The Turkey That Got Away逃走的火鸡

2023-08-13KayannShort

中学生英语·中考指导版 2023年6期

Kayann Short

The day before Thanksgiving， I finished setting the table in our farmscommunity room for the next days feast1. On the way back to the house， I stoppedin the barn2 to check on the thirty-pound turkey in the barn fridge， the only coldplace large enough to hold it. In fact， we didnt need a thirty-pound turkey， butsomehow my order had ended up in the “extra-large”category3. I wasnt evensure it would fit in our oven， not to mention having to get up earlier to give thoseextra pounds time to roast4.

感恩节前一天，我在我们农场的公共活动室里为第二天的盛宴摆好了桌子。在回屋的路上，我在谷仓逗留了一会儿，查看谷仓冰箱里那只30 磅重的火鸡，谷仓冰箱是唯一一个大到足以装下它的地方。事实上，我们不需要一只30磅重的火鸡，但不知怎的，我的订单最后变成了“超大”。我甚至不确定它是否能放进我们的烤箱里，更别提还得早点起床，腾出时间烤制多余重量的肉了。

As I opened the barn fridge door， I expected the top shelf to be full of turkey，but I found an empty space instead. I stared at the shelf long enough to confirm5 itreally was gone. I checked the second and third shelves， which were much toosmall for the turkey， but they were empty， too. I even looked in all the fridgedrawers6 and door shelves where a thirty-pound turkey obviously7 could not hide.

当我打开谷仓冰箱的门时，我以为最上面的架子上会被火鸡塞满，但我却发现取而代之的是一个空位。我盯着架子看了好久，才确认它真的不见了。我检查了第二和第三层架子，对火鸡来说它们太小了，但它们也空空如也。我甚至翻遍了所有显然藏不住一只30 磅重火鸡的冰箱抽屉和门搁架。

Next， I looked all over the barn， thinking John had left the turkey outaccidentally， but there wasnt a turkey in sight. I even looked in the fridgeagain to be sure I wasnt overlooking it. Nothing， not even a drumstick8，did I find. By then， I was pretty sure I wasnt going to find the thing inthe barn. I might have laughed at my antics9 if fifteen people werentcoming for Thanksgiving the very next day.

然后，我找遍了整个谷仓，以为约翰不小心把火鸡放在外面了，但我并没有看到火鸡。我甚至在冰箱里又找了一遍，以确保我没有看漏。我什么也没找到，甚至连个鸡腿也没有找到。那时，我很确定我不可能在谷仓里找到那东西。如果不是第二天有15 个人来过感恩节，我可能会嘲笑自己的滑稽举动。

What to do but go ask John if he had brought the turkey into the housewithout my having seen it. Of course， he hadnt. So， where could that turkey be？

除了去問约翰他是不是在我没看见的情况下把火鸡拿进屋了，还能怎么办？

当然，他没有那样做。那只火鸡会在哪里呢？

Then I remembered it was Wednesday， the day the food-pantry10 people comefor the vegetables we donate to community families each week. Every Tuesday， I sendan e-mail to the friend who picks up our vegetables to tell her what we have. I lookedback at that weeks e-mail and saw that I had mentioned the turkey on the top shelfbecause I needed to let her know the vegetables would be on the second shelf thatweek. Re-reading the note， I realized that she must have sent someone else for thepick-up. Even though the turkey part of the message was vague11， I knew she wouldnever have understood it as “take the turkey”. On the other hand， someone lessfamiliar with our arrangement12 certainly could think of a turkey donation accompanied13the vegetables so close to Thanksgiving.

然后我想起星期三那天，“食品银行”的人来拿我们每周捐赠给社区家庭的蔬菜。每周二，我都会给来取蔬菜的朋友发一封电子邮件，告诉她我们有什么菜。我回头看了看那周的电子邮件，发现我提到过最上面架子上的火鸡，因为我需要让她知道那周的蔬菜会放在第二层架子上。重新看了一遍备忘录后，我意识到她一定是派了其他人来取蔬菜。尽管信息中关于火鸡的部分很模糊，但我知道她绝对不会把它理解为“拿走火鸡”。另一方面，不太熟悉我们安排的人肯定会认为，临近感恩节，会有火鸡和蔬菜一起捐赠。

Since the pantry was closed by that time of the day， I tried to contact myfriend. She must have left town already for the holiday. She wasnt answeringe -mail or picking up her phone. Now the need for logistics14 took hold. Itwasnt that we minded the turkey having gone to the pantry， but we stillneeded a turkey—and it was 4：00 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving. Wouldwe really be able to find a turkey at this late hour？

由于当天的那个时候“食品银行”已经关门，我试着联系我的朋友。她一定已经离开小镇去过节了。她没有回复电子邮件或接电话。现在，对后勤的需求已经占据了上风。我们并不介意火鸡去了“食品银行”，但我们仍然需要一只火鸡———而且是在感恩节前一天的下午4点。我们真的能在这么晚的时候买到一只火鸡吗？

John jumped in the truck while I called a local store to try to reserve15 aturkey. Lucky for us， they still had a turkey—twenty-one pounds， which wasplenty—and they would hold it for him. When John got home， he saideveryone in the meat department16 had a good laugh about our“donation”.

当我打电话给本地一家商店设法预订一只火鸡的同时，约翰就跳上了卡车。幸运的是，他们还有一只火鸡———21磅重，这个大小足够了———他们会为他保留。当约翰回到家时，他说肉类区的每个人都对我们的“捐赠”大笑不已。

In fact， I was glad not to have to cook that thirty-pound turkey. We hadplenty at our Thanksgiving meal， with most of it—potatoes， pumpkins， onions，carrots， and even wine—grown on our own farm. Seated by the wood stove17 asthe snow fell slowly outside， we thought about all the Thanksgiving dinners thatwould include something from our land.

事实上，我很高兴不用烹饪那只30 磅重的火鸡。我们的感恩节大餐有很多东西———土豆、南瓜、洋葱、胡萝卜，甚至葡萄酒，大部分都是从自家农场种出来的。当外面的雪慢慢地落下时，我们坐在柴木火炉旁，想着所有那些包含从我们地里种出来的东西的感恩节晚餐。

Later， we would learn that our turkey fed not just onefamily but took the place of honor at a special dinner for theentire18 senior center in our little town. At our own table， welaughed at the good story with which to remember thisThanksgiving. It is a reminder19 to be thankful for all we haveand all we can share.

后來，我们才知道，我们的火鸡不是只填饱了一个家庭的肚子，而且在我们小镇整个老年中心的特别晚宴上占据了最重要的地位。在我们自己的餐桌上，我们因为这个好故事而发笑。它让人记住了这个感恩节。它提醒我们要感激我们所拥有的一切和我们所能分享的一切。

Notes

1. feast . 宴会

2. barn . 谷仓

3. category . 种类；范畴

4. roast . 烤

5. confirm .确定；确认

6. drawer . 抽屉

7. obviously. 显然；显而易见

8. drumstick .煮食的鸡或其他禽类的；腿下段；琵琶腿

9. antics . 滑稽动作

10. food pantry.食品银行；慈善组织