英语散文欣赏（中英文对照）

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-22 07:17:49

　　Shall We Choose Death?
　　
　　Bertrand Russell
　　
　　I am speaking not as a Briton, not as a European, not as a member of a western democracy, but as a human being, a member of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. The world is full of conflicts: Jews and Arabs; Indians and Pakistanis; White men and Negroes in Africa; and, overshadowing all minor conflicts, the titanic struggle between communism and anticommunism.
　　
　　Almost everybody who is politically conscious has strong feelings about one or more of these issues; but I want you, if you can, to set aside such feelings for the moment and consider yourself only as a member of a biological species which has had a remarkable history and whose disappearance none of us can desire. I shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it. We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps. The question we have to ask ourselves is: What steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issues must be disastrous to all sides?
　　
　　The general public, and even many men in position of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with hydrogen bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old and that, while one atomic bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one hydrogen bomb could obliterate the largest cities such as London, New York, and Moscow. No doubt in a hydrogen-bomb war great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might, in the course of a few centuries, recover from the blow. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that hydrogen bombs can gradually spread destruction over a much wider area than had been supposed. It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 25, 000 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima. Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radioactive particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish although they were outside what American experts believed to be the danger zone. No one knows how widely such lethal radioactive particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with hydrogen bombs is quite likely to put an end to the human race. It is feared that if many hydrogen bombs are used there will be universal death – sudden only for a fortunate minority, but for the majority a slow torture of disease and disintegration.
　　
　　Here, then, is the problem which I present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war? People will not face this alternative because it is so difficult to abolish war. The abolition of war will demand distasteful limitations of national sovereignty. But what perhaps impedes understanding of the situation more than anything else is that the term “mankind” feels vague and abstract. People scarcely realize in imagination that the danger is to themselves and their children and their grandchildren, and not only to a dimly apprehended humanity. And so they hope that perhaps war may be allowed to continue provided modern weapons are prohibited. I am afraid this hope is illusory. Whatever agreements not to use hydrogen bombs had be reached in time of peace, they would no longer be considered binding in time of war, and both sides would set to work to manufacture hydrogen bombs as soon as war broke out, for if one side manufactured the bombs and the other did not, the side that manufactured them would inevitable be victorious…
　　
