Night Watch
2016-11-19byRoyPopkin
by Roy Popkin
Night Watch
by Roy Popkin
Track 8
有一种爱叫大爱，老吾老以及人之老；有一种谎言比真相更可贵，因为出于善意；有一种守护虽然短暂，却因无私而伟大。
A nurse took the tired, anxious1：氧幕，置于病人头上和肩上或整个身体上的一种氧气帐篷，用来提供比正常情况下更高浓度的氧气。)serviceman to the bedside.
“Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.
Heavily2)sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he3)dimly saw the young uniformed4)Marine standing outside the oxygen tent1：氧幕，置于病人头上和肩上或整个身体上的一种氧气帐篷，用来提供比正常情况下更高浓度的氧气。. He reached out his hand. The Marine5)wrapped his6)toughened fingers around the old man’s7)limp hand,8)squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lit9)ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Now and then the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest10)awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was11)oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital—the12)clanking of the13)oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and14)moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine let go of the now lifeless hand he hadbeen holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
“Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was17)startled. “He was your father,”she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in war today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman’s name?”
The nurse with tears in her eyes answered,“Mr. William Grey.”
1) serviceman ['sзːvɪsmən] n. 军人
2) sedate [sɪ'deɪt] v. 给……服用镇静剂
3) dimly [dɪmlɪ] adv. 朦胧地
4) marine [mə'riːn] n. 海军陆战队的士兵或军官
5) wrap [ræp] v. 紧抱，交叠，缠绕
6) toughened ['tʌfənd] adj. 顽强的，坚韧的
7) limp [lɪmp] adj. 软弱无力的
8) squeeze [skwi:z] v. 挤出，握紧
9) ward [wɔːd] n. 病房
10) awhile [ə'waɪl] adv. 片刻，一会儿
11) oblivious [ə'blɪvɪəs] adj. 不注意的，忘却的
12) clank [klæŋk] v. 发出铿锵声
13) oxygen tank 氧气罐
14) moan [məʊn] n. 呻吟声
15) sympathy ['sɪmpəθɪ] n. 吊慰，慰问
16) interrupt [ɪntə'rʌpt] v. 打断，插嘴
17) startle ['stɑːtl] v. 使震惊
一位护士把一位疲惫、焦急的军人带到了病床边。
“您的儿子来了，”她对老人说。她把话重复了几遍，老人才睁开眼睛。
为了缓解心脏病发作带来的疼痛，医生给老人用了大量的镇静剂，朦胧中他看见这位身着制服、站在氧幕外的年轻海军陆战队士兵。老人伸出手，士兵用强有力的手指握住老人无力的手，用力度传达出爱意和鼓励。
护士搬来了一张椅子，好让士兵能坐在床边。整整一夜，年轻的士兵都坐在灯光昏暗的病房里，握着老人的手，诉说着传递爱意和力量的话语。护士时不时地建议士兵离开休息一会儿。他拒绝了。护士每次走进病房，士兵都没有注意到她，也没有注意到医院夜里的嘈杂声—氧气罐的哐当声、夜班工作人员互相打照面的笑声，以及其他病人的哭声、呻吟声。
护士时不时地会听见士兵温柔的只言片语。奄奄一息的老人什么也没说，只是整夜紧紧地抓住自己儿子的手。
黎明时分，老人去世了。士兵一直握着的手现在已毫无生气，他松开手，前去告知护士老人的死讯。护士正在忙，于是他就静候着。
等护士终于忙完回来，她说起安慰的话来，但士兵打断了她。“刚才那位老人是谁？”他问道。
护士惊愕了。“他是你的父亲啊，”她回答道。
“不，他不是，”士兵回答，“我以前从未见过他。”
“那为什么我带你去见他时你什么都没说？”
“我当即就意识到是弄错了，但我也知道他需要自己的儿子，而他的儿子不在这儿。当我意识到他已经病得无法辨认我是不是他的儿子，又明白他有多需要我时，我就留下来了。我今晚来这儿是要找一位名叫威廉·格雷的先生。他的儿子今天在战争中阵亡了，我是被派来通知他的。刚才那位先生叫什么名字？”
护士眼里含着泪水，回答道：“威廉·格雷。”
守夜
翻译：德孟
Finally, she . She started to offer words of15)sympathy, but the Marine16)interrupted her.
