文字难度：★★☆
WOW! That was all I could say as I stood there, marveling at the display of toy trains. I had never seen such a display: Dozens of them, running in all directions. Over miniature mountains, through tunnels, stopping here and there to fill up with water or load miniature bundles of firewood, whistling, 1)tooting, it was amazing. A giant room of nothing but trains, running and working. Some looked like they were going to run into one another, but just in time they would2)duck into a hidden 3)pass and come out on the other side, climbing a steep 4)grade toward a forest of trees. I couldn’t imagine what this must have cost, 5)never mind the enormous amount of time to build and put it together. 
哇!”我张嘴就只能发出那样的赞叹。我站在那里,惊叹于那些陈列着的玩具火车。我从未看见过这种列阵:几十辆玩具火车,向着各个方向行驶。它们发出呼啸声、嘟嘟声,翻过座座迷你山脉,穿过条条迷你隧道,不时在这里或那里停下灌水,或是卸下一捆捆迷你木柴,这一切太令人惊异了。巨大的房间里全是行驶中和工作中的火车。有些火车看上去就要和别的火车撞上了,但又及时闪进隐蔽的关口,从另一头出来,接着爬上一个陡峭的山坡,向一座丛林驶去。我无法想象这一切得花费多少资金,更别提把这模型拼砌起来得耗费多少时间。
I had been fishing close to the shore at the 6)point in the lake where this man had a huge castle-like house. He
owned the whole point 7)adjacent, on one side, to the boy’s camp, and on the other, the girl’s. He allowed kids from the camps to come over to watch and run the trains. He also made sure that kids from children’s homes were picked up by private bus to come spend the day enjoying the trains from time to time.
过去,我一直在湖边一个岬角垂钓,旁边就是座城堡模样的大房子。临近的这一大片土地——一边挨着男孩们的营地,另一边与女孩们的营地相邻——都归房子的男主人所有。他会让营地里的孩子们过来看迷你火车,让他们“驾驶”那些火车。同时,他还会不时派专车把住在儿童之家里的孩子接过来尽享迷你火车之乐。
He had seen me and walked down to the waters’ edge to chat with me as I 8)baited and took a few fish off the lines. He asked me if I’d like to have a cold drink or soda and see his toy train collection. I had seen the house for years standing 9)majestically on the point and had wondered about who lived there and what they did. This was my chance to find out.
他看见我在钓鱼,于是走近岸边来和我聊天。我把鱼饵装上,和他聊着聊着我就钓到了好几条鱼,我把鱼从鱼竿上取下。他问我是否愿意喝杯冷饮或是汽水,一并看看他收藏的玩具火车。多年来,我看着这房子在这个岬角上雄伟矗立,一直好奇住在里头的是些什么人,他们是做什么行当的。这次终于有机会解开谜团了。
The tops of the mountains each had a gold cross; one was of 10)the Crucifixion. One of the station houses had a 11)manger and Christmas scene behind it. Oddly there was a building with a sign on it that said, “Orphanage”. Scanning the room’s magnificent furnishings I noticed a beautiful 12)armoire, elegantly hand carved from giant 13)Lebanese 14)cedar with glass doors. Something that puzzled me was the two or three pairs of shirts and pants hanging in it on display. 15)Tattered shirts and pants that were a boy’s size. Small shoes too, stuffed with paper and cardboard. The holes were obvious.
每座迷你山脉的山顶上都有一个金十字架;其中一个十字架上还是耶稣受难的景象;其中一个火车站后面有一个马槽,那里重现着耶稣诞生的场面(编者注:传说耶稣降生于马槽中);奇怪的是,里面有一栋建筑,上面有一个牌子写着“孤儿院”。扫视了一下房内的华丽装饰布置,我留意到一个漂亮的大衣橱,由巨型黎巴嫩雪松木制成,手工雕花精致优雅,还配上了玻璃门。让我疑惑不解的是这衣橱里挂着两三套衬衣短裤作展示用。那破烂的衬衣和裤子都是男孩穿的尺寸。衣橱里还放有填塞着纸张和纸板的小鞋子,鞋上的破洞显而易见。
Musing, I asked, “There’s a story here, isn’t there?” He replied, “Funny you figured it out. How did you do it?”
我沉思着,问道:“这里头有一段故事,对吧?”他回答道:“真有趣,给你猜到了,你怎么看出来的?”
“Well, there are too many things that an 16)hobbyist would not have displayed here.”
“噢,这里有太多东西不是一个嗜爱好成癖的人会摆出来的。”
He went on to tell me about his early years in an orphanage and school. Before he was adopted out to a nice, but very poor family, they would go to town from the orphanage. He would see the train displays in the store windows and parents buying their children those, as well as other nice toys. He never got anything for the holidays except a piece of fruit. They were always cold in the winter, too.
接着,他跟我讲述了他早年在孤儿院和学校里的生活。在他被一个善良但贫困的家庭收养之前,他们这些孤儿院的孩子会到城里去。他会看见商店的橱窗里展示着玩具火车,还会看到父母们为他们的孩子买玩具火车,还有其他精美的玩具。在节日里,除了一块水果,他从未收到过什么礼物。冬天里,他们还总是感觉很冷。
After he was adopted they worked hard to just have the necessities of life. In school he always had the poorest of clothes and the most 17)meagre 18)fare to eat—and little of it. The other children had everything they could want and often teased him about his clothes and food.
他被领养后,一家人努力工作,也就只够维持生计。在学校里,穿得最寒酸的是他,吃得最差的也是他——他的食物少得可怜。别的孩子想要什么就有什么,他们常常取笑他缺衣少食。
He looked at me and said, “I 19)dismissed their actions long ago as just being kids. But I don’t want a needy child in this area to ever go without playing with trains, or having fun things to do, or a place to do them.”
他看着我,说道:“很久以前,我会跟自己说,他们不过是小孩子,那些幼稚之举不足介怀。但我不希望看到这个地区的任何一个穷孩子从没玩过玩具火车,或是没有好玩的事做,又或是没地方玩乐。”
“These crosses are 20)tributes to my parents, who were killed when I was small; my wonderful wife; the kind couple who raised me; the kind teachers who helped me learn and gave me special treats from time to time when others wouldn’t share; and Jesus, who led me to success and rewards beyond my wildest dreams.”
“这些十字架用以表达我对很多人的尊敬之情,我把它们献给在我很小的时候就离世的父母;献给我的贤妻;献给那对将我抚养大的善良的夫妇;献给帮助我学习,在其他人对我吝啬鄙夷之时却不时给予我厚待的那些好老师;献给耶稣,是他引领我走向成功并获得回报,而这一切是我做梦也想不到的。”
There I was standing, getting the amazing story of this place I had walked past for so many years.
我站在那儿,倾听着有关这个我多年来常路过的地方的精彩故事。
As I sat reading the headlines “Successful Businessman Leaves Legacy and Perpetual Foundation to Area Children”, I just couldn’t hold back the tears. He’d joined his wife, parents, friends, and children.
当我坐着看报纸看到那则头版头条新闻——“成功商人将遗产和永久设立的基金会遗赠给本地儿童”时,我就是无法克制住泪水。他和他的妻子、父母、朋友们,以及孩子们会合了。