　　As geological time is reckoned, Man has so far existed only for a very short period --- one million years at the most. What he has achieved, especially during the last 6,000 years, is something utterly new in the history of the Cosmos, so far at least as we are acquainted with it. For countless ages the sun rose and set, the moon waxed and waned, the stars shone in the night, but it was only with the coming of Man that these things were understood. In the great world of astronomy and in the little world of the atom, Man has unveiled secrets which might have been thought undiscoverable. In art and literature and religion, some men have shown a sublimity of feeling which makes the species worth preserving. Is all this to end in trivial horror because so few are able to think of Man rather than of this or that group of men? Is our race so destitute of wisdom, so incapable of impartial love, so blind even to the simplest dictates of self-preservation that the last proof of its silly cleverness is to be the extermination of all life on our planet? – for it will be not only men who will perish, but also the animals, whom no one can accuse of communism or anticommunism.
　　
　　I cannot believe that this is to be the end. I would have men forget the ir quarrels for a moment and reflect that, if they will allow themselves to survive, there is every reason to expect the triumphs in the future to exceed immeasurably the triumphs of the past. There lies before us, if we choose continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? I appeal, as a human being to human beings: remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, nothing lies before you but universal death.
　　
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　　伯兰特.罗素（1872-1970）,英国哲学家、逻辑学家。毕业于剑桥大学三一学院，英国皇家学会会员。第一次世界大战期间因宣传和平而被监禁。1950年获诺贝尔文学奖。1963年创立罗素和平基金。在数学上提出“罗素悖论”，对20世纪数学基础产生很大的影响。在哲学上，提出逻辑原子论即所谓“中立一元论”。在政治上，反对侵略战争，主张和平主义。在美国制造出氢弹并进行爆炸试验后，他成了核武器的积极反对者。本篇是他在这方面具有代表性的演说。
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　　我们该选择死亡吗？
　　
　　[英国]　伯兰特.罗素
　　
　　在此，我不是以一个英国人，或是欧洲人，或是一位西方人民，而是仅作为一个人，作为人类这个生死未卜的种族中的一员来说这些话的。世界上充满了冲突：犹太人和阿拉伯人之间、印度人和巴基斯坦人之间、白人和非洲黑人之间，以及，让所有小的冲突相形见绌的共产主义和非共产主义之间的严重对抗。
　　
　　几乎每个对政治敏感的人都会这些事情有强烈的感受，但是，如果可以的话，我希望你们此刻能把这些感受放到一边，而是只以你们是一个物种的一员来思考问题，这个物种有过辉煌的历史，谁也愿看到它消失。我努力做到不对任何群体说一个厚此薄彼的字眼，所有的人，都同样地处于危险之中，不过如果大家可以意识到这种危险的话，还是有希望共同避免它的。我们需要以一种新方式来思考。我们要学会不再问自己用什么样的方法才能使我们钟爱的那一方获得军事胜利，因为不会再有这些方法了。我们要问自己的是：我们如何才能阻止一个两败俱伤的军备竞赛？
　　
　　公众，甚至许多当权者，都未曾意识到氢弹战争意味着什么。公众仍然以为那只是摧毁一些城市。大家已知道新型炸弹比旧的威力更大，一颗原子弹可以夷平广岛，而一颗氢弹可以毁灭像伦敦、纽约、莫斯科这样的大城市。毫无疑问氢弹战争中大城市会被毁灭，但那不过是我们可能遇到的小灾难之一。如果伦敦、纽约、莫斯科的人都死光了，人类也许要历经数个世纪才能从这种打击中恢复元气。可是现在，尤其在比基尼核试验后，我们很清楚，氢弹的破坏力可以慢慢扩散到一个比我们原先预料的更大的范围内。一个极具权威的机构声称如今可以制造出一种原子弹，它的威力是毁灭广岛那颗原子弹的25000倍。这样一个炸弹，如果在近地或者水下爆炸，会将放射性粒子送入高空，它们会慢慢下沉，然后以一种致命的灰尘或者雨水的形式抵达地面。就是这种灰尘感染了日本的渔民，影响了他们的捕鱼业，尽管他们处于美国专家们所认为的危险区域之外。没人知道这种致命的放射性粒子会扩散多广，不过所有最权威的机构一致认为氢弹战争很可能将整个人类毁灭。我们担心如果在战争中使用很多氢弹的话，所有人都会死光――而且只有少数幸运的人可以迅速死掉，而大部分人则会忍受长时间的疾病和核辐射的折磨。
　　
　　在此，我向大家提出一个直接的、让人讨厌的，而不可回避的问题：我们要让人类灭绝吗，还是让人类放弃战争？人们不愿面对这个抉择，因为放弃战争实在是太难了。那意味着对主权的限制，这是让人不舒服的。但或许最阻止人们认清形式的原因是“人类”这个概念是让人感到模糊和抽象的。人们不仅对人类这个概念一知半解，甚至很少想到这种危险是针对他们自己以及他们的孩子、孙子们的。他们期待着，或许只要禁止使用现代武器，战争还是可以继续的。但我恐怕这种期望仅仅是幻想。无论在和平时期哪些禁止使用氢弹的条约曾经发挥效用，它们在战时都会失去效力。一旦战争爆发，双方就会立即着手制造氢弹，因为如果一方制造氢弹而另一方没有的话，胜利就会毫无疑问地属于前者。。
　　
　　按地质年代来计算，迄今为止人类只存在了很短的一段时间，至多一百万年。可是他们所取得的成绩，尤其在最近6000年里，是在我们所知道的宇宙历史上全新的。亿万年的岁月中，日升日落，月圆月缺，星空闪耀，而只有人类来到世界上才理解了这一切。在天文学的宏观世界和原子的微观世界，人类揭示了原先或许认为是不可了解的秘密。在艺术、文学和宗教领域，许多人展现了一种崇高的情感，这些崇高情感让人类这个种族是值得保全的。难倒说仅仅是因为很少有人不是仅仅考虑这群或那群人，而是考虑到整个人类, 所有这一切都要消失在那毫无意义的恐怖活动中吗？我们的种族真的如此缺乏智慧，不能毫无偏袒地去爱，并对自我保存这种最简单的要求都视而不见，以至于我们愚蠢的小聪明的最后证明就是毁灭地球上所有的生物？要知道，人类不仅会毁灭自己，所有的动物都会被毁灭，而无人可以指责它们是信奉共产主义还是非共产主义的。
　　
　　我无法相信这就是结局。如果人类想继续生存下去，我希望人们能暂停忘却争吵，并仔细反省，这样我们很有理由期待未来我们将取得比过去大无数倍的成就。假如我们做此选择，我们未来会持续得到更多的快乐、知识、智慧。难倒仅仅因为我们不能忘却我们的争端，我们就要选择死亡吗？作为一个人，我向人类呼吁：记住你们是人类，忘记其它的。如果你们可以做到的话，一个新的天堂将会展现在我们面前，反之，只有整个世界的共同灭亡。

