双语 ● If I Were a Boy Again 假如我又回到了童年
If I Were a Boy Again 假如我又回到了童年
◎ Anonymous
If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”
假如我又回到了童年，我会时常锻炼我的毅力，再也不会因为事情困难或者麻烦就决定放弃。如果想要获得光明，我们就要战胜黑暗。有时候，毅力在结果上能与天才相媲美。俗话说：“世上只有两种生物能登上金字塔，它们就是——老鹰和蜗牛。”
If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.
假如我又回到了童年，我会养成做事专心致志的习惯，事情在手时我不会因为任何东西而分心。我会牢记：一个优秀的滑冰手绝不会试着滑向两个不同的方向。
The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we began early enough. I often hear grown up people say “I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so,” and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
如果早早地养成专心的习惯，它就能成为我们生命中的一部分。我常听大人们说：“我无法专心听牧师讲道或者看书，即便我希望自己能够专心去做这些事情。”而原因就是，年轻的时候没有养成专心的习惯。
If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
假如我的生命能够重新来过，我就会着重培养我的记忆力。我会想方设法在各种可能的场合增强我的记忆力。想要清楚地记住一些事情，刚开始的时候的确需做出一番小小的努力。但是过不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，记东西就成了一件简单的事情了。只要早点开始培养，记忆力也能成为一种才能。
If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage. “Nothing is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and pitiless as cowardice,” says a wise author.
假如我又回到了童年，我会培养勇气。一位聪明的作家曾经说过：“世上没有什么东西比勇气更温文尔雅，没有什么东西比懦弱更冷酷无情。”
We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate that may never appear. “The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.” Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be feared.
我们时常会自寻烦恼，杞人忧天。“对疾病的惧怕要比疾病本身可怕。”危险无处不在，但镇定沉着往往能克服最大的危险。时刻准备着应对任何祸福，那么灾难就没什么可怕的了。
If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror: if you smile upon it, I smiles back upon you; but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return.
假如我又回到了童年，我会事事乐观。生活就如一面镜子：你对生活笑，生活就会对你笑；但是，如果你眉头紧锁，用怀疑的目光看待它，它也将还以你同样的目光。
Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it. “Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut out from love.”
心中的欢愉既温暖了自己，也温暖了与之接触过的那些人的心。“谁把爱拒之门外，爱也必将其拒之门外。”
If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say no more often. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.
假如我又回到了童年，我要养成经常说“不”的习惯。也许我会写上好几页关于早年培养这一点的重要性，因为一个少年要学会顶天立地，只要觉得一件事不值得做，就拒绝去做。
If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.
假如我又回到了童年，我会要求自己更加礼貌地对待我的伙伴和朋友，还有陌生人。坎坷人生路上，最细小的礼貌就像是漫漫冬日里为我们歌唱的小鸟，是歌声让冰天雪地的冷冬变得不再那么难过。
Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would, if I were a boy again, I would still try harder to make others happy.
最后，假如我又回到了童年，我不会把为自己谋幸福作为人生的唯一目标，我也会为他人的幸福而努力。
