文字难度：★★★
Many Americans will not be home to celebrate their July 4th holiday. Some are traveling or working abroad. Others reside in different countries. Many are in the armed forces and voluntarily spend their holiday fighting and dying for the country they believe in.
许多美国人不会回家庆祝他们的7月4日国庆日。在那天里,有些人在旅行,有些人在国外工作,有些人在其他不同的国家里居住着,还有许多人在武装部队里,自愿把那天用来战斗,为他们所信仰的国家牺牲。
On July the 4th, their friends and families back home in the USA gather together. A 1)grill is fired up. The smell of 2)charcoal 3)filters throughout their old neighborhoods. Their families gather to laugh; grandfathers toss baseballs to grandsons; fathers tend to burning meat; and later, everyone stands under a dark sky to admire the fireworks that explode over their heads. At the end of the day, they walk hand-in-hand on their way home after a day of love and celebration.
在7月4日这天,他们在美国的家人朋友会回家团聚。烤架下生起了火。他们的整片老街区都充溢着炭火的气味。他们一家人聚在一块乐得哈哈大笑;祖父们向其孙子们投掷棒球;父亲们多数都是负责烤肉;随后,所有人都站在漆黑的夜空下欣赏在他们头顶上燃爆的烟花。那天结束前,经过一整天带着浓浓爱意的庆祝之后,他们手牵手走回家。
Those who aren’t home feel lonely. They don’t have a day off from work. It’s business as usual where they are. There’s no one to wish them a happy July 4th.
在这天里,那些不在美国国内的美国人会感到孤独。他们要上班,没有假放。在他们生活的地方,人们像往常一样工作。没有人会祝愿他们过一个快乐的国庆日。
I know how they feel. On July the 1st—Canada Day, the Canadian 4)equivalent of July the 4th—I walked through our Lexington Ave. office in Manhattan. I wished everyone I passed a happy Canada Day. Most people had heard of it, but they had no idea how important a day it is for their neighboring country. They didn’t know Canada celebrated just as the USA does for Independence Day.
我了解他们的感受。在7月1日——加拿大日,对加拿大人来说,它相当于美国的7月4日,是其国庆日——那天,在我们位于曼哈顿列克星敦大道的办公室里,我穿行其中,祝愿每一个我遇到的人过一个快乐的加拿大国庆日。大多数人听说过这个节日,但他们不清楚这一天对于他们的邻国而言有多么重要。他们不清楚加拿大在那天也会像美国人庆祝其独立日一般隆重庆祝一番。
I felt lonely. I was working on a holiday I 5)hold dear. I had no one to celebrate with. Back in my home country, the party was on. They celebrated. I worked.
我感到孤独。我在自己很看重的这个节日里工作着。没有人和我一同庆祝这一节日。而在我的祖国,派对正在热烈地举行着。他们在庆祝,而我却要工作。
The work day came to a close. I dropped beneath the 6)concrete jungle and followed the crowds to the “E” train of the New York subway system. Beneath the streets, the platforms were hot and crowded. An “E” train came. It was packed. I waited for the next one. I pulled my handkerchief from my pocket and wiped the sweat from my forehead and neck. Another “E” came five minutes later. It was less crowded. I hopped on.
那天的工作结束了。我掉进“钢筋丛林”里,跟随人群来到纽约地铁系统的“E”线地铁候车点。街道下面的站台闷热而拥挤。一辆“E”线列车开来了,里面挤满了人。我等下一辆。我从口袋里扯出手帕,擦去前额和脖子上的汗。5分钟后,另一辆“E”线列车开来了,里面相对没那么拥挤,我跳上了车。
Fifteen minutes later, I reached my transfer point to the “A” train at 42nd Street. The 42nd Street subway station is one of the largest in Manhattan. It spans several blocks beneath 7)Times Square. It’s a connecting point for five different subway lines. Above ground is the8)Metropolitan Authority bus station—a huge complex for the major bus lines into and out of Manhattan.There are people everywhere. They transfer from train-to-train, bus-to-train, and 9)vice versa.