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:24:02

Spring

　　Springs are not always the same. In some years, April bursts upon Virginia hills in one prodigious leap – and all the stage is filled at once, whole choruses of tulips, arabesques of forsythia, cadenzas of flowering plum. The trees grow leaves overnight.

　　In other years, spring tiptoes in. It pauses, overcome by shyness, like my grandchild at the door, peeping in, ducking out of sight, giggling in the hallway. “I know you’re out there,” I cry. “Come in!” And April slips into our arms.

　　The dogwood bud, pale green, is inlaid with russet markings. Within the perfect cup a score of clustered seeds are nestled. One examines the bud in awe: Where were those seeds a month ago? The apples display their milliner’s scraps of ivory silk, rose-tinged. All the sleeping things wake up – primrose, baby iris, blue phlox. The earth warms – you can smell it, feel it, crumble April in your hands.

　　Look to the rue anemone, if you will, or the pea patch, or to the stubborn weed that thrusts its shoulders through a city street. This is how it was, is now, and ever shall be, the world without end. In the serene certainty of spring recurring, who can fear the distant fall?

　　春不总是千篇一律的。有时候，四月一个健步就跃上了弗吉尼亚的小山丘。顿时，整个舞台活跃起来：郁金香们引吭高歌，连翘花翩翩起舞，梅花表演起了独奏。树木也在一夜之间披上了新绿。

　　有时候，春又悄然来临。它欲前又止，羞涩腼腆，就像我的小孙女，倚在门口，偷偷往里瞅，又一下子跑开了，不见踪影，从门厅传出她咯咯的笑声。我喊一声：“我知道你在那儿，进来吧！”于是四月便倏地一下飞进我们怀中。

　　山茱蓃的花骨朵儿嫩绿嫩绿的，镶着赤褐色的花边。在那漂亮的花萼里，竟稳稳地簇拥着十几颗小种子。我们不禁要惊羡地问一句：一个月前这些种子还在哪儿呢？苹果树则像卖帽人，向人们展示他帽子上那一片片微带点玫瑰红地乳白色丝缎。所有熟睡的都醒了——樱草花、小蝴蝶花、蓝夹竹桃。大地也暖和起来了——你可以闻到四月的气息，感觉到它那股馨香，把它捧在手中赏玩。

　　去看看白头翁花，如果你愿意，再去看看豌豆畦，或是那倔强地手臂伸过城市街道的野花。它们从前是这样，现在是这样，将来还会是这样，这是个永不停息的世界。当我们发现，春已切切实实地回来了，在恬静之中，谁还会害怕遥远的秋天呢？

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:25:04

The Window

　　Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

　　The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military and a whole lot of things. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

　　The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

　　The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

　　As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

　　One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band — he could see it. In his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

　　Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

　　As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

　　Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

　　The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”

　　两个病重的男人住在同一间病房。其中一个每天下午能够在床上坐起来一个小时，以便排出肺部的流质食物。他的床靠着这间房子的惟一一扇窗户。另一个人则只能平躺在床上度日。

　　他们能连续说上好几个小时的话。他们谈论各自的妻子和家人，他们的家，他们的工作，他们参军的经历，还有好多其他的事情。每天下午，靠着窗户的那个人能坐起来的时候，他总是向他的室友描绘他看到的窗外发生的所有事情。睡在另一张床上的人开始盼望那些一小时的生活。每当那时，他的生活就会因窗外的一切活动和窗外的多姿多彩而感到开阔和愉快。

　　从窗口望去是一个公园，里面有一个可爱的池塘。鸭子和天鹅在水中嬉戏，孩子们则在划模型船，年轻的恋人手挽手在绚丽多彩的花丛中散步，远处是城市地平线上美丽的风景。

　　靠窗的这个人用优美的语言详细描绘这些的时候，房子另一端的那个人就会闭上眼睛想象那些栩栩如生的情景。

　　一个温和的下午，窗口的那个人描绘了经过此处的阅兵。尽管另一个人听不到乐队演奏，但他却能看到。当窗口那个人用生动的语言描绘的时候，他则用心在看。

　　一天天过去了，一周周过去了。一天早晨，当值白班的护士为他们提来洗澡水，看到的却是窗口那个男人的尸体，他已经在睡梦中安然去世了。她很悲伤，便叫医院的值班人员把尸体抬走了。

　　一到合适的时机，另一个人便问他能否搬到窗口那儿去。护士很乐意为他做了调换，在确信他觉得舒适后，就离开了。缓慢地，痛苦地，他用一个胳膊肘支撑着自己起来，想第一次亲眼看看外面的真实世界。他竭尽全力慢慢地朝床边的窗口望去，看到的却只是一面墙。

　　这个人问护士是什么促使他过世的室友描绘出窗外那么丰富的世界的。护士回答说，那个人是个盲人，甚至连墙都看不见。她说：“也许他只是想鼓励你。”

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:26:57

　　I recently lost my best friend Arnold in an automobile accident while moving my family to our new home in Arizona. Arnold was an 8-month-old pot belly who taught me so much about love, devotion and companionship. I am devastated by his loss, but thank God daily for blessing me with the joy of having Arnold for his short life.

　　Anyone contemplating a pot belly as a pet should know that if you are a true pet lover and devote yourself to them, a pot belly will make the most wonderful friend. You will be assured of endless hours of fascination and entertainment as you both grow together in understanding the human/pot belly relationship. Words cannot describe this relationship and it can only be fully understood by experiencing it.

　　Arnold didn’t know he was a pig -- he thought he was just another member of our family -- modeling his behavior through observing me, my wife, my two daughters and our beagles. He was convinced he was loved by all; and he was, even when he was ornery trying to just get our attention. He learned his name, how to sit and how to use the litter box all in the first week we had him (at 7 weeks old!).

　　He loved to sleep on your lap as you sat on the couch watching TV. He didn’t care if he grew to weigh 45lbs, he still expected you to hoist him onto your lap at precisely 8:00 pm every evening where he would fall fast asleep within seconds after snuggling his wet nose between your neck and shoulder. If you didn’t respond to his initial "honks" letting you know it was his nap time, he would bump your legs with his nose until you picked him up. With his weight as it was, you couldn’t hold him all evening as he preferred, so you had to slide him off onto the couch next to you where he would sleep for hours with all four legs and his nose sticking straight up in the air. He would snore as long as he could feel you next to him but would immediately wake up if you tried to leave the couch. We had hours of fun balancing objects like a salt shaker on his flat nose while he slept soundly.

