文字难度：★★★☆
My six-year-old granddaughter stares at me as if she is seeing me for the first time. “Grandma, you are an antique,” she says. “You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique.”
我那六岁大的孙女盯着我看,好像是头一回见到我一样。“奶奶,你是件古董。”她说道,“你老,古董也老。你就是我的古董。”
I am not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I take out the 1)Webster’s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explain, “An antique is not only old, it’s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times ...a work of art ... piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,” I tell Jenny as I put away the dictionary. “They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable.”
1)Webster's Dictionary 《韦氏词典》，著名的词典品牌，由梅里亚姆-韦伯斯特公司出版，被全世界的英语学习者公认为是学习美式英语比用的词典
我不想就此罢休,于是拿出《韦氏词典》,向詹妮读出“古董”一词的定义。我解释道:“一件古董不仅老,还是从前流传下来,属于过去的物品……艺术品……家具。古董是被珍藏的宝贝。”我一边收起词典,一边告诉詹妮:“有时候古董是很珍贵的,所以必须小心看管。”
In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old.
一件物品要称得上是古董,最起码得有100年的历史。
“I’m only 67,” I remind Jenny.
“我才67岁呢。”我提醒詹妮。
We look around the house for other antiques, besides me. There is a 2)bureau that was handed down from one aunt to another and finally to our family. “It’s very old,” I tell Jenny. “I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques.” When Jenny gets older and understands such things, I might also tell her that whenever I look at the bureau or touch it, I am reminded of the aunt so dear to me who gave me the bureau as a gift. I see her face again though she is no longer with us. I even hear her voice, and recall her smile. I remember myself as a little girl leaning against this antique, listening to one of her stories. The bureau does that for me.
我们环顾四周,在屋里找寻除了我以外的其他古董。有个衣柜是从某位阿姨那里一人传一人最终传到我们家来的。“它很古老,”我告诉詹妮,“我尽力让柜子保持光鲜亮丽,一有机会就会向别人炫耀。对于古董,大家都是这样做的。”等詹妮长大懂事了,我也许还会告诉她,每次我看着或摸着这个柜子时,都会想起把它作为礼物送给我的那位亲爱的阿姨。虽然她已经不在世了,但我仍能忆起她的音容笑貌。我记得自己小时候曾倚着这件古董听她讲故事。这衣柜给予了我这些回忆。
There is a picture on the wall purchased at a 3)garage sale. It is dated 1867. “Now that’s an antique,” I boast. “Over 100 years old.” Of course it is 4)marked up and scratched and not in very good condition. “Sometimes age does that,” I tell Jenny. “But the marks are good marks. They show living, being around. That’s something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become.” It is important that I believe this for my own self-esteem.
墙上有一幅画,是从一次车库摆摊大甩卖上买回来的。这幅画可以追溯到1867年。“现在,它也成了个古董。”我自豪地说道,“它已经有100多年的历史啦。”当然,画上有些磨损,还留有刮痕,保养得不怎么好。“有时候,岁月会留下这样的痕迹,”我告诉詹妮,“但上面的痕迹是好东西。它们是存在的证明,是值得自豪地展示给别人看的东西。事实上,有时候,一件物品越显年月就会变得越有价值。”面子攸关,我得坚信这点。(编者注:作者相信自己年纪大,显得有价值,所以才这么说。)
Our tour of antiques continues. There is a vase on the floor. It has been in my house for a long time. I’m not certain where it came from but I didn’t buy it new. And then there is the 5)four poster bed, sent to me 40 years ago by an uncle who slept in it for fifty years.
我们的古董之旅继续着。地板上有个花瓶,在我家很长时间了。我不确定它从哪儿来,但买的时候肯定不是新的。接着,还有张四柱床,是40年前一位叔叔送给我的,送我之前他已经用了50年。
One thing about antiques, I explain to Jenny, is that they usually have a story. They’ve been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They’ve lasted through years and years. They could have been tossed away, or ignored, or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.
我向詹妮解释道,古董的特征之一是它们通常都蕴含着一段故事。它们从这家住进那家,从一个家庭传至另一个家庭,游遍了各地,经年累月地保存了下来。它们本可能会被扔掉,或被忽略、毁坏、弄丢。但相反的是,它们存留了下来。
For a moment, Jenny looks thoughtful. “I don’t have any antiques but you,” she says. Then her face brightens. “Could I take you to school for show and tell?”
詹妮若有所思了好一会儿。“除了你,我没别的古董。”她说道。接着,她脸上露出了喜悦的神色。“我能不能把你带去学校给同学们看,跟他们讲你的故事?”
“Only if I fit into your backpack,” I answer.
“我要能塞得进你的书包才行啊。”我回答道。
And then Jenny’s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.
然后,詹妮的“古董”把她抱起,拥进怀中,那是个恒久的拥抱。