Over the years I did my best to win a prize; some wish to better the world and still scorn it. But I never succeeded. There's a formula, a secret, I don't know what, that people who have been to public schools or 10)Brownies seem to understand. It runs right the way through life, though it starts with 11)hyacinth growing, passes on through milk monitor, and finishes somewhere at 12)half-blue.
多年来，我竭尽全力想赢个奖。有些人则希望改善这个世界，却仍然蔑视它。但我从没成功过。这里面一定有什么公式或秘诀，我不知道是什么，可上公立学校或当女童子军的那些人好像都深谙其道。这种成功法则贯彻我的一生，尽管那只是从风信子种植比赛开始，然后是牛奶检查比赛，最后在大学的某项半蓝比赛中结束。
My hyacinths were pink. Two of them. I called the ensemble “The 13)Annunciation” (you have to have a theme). I thought it was a very clever marriage of 14)horticulture and 15)theology. I put a little explanation at the bottom, and the appropriate verse so that people could look it up if they wanted to, but it didn't win. What did win was a 16)straggly white pair called “Snow Sisters.” So I took “The Annunciation” home and fed it to our rabbit. I was a bit uneasy afterwards in case it was 17)heresy, and the rabbit fell sick.
我的风信子是粉色的。两朵花。我给它们起的名字是“天使报喜”（你得起一个主题名称）。我觉得这是一次很聪明的结合，园艺和神学。我写了一小段说明附在花盆底部，还加入了《圣经》中的原文，以便有心查验的观众能看得到，但这盆花没得奖。得奖的是一对名叫“白雪姐妹”的零散花儿。我把“天使报喜”带回家，拿去喂我家的兔子。这么干之后我心里忐忑不安，唯恐这是异端之举，会让兔子病倒。
“It's not fair,” I told Elsie, later that same evening at the Sisterhood meeting.
“这太不公平了！”就在那天晚上，我在姐妹聚会上对艾尔西说。
“You'll get used to it.”
“你会习惯的。”
“And anyway,” blurted out Mrs White, who had heard the story, “they're not holy.”
“况且，不管怎样，”怀特夫人听了这件事后插了一句，“他们都不是圣人。”
珍妮特·温特森（Jeanette Winterson）被誉为“当代最好也是最有争议性的作家之一”。1959年，温特森生于英格兰的曼彻斯特，自小由坚信宗教的夫妇收养。1978年，温特森与一个女孩相爱，离家出走。她在殡仪馆、精神病院等地留宿打工，但仍以全A的成绩考进牛津大学英语系。1985年，处女作《橘子不是唯一的水果》出版，这部带有强烈自传色彩的作品荣获了惠特布莱德首作奖（Whitbread First Novel Award）。由她亲自改编的同名BBC剧集也大获好评，获得各项国际大奖。其他代表作品有：《激情》、《樱桃的性别》、《写在身体上》、《艺术与谎言》、《苹果笔记本》、《守望灯塔》等。2006年，温特森以其杰出的文学成就被授予英帝国勋章（OBE）。
