My Father27s Shadow (中英翻译)The Perfect Picture(中英翻译)

精选文库Text A My Fathers Shadow 父亲的影子My husband，Gary，and I were flying to Hawaii from New York City to show our five-month-old son，Timmy，to our parents for the first time我和丈夫加里正由纽约飞往夏威夷，去让我父母见见我们刚出生五个月的儿子-蒂米。But what should have been a mission of joy filled me with apprehension这本该是件快乐的事情，却令我十分忧惧。For five years Id hardly spoken to my father五年了，我几乎没和父亲说过话。Loving but stern in the manner typical of Chinese fathers，he had made particular demands on me，父亲具有典型的中国父亲的风格：慈爱而严厉，对我寄予厚望。and though we were very much alike，wed grown very far apart尽管我们的性格极为相似，但父女关系却已变得很疏远。 When I became a teenager，my father held up my mother as a model of feminine behavior早在我的少女时代，父亲就让我把母亲作为女性的榜样。But she was social，while I preferred books to parities母亲擅长社交，可我喜欢读书不愿扎堆。He pressed me to mingle with his friends children父亲强迫我与他朋友的孩子做朋友，I insisted on choosing my own companions我却坚持自己选择伙伴。He assured Id follow in my mothers footsteps and enroll in the local university to study teaching，父亲坚持认为我应该重复母亲的路，读当地大学，学师范专业，and that Id marry into one of the other long-established Chinese clans on the islands and settle down，as he and my mother had嫁一位久居当地的华裔望族，像他和母亲一样，定居在夏威夷。But I didnt settle但我没有那样做。As bullheaded as my father，I escaped to the University of California，同父亲一样倔强，我逃到加利福尼亚大学读书，where I fell in love with a haole，并爱上了一位外族人加里，as we called Caucasians from the mainland就是我们通常所说的来自美国大陆的白种人。Gary had blue haole eyes and sandy haole hair他有着白种人的典型特征-蓝眼睛、沙色头发。I announced that we were getting married-in Berkeley，not Hawaii我宣布我们要在伯克利结婚，而不是夏威夷，No large，clamorous clan wedding for me也没有盛大、热闹的家庭式婚礼。My parents came and met Gary just two days before our small，simple wedding就在距我们不具规模、形式简单的婚礼只有两天的时候，我父母才来跟加里见了第一次面。Afterward we moved to New York，婚后，我们搬到了纽约，as far from the islands as we could get without leaving American soil尽可能远地离开了夏威夷，但又不用离开美国本土。My fathers subsequent silence showed his disapproval父亲随后的沉默反映出对我的不满。He didnt visit；neither did I他没来看过我们，我也没回去过。When my mother telephoned，he never asked to speak to me，and I never asked for him母亲来电话时，他从不要求跟我讲话，我也从不要求跟他讲话。We might have gone on like that. the habit of separation hardening into a permanent estrangement我们可能会就这样僵持下去，分离的习惯渐渐硬化为永久的疏远。Then Timmy was born，and I felt an unexpected tidal pull back to the is1ands后来蒂米出生了，我莫名其妙地产生了想回家看看的强烈愿望。On the long flight to Hawaii，在回夏威夷的漫长旅途中，memories of my childhood. when I was my fathers small shadowcame flooding backI was three years old，running behind him as he walked between the banana trees in the plantation town where he taught high schoo1孩提时的记忆潮水般涌上我的心头。那时我才三岁，还是父亲的小东西。父亲在镇上一所中学教书。每当他穿行于种植园的香蕉树中间时，我则在他身后奔跑。When grew tired，he carried me on his shoulders跑累了，父亲就让我坐到他的肩膀上，From there I could see forever坐在他肩上我能看得很远很远。You are my sunshine my only sunshine。he would singYou make me happy when skies are gray这时他就会唱你是我的阳光，我惟一的阳光，天空阴霾密布，你依然令我幸福I laughed，taking his devotion as my due我大笑着，理所当然地享受着这份父爱。 Now the prodigal daughter was returning with the firstborn of the next of generation-a hazel-eyed，golden-skinned hapa haole(half-white)child who looked little like his Chinese ancestors现在浪子要回家了，怀中抱着他们的长孙- 一个长着淡褐色眼睛，拥有一半白人血统的黄皮肤婴儿，这与他的中国祖先几乎毫不相似。How would my father react? 父亲会有什么反应?If he disapproved of Timmy，as he had of me如果他不喜欢蒂米，就像不喜欢现在的我一样，the separation between us would be complete我们之间的关系就会彻底破裂，I would never return我将永远不再回来。The plane landed飞机着陆了。