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Just Do It 只管去做

2021-08-31WendyHobdayHaugh

中学生英语·中考指导版 2021年6期
关键词:内疚感钢琴课家庭作业

Wendy Hobday Haugh

景一选译

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.

——Charles Dickens在这个世界上能减轻别人负担的人,都是有用的人。

——查理·狄更斯

As a child,1Was pretty lazy when it came to “doing”for my familv.1 worked hard atschool, did tons of homework, practiced for piano lessons. and sometimes looked after myyounger sister. Still.I found myself regularly resistingi the urge 2 to help out at home witheven the simplest things.

當我还是个孩子的时候,在为家人“做事”这件事上,我是相当懒惰的。我在学校努力学习,做一大堆家庭作业,上钢琴课,有时还照顾我妹妹。尽管如此,我还是发现自己经常抗拒在家帮忙做事的冲动,哪怕做的是最简单的事情。

If mv mother or father asked me to do something,1 would do it:not a problem. But thefact that I alwavs needed to be asked or told to do things-things I could plainly3 see neededdoing-undoubtedly bugged 4 my parents. What Mom and Dad didn't realize, though, was thatby age ten mv resistance5 to chipping in6 even bugged me!

如果我妈妈或爸爸让我做什么事情,我会去做——这没问题。但事实上,我总是要被人要求或吩咐去做一些事情——那是些显而易见需要我做的事情——这无疑困扰着我的父母。然而,爸爸妈妈没有意识到的是,在10岁前,我对他人插手的抗拒甚至让我心烦!

For a long time,1 wasn't bothered7 enough to actuallv do anvthing about it.But mvguilty consciences-knoWing I could and should do more for my families. and not justWhenasked-led me to feel pretty bad about myself.

很长一段时间以来,我都没有烦恼到要真的去做点什么。但是我的内疚感——我知道我可以而且应该为我的家人做更多的事,而不仅仅只是在被要求做的时候去做——让我觉得自己很差劲。

Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother drove me to another town for apiano lesson. During my lesson, she'd rush to the nearby store and buy a week's worth ofgroceries. Given the fact that mv mom had just driven me twelve miles there. twelve milesback, paid for mV lesson. and boughr me a candy bar, you'd think I'd be grateful andgracious9 enough to help her bring the groceries into the house without being asked. But Iwasn't.

比如每个星期三的下午,我妈妈开车送我去另一个镇上钢琴课。在我上课期间,她会跑到附近的商店买一周分量的杂货。考虑到我妈妈刚刚开车12英里送我到那儿,又开车12英里把我送回来,为我付学费,给我买了一块糖果,你会认为我会很感激,会在未被要求的情况下很有礼貌地帮助她把杂货拿进屋里。但是我没有这样做。

I knew I should help her. But with homework weighing heavily on my mind-and with“me”still the center of my uruverse-lgenerally just brought in an armload and left the restfor Mom as I ran to my room, shut the door. and started studying.

我知道我应该帮助她。但是,由于家庭作业沉重地压在我的心头,而且“我”仍然是我世界的中心,我通常只抱着一堆东西进屋,把剩下的留给妈妈,然后我跑进房间,关上门,开始学习。

Don' t get me wrong: being conscientious 10 about school is a good thing, and I know myparents appreciated my hard work and good grades. But che thing is, even holed up in myroom I still felt guiity about not helping my mother morce.Sure I had workto do ——but shed worked all day,too!And after hauling 11 in thouse bags,and putting the food away, Momstill had to prepare for a tastydinner for the five of us. Smallwonder I felt guilty.

别误会我的意思:认真对待学习是件好事,我知道我的父母很欣赏我的勤奋和好成绩。但问题是,即使躲在我的房间里,我仍然为没有多帮帮妈妈而感到内疚。当然,我有事儿要做,但她也忙了一整天!在把那些袋子搬进来,把食物放好之后,妈妈还得为我们五个人准备一顿美味的晚餐。难怪我感到内疚。

A similar situation occurred on summer weekends as my family headed north to our lakesi(lecamp.Each of us kids was expected to pack our own basket of clothes and toys,carry it to thecar and,later,bring it inside the camp.But besides our individual baskets,that station WagOn12was always jam—packed with camp gear and bags of food.0nce again—if asked—I'd help carryin everything else.But if left to my own deviCeS13,1 was much more apt14 to dUmp15 my basketinside,then head outdool's to play in the woods.

在夏天的周末,當我家前往北方湖边露营地的时候,也发生了类似的情况。我们每个孩子都要自己打包自己的那篮衣服和玩具,把它搬到车上,然后带到营地里。但除了我们各自的篮子外,旅行车里总是塞满了露营装备和食品袋。再一次——如果有人要求的话——我会帮忙把其他的东西搬进来。但如果任由我自己决定,我更倾向于把篮子扔在里面,然后去森林里玩。

Exploring is a good thing,sure,and it turned me into a lifelong naturalist.But my“nothelping”was gradually becoming a bigger and bigger problem for me because in my heart andmy head I knew l was Skirting16 responsibilty—not to mention,it obviously made my parentsCranky17 to have to continually ask for my help.

探索是一件好事,当然,它让我一辈子都是个博物学家。但我的“不帮忙”正逐渐成为一个越来越大的问题,因为在我的内心和脑中,我知道我在逃避责任——更不用说,不断地向我求助显然让我的父母变得暴躁。

Deep down I wanted to change my ways. But I also realized thatonce I did change, there'd be no going back. Once I took on moreresponsibilities, my parents would start expecting more of me. At age ten,I sensed that this one small change would mark the start of something farbigger: my personal transition from a cared一for,semi—spoiled child to a more matUre18.responsible,caring and giving young person.

