Life is like a bag of frozen peas

安徽太湖中学 周艳霞

精彩导读

当生活将你击倒，当你所知的一切土崩瓦解，当你以为自己再也无法熬过艰难时光时，请记住，生活不过是一袋散落一地的冷冻豌豆。正如地上的豌豆可以被拾起，生活也可以继续下去。

A few weeks after my first wife， Georgia，was calledto heaven，I was cooking dinner for my son and myself.For a vegetable dish，I decided to use frozen peas.As I was cutting open the bag，it slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor.The peas，like marbles，rolled everywhere.I tried to use a broom，but with each sweep the peas rolled across the kitchen，bounced（弹跳）off the wall on the other side and rolled in another direction.

我的第一任妻子乔治娅去世几周后的一天，我正在为自己和儿子做晚餐。我决定用冷冻豌豆做一道素菜，可就在我剪开包装袋时，袋子不小心从我手中滑落，落到了地上，豌豆如弹珠般滚得到处都是。我试着用扫帚收拾，可每扫一下，豌豆便滚着穿过厨房，撞到对面的墙上后反弹回来，又向另一个方向滚去。

◎阅读点睛：was called to heaven是一种委婉语，意为“死去；去世”。

My mental state at the time was fragile.Losing a spouse is an unbearable pain.I leaned and pulled them into a pile to dispose（处理）of.I was half laughing and half crying as I collected them.I could see the humor in what happened，but it doesn't take much for a person dealing with grief to break down.

那时，我的心理状态很脆弱。丧偶带来的是一种令人难以承受的痛苦。我伏在地上，将豌豆拨成一堆，以方便收拾。在将它们聚在一起的过程中，我一会儿笑，一会儿哭。我体会到了这件事的幽默，但对于一个正在应对悲伤的人而言，一点点的小事便会导致崩溃。

◎阅读点睛：在黑体句中，what引导的是宾语从句，作介词in的宾语；dealing with grief作名词a person的定语，but后的句子为 “it takes+宾语 +for sb to do”句型，意为“做某事花费某人……”。

For the next week，every time I was in the kitchen，I would find a pea that had escaped my first cleanup.In a corner， behind a table leg，in the frays（ 磨 损 处 ）at the end ofa mat， or hidden under a heater， they keptturning up.Eight months later， I pulled out the refrigerator to clean，and found a dozen or so petrified peas hidden underneath.

接下来的一周，我每次进厨房，都会发现一颗逃脱了第一次清理的豌豆。角落里、桌腿后、垫子角的磨损处、热水器下方，豌豆一个接一个地出现。8个月后，我将冰箱拉出来清理，在冰箱下面又发现了十几颗已经风干的豌豆。

◎阅读点睛：at the end of“在……末端”；turn up“露面；出现”；pull out“拉出”。

At the time I found those few remaining peas，I was in a new relationship with a wonderful woman I met in a widow/widower support group.After we married，I wasreminded ofthose peas under the refrigerator.I realized my life had been like that bag of frozen peas.It had shattered （散开）because my wife was gone.I was in a new city with a busy job and a sonhaving trouble adjusting tohis new surroundings and the loss of his mother.I was a wreck.I was a bag of spilled frozen peas.My life had come apart and scattered （散乱的）.

发现那几颗遗落的豌豆时，我正与一个美丽的女士发展一段崭新的恋情。我是在一个寡妇/鳏夫互助小组上认识她的。我俩结婚后，我想起了那些藏在冰箱下的豌豆。我意识到，我过去的生活就如同那袋冷冻豌豆，因为失去妻子而散落一地。在一个新的城市里，我不仅要应付繁忙的工作，还要照顾难以适应新环境、承受着丧母之痛的儿子。我整个人都糟糕透了。我就像一包散落在地的冷冻豌豆，我的人生四分五裂。

◎阅读点睛：remind...of“提醒……；注意……”；have trouble （in）doing...“做某事有困难”；adjust to“适应”。

When life gets you down;when everything you know comes apart;when you think you can never getthroughthe tough times， remember， it is just a bag of scattered frozen peas.The peas can be collected and life will move on.You will find all the peas.First the easy peas come together in a pile，and then you pick them up and start to move on.Later you will find the bigger and harder-to-find peas.When you pull all the peas together，life will be whole again.

当生活将你击倒，当你所知的一切土崩瓦解，当你以为自己再也无法熬过艰难时光时，请记住，生活不过是一袋散落一地的冷冻豌豆。正如地上的豌豆可以被拾起，生活也可以继续下去。最终你会找到所有的豌豆。一开始，你可以将那些容易找到的豌豆拨成一堆，然后将它们捡起，开始前行。之后，你会找到那些更大且更难发现的豌豆。当你找齐所有豌豆时，你的人生便会完整如初。

◎阅读点睛：come apart“（精神）错乱；崩溃；瓦解”；get through“度过”。

The life you know can be broken at any time.You will move on，but how fast you collect your peasdepends onyou.Will you keep scattering them around with a broom，or will you pick them up one-by-one and put your life back together?How will you collect your peas?

你所熟悉的生活随时都可能支离破碎。你终会前行，但以怎样的速度捡拾豌豆取决于你自己。你是会坚持用扫帚将它们扫得到处都是，还是会一个一个将它们捡起，将生活拼凑完整?你会如何捡拾自己的豌豆?

◎阅读点睛：depend on“依靠；依赖”。

读后创写

阅读文章，结合以下名句，按要求用英文写作。

Although the world is full of suffering，it is full also of the overcoming of it.

—Helen Keller

虽然世界多苦难，但是苦难总是能战胜的。

——海伦·凯勒

要求：

1.无须写标题；

2.除诗歌外，文体不限；

3.内容必须结合你生活中的具体事例；

4.可以根据自己对文章的理解，从其他角度进行创写；

5.词数不少于 120，如引用名句，则不计入总词数。

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