and I gradually placed a crying，hungry Timmy into my mothers eager arms我慢慢地把正饿得哇哇大哭蒂米放入母亲热切的怀中。Here was instant and unconditional acceptance of a child by his grandmother这是外祖母对外孙的毫不犹豫、无条件的接受。My fathers expression was passive and hard to read父亲显得有点被动，其表情让人难以读懂。He greeted us politely：Good trip?他客气地同我们打招呼：路上顺利吧? Then he peered cautiously at Timmy，who promptly began to cry然后凝视着蒂米，蒂米马上大哭起来。My father stepped in alarm父亲惊慌地走开了。Did he find it disturbing that this crying stranger might be his own flesh and blood?他是否在为这个号啕大哭的陌生小家伙竟是他的骨肉后代而感到不安呢? After dinner at my parents house，Gary and I retired to my old bedroom晚饭后，我和加里回到我以前的房间。My mother tucked Timmy into a borrowed crib in a room down the hall母亲把蒂米安放在楼下的一个房间里，婴儿床是借来的。 Four hours later mother instinct pulled me from sleep四小时后，作母亲的本能使我从睡梦中醒来。This was the time Timmy usually woke for a feeding bottle，这通常是蒂米醒来要奶吃的时间，but there were no cries of hunger可是我没有听到他饥饿的哭喊声。Instead，I heard only the sweet, soft gurgle of baby laughter相反，却是婴儿甜甜的咯咯笑声。I tiptoed down the hall我蹑手蹑脚地走到楼下。 In the living room，客厅里，Timmy lay on a pillow on the floor in a circle of light，在一圈灯光下，蒂米躺在地板上的一个靠垫上。his plump，tiny fists and feet shaking happily正欢快地摆动着胖嘟嘟的小拳头，踢动着小脚丫，He studied the face bent over him，an Asian face burned dark by the Hawaiian sun，with laugh wrinkles at the corners of the eyes眼睛盯着那张俯视着他的脸 一张被夏威夷的阳光灼黑、眼角布满笑纹的亚洲人的脸。My father was giving Timmy a bottle，父亲一边给蒂米喂奶，tickling his tummy and singing softly，一边搔着他的小肚皮，轻轻哼唱着：“You are my sunshine”“ 你是我的阳光” I watched from the darkness，我在暗处静静地看着，not wanting to break the scene and then crept back to my room不想破坏这动人的场面。我轻手轻脚地回到了自己的房间。It was then that I began to suspect that my father had wanted to mend the breach as much as I had从那一刻起我开始意识到父亲一直和我一样想弥补我们之间的裂痕Awkward and proud，只因笨拙和自尊，he hadnt known how，and neither had I他不知道怎么做，我也不知道怎么做。Timmy became the bridge over which we could reach for each other蒂米成了我们之间沟通的桥梁。 For the rest of our stay,此后在家的日子里，the tension slowly melted紧张的气氛慢慢缓和了。My father and I didnt discuss our rift directly我和父亲没有直接讨论我们的分歧。Thanks to Timmy，多亏了蒂米，we didnt need to我们不需要讨论了。 Having claimed his hapa haole grandson，my father no longer defined our family by a uniform set of features因为已经接受了有一半白人血统的外孙-蒂米，父亲也不再用一套统一的特征来界定我们的家庭了。Curly-haired，hazel-eyed Timmy was loved for himself他自然而然地爱上了拥有一头卷发和一双褐色眼睛的蒂米。 We returned to the islands the following summer第二年夏天，我们又回到了夏威夷。Timmynow a toddler, splashed in the surf with his grandfather蒂米已开始蹒跚学步了，并时常同他的外祖父在浪花里扑腾。The summer after that，they built a tree house out of scrap lumber and painted it blue第三年夏天，他们用废木料造了一所房子，并把它漆成了蓝色。 So pleased was my father with his new grandfather status that he took early retirement when Timmy was four，to spend more time visiting his New York family 父亲做了外祖父很高兴，以至于蒂米四岁时，他就提前退休，为了有更多的时间去纽约的家。My son and my father made a handsome pair as they walked together-the Chinese grandfather happily followed by a different ,bouncing shadow. 父亲和我儿子走在一起时，这一对非常完美-快乐的中国祖父身后跟着一个不同种族的、蹦蹦跳跳的影子Text BThe Perfect Picture完美的照片It was early in the spring about 15 years ago-a day of pale sunlight and trees just beginning to bud大约是十五年前初春的一天，阳光惨淡，树木刚刚开始发芽。I was a young police reporter，driving to a scene I didnt want to see我当时是一名年轻的案件报道记者，正驱车赶往一处我不愿看到的现场。A man，the police-dispatchers broadcast said，had accidentally backed his pickup truck over his baby granddaughter in the driveway of the family homeIt was a fatality警务调度广播说，一位老人在家门前的车道上倒车时，意外地从他小孙女的身上压了过去。