唯一害怕的事

李明娟

No one believes2 me about what happened in the swimming pool. Im not surprised because its hard to believe. There was a shark3 in the pool with me. How else did I get these bite marks4 on my right leg？ Like I said， they dont believe me and Im not surprised， but Im not going in a pool ever again. I never go to swim in the sea anyway. I dont know why people like swimming in the sea.

没有人相信我在游泳池里发生了什么。我并不感到惊讶，因为那很难让人相信。我在游泳池里遇到了一条鲨鱼。不然我右腿上怎么有这些咬痕？就像我说的，他们不相信我，我并不感到惊讶，但是我再也不会去泳池了，反正我也从不去海里游泳。我不知道为什么人们喜欢在海里游泳。

Mum and Dad feel bad for me because Ive watched all those old Jaws films. Ive imagined5 a shark attack6 a million times. I imagined the way the teeth feel and the way the sharks eyes look close up. Ive seen great whites on YouTube， but I wasnt prepared7. I was swimming on my back when I felt it. I put my head up and I saw it coming. Its eyes were cold. And its teeth were like great big kitchen knives8.

妈妈和爸爸为我感到很难过，因为我看完了所有这些《大白鲨》的老电影。我想象过无数次鲨鱼袭击的场景。我想象过鲨鱼牙齿的感觉和鲨鱼的眼睛逼视的样子。我在视频网站上看到了大白鲨，但我还没有做好准备。我仰泳的时候感觉到它了，我抬起头，看到它游过来了。它的眼睛很冷漠，牙齿就像大号的菜刀。

The doctors asked me， “Do you dream about sharks？”

医生问我：“你梦到了鲨鱼吗？”

“Yes，” I said. “My bedroom floor turns into water and the shark is swimming in circles9 around my bed.”

“是的。”我说，“我的卧室地板变成了海，鲨鱼在我的床周围游来游去。”

They didnt know all the things I know about sharks. They didnt know most shark attacks happen in water thats only about two metres deep. Most people dont know that. They wrote that down in their notes. But I dont think thats important， because the pool wasnt big or deep like the sea. Of course a shark in a swimming pool will attack in two metres of water！Anyway， they were also really interested in the pictures on my phone of people after they were attacked by sharks. Ive got a lot of pictures， so they looked at them by my phone.

他們不知道我对鲨鱼的了解。他们不知道大多数鲨鱼的袭击都发生在仅两米深的水中，大多数人都不知道。他们在笔记中记了下来。但我认为这并不重要，因为泳池不像大海那样大或深。当然，游泳池里的鲨鱼会在两米深的水中发动袭击！无论如何，当他们被鲨鱼袭击后，他们也对我手机里的图片非常感兴趣。我有很多照片，所以他们从我的手机里看那些照片。

It was kind of stupid because they didnt ask me the most important question. How did the shark get into the pool？

这有点愚蠢，因为他们没有问我最重要的问题——鲨鱼是如何进入游泳池的？

They asked me， “Are you having any problems at school？”

他们问我：“你在学校有什么问题吗？”

“I am now，” I said. “Or， I will be when I go back to school and everyones talking about me.”

“我现在就有。”我说，“或者是说当我回到学校后，每个人都在谈论我时，我会有问题。”

Why didnt they ask me how that shark got into the pool？ I think I know. Its the fear that did it， Im sure. My teacher says the only thing to fear is fear itself. I always thought that meant10 “Dont be afraid， because bad things are never as bad as you think they will be”. But now I know it means “Fear makes bad things happen”.

他们为什么不问我那条鲨鱼是怎么进入游泳池的呢？我想我知道。我敢肯定，是恐惧造成的。我的老师说，唯一可恐惧的是恐惧本身。我一直认为那是说“别害怕，因为坏事永远不会像你想的那样糟糕”。但是现在我知道那意味着“恐惧导致坏事发生”。

（英语原文选自：learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org）