　　Arnold helped me in all my chores around our five acres in the country. Just being there at my feet, interested in what I was doing made even the most mundane tasks enjoyable. When he was out roaming and foraging and you would call out his name, he would come running at top speed, honking the whole way until he got close to you where he would dodge you, zigzagging around with a few victory roles turning in circles before settling down and calmly walking up to you with his tail wagging as if to say (winking) "hah, got-cha."

　　He even helped me build a kit aircraft and a customized trailer to haul it around in. I was planning on taking him flying with me some day. He loved to play with my sockets and rolled them around on the shop floor. Just as I would struggle and get frustrated with some difficult task, Arnold would show up underneath the trailer, with his wet nose in my ear and honking -- seeming to say, "take a break and laugh with me for a while, that should make it all better." And it did, every time. God’s marvelous creations minister to us in the most special ways if we can just stop for a few moments and observe them. God used Arnold to teach us this very important lesson in life which we will never forget.

　　My wife and two daughters began to say that Arnold and I were so close that he had become the son that I never had in our family. It seemed that we could no longer have any kind of conversation in our family or with our friends without Arnold being a main topic. The neighborhood kids would make appointments to come visit Arnold and couldn’t wait to come over and play with him.

　　Arnold went most everywhere with us--Pet’s Mart, Wal-Mart, birthday parties, Christmas vacation to Grandma’s. He loved riding in the car/shopping basket and was a big hit everywhere he went. Arnold had become such an important part of our life that when we found out that our family would have to move to another state, we insisted that the contract on our new house be contingent on the homeowners’ association approval of Arnold in writing before we would agree to purchasing in our prestigious neighborhood.

　　On the day we left our old home town, we had a going away lunch with our friends from church. Everyone there just had to go out to the truck where Arnold and all our other pet were and say goodbye. Arnold trusted me to take care of him and get him to his new home. Tragically, along the way, the wind blast from a semi knocked our trailers out of control and pushed our truck off a 40’ bridge. We lost a big part of our family that day when our pets Arnold, Sweeti and Leanna were killed. I feel terrible for not being able to protect Arnold the way he trusted me to. However, I will be forever grateful for the fond memories of him which I will cherish forever.

　　Thank you for reading this and allowing me to share some of Arnold’s life with you. If you decide that a pot belly is the right choice for you both, I pray that you will be rewarded in the same way my family was with Arnold.

　　在我们搬家到亚利桑那州的途中发生了交通意外，从此我失去了我最好的朋友阿诺德。阿诺德是一只八个月大的宠物猪，是他令我更懂得爱，懂得投入和维系情谊。他的离去令我伤心欲绝，不过我还是常感谢上帝赐予我与阿诺德相处的那段短暂却快乐的时光。

　　凡是考虑想养宠物猪的人都应该知道，如果你真心疼它，全身心地伺候它，小猪就会成为你最棒的朋友。在这个与小猪一起探索相处的过程中，你一定会非常着迷，发现其中有无穷的乐趣。言语是无法描绘这种关系的，只有亲身经历才能充分体会。

　　阿诺德并不知道自己是一只猪，他以为自己就是我们家的一员，所以他会观察模仿我、我太太、我两个女儿还有我家小猎犬的一举一动。他深信我们所有人都爱他，事实的确是这样，就算有时候他会耍脾气来吸引我们的注意力。他来到我们家的第一个星期（7周大的时候）就已经学会了自己的名字，学会了怎么坐，还有怎么用那个小盒子。

　　他喜欢在你坐在沙发上看电视的时候睡在你大腿上。他也不管自己已经长到45磅重，就是要你每天晚上八点准时把他抬到你大腿上来，湿乎乎的鼻子在你的脖子和肩膀之间温存一番后，眨眼功夫这家伙就酣睡起来了。开始的时候他会“鼾鼾”地提醒你他到点休息了，而如果你没反应，他就会用鼻子撞你的脚，直到你把他抱起为止。他倒想一整晚睡在你腿上，但他这么重，你根本是受不了的，所以得把他顺势滑到旁边的沙发上，让他鼻子四脚朝天地呼呼大睡。只要他感觉到你就在他身边，他会放心尽情地打他的呼噜睡他的觉；但是一旦你想走开，他会马上醒过来。他沉睡的时候，我们会玩个游戏，在他那扁鼻子上摆像盐瓶那样的小玩艺而要保持平衡不倒，这样一玩就是几个小时，大家玩得不亦乐乎。

　　在我们那方圆五英亩的乡下地方，我做什么家务杂事阿诺德都会帮我一把。只要他挨在你脚跟，兴致勃勃地看你在忙，就足以让最索然无味的杂务变得有趣起来。他在外面溜达觅食的时候，只要你喊他的名字，他就会以最快的速度朝你奔来，“鼾鼾”地一路叫着，跑到离你不远的地方他又会跟你玩起迷藏来，左转右转地走着，绕着圈，一副凯旋而归的模样，然后才静下来慢慢走到你跟前，摇摇尾巴，好像眨着眼跟你说“哈，总算找到你啦！”

　　他还帮我一起组装了一架小型飞机和一辆运载飞机的特制拖车。我打算哪天把他带上跟我一起飞翔蓝天。他很喜欢玩那些插座零件，在工场里把它们推来推去。每当我为一些高难度的工作伤透脑筋，灰心丧气的时候，阿诺德就会从拖车的下面钻出来，湿乎乎的鼻子伸到我的耳边，“鼾鼾”地似乎在说“休息一会儿，跟我笑一会儿，然后什么事都好办啦！”果真有效，而且每次都行。只要我们能停一停，仔细看看，就会发现上帝绝妙的创造物总以最特别的方式照顾我们。上帝派阿诺德来给我们上了这人生的重要一课，我们毕生难忘。