15分钟后,我到达位于42街的“A”线换乘站。42街地铁站是曼哈顿所有地铁站中最大的站之一。它位于时代广场下面,横跨好几个街区。这里是五条不同的地铁线路的连接点。而大都会当局公交车站——进出曼哈顿的主要班车路线构成的庞大站点——便位于其上方的地面。到处都是人。他们在这里不是进行地铁换线,就是从公交车换乘地铁,要不就是地铁换乘公交。
I exited my train, walked up the stairs, down a hall lined with shops, and down another set of stairs to the “A” train. I waited in the heat. People 10)jammed all around me. I felt sorry for myself—alone in a New York subway station. I wanted to celebrate my country.
我下了车,走上楼梯,走过商铺环绕的大厅,然后走下另一段楼梯去乘坐“A”线地铁。我在闷热的环境中候车,周围都挤满了人。我为自己感到难过——孤身一人在纽约地铁站里。我想为我的祖国庆贺一番。
A splash of red caught my eye. I turned to my right. Twenty feet down, a young woman stood by herself, waiting for the same train. She wore a 11)jersey with a maple leaf on the front. I walked up to her. She had earphones 12)plugged in her ear. I leaned close, “Happy Canada Day!” I said loud enough to be heard over whatever music she listened to. I said three words and started to walk away.
一抹红色吸引了我的视线。我转向右边。20英尺(约6.1米)开外,一位年轻女子独自站着,和我等着同一辆列车。她穿着一件运动衣,衣服前面印有一片枫叶,我向她走去。她的耳朵里塞着耳塞。我倾斜着身子凑过去,“加拿大国庆日快乐!”无论她那时在听什么音乐,我的声音都大到足以让她能听见我说的话。我说完这几个字就走开了。
“Hey!” I heard behind me. I turned. She pulled her earphones out. “Are you Canadian, too?”
“嘿!”我听见背后传来一个声音。我转过身。她扯下耳塞。“你也是加拿大人吗?”
“I sure am!” I smiled.
“我的确是!”我微笑着说。
“No way! Are you kidding me? So am I!”
“不会吧!开玩笑吧?我也是加拿大人啊!”
Laura and I stood, chatted about our memories of Canada, and waited for our train. When it came, it was packed. “You know what?” I asked. “When the train is that packed, there is usually one close behind that’s empty. I’m going to wait.”
我和劳拉站着,我们一边聊着各自有关加拿大的记忆,一边在等地铁。列车到了,但里面挤满了人。“你知道吗?”我问道,“当一辆列车里挤满人,它后面通常会紧跟着一辆乘客很少的列车。我准备等下一辆。”
“You’re right!” She said. “I’ll wait, too.” We wanted the moment to last—a few minutes of Canada on our day.
“你说的对!”她说,“我也等下一辆。”我们希望那一刻可以持续长一些——持续几分钟,它是我们在这一天里给予祖国加拿大的时间。
The next “A” train arrived. It was practically empty. We stepped in, sat beside each other, and chatted for the next 133 blocks. Laura was a beautiful young girl from Toronto. She was in New York to study dance, music, and singing. Her energy and love for her country were 13)contagious. The heaviness in my heart vanished. I had a moment of Canada beneath the streets of New York City.
另一辆“A”线列车到了,里面确实很空。我们走进去,挨着坐,在列车接下来驶过133个街区的过程中闲谈。劳拉是来自多伦多的一个漂亮的年轻女孩。她在纽约学习舞蹈、音乐和唱歌。她的活力以及她对祖国的爱很具感染力。我心中的沉重感消失了。在纽约城的街道下面,我有片刻仿佛身处加拿大。
At 175th Street, I had to get off the train. I shook her hand. “Laura, thank you. I’ll never see you again, but I want to thank you for making my Canada Day special.”
在175街,我得下车了。我和她握了握手。“劳拉,谢谢你。我再也不会见到你了,但我想感谢你让我度过了一个特别的加拿大国庆日。”
I stepped off and watched the subway pull away. As it disappeared into the tunnel, I thought to myself, “There goes my personal ‘Miracle on 42nd Street’”.
我走下车,看着地铁离开。当它消失在隧道里,我心里想着:“我自己的‘42街奇迹’出现了。”
