文字难度：★★☆
It begins in the country. Franklin wakes up early, 1)springs out of bed, places his feet on the wooden floor boards of the house he built himself using 2)timber from local forests, and prepares for the journey. It doesn’t take long to get ready and throw a few things in a bag. He takes one last look around the empty house, where he and his late wife enjoyed so many wonderful memories, and then he’s on his way. Sturdy boots 3)crunch on 4)gravel. A car door slams. An engine roars. Miles away, his son Oliver has been out all night bar-5)hopping and is only just going to sleep, forgetting that he has a visitor arriving.
Franklin only ever uses the highway to drive to the airport for vacations to see his son. Tokyo, Paris, New York—Oliver has jumped from one city to the next for most of his life and finds it hard to imagine how anyone could enjoy residing so far from the buzz of the 6)CBD. But where Oliver hears buzz, Franklin hears nothing but 7)hubbub.
This year, father and son are not a great distance apart; at least not physically. If Franklin continues down the highway, he will reach the city in a few hours. There is not a definite point, but somewhere on the drive, 8)paddocks surrender to9)penthouses. Dirt roads and clean skies become clean roads and dirty skies. 10)Gumboots and11)overalls are replaced by 12)stilettos and silk ties. Franklin’s familiarity falters.
Sometime in the afternoon, the door bell rings and Oliver crawls out of bed, 13)zombie-like. Then, as if on remote control, he heads directly to the coffee maker and sets the 14)brew in motion. “Come on up.”
While Oliver sips 15)cappuccino and Franklin downs a few glasses of water, the 16)chit chat goes something like this:
“Are you only just getting out of bed?”
“That’s the city life, Dad. Work hard and play harder.”
“I’ve been up since the roosters start 17)crowing for as long as I can remember. Don’t suppose you have any roosters round here.”
“No, we don’t…thankfully.”
“So, what have you got planned for me?
“Are you sure you are up to it? The doctor told you to take it easy.”
“Well, a bit of sightseeing never hurt anyone, right?”
故事从乡郊开始。富兰克林早早就醒来了。他从床上跳下来,双脚踏在木地板上——房子是他用当地森林里的木材亲手建起来的——然后就开始打点准备这趟行程。他将一些东西扔进了包里,不一会儿,一切就绪了,他最后看了看那所空荡荡的房子——他和已过世的妻子曾在这留下了如此多的美好回忆,接着,他出发了。坚实的靴子踏着沙砾,吱吱作响。车门砰然关上。引擎轰隆发动了。几英里之外,他的儿子奥利弗在酒吧流连了一整夜,这会刚刚正要睡觉,压根儿忘了有个访客就要来临。
富兰克林只在度假去看儿子时才会开车经高速公路去机场。东京、巴黎、纽 约——奥利弗的人生的大部分时间就是从一个城市搬到另一个城市,他很难想象有什么人会愿意远离城中闹市而住在郊野。但奥利弗所谓的“热闹”,在富兰克林听来只是“吵闹”。
这一年,父子俩终于离得不是那么远了,至少空间距离上如此。如果富兰克林沿着这高速公路走下去,不消几小时即可到达奥利弗所在的城市了。虽然没有一个明确的分界点,但在途中开着开着,你会发现,牧场不见了,别墅公寓取而代之,泥路渐渐平整干净起来,清朗的天空则变得灰蒙蒙脏兮兮。长筒胶靴和罩衫也慢慢换成了细高跟鞋和丝质领带。富兰克林熟悉的世界颤抖了。
下午的某个时候,门铃响了。奥利弗从床上爬了起来,睡眼惺忪,木讷又呆板。然而,像有人突然按了一下遥控键,他径直朝咖啡机走去,开动了机器。“马上就来,”他喊道。
在奥利弗啜酌着卡布奇诺咖啡时,富兰克林喝下了几杯水。他们那有一搭没一搭的聊天这样进行着:
“你刚刚才起床吗?”
“这就是城市的生活,爸爸。努力工作,更要尽情玩乐。”
“我记事以来都是公鸡开始啼叫的时候就起来了。我也不指望这地方还有公鸡。”
“不,我们这没有……谢天谢地。”
“那,你给我做了什么样的安排啊?”
“你肯定要这么做吗?医生告诉你要放松点的。”
“嗯,观光一下也出不了什么事,对吧?”
Regardless of the city, it’s always the same. They’ll begin in Oliver’s equivalent of Heaven, the electronics market; floors and floors of blue-rays, 18)HD TVs and Apple 19)iPods. Baskets will be filled with 20)modems,21)flash drives or 22)blue teeth. When they get back to the shoebox-sized apartment, Oliver’ll explain how to send an 23)SMS or email. Franklin will stare out the window at the view—a concrete wall—and pretend to listen.
On the rare occasions Oliver visited his dad, they went to the farmer’s market; fresh meat, flowers and fruit. Baskets were filled with 24)citrus 25)zing: oranges, 26)tangerines and 27)limes. And the only Apples in sight were 28)Granny Smiths. They’d go back and sit on the 29)verandah and suck the juice from the fruit, spitting seeds into the garden.
Back in the city, they will inevitably visit a zoo. Families will watch lions and crocodiles 30)devour 31)hunks of meat. They’ll smile at 32)meerkats scanning for invisible 33)predators and give 34)oats to deer. But in the back of Franklin’s mind, the same thought: they are all caged. Even the horses pulling a carriage down the busy main street never get to feel warm, soft earth or feel a fresh country breeze.
Franklin always had the comfort of knowing his country home was waiting. But this time, he cannot leave. He feels the buildings 35)close in on him, thicker and more confronting than the forests near his home. The days pass, and while Oliver merrily dives into soy 36)lattes and personal training sessions, Franklin can only dream about open fields and tractors that need repairing. He hopes that one day he’ll send an SMS and get himself a set of Bluetooth.
不管在哪个城市,行程都是如此。他们会从奥利弗的“天堂”——电子产品市场开始;每层楼都是蓝光技术电子产品、高清电视机、苹果iPod。购物篮里都会装入调制解调器,U盘或蓝牙产品。当他们回到那鸽子笼似的公寓后,奥利弗就会跟他解说怎么发手机短信和邮件。富兰克林会盯着窗外的景色—— 一堵水泥墙,假装自己在听着。
在奥利弗少有的几次看望父亲的时候,他们去的是农民市集,买的是鲜肉、花卉,还有水果。篮子里放的都是柑橘类鲜果:橙子、橘子和青柠。那里卖的全是澳洲青苹果。买回家后,他们会坐在走廊上,吮吸果子里的汁液,往花园里吐籽。
再说这城里,他们无可避免地要去动物园玩。人们都一家子去看狮子鳄鱼如何吞下大块大块的肉。看到海岛猫鼬神经兮兮地扫视提防猎食者的景象,他们会心微笑,还会去给鹿喂食燕麦。但在富兰克林的脑海中,他始终只有一个想法:这里面的全是困兽。看那行走在繁华的主街道上的马车,拉车的马也完全感觉不到那温暖柔软的泥土,或者乡间那股沁人心脾的微风。
过去,富兰克林一直觉得乡下的老家在那等着他回去,这让他很安心。但这一次,他不能离开。他觉得那些高楼将他团团围住,比他家旁边的森林更厚重,更有紧迫感。日子一天天过去,在奥利弗快乐地喝着他那豆奶拿铁咖啡和上着他那私教健身课程时,富兰克林只能梦想着那开阔的原野,和那要修理的拖拉机。他希望有一天他能发短信,给自己买一套蓝牙产品。