　　我太太和两个女儿都说阿诺德跟我亲密得就像成了我儿子一样，一个我们家一直缺少的角色。家里聊天或者和朋友聊天都好像离不开阿诺德这个主题。邻居的小孩会预约来我们家，迫不及待要来和阿诺德玩。

　　我们去哪里，阿诺德几乎都跟我们在一起——宠物用品超市、沃尔马超市、生日派对，圣诞假期他还跟我们一起到奶奶家去。他喜欢坐在手推车或者购物篮里，所到之处都大受欢迎。阿诺德已经在我们生活中占据了一个重要的位置，所以当我们要搬到另一个州买房子时，我们都坚持要在合同里附上街坊邻居的联合书面允诺，同意让阿诺德在该区生活，这样我们才会考虑在那些名区里买房。

　　离开老家的那天，我们和教友一起吃了饯行午餐。在场的每个人都走到货柜车旁边，跟里面的阿诺德和我们的其他宠物告别。可悲的是，在路上一辆半拖车呼啸而过，强烈的侧风气流使我们的拖车失控，货柜继而被抛到40英尺的桥下。那天家中成员损失惨重，我们的宠物阿诺德、甜甜和莲娜都离开我们了。阿诺德如此地信任我，我却没法保护他，我真的很难受。不过，我将永远珍藏和他一起的深情片断，感激他带来的这段美好回忆。

　　谢谢你们读这篇文章，让我和你们分享阿诺德的生活点滴。拥有阿诺德，我们得益匪浅，如果你也决定要养只小猪做宠物，那我祝愿你也有一样多的收获。

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:27:55

My Miraculous Family

　　Upon hearing her evaluation I became furious for I thought, "Who is she to tell me what I can or cannot do. She does not even know me. I am a very determined and stubborn person!" I believe it was at that very moment that I decided I would somehow, someday return to college.

　　It took me a long time and a lot of hard work but I finally returned to the University of Texas in the fall of 1983 - a year and a half after almost dying. The next few years in Austin were very difficult for me, but I truly believe that in order to see beauty in life you have to experience some unpleasantness. Maybe I have experienced too much unpleasantness, but I believe in living each day to the fullest, and doing the very best I can.

　　And each new day was very busy and very full, for besides attending classes at the University I underwent therapy three to five days each week at Brackenridge Hospital. If this were not enough I flew to Houston every other weekend to work with Tom Williams, a trainer and executive who had worked for many colleges and professional teams and also had helped many injured athletes, such as Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson. Through Tom I learned: "Nothing is impossible and never, never give up or quit."

　　Early, during my therapy, my father kept repeating to me one of his favorite sayings. I have repeated it almost every day since being hurt: "Mile by mile it’s a trial; yard by yard it’s hard; but inch by inch it’s a cinch."

　　I thought of those words, and I thought of Tom, my family and Sharon who believed so strongly in me as I climbed the steps to receive my diploma from the Dean of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas on that bright sunny afternoon in June of 1986. Excitement and pride filled my heart as I heard the dean announce that I had graduated with "highest honors", been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and been chosen as one of 12 Dean’s Distinguished Graduates out of 1600 in the College of Liberal Arts.

　　The overwhelming emotions and feelings that I experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing 17)ovation, I felt would never again be matched in my life-not even when I graduated with a masters degree in social work and not even when I became employed full time at the Texas Pain and Stress Center. But I was wrong!

　　On May 24, 1987, I realized that nothing could ever match the joy I felt as Sharon and I were married. Sharon, my high school sweetheart of nine years, had always stood by me, through good and bad times. To me, Sharon is my miracle, my diamond in a world filled with problems, hurt, and pain. It was Sharon who dropped out of school when I was hurt so that she could constantly be at my side. She never wavered or gave up on me.

　　It was her faith and love that pulled me through so many dark days. While other nineteen year old girls were going to parties and enjoying life, Sharon devoted her life to my recovery. That, to me, is the true definition of love.

　　After our beautiful wedding I continued working part time at the Pain Center and completed my work for a masters degree. We were extremely happy, but even happier when we learned Sharon was pregnant.

　　On July 11, 1990 at 12:15 a.m. Sharon woke me with the news: "We need to go to the hospital… my water just broke." I couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that my life almost ended in a convenience store and now on the date "7-11" we were about to bring a new life into this world. This time it was my turn to help Sharon as she had helped me over those past years.

　　She was in labor for 15 hours. At 3:10 p.m. Sharon and I experienced the birth of our beautiful daughter, Shawn Elyse Segal!

　　Tears of joy and happiness came to my eyes as our healthy, alert, wonderful daughter entered this world. We anxiously counted her 10 fingers and her 10 toes and watched her wide eyes take in the world about her. It was truly a beautiful picture that was 18)etched in my mind forever as she lie in her mother’s waiting arms, just minutes after her birth. At that moment I thanked God for blessing us with the greatest miracle of all-Shawn Elyse Segal.