孩子当场丧命。 As I parked among police cars and TV news cruisersI saw a stocky，white-haired man in cotton work clothes standing near a pickup当我把车停在警车和电视新闻采访车旁边时，看见那位身着棉布工装、矮胖的白发老人正站在一辆轻型货车旁。Cameras were trained on him，and reporters were sticking microphones in his face照相机都对着他，新闻记者都把麦克风伸到他面前。Looking totally bewildered，他一脸的迷惑，he was trying to answer their questions尽力回答着他们的问题，Mostly he was only moving his lips，blinking and choking up但是多数时间里只是翕动着嘴唇，眨着眼睛，哽咽着说不出话来。 After a while the reporters gave up on him and followed the police into the small white house过了一会儿，记者不再追问他了，他们跟着警察走进那座白色的小房子。I can still see in my minds eye that devastated old man looking down at the place in the driveway where the child had been至今，我脑海里依然能清楚地浮现出当时遭受重大打击后老人低头望着车道上孩子倒下地方的画面。Beside the house was a fresh spaded flower bed, and nearby a pile of darkrich earth房子旁边是一块刚挖好的花圃，附近还有一堆肥沃的黑土。 1 was just backing up there to spread that good dirt，he said to me我刚把车倒到那儿，想把肥土撒开，他对我说，though I had not asked him anything尽管我没问他什么。I didnt even know she was outdoors 我甚至不知道她在屋外。He stretched his hand toward the flower bed，他伸手指指花圃，then let it flop to his side随后又垂落下来，He lapsed back into his thoughts，再次陷入沉痛。and I，like a good reporter，我像所有正规的记者那样，went into the house to find someone who could provide a recent photo of the toddler走进屋子，想看看谁能提供给我一张孩子的近期照片。 A few minutes later，with all the details in my notebook and a three- by-five studio portrait of the naive child tucked in my jacket pocket，几分钟后，我在笔记本上记下了所有的细节，并把那个可爱女孩在照相馆里拍的一张宽3寸长5寸的照片放人上衣口袋，I went toward the kitchen where the police had said the baby was我走进厨房，警察说孩子的尸体就在那儿。 I had brought a camera in with me-the big, bulky Speed Graphic which used to be the newspaper reporters trademark我带着一架相机-又大又笨的速照相机，当时这是新闻记者的标志。Everybody had drifted back out of the house together family，police，reporters and photographer孩子的家人、警察、记者和摄影师都慢慢地从屋子里走出来。Entering the kitchen，I came upon this scene一走进厨房，我就看到了这样的场景：0n a formica -topped table，backlighted by a frilly curtained window，光线透过窗帘射进来，塑料贴面的桌子上，lay the tiny body，wrapped in a clear white sheet一床雪白的床单裹着孩子娇小的身体。Somehow the grandfather had managed to stay away from the crowd不知老人是怎样避开了人群。He was sitting on a chair beside the table，他坐在桌子旁边的椅子上，in profile to me and unaware of my presence， looking uncomprehendingly at the swaddled corpse侧面对着我，没有意识到我的出现，他正不解地看着包裹着的尸体。 The house was very quiet屋子里很静，A clock ticked钟表滴答滴答地响着。As I watched，我看到，the grandfather slowly leaned forward，老人慢慢向前倾着身子，curved his arms like parentheses around the head and feet of the little form，伸出胳膊从头到脚揽住了小尸体，then pressed his face to the shroud and remained motionless并将脸贴在上面，一动不动。 In that hushed moment I recognized the makings of a prize-winning news photograph. 在那肃静的一瞬间，我意识到一张获奖新闻照片即将产生。I appraised the light，我估测了光线，adjusted the lens setting and distance，调整好镜头和距离，locked a bulb in the flashgun，拧亮闪光枪上的灯泡，raised the camera and composed the scene in the viewfinder举起相机，将整个画面组合在镜框内。 Every element of the picture was perfect：这张照片的每一部分都很完美：the grandfather in his plain work clothes，his white hair backlighted by sunshine，穿工装的老人，他阳光下闪耀的白发，the childs form wrapped in the sheet，裹在白被单里的孩子，the atmosphere of the simple home suggested by black iron trivets and Worlds Fair souvenir plates on the walls flanking the window. 还有黑色铁三脚架和窗子两边墙上的世贸会纪念盘所衬托出的这个家庭的简朴气氛。Outside，窗外，the police could be seen inspecting the fatal rear wheel of the pickup