双语 ● This Boy and His Bicycle 骑单车的男孩
This Boy and His Bicycle 骑单车的男孩
◎ Franklin B. Holleman
It’s wonderful to be back in my boyhood hometown again to visit with my now elderly mother. It seems like centuries ago when I was growing up here. Back then, this small town was just a backdrop that formed the unremarkable environment in which I lived my everyday life.
与年迈的母亲携手重游儿时的故乡，是一件很美妙的事情！我在这儿长大的事情就像发生在几世纪以前一样。想当初，这个小镇只是我童年生活一个不起眼的背景罢了。
Mom’s doing great for her age, but she’s moving slower these days. After a lengthy but heartwarming talk in the den about my wife, the kids and how well work is going back in the big city far from here, we have reached the point of being all talked out for now.
母亲年事已高，但按这个年纪来说，她的身体还算是硬朗的，只是这几天动作迟缓了一些。我们在书房里进行了一次暖人心房的长谈，谈到我的妻子、孩子以及远在大城市里的工作事宜。我们把眼前的一切说了个遍。
What a perfect time to go for a walk and get some fresh air! The outside loudly calls for a look around the neighborhood to see how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same. As I walk down the street, it’s like I’m on my trusted bicycle riding around as a young boy. I’m on yet another grand mission on my bike again. Oh, the places my bike could take me, and did.
这真是到户外散散步，呼吸一下新鲜空气的完美时刻啊！我仿佛听到一个声音，它在召唤着我看看身边的一切，看世事如何变迁又如何保有原样。我走过街道，就好像重新骑上我那心爱的单车，回到我的少年时代。我又将开始一次美妙的单车之旅了。啊！单车将带着我重游故地。
There’s the small corner store, just a quick bike ride down one street and up another, where I can get an ice-cold soda in a glass bottle with the red metal cap. Inside is the long candy aisle where I must carefully consider my choices; will it be a candy bar, or pack of football cards with the bonus flat piece of bubble gum, or a handful of fireball jawbreakers?... The freedom to decide continues unabated? Only the stakes are higher with time, requiring proportionally greater wisdom.
街角有个小店，就是骑单车从一条街转向另一条街的那个拐角。我能从小店里买到一杯玻璃瓶装的冰镇苏打汽水，还有一个大红色的金属盖子。小店里面有一条长长的糖果长廊，让我不得不认真考虑自己的选择：是买一块糖果呢，还是买一套随赠泡泡糖的足球卡，还是买形状酷似火球的硬糖？……选择的自由不曾消失过，只是随着时间的推移，这种自由需要与之相称的智慧来调配。
There’s the bridge over the lazy river where I love to park my bike, and just sit on the tall ledge to think penetrating thoughts, as I look down the river into the expansive horizon. How far does this river go, and what is beyond the river, and even what is beyond that? Maybe someday I can travel to experience it on my own when I get older... Many are the places I’ve since traveled, only to enlarge my curiosity further, as my awareness of the unknown has grown.
潺潺流动的河面上架着一座高桥，我总喜欢把单车停在那儿，然后静静地坐着冥想。当我低头望着小河，眺望无际的地平线时，我的脑中总会闪现出一些奇怪的念头：“这条河会流到哪里呢？河的前面会是什么呢？那前面的前面又会是什么呢？也许有一天，当我长大的时候，我可以独自去旅行，去体验……我去过许许多多地方，只是为了扩大我的好奇心，因为我已然意识到自己对这个世界有多么的无知。
It’s only a quick ride to reach the old retired doctor’s house, whose lawn I mow weekly. He pays me a modest wage to help maintain his large yard. We always enjoy talking as we work together. I don’t remember exactly all that we talked about, but I do remember that he always listened and I felt appreciated. He sure did know a lot about what life has in store that is common to every man... His example of deliberate kindness and thoughtful wisdom showed me how to pass on the same to others younger than myself, many times over the years.
骑单车去那个已经退休的老医生家里，不一会儿功夫就到了。我每个星期都会为他修剪草坪。他也会多少给我一些报酬，让我帮他打理他的大院子。一起工作时我们聊得十分开心。虽然我早已记不清我们具体聊了些什么，但是我记得他总会耐心聆听，这让我觉得他十分尊重我。当然，他确实知道对每个平凡的人来说，生活的真正面目会是什么。多年以来，拥有善良和智慧的他成了我的榜样，激励着我将这些美德传播给比我年轻的人们。
Up ahead is her house, just three houses down from that corner. I sure do have a crush on her. She is so lovely with pretty blond hair. I need to ride past her house yet again to see if I might find her outside where I could maybe, just maybe, have the chance to talk with her after school. I’m not sure what to say given the chance, but it’s worth the risk. Too bad she never really noticed me at school, even though we shared the same classes; I wonder where she is now... Years later in college, it was just as awkward when I first met my future bride and struggled to start a conversation, but those moments surprisingly became the initial spark that turned into the real communication of our now 25-year marriage.