　　她的这番结论让我怒不可遏，“她是谁，凭什么告诉我能做什么或不能做什么。她根本不了解我。我是很坚强而固执的人！”我相信就在那时我决定无论如何，总有一天我会返回学校的。

　　在经历了一年半垂死挣扎的生活后，在漫长的等待和艰辛的付出后，终于在1983年的秋天，我返回了德克萨斯大学。在奥斯汀接下来的几年里我生活得非常艰难，但我确信为了看到生活中的真善美你必须要经历一些苦难。也许我经历的苦难太多了，但我有一个信念——充实地过每一天，尽力做到最好。

　　日子过的很繁忙、很充实，除了读书，每周我还在要在布莱肯瑞吉医院接受三到五次的治疗。如果这还不够忙的话，我还要隔周和汤姆·威廉斯飞到奥斯汀工作。汤姆是一个教练兼主管，他曾效力于许多大学校队和职业联队，并帮助过许多受伤的运动员，如：厄尔·坎贝尔和艾立克·迪克森。从汤姆的身上我学到“没有什么是不可能的，千万千万不要放弃，永不放弃。”

　　早在我接受治疗的时候，父亲总是重复他最爱的那句话，每天当我感到痛苦的时候我也对自己重复那句话，那就是“脚踏实地，切勿急功近利。”

　　1986年六月那个阳光明媚的午后，当我步履蹒跚地走上德克萨斯大学迪安文学院的台阶接受文凭的时候，我思索着这些话，想到汤姆、父母还有沙伦，他们都那么坚定地给予了我信任。当我听到院长宣布我以最高荣誉毕业时，我的心中充满了骄傲和自信。接着他还宣布我被选入美国大学优等生荣誉学会，并在1600名毕业生中当选为12名迪安文学院的杰出毕业生之一。

　　当场有许多观众站起来为我鼓掌，那一刻令我心潮澎湃、百感交集。我甚至觉得生命中不可能再经历那样的感慨和激情，这种想法一直延续到我获得社会学的硕士学位，成为德克萨斯止痛减压中心的一名全职工作人员。但幸运之神再次眷顾了我！

　　1987年5月24日，我觉得再没有什么能与此时的快乐相提并论，我和沙伦结婚了。沙伦是我高中时代的女友，风风雨雨九年来，她一直陪在我身旁。对我来说，她是我的奇迹，是我在这个充满困惑和伤痛的世界上拥有的一颗钻石。为了能日夜守侯在我的身旁，沙伦在我受伤的时候放弃了学业。她的爱从未动摇过，她从未抛弃过我。

　　是她的忠诚和爱伴着我度过了无数个黑暗的日子。当别的十九岁的女孩子参加舞会、享受生活的时候，沙伦把青春献给了病床上的我，等待我的康复。对我来说，这就是爱的真谛。

　　在那个美满的婚礼之后，我继续在止痛中心做着兼职的工作，并获得了我的硕士学位。我们非常的幸福，而沙伦怀孕的消息更让我们恩爱有加。

　　1990年7月11日12点15分，沙伦把我从梦中唤醒：“我们得去医院了…… 我羊水破了。”我忍不住想命运真让人啼笑皆非，它几乎让我在那家便利店里丢了性命，而在一个命名为“7·11”的日子里它却让我迎来新生命的出世。多年来沙伦帮我度过了一次又一次难关，这次该我来帮助她了。
　　沙伦经历了15个小时的分娩。在3点10分的时候，沙伦和我一起迎来了我们美丽的女儿——萧恩·艾丽斯·斯高。

　　当我看到美丽的女儿健康地来到这个世上，喜悦和幸福化作泪水夺眶而出。我们迫不及待地数着她的十个手指和十只脚趾，看着她大大的眼睛注视着她的世界。初生的婴儿躺在妈妈柔软的怀里如一副优美的图画将永驻我的心中。那一刻，我感谢上帝赐予我们如此最伟大的奇迹——我的萧恩·艾丽斯·斯高。

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:28:55

Stars on a Snowy Night

　　The thermometer had dropped to 18 degrees below zero, but still chose to sleep in the porch as usual. In the evening, the most familiar sight to me would be stars in the sky. Though they were a mere sprinkle of twinkling dots, yet I had become so accustomed to them that their occasional absence would bring me loneliness and ennui.

　　It had been snowing all night, not a single star in sight. My roommate and I, each wrapped in a quilt, were seated far apart in a different corner of the porch, facing each other and chatting away.

　　She exclaimed pointing to something afar, “Look, Venus in rising!” I looked up and saw nothing but a lamp round the bend in a mountain path. I beamed and said pointing to a tiny lamplight on the opposite mountain, “It’s Jupiter over there!”

　　More and more lights came into sight as we kept pointing here and there. Lights from hurricane lamps flickering about in the pine forest created the scene of a star-studded sky. With the distinction between sky and forest obscured by snowflakes, the numerous lamp-lights now easily passed for as many stars.

　　Completely lost in a make-believe world, I seemed to see all the lamplights drifting from the ground. With the illusory stars hanging still overhead, I was spared the effort of tracing their positions when I woke up from my dreams in the dead of night.

　　Thus I found consolation even on a lonely snowy night !

