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有声双语阅读 | Waiting for the Breeze 祈盼清风
2019-08-18 12:03:30 每日学英语
Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen...
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I’ve just revealed that my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and trim our electric bill.
On this first night of our cost-cutting adventure, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble anyway.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter moans. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother hollers down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
I think about Grandma, who lived to 92 and still supervised my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of Grandma’s bed and angle my face toward the open window. I flip the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma sees me thrashing. “If you’ll just watch for the breeze,” she says, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” She cranks up the Venetian blinds. I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug choruses . Neighbors, porch-sitting late, speak in hazy words with sanded edges that soothe me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old blurts. “I think it was an owl family.”
“Probably,” I tell him. “Just keep listening...”
Without the droning air conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the unfiltered night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze sneaks in.
窗边静躺，细心聆听……
“不开空调?能睡得着吗?” 听说家人要为了节电而把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。
在大胆尝试节电的第一天晚上，气温不过华氏85度而已。我们不觉得难受，但三个孩子却抱怨连天。
“太热了!怎么睡啊!”我那十三岁的女儿不停地嘀咕。“我快被熟死了，”她弟弟的牢骚也从客厅的另一头传了过来。我只好说：“今晚就试着忍一忍好吗?”其实我根本没有力气再向他们多作解释。脸上出汗了。我静静地躺着，聆听着窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思绪被牵回到了童年的时光。
这时禁不住想起了外婆，她活到92岁，直到去世前的几个星期，她一直都帮助妈妈护理着花园。回到了童年炎热的夏季，回到了外婆的小屋。我把枕头移到奶奶的床尾，脸对着窗。于是我把枕头翻过来，让比较凉的一面朝上。
看到我翻来覆去地睡不着，外婆说：“只要用心去感受和祈盼，风会来的，这样你就可以一身清凉地进入梦乡了。”她把百叶窗拉了起来，于是我便一直注视着朦胧的白窗帘，等待它的飘动。静静地躺着，期盼着，这时我忽然感到了窗外世界的生命。小虫的轻唱，门廊外坐着闲聊的邻居，他们模糊不清的喋喋细语开始催我入眠。
“妈妈，你听到了吗?”我那七岁的孩子嚷嚷了起来，“我觉得那是猫头鹰一家子在叫!”
“很有可能，再仔细听……”
没有了空调机的嗡嗡响，房间里飘溢着一种奇异的祥和气氛，还有未经过滤的，亲近得伸手就可以触摸到的夜声。真的希望，当第一缕清风悄然而至时，我还能够醒着迎接她的到来。
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I’ve just revealed that my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and trim our electric bill.
On this first night of our cost-cutting adventure, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble anyway.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter moans. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother hollers down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
I think about Grandma, who lived to 92 and still supervised my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of Grandma’s bed and angle my face toward the open window. I flip the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma sees me thrashing. “If you’ll just watch for the breeze,” she says, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” She cranks up the Venetian blinds. I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug choruses . Neighbors, porch-sitting late, speak in hazy words with sanded edges that soothe me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old blurts. “I think it was an owl family.”
“Probably,” I tell him. “Just keep listening...”
Without the droning air conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the unfiltered night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze sneaks in.
窗边静躺，细心聆听……
“不开空调?能睡得着吗?” 听说家人要为了节电而把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。
在大胆尝试节电的第一天晚上，气温不过华氏85度而已。我们不觉得难受，但三个孩子却抱怨连天。
“太热了!怎么睡啊!”我那十三岁的女儿不停地嘀咕。“我快被熟死了，”她弟弟的牢骚也从客厅的另一头传了过来。我只好说：“今晚就试着忍一忍好吗?”其实我根本没有力气再向他们多作解释。脸上出汗了。我静静地躺着，聆听着窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思绪被牵回到了童年的时光。
这时禁不住想起了外婆，她活到92岁，直到去世前的几个星期，她一直都帮助妈妈护理着花园。回到了童年炎热的夏季，回到了外婆的小屋。我把枕头移到奶奶的床尾，脸对着窗。于是我把枕头翻过来，让比较凉的一面朝上。
看到我翻来覆去地睡不着，外婆说：“只要用心去感受和祈盼，风会来的，这样你就可以一身清凉地进入梦乡了。”她把百叶窗拉了起来，于是我便一直注视着朦胧的白窗帘，等待它的飘动。静静地躺着，期盼着，这时我忽然感到了窗外世界的生命。小虫的轻唱，门廊外坐着闲聊的邻居，他们模糊不清的喋喋细语开始催我入眠。
“妈妈，你听到了吗?”我那七岁的孩子嚷嚷了起来，“我觉得那是猫头鹰一家子在叫!”
“很有可能，再仔细听……”
没有了空调机的嗡嗡响，房间里飘溢着一种奇异的祥和气氛，还有未经过滤的，亲近得伸手就可以触摸到的夜声。真的希望，当第一缕清风悄然而至时，我还能够醒着迎接她的到来。