謝你，是你改變了湯姆。這最后幾個(gè)月是他生命里最燦爛的時(shí)光。”

In that instant, I realized how easy it is to give a bit of yourself every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I tell this story as often as I can, and when I do, I urge others to look out for their own “boy under the tree”.

剎那間，我明白了：每天奉獻(xiàn)一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)是件很容易的事，可你也許永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)知道，每一個(gè)善意的小舉動(dòng)會(huì)給別人帶來(lái)多大的影響。我無(wú)數(shù)次說(shuō)起這個(gè)故事，我這么做就是為了讓更多的人留意他們自己的那個(gè)“樹下男孩”。

美麗語(yǔ)錄

You make millions of decisions that mean nothing and then one day your order takes out and it changes your life.

你每天都在做很多看起來(lái)毫無(wú)意義的決定，但某天你的某個(gè)決定就能改變你的一生。

超多雙語(yǔ)閱讀，盡在聽力課堂