　　寒暑表降到冰点下十八度的时候，我们也是在廊下睡觉。每夜最熟识的就是天上的星辰了。也不过是点点闪烁的光明，而相看惯了，偶然不见，也有些想望与无聊。

　　连夜雨雪，一点星光都看不见。荷和我拥衾对坐，在廊子的两角，遥遥谈话。

　　荷指着说：“你看维纳斯（Venus）升起来了！”我抬头望时，却是山路转折处的路灯。我怡然一笑，也指着对山的一星灯火说：“那边是丘比特（Jupiter）呢！”

　　愈指愈多。松林中射来零乱的风灯，都成了满天星宿。真的，雪花隙里，看不出来天空和森林的界限，将繁灯当作繁星，简直是抵得过。

　　一念至诚的将假作真，灯光似乎都从地上飘起。这幻成的星光，都不移动，不必半夜梦醒时，再去追寻他们的位置。

　　于是雨雪寂寞之夜，也有了慰安了!

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:29:20

A Lifetime Friendship

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776.Could it have been any other year? They worked together starting then to further American Revolution and later to shape the new scheme of government. From the work sprang a friendship perhaps incomparable in intimacy and the trustfulness of collaboration and induration. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his impoverished family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public consequence than this one?

"The friendship which has subsisted between us now half a century, the harmony of our po1itical principles and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. It's also been a great solace to me to believe that you're engaged in vindicating to posterity the course that we've pursued for preserving to them, in all their purity, their blessings of self-government, which we had assisted in acquiring for them. If ever the earth has beheld a system of administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never known reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted. To myself you have been a pillar of support throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I should leave with you my last affections."

A week later Madison replied---

"You cannot look back to the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more affecting recollections than I do. If they are a source of pleasure to you, what aren't they not to be to me? We cannot be deprived of the happy consciousness of the pure devotion to the public good with Which we discharge the trust committed to us and I indulge a confidence that sufficient evidence will find in its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be withheld whilst we are here. "

　　中文：

　　托马斯-杰斐逊和詹姆斯-麦迪逊相识于1776年。为什么偏偏是这一年呢？当时他们开始共同努力推动美国革命，后来又一同为政府拟订新草案。在这些合作中孕育出的友谊是亲密无间、信诚以托、坚不可摧的。这份友谊维持了五十年。当中包含有欢乐，有协作，他们更志同道合地朝共同的目标迈进，历经多年从不间断地令彼此受益。在离开人世前四个半月时，杰斐逊重病在身，债台高筑，并为家庭的贫困感到忧心如焚，于是他提笔给这位知心好友写了封信。从他的信以及麦迪逊的回复中，我们可以看到:这两个朋友是一生之交；并且有时候，他们之间的友情意义之大更超越了友情本身，这份友谊给大众带来的深远影响是前所未有的。

　　“你我之间的友谊迄今已经走过了半个世纪，我们在政治原则与追求上取得的协调在过去的漫漫岁月中为我带来了源源不断的快乐。我感到一大安慰的是，我相信你还在兢兢业业地致力于造福子孙后代的事业一一这份事业我们曾为他们争取过，我们也努力要把他们透明自治的优良体制流传下去。希望这世界上有一种治理制度，在执行的时候专门有坚定不移的一只眼睛来审视它，监护大众利益和为之奋斗者的幸福，建立在真理基础上的制度将永远与责难无缘，我们一生所致力的也正在这里。我自己，还有你，毕生都为此鼎力支持。请你照顾我的身后之事，也请相信，我的友情永远和你同在。”（1826年2月17日）

　　一个星期后，麦迪逊写了回信——

　　“在过去的漫长岁月中，你我的友谊与一致的政治观，总令我在回想时心中无比感动。它们为你带来欢乐，对我又何尝不是如此？我们肩负人民的信任，为大众福利鞠躬尽瘁，从中获得的幸福感是难以泯灭的。我坚信，无论当前对我们的评判怎样，我们的一切贡献，身后的下一代人必将给予公断。”

