双语阅读:请不要忘记那看不见的微笑

Mr. Dawson was an old grouch1, and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious apple, even off the ground, because old Dawson, they said, would come after you with his ball bullet2 gun.

道森先生是个坏脾气的老头子,镇上的每个人都知道这个。小孩们知道不能到他的院子里摘美味的苹果,甚至掉在地上的也不能捡,因为据他们说,老道森会端着他的弹丸猎枪跟在你后面追。
One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson’s house on the way to Amy’s house, but as they got close Janet saw him sitting on his front porch3 and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children, she was scared of the old man because of the stories she’d heard about him.
一个周五,12岁的珍妮特要陪她的朋友艾米过夜。她们去艾米家的途中得路过道森先生的房子。当她们离道森家越来越近时,珍妮特看见道森先生坐在前廊,于是她建议她们过马路从街的另一边走。跟大多数孩子一样,珍妮特听过他的故事,对他很是害怕。
Amy said not to worry, Mr. Dawson wouldn’t hurt anyone. Still, Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man’s house. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown4, but when he saw it was Amy, a broad smile changed his entire face as he said, “Hello Miss Amy. I see you’ve got a little friend with you today.”
艾米说别担心,道森先生不会伤害任何人。但每向前走一步,离老人的房子越近,珍妮特就越紧张。当她们走到房子那儿,道森抬起了头,一如既往地皱着他的眉头。但当他看到是艾米,一个灿烂的笑容让他整个表情都变了,他说:“你好,艾米小姐,我看见今天有位小朋友陪你。”
Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight5 and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted. Dawson had the best apples in town.
艾米也对他微笑,告诉他珍妮特会陪她过夜,她们要一起听音乐玩游戏。道森告诉她们这听上去很有趣,给她们每人一个从他的树上刚摘下来的苹果。她们很高兴地接受了,因为道森的苹果是镇上最棒的。
When they got out of Dawson?on earshot, Janet asked Amy, “Everyone says he’s the meanest man in town. How come was he so nice to us?”
走到道森听不到的地方,珍妮特问艾米:“每个人都说他是镇上最不好打交道的人,但他为什么对我们这么好呢?”
Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn’t very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible6 smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.
艾米说当她第一次路过他家时,他不是很友好,这让她害怕。但她假装他有着看不见的微笑,所以她总对他回之以微笑。终于过了一段时间,有一天,他也对她露出了一点笑容。
After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a “hello” at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.
再过了些日子,他开始真正地对她笑了,并开始和艾米说话。开始只是打个招呼,后来越来越多。她说他现在总给她苹果,总是很友善。
“An invisible smile?”questioned Janet.
“看不见的笑容?”珍妮特问。
“Yes,”answered Amy, “my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn’t afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, that sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious7.”
“是的,”艾米回答道。“我奶奶告诉我如果我假装不害怕,假装他有着看不见的笑容,我对他微笑,总有一天他会真正微笑起来。奶奶说笑容是可以互相感染的。”
If we remember what Amy’s grandma said, that everyone wears an invisible smile, we too will find that most people can’t resist our smile after a while.
如果我们记住艾米奶奶说的,每个人都有着看不见的笑容,我们会发现大多数人在一段时间后是无法抗拒我们的微笑的。
We’re always on the go trying to accomplish so much, aren’s we? Getting groceries, cleaning the house, mowing8 the lawn9 - there’s always something. It’s so easy to get caught up in everyday life that we forget how simple it can be to bring cheer to ourselves and others. Giving a smile away takes so little effort and time, let’s make sure that we’ve not the one that others have to pretend is wearing an invisible smile.
我们总是忙着去尽量完成更多的事,不是吗?买东西,打扫屋子,割院子里的草——总有些什么事。这就使我们很容易在日常生活中忘记:给自己和别人带来快乐是多么简单的事情。绽放微笑花费的精力与时间很少,让我们确保自己不会成为这样的人——别人总得假装我们有看不见的笑容。
重点词汇:

1 grouch  [graʊtʃ] 
n.牢骚,不满;v.抱怨
参考例句:
He’s always having a grouch about something.他总是发脾气抱怨这个抱怨那个。
One of the biggest grouches is the new system of payment.人们抱怨最多的一点就是这种新的支付方式。
2 bullet [ˈbʊlɪt]  
n.枪弹,子弹
参考例句:
The bullet wound in his shoulder was opened up for treatment.切开他肩上的枪伤进行治疗。
The bullet missed me by a hair’s s breadth.那颗子弹差一点就打中了我。
3 porch  [pɔ:tʃ] 
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
4 frown  [fraʊn] 
vi.皱眉,不满,用皱眉对…表示不满(at)
参考例句:
Don’t frown at me like that.不要那样对我皱眉。
Her frown gave him a speechless message.她眉头一皱给了他一个暗示。
5 overnight  [ˌəʊvəˈnaɪt]  
ad.前一天晚上,一夜间 a.前一天晚上的
参考例句:
She stayed overnight in the hotel. 她在旅馆过了一夜。
Our success is not won overnight. 我们的成功不是一夜之间得来的。
6 invisible  [ɪnˈvɪzəbl] 
adj.看不见的,无形的
参考例句:
The air is full of millions of invisible germs.空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。
Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。
7 contagious [kənˈteɪdʒəs] 
adj.传染性的,有感染力的
参考例句:
It’s a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
He’s got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。
8 mowing  ['məʊɪŋ] 
n.割草,一次收割量,牧草地v.刈,割( mow的现在分词 )
参考例句:
The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
“Do you use it for mowing?” “你是用它割草么?” 来自汉英文学 – 中国现代小说
9 lawn  [lɔ:n] 
n.草地,草坪,上等细麻布
参考例句:
The lawn was crawling with ants.草坪上爬满了蚂蚁。
They are lying on a grassy lawn.他们躺在绿草如茵的草坪上。

 

 

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该日志由 1zanxin 于2016年05月09日发表在 双语阅读 分类下,
原创文章转载请注明: 双语阅读:请不要忘记那看不见的微笑 | 英语学习网站大全的博客

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