成长

张晓敏

I fell in love with driving before I could even ride a bike. For my second birthday I received my first car. It was purple with a white trim and black wheels， and I would ride up and down the driveway， honking1） the horn and trying to get my big sister or parents to push me. Though I wasn't aware of it then， I had the most environmentally sound car ever invented， with leaves as fuel and my feet as its engine. I loved pretending I could drive， and was always waiting for that day when I could drive for real.

The summer of my sixteenth birthday .nally arrived， and after all the nervousness and excitement， I got my permit. I stared at the crisp2） white paper， and I couldn't wait to drive. It seemed like years between the time I passed my permit test and my dad took me for my first lesson. It was actually only four days， but they felt like a lifetime. After tons of begging and pleading， Dad brought me to an empty parking area that went uphill， then downhill with many sharp turns on both sides. All I could think about was how exciting it was going to be to drive myself to school instead of taking the bus or having someone pick me up.

When I sat in the driver's seat for the first time， though， I had mixed emotions： excitement mixed with a scared feeling. After five minutes of adjusting the seat （trying to get as close to the pedals as possible）， it was time to turn on my parents' white station wagon3）. I put one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake and my dad gave me a weird look.

"What are you doing？" he asked.

"Putting my foot on the brake，" I said in an authoritative4） voice. I had passed my permit test； I knew how to drive.

"Never use your left foot， switch between the brake and gas pedal with your right foot only，" he explained.

That's when I realized I actually had no clue what I was doing， but was too excited to care. Cautiously， I put the car into drive， and we began to crawl toward the first curve. Dad and I spent the afternoon going over the basics. For at least an hour I heard， "Good job，" "What are you doing？" and "If you were on the road， you would not only be on the wrong side， but you would have just hit a parked car." At that point whatever Dad said didn't really matter. I thought I had done well， and nobody was going to change my mind.

After all the time I had waited to drive， the moment had .nally come. I had driven， and I couldn't wait to do it again. For the next month I begged to drive almost every day. I drove in a variety of parking lots， and eventually on the road.endprint

Driving is an important step in my life. Not only does it show that I have become more responsible， it shows that I have grown up. In some ways I'm still that little girl trying to get my parents to push her， but now I'm starting to push myself.

我甚至还没等学会骑自行车，就爱上了开车。两岁生日时，我收到了我的第一辆汽车。它有着紫色带白边的车身，还有黑色的车轮，我会开着它在我家的车道上来回走，按喇叭，还设法让姐姐或爸妈来推我前进。我的车是已发明的汽车里最环保的——树叶做燃料，我的双脚做引擎，虽然我当时并没有意识到这一点。我那时喜欢假装自己会开车，一直等待着自己可以真正开车的那一天。

过16岁生日的那个夏天终于到了，在经历了所有紧张和兴奋之后，我拿到了驾驶许可。我盯着那张干净挺括的白纸，迫不及待地想要开车。从我通过驾驶许可考试到爸爸第一次带着我练车，这中间好像过了好些年。实际上只隔了四天，感觉却好像有一辈子那么长。经过了无数次的恳求后，爸爸带我来到一个空旷的停车区，这里有上坡，有下坡，两边还有许多急弯。我当时满脑子想的只有：以后可以自己开车去学校，而不用坐校车或让别人接送，太让人兴奋了。

尽管如此，我第一次坐上驾驶座的时候，还是有一种很复杂的情绪：兴奋中掺杂着一种恐惧的感觉。在花了五分钟调整座椅后（我试图尽可能地靠近脚踏），就该开动爸妈的白色旅行车了。我把一只脚放在油门上，另一只放在刹车上，然后爸爸用奇怪的眼神看了我一眼。

“你在干吗？”他问。

“把脚放在刹车上啊。”我用一种权威的口气回答。我之前通过了驾驶许可考试，我知道怎么开车。

“永远不要用左脚，只用右脚在刹车和油门之间转换。”他解释道。

这时我才意识到我其实完全不知道自己在干什么，只是太兴奋了，顾不上想。我小心翼翼地启动了车子，我们开始向第一个弯道爬去。我和爸爸花了整整一下午复习基本的技巧。至少有一个小时，我听到爸爸在说“开得不错，”“你在干吗？”“如果现在是在马路上，你不光开错了边，还会撞到旁边停着的车。”在那时，不管爸爸说什么其实都不重要。我觉得我开得挺好，没人能改变我的想法。

在经过了那么长时间的等待之后，真正开车的时刻终于来到了。我之前开过，迫不及待地想再开车。在接下来的一个月里，我几乎每天都央求让我开车。在各种各样的停车场都开过之后，我终于开车上路了。

开车是我人生中的重要一步。那不仅意味着我变得更可靠，也意味着我已经长大。在某些方面，我還是那个想要让父母推着向前的小女孩，但是现在我开始推着自己前进了。

1. honk [h..k] vt. 鸣（车辆喇叭）

2. crisp [kr.sp] adj. 干净挺括的（纸、布等）

3. station wagon： 旅行汽车

4. authoritative [...θ.r.t.t.v] adj. 有（或显示）权威的endprint