iceinsummer · 发表于 2007-3-24 10:35:14

异国的阳光其实并不遥远

What day is it today? Is it Tuesday or Thursday? This thought raced through her mind as she sat back with her studentsgoing over the lesson that never seemed to end. Didn’t I just do this yesterday? Or was it a year ago? Hell, everything seemed to jumble together anymore. "Miss Smith
can I go to the bathroom?" Jorge asked, as he proceeded to jump from one foot to another, holding himself. How many times have I heard this? She wondered as she abruptly said, "Yes" and watched as he raced out of the room.
Sitting at the table she gazed at her students while thinking of what she would do after work. Maybe I’ll go to the gym or stop at the market for something to eat tonight. Mechanically she continued with her lesson on the short letter "a" with her students. "The letter "a" makes what sound?" "a, a, a", the students sang together going through the empty motions. The clock dragged away the minutes teasing her with the tediousness of the day.
Won’t it end? She thought as the phone rang out its morse code for her room. Sighing she stood up and walked through the maze of students desks to get to the phone. Picking up the receiver the other voice seemed a hundred miles away. Oh, how I wish I were anywhere but here. Here mind wandered to the hot exotic beach of Cabo, Mexico, where she had spent her last summer break. She still remembered the cool breezes that caressed her skin as she lay on the gritty sand.
"Miss Smith did you hear me?" the secretary annoyingly asked her. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?" "Can you send Carla to the office?" the secretary impatiently asked. "Oh, course" she replied as she hung up the phone. She turned from the phone and yelled out Carla’s name. Carla, who was one of the many who always seemed so needy that were in her class this year. Carla looked up from her desk, her hair hanging like a matted displaced doll. Her face was lined with dirt that gave her the appearance of one of those munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. "You need to go to the office", she said while Carla slowly rose from her desk. "Why do I have to go?" whined Carla. "It’s between you and the office—just go up" she hastily turned her back as Carla walked out of the room. Like having free school uniforms is the answer. It would be nice if just once someone called saying something nice or thanking me for all the endless crap I have to deal with. With a sigh she walked back to her other students who were clustered at the back table patiently waiting her return.
The rest of the afternoon blurred into one long endless repetition. Finally the bell rang as a relief. As she led her students out the door they walked behind her as baby chicks returning to their fold. She noticed that their mother hens clucked to them behind the iron gate. As she proceeded to walk down the corridor, the air, which rose with the musical tingle of Spanish coloring everything that touched it, greeted her. She watched with a touch of envy as the children left her to return to those homes that probably were filled with laughter and warmth while she would once again return to the same endless march of boredom.
"Senora, un momento por favor" She turned her head and noticed the small shriveled man, his brown face lined with a map to places only he knew. "Thanks for helping my grandson Julio to read" the gentleman said in his faltering broken English. She immediately thought of Julio, who once as unreachable as a hardened walnut, slowly cracked opened to reveal the eager child inside. She thought of the inner struggle Julio must have had as he tried to make sense of the foreign letters and the sudden joy when he had unbroken the mysterious code. Was the grandfather the same? She looked up at this elderly gentleman, probably his grandfather, and quickly recognized the sameness of the two. "Gracias Senora" a weathered hand came out and firmly grasped hers with warmth that radiated from his soul to hers. Just as abruptly he removed his hand and left her. As he walked away she thought of that exotic sun and realized maybe it was closer to her than she thought.

　　今天是星期几？星期二还是星期三？她和学生进行那似乎永无休止的复习，课间休息时，这个念头在她脑子里转了好几圈。我是不是昨天才做完？或者那已是去年的事了？该死，好像什么事都搅到一块儿来了。“史密斯小姐，我可以去一下洗手间吗？”乔治正要迈腿，又停下问道。我是第几次听到这个了？她想着这个问题，随即说道：“去吧”，看着他跑出了教室。
　　她坐在桌边，眼睛盯着学生，脑子里却在想，下了班该去哪里。也许该去健身，或者去市场买点东西晚上吃。她机械地上着课，给学生讲字母“a”。“‘a’怎么念？”“a, a, a”学生们齐声干巴巴地念着。时钟一分分过去，似乎在嘲笑她这沉闷的一天。
　　该结束了吧？她正想着，教室的电话响了。她叹了一口气，站起身来，穿过学生的课桌去接电话。拿起话筒，那一端的声音似乎从100英里以外传来。天，要是身处异地该多好！。她神游到了充满异国情调的墨西哥卡波海滩，去年暑假她就是在那儿度过的。她仍记得慵懒地躺在沙滩上，任习习凉风亲吻自己的肌肤。
　　“史密斯小姐，你在听我说话吗？”秘书有点生气地问道。“哦，对不起，你刚才说什么？”“叫卡拉到我办公室来一下。”秘书更不耐烦了。“哦，好的。”她边说边挂了电话。她转过身来叫着卡拉的名字。卡拉是今年她班上许多贫困学生之一。卡拉抬起头，松散的头发像一篷乱草。满脸泥垢的她看起来像《绿野仙踪》里的芒虚金。“你去一趟办公室。”当卡拉慢慢抬起头的时候，她说道。“为什么要我去？”卡拉嗫嚅道。“去了就知道。快去吧。”她随即转过身，卡拉出去了。她是去领免费的校服的。如果能有人打电话来，说些好听的话或者感谢我做的这些讨厌的工作就好了。她叹了口气，回到后排那一群正耐心等着她的学生。
　　整个下午都在不断重复着这不尽的单调。最后，救命的钟声终于敲响了。她带着学生走出了教室，就像母鸡带着小鸡回窝似的。她看到学生的妈妈正在铁门后热切等待着他们。当她穿过走廊的时候，那带着西班牙音乐气息的空气迎面扑来。她羡慕地看着孩子们离开她，回到充满欢笑和温暖的家，而自己却不得不再次回到这无尽的单调与无聊之中。
　　“您好，夫人，打扰你几分钟。”她转过头看到一个窘迫的男人，棕色的脸上布满了皱纹。“谢谢您对我孙子胡里奥的帮助。”他用蹩脚的英语说道。她立即想起了胡里奥，曾经外表看来那么不可接近，后来慢慢地敞开了一个孩子热切的内心世界。胡里奥一定暗暗努力想学好外文，并且每次进步都能令他欣喜不已。这位祖父也是这样吗？她抬头看着这位也许是胡里奥祖父的老人家，很快就意识到他们两人之间的共通之处。“谢谢您，夫人。”他伸出一只饱经风霜的手，紧紧握住她，他的热情深深地感染了她。他很快又缩回了手，走开了。当他离开时，她想到了异国的阳光，而且明白，异国的阳光其实并不遥远。

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