文字难度：★★☆
The family was cleaning out his desk. A heart attack had taken him from them suddenly. The desk was full of partially finished projects, new proposals, business cards—the usual sort of stuff you would find in a desk of a man in his position. All those things and a rock. Not a small rock. A rock with some size to it. It took up most of a large drawer. His wife, although surprised to see it, knew exactly what it was. It was a rock picked from a field on their farm. The farm they lived on and operated when they were first married. The farm they sold when the children were young and the work became too much and the money became too little. Her husband had gotten a little more schooling and found a job in the city. Together they bought a beautiful home and did not do without the 1)niceties of living. His hard work brought promotions and a good income. Most days came with a crisis or two, but life was good. The children graduated, married and began families of their own. It all went so fast.
家人在清理他的办公桌。心脏病发作突然把他从他们身边带走。桌子里全是进行中的项目方案、新提案、业务名片——那些你通常会从在其位的男人桌上找到的东西。全是那些东西,以及一块石头。可不是一块小石头,而是一块体积挺大的石头,占去了一个大抽屉里大部分的空间。他妻子见到石头时尽管感到意外,但一看就知道那是什么。那是从他们农场的地里拣来的一块石头。他们新婚时就在那里经营农场,在那里生活。孩子们还小的时候他们就把农场卖掉了,因为当时活儿太重,而收入又太少。她丈夫之前多读了点书,于是在城里找到了一份工作。他们一起买了套漂亮的房子,日子总算幸福美满。他的辛勤工作给他带来了一些晋升机会及一份不俗的收入。他们不时也有些小波小浪危急关头,但生活总还算不错。孩子们毕业了,结婚了,开始有了他们自己的家庭。这一切来得如此之快。
She looked at the rock. She remembered picking rocks alongside her husband. It was the day he was trying to teach her how to drive that old tractor more than 10 feet without 2)killing the engine. Picking rocks was not for 3)sissies. It was hard work under a blazing hot sun, but it didn’t matter. They were young, very much in love and so excited about their future on the farm. They had so many plans.
她看着那块石头。她记得和丈夫一起捡石头。那天,他试着教她如何开着那辆破旧的拖拉机连续走超过10英尺(约3.05米)而不会中途熄火。捡石头不是那些娘娘腔们做得来的事情。在烈日当空的大热天里,那可是一份苦差事,但没关系。他们那时年轻,深爱着对方,对于农场的未来激情满怀,有着诸多计划。
She looked at the rock and though she thought she had no more tears to shed, she cried. She wanted to go back. She wanted them to go back. She realized now that that had been living—something he must have never forgotten.
她看着那块石头,尽管她以为自己的泪已经流干了,但她还是在哭。她想回到过去。她希望一切都回到过去。此时,她意识到那一切一直都在——那些他肯定从未忘记过的东西。
The rest of the family began to carry boxes filled with his possessions to the car while his wife sat in his office and held that rock. She sat for a long time. In that rock she could see herself and her husband as young newlyweds and wondered why life had chosen this course for them.
其他家人开始把装着他那些物品的箱子搬上车,而他妻子则坐在他办公室里,捧着那块石头。她坐了很久。在那块石头上,她看见了年轻时新婚的自己和丈夫,她想知道为何他们的生活命定如此。
Is there anyone who doesn’t know an ex-farmer? They are everywhere. It is tough to make a living with 160 acres and little equipment. Farms are getting bigger and bigger. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Opinions differ. A small farmer has a bad year, followed by another bad year with prospects for more of the same. Farming can be a happy life, but happiness can’t buy money.
大家总会认识一些曾经当过农民的人吧?他们随处可见。靠着160英亩(约64.7万平方米)的田地和极少的设备谋生是件艰难的事。农场越做越大,那是件好事还是坏事?难求共识。小本农民会遭遇收成不好的年景,接而又是那样的一年,接下来几年的前景也许都是如此。耕作可能会给生活注入快乐,但快乐换不到金钱。
Farming offers its share of peace, independence, solitude and of course, stress, every job’s partner. Farmers talk about having to “get a job” in order to make ends meet. It is not a happy time when the decision is made that another job is required in order to support a farming habit. This is more than a mere 4)complication in one’s life. Working in town can lead to a complete change of occupation. Work ethic, innocence and honor all grow well from the soil. Good families have been the true 5)bumper crops produced by the farms of this country. I hope we never reach the point where we find these things to no longer be a necessity in our lives.
耕作这活儿给人们带来了安宁、自主、独静,当然还有压力——任何工作都难免的。农民们常说,为了维持基本生活,不得不“找份工作”。到真的决定得找份工作以维系自己的耕作习惯,那就不是说笑的了。这不只是一个人一生中一时出现的新困难。一开始在城镇里工作,后来往往就会把职业整个都换了。土壤能培养良好的职业道德和纯朴正直的品质。凭借一个个农场,这国家丰收的真正硕果是那一个个幸福和谐的家庭。我希望我们永远不会出现这样一种情况——发觉这些东西对于我们的生活不再是必需品。
It is a shame that we cannot all do what we want to do in life. Call me a romantic, my wife will disagree with you. We compromise. We don’t farm, we garden. We can’t help it, we were brought up that way. I remember when I was a small boy helping my father milk the cows.
人生中,我们不能总是随心所欲,这是一种遗憾。我不介意你称我为浪漫主义者,不过我妻子可不这么认为。我们用折中的方法。我们不耕作农田,而是在花园里种植花草。我们按捺不住要这样做,因为我们就是在耕作中成长的。我记得,当我还是个小男孩时,我帮助父亲挤牛奶。
“Farms are nice, Dad,” I said. “But they sure don’t have much of what you can find in the city.”
“农场很好,爸爸,”我说道,“但它们肯定没有太多你能在城里找到的东西。”
Dad’s reply was, “Thank the Lord!”
父亲的回答是:“谢天谢地!”