前面拐角过去再过三栋房子便是她的家了。我很确定自己迷上了她。她留着一头漂亮的金发，可爱至极。放学后，我骑着单车一次又一次经过她家门前，想着她是不是刚好从屋内出来，或许，就只是或许，我能有机会跟她说上话。其实即使有这种机会，我也不知道该说些什么，但无论如何都值得一试。可不幸的是，她在学校从未真正注意到我，即使她跟我是同班同学。我很想知道如今她身在何方……多年以后，我在大学里第一次碰见我的未来新娘时，我还是那么害羞，甚至不知道怎样开始我们的谈话。然而，奇妙的是，这些时刻竟成了点燃我们到如今持续25年婚姻的爱情之火。
Where is that special tree? I know it’s somewhere around here between these two houses, or is it the next house? I guess the tree is now long gone. Having packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch in my bicycle basket, I’m set to spend almost the entire day climbing around in it, where I can think and dream unrestrained. It is here I have found a glorious refuge; each large branch is its own lavish room comprising my expansive estate. What a rich man I am to have found such an interesting place that I can call my own! I love to climb to the very top where the highest branch is so narrow, I must hold on tight as I sway widely with it in the wind—because the higher I go, the more I can see. I can even see past the supermarket, with a glimpse of the ocean a mile beyond that. I’m glad my mother never knew how high I dared to climb... Ever since then, I have always found it well worth paying the price to reach the vantage point that affords life’s best perspective.
那棵特别的树去哪儿了呢？我知道它就在这附近，可能在这两栋房子中间，也可能在下一栋房子旁边。我猜那棵树已经消失很久了。我为自己准备了午餐，是花生酱和果冻三明治，它们就放在单车前面的篮子里。这样，我就可以一整天都待在树上，无拘无束地想着。这儿对我来说是一个绝佳的避难所，每一根粗大的树枝都是一个华丽的房间，都是我美丽城堡里的一部分。能够找到这样一个有趣的专属堡垒，我真是一个富有的人啊！我总喜欢爬上最高的地方，因为爬得越高，看得越远。可那儿的树枝很细，我必须紧紧抓住它，任由自己在风中摇摆。我甚至还能看见超市，瞥见一公里以外的海洋。我很庆幸母亲不知道我会爬到这么高的地方……从那以后，我深深地觉得，为了欣赏生活的最美景致爬上那个致高点是值得的。
My bicycle enabled so much adventure along the safe sidewalks and sleepy streets of my town. It offered great freedom to explore. There were so many places to ride my bike, including special places that only I knew about. There were seemingly endless opportunities for discovery, compelling experiences, and even the thrill of imagined danger.
我的单车曾带着我在这个小镇里冒险——穿过安全的人行道和寂静的街道。有了它，我更能享受探索的自由。单车带着我去过许多地方，包括那些只有我知道的地方。看起来探索的机会是无穷无尽的，探索的经历是惊心动魄的，甚至想象中的危险也能令人兴奋不已。
My life then had space wide enough to ride but secure enough with all its well-defined boundaries, where I purposed to set my course towards creating an engaging life to enjoy. This was a place that couldn’t have been more adventurous.
如今，我的生活有了更广阔的空间去行驶，然而，也有了足够安全的定义分明的界限。我早已计划好去创造、去享受那种美好生活。那将会是一个不需要任何冒险的地方。
It’s been decades since those days of boyhood exploration, and I’m sure that rust has long since consumed my old bike. But even though everything is different now, nothing has changed. Life remains an adventure that continually beckons. Although I am more established now, I still fashion the places I call my own so that I may live large. I still must plan to set a direction and be careful to navigate a wise path.
少年时代的探索已然过去数十年了，我的旧单车肯定也早已锈迹斑斑了吧！然而，虽然现在一切看似早已不同往日，但事实上什么都不曾改变过。生活依旧是一种冒险，依旧不停地召唤着我们。虽然如今的我也算是小有成就，可我仍然不停地建造属于我的城堡，让自己生活的空间变大。我仍旧要为前进的方向计划着，并小心地航行在智慧的道路上。
This wonderful little town—this special appointed place—provided a significant time of preparation which was a microcosm of my life, where I learned, without realizing I was learning, the most important things before I ever lived them.
这个奇特的小镇，这个与众不同的地方，是我人生中一段意义深远的准备，就像我生活里的一个微观世界。在这儿，我接受了无声无息的教育，学到了对于此后生活无比重要的东西。
