哈佛大學校園英語情景對話31：女兒當自強

Mary is John’s classmate and doesn’t do well in study. Today, Mary is in meditation when John comes over.

J： Hey, Mary, why do you pose like Le Penseur?

J：嘿，瑪麗，怎么擺個‘‘沉思者”的造型?

M: Come on, John, give me a break. I'm thinking about my future.

M:得了，約翰，饒了我吧。我在思考我的前途呢。

J： Your future? Isn’t your dream to be a full-time housewife?

J：你的前途?你的夢想不是做個全職太太嗎?

M: John, enough with the jokes, OK?

M：約翰，別再開玩笑行嗎?

J： Ok, well, do you have any plan?

j：好，那么，你有什么計劃嗎?

M: Yes, I’m determined to apply for Harvard.

M:有,我決定申請上哈佛大學。

J： Are you serious? Mary, don’t be too hard on yourself.

J：你是認真的嗎?瑪麗，別對自己要求太嚴格了。

M: Yeah, I do mean it. You can have my word on it.

M:是的，我是認真的。對此我可以向你保證。

J: But why? I remember that you just wanted a plain life and did not want to be a “dragon lady”.

J:但，為什么呢?我記得你只想要過平凡的生活，不想成為女強人。

M: Yes, but that’s because I didn’t have confidence in myself and was afraid of speaking out my true thoughts. You know what? Actually I thought that girls often lose to boys in many ways. Therefore, I believed that girls wouldn’t make great achievements even if they could go to Harvard, Yet, I’ve summoned up courage to pursue my dream bravely after I read a book titled Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars.

M:是的，但那是因為過去我對自己沒有信心，害怕說出自己的真實想法。知道嗎， 我以前認為女生在很多方面經(jīng)常輸紿男生，所以，我認為女生即使上了哈佛也不 會有多大成就。但自從我讀了《流浪到哈佛》這本書后，我已經(jīng)鼓起追求夢想的 勇氣了。

J： So, that’s an inspirational book?

J:這么說，那是一本勵志書?

M: Yes，It’s a memoir and tells a story about a homeless girl who finally became a member of Harvard University.

M:是的，是本回憶錄，講訴了一個流浪女孩最終考上哈佛大學的故事。

J: Who is the author?

J:作者是誰?

M: Lauralee Summer. Have you heard about her?

M:蘿拉莉薩默。你聽說過她嗎?

J： Lauralee...Summer? Maybe a little bit. Fm not sure. Is she famous?

J:蘿拉莉薩默?也許略有耳聞。不太確定。她很有名嗎?

M: Not very famous. But her book is the best seller now and her life experience has inspired many people, especially women.

M:也不是很有名。但她的這本書現(xiàn)在是暢銷書，她的人生經(jīng)歷激勵了很多人，尤其 是女性。

J: If it is just because she is a Harvard girl，then that is not a big deal. A lot of girls go to Harvard.

J：如果僅僅因為她是個哈佛女孩，那也設什么大不了的。有很多女生上哈佛。

M: Yes, but don’t jump to conclusion before you hear her stoiy.

M:是的，但在你聽她的故事之前別急于下結(jié)論。

J: Ok, tell me. I’m ail ears.

J：好，結(jié)我講講。我洗耳恭聽。

M: Her parents divorced and she had never seen her father before 19 years old. She lived a miserable life with her mother in her childhood. She grew up homeless and moved 20 times before she was 12.

M:她父母離異了，在她19歲之前她從未見過自己的父親。她兒時和母親一起過著 凄慘生活。她從小到大就到處流浪，12歲之前搬了 20次家。

J： I’m sorry to hear that.

J:抱歉聽到這些。

M: Although her mother loved Lauralee, she could not give Lauralee the kind of love that most parents give to their children. So Lauralee has been an independent girl all along.

M:雖然她母親也愛她，但卻無法給她那種其他父母給予孩子的愛。

J： Yeah, girls must learn to be self-reliant and independent.

是的，女孩必須學會獨立自主。

M： Despite the obstacles she faced in her childhood. Lauralee was excellent academically, especially in writing, and finally got into Harvard. And she never complained about life, and learned to forgive and understand her parents when she grew up.

盡管小時候經(jīng)歷了 這些±女坷，她在學業(yè)尤其是寫作上出類拔萃，并考上了哈佛。并且她從未抱怨過 生活，并學會了寬恕和理解自己的父母。

J： If l were her, I couldn’t promise to forgive my parents.

J：如果我是她，我不敢保證會原諒我的父母。

M： But Lauralee is different from you. Besides, she went on to make history in the Ivy League when she became the first woman to join Harvard’s varsity wrestling team!

M:但羅拉莉和你不一樣。除此之外，她還是哈佛大學摔跤代表隊的第一位女性，在 常青藤創(chuàng)造了歷史。

J: Wow, she is masculine.

J：哇唔，她還挺男人的。

M: After graduating from Harvard, she wrote a memoir titled Learning Joy from Dogs without Collars，which turned out to be a best-seller.

M:從哈佛畢業(yè)后，她寫《流浪到哈佛》這部回憶錄，并且很暢銷。

J： I have to admit that she is really excellent.

J：我不得不承認她很出色。

M: Yes. I knew a lot of girls go to Harvard, but I thought that it was because their family provided them with those good environment and opportunities. I was born into an ordinary family and felt kind of inferior.

M:是的。我以前知道很多女孩上哈佛，但我以為那是因為他們的家庭給她們提供了 良好的環(huán)境和機會。而我出生于一個普通家庭，有點自卑。

J: Mary, I，m sorry. I didn’t notice your true feelings.

J：瑪麗，抱歉，我以前';3有注意到你的真實感受。

M： Now, I feel that I，m reborn again. Summer’s story tells me two things: first, American Dream is still alive; second, women can stand out as well as long as they are self-reliant and independent

M:現(xiàn)在我感覺我又重生了。薩默的故事告訴我兩件事：第一，美國夢依然存在;第 二，女性只要獨立自強也可以出類拔萃。

J： Definitely. I believe that you will make it as long as you have the confidence and courage to pursue your dream.

J：當然啦。我想你只要有信心和勇氣去追求你的夢想就會成功的。

M: Thank you, John. Let’s pursue our dreams!

M:謝謝你，約翰。讓我們一起努力追求夢想吧。