在内心深处我想改变我的作风。但我也意识到一旦我改变了,就再也变不回去了。一旦我承担了更多的责任,我的父母就会对我有更多的期望。十岁的时候,我感觉到这一个小小的变化将标志着一个更重要的开始:我将从一个被人照顾、几乎被宠坏的孩子转变成一个更成熟,更有责任感、爱心和奉献精神的年轻人。

I'll never forget the Wednesdav I made a conscious19 decision to jump in and see whathappened. Returning home from my lesson.I disappeared into my room. as usual. But onceinside.I felt that deep and burning shame. Dumping my schoolbooks on the bed,I opened mydoor and headed back to the garage to help my mother.

我永远不会忘记有个星期三我做了一个清醒的决定,迫不及待地看看会发生什么。上完课回家后,我像往常一样消失在房间里。但一进房间,我就感到深深的羞愧。我把课本扔到床上后,打开门,回到车库去帮妈妈。

I'm sure Mom thanked me that day. but her thanks are not what I remember. What Iremember most is the incredible sense of peace and satisfaction Ifelt after helping her.Working hard at school alWays made me feelgood. But what surprised me that day was howhappy I felt just helping my mom-all on my own.

我肯定那天妈妈感谢了我,但我牢记的不是她的感谢。我印象最深的是我在帮助她之后感受到的不可思议的平静和满足感。在学校努力学习总是让我感觉很好。但是那天让我吃惊的是,我很高兴帮助了妈妈——完全是我自发地。

At the time,I imagine Mom wondered. "Is this a one-time deal or will Wendy help meagain next week'?”

我想,当时妈妈在想:“这是仅此一次还是说温迪下周会再帮我?”

Unknown to her, I'd already made a serious decision to join in and help every singleWednesday-and from that day on, I did. It was such a small action. Yet whata nice little difference it made in my mom's life! And what a hugedifference it made in mine. The selfishnessand guilt I'd struggled with for solong suddenlv vanished20 replacedby a warm glow of pride

她不知道的是,我已经郑重决定要在每个星期三参与帮助——从那天起,我做到了。这只是件小事。但这对我妈妈的生活有多么大的影响啊!而它给我的生活带来了巨大的改变。令我挣扎了许久的自私和内疚感突然消失了,取而代之的是一种温暖的自豪感。

As for those summer camps to the lake,ditt0 21 1 Instead of just carrylng my own stuff,Ibegan retuming to the car for more loads—even when my father wasln a really grOUChy22“long week at work”mood.The first time I did it,Dad probablyWondered the same thing asMom.“Is this a one—time deal?”

至于那些夏天去湖边的露营,也一样!我不再只是拿自己的东西了,而是开始回到车里去拿更多的东西——甚至在我父亲一周工作后心情非常不好的时候。我第一次这么做的时候,爸爸可能和妈妈想的一样:“这是仅此一次吗?”

But over time,I showed mv SinCerity23 by continuing to help out with the loading andunloading.The great thing was.the more I helped out,the better I feh about myself and myplace within my family.As Mom and Dad realized they could count on me more,our tripshecame far less stressfhl.too.In short ,it Was a win—win situation fbr evervone.

但隨着时间的推移,我继续帮忙装卸,显示了我的诚意。最妙的是,我越是帮忙,自我感觉就越好,我在家庭中的地位也越高。当爸爸妈妈意识到他们可以更多地依靠我时,我们的旅行压力也大大减轻了。简言之,这对每个人来说都是一个双赢的局面。

Some“mes山e little things we put off doing the longest turn out to be the simplest thingsto do.Helping out more——and offering to help rather than waitting to be asked——made myparents and me a lot happier.And feeling happy trumpS 24 feeling guilty any day.

有时候,被我们拖得最久的小事,却变成了最容易做的事情。予以更多的帮助——主动提供帮助而不是等待别人的请求——让我和我的父母更加快乐。不论怎样,快乐胜过内疚。

(英语原文选自:chickensoup.com)

[Note]

1.resist[r??z?st] v.抗拒;忍耐

2.urge [??d?] n.强烈欲望

3.plainly[?ple?nl?] adv.显而易见地

4hug[h?ɡ] n烦扰

5.resistance [r??z?st?ns] n.阻力;抵抗

6.chip in插嘴

7.bothered [?b???d] adj.烦的;感到讨厌的 8.conscience[?k?n? ns] n.道德心,良心

9.gracious [?ɡre???s]adj.亲切的;有礼貌的

10. conscientious [?k?n???en??s] adj.认真的

II. haul [h??l] v.拖,拉

12. wagon['w?ɡ?n]n.货车

13. device [d??va?s] n.装置;设备

14. apt[?pt] adj.有……倾向的

15. dump [d?mp] n丢下;猛地放下

16. skirt [sk??t]v.绕过,回避

17. cranky [?kr??k?] adj.暴躁的

18. mature [m??tj??]adj.成熟的

19. conscious[?k?n??s] adj.意识到的;故意的 20. vanish [?v?n??] n消失

21. ditto ['ditau] adv.同上地

22. grouchy ['grautli] adj.不高兴的

23. sincerity [sin'serati]n.真实,诚挚

24. trump [trAmp]v.胜过

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