精美英文欣赏:夕阳无限好

I believe in leaving work at five o’clock. In a nation that operates on a staunch Protestant work ethic¹, this belief could be considered radical². Working only 40 hours a week? I just don’t know many people who punch out at five o’clock anymore. It seems downright quaint³, like pocket watches and shoe shines. My father tried to teach me the importance of hard work, long hours and dedication⁴ to a career. But then there are the things he taught me unintentionally, like when he arrived home from work for the last time and crawled up the stairs. My father, a self-employed sales trainer, was that sick, that tired. His body was wracked with liver cancer, and he suffered the effects of a diabetic ulcer⁵. Still, he insisted on traveling to honor his commitment to give a seminar. He probably earned a lot of money that day, and he paid the price: He returned to the hospital soon after and was dead within three months, at age 58.

我的信念是在五点结束每天的工作。 在这个奉行新教徒那套“工作至上”理念的国度,我的这一信念可算是激进。每周只工作40小时?我认识的人中很少是下午五点打卡下班的。那看起来就跟怀表、鞋油这类东西一样,简直是过时而怪异。 我父亲尽力教导我勤奋工作、超时工作以及献身事业这几点的重要性。但后来,他也无意中教了我一些东西,比如那次当他最后一次下班回家爬上楼梯的时候。 我父亲是一名自雇的销售培训师。那天,他已经病得很厉害,疲惫不堪。肝癌拖垮了他的身体,他还饱受糖尿病溃疡的折磨。然而,他为履行承诺仍坚持到外地主持一个研讨会。他那天可能赚了不少钱,但他也付出了代价——不久之后又住进了医院,而且三个月后就去世了,终年58岁。

It’s been 10 years since I saw my father come home that night and since then, I’ve thought a lot about work. I’ve decided⁶ something: I will never crawl up the stairs. As much as I love my job as a newspaper reporter, I will never work myself into the ground, literally⁷ or figuratively. The idea of leaving work at work didn’t come easily to me. After all, I am my father’s daughter. In college, I wasn’t going to keg parties in a frat basement; I was the girl who lingered on the library steps each morning, waiting for the doors to open. I even dreamt about schoolwork.

那晚看到父亲回家已是十年前的事了,自那以后,我对工作作了多番思考。我决定:我决不要爬着楼梯回家。作为一名报社记者,尽管我非常热爱我的工作,但我决不会因为拼命工作而把自己送进“坟墓”里,无论是字面义还是比喻义。 只在工作时间内工作的想法于我并非易事,毕竟,有其父必有其女。读大学时,我不去大学生联谊会在地下室里举办的啤酒狂欢派对,而是每天一早就在图书馆的阶梯上徘徊,等着图书馆开门。我甚至做梦都会梦到功课作业。

My dad once told me he was unable to just gaze at a sunset; he had to be doing something as he looked at it—writing, reading, playing chess. You could say he was a success: He was a published author, an accomplished⁸ musician, fluent in German and the American Sign Language. That’s an impressive list, but here’s the thing: I want to gaze at sunsets. I don’t want to meet a deadline during them or be writing a column at the same time, or glance at them over the top of a book. This raises the question: If I leave work at five o’ clock to watch the sunset, what are the consequences? Do I risk not reaching the top of my profession? Maybe, because honestly, knocking off after eight hours probably won’t earn me the corner office or the lucrative⁹ promotion¹⁰. But hey, leaving work at five o’ clock means I eat dinner with my family. I get to hop¹¹ on my bike and pedal through the streets of my hometown as the shadows lengthen¹² and the traffic thins. And I get to take in a lot of sunsets. That’s got to be worth something.

我父亲曾经告诉我,他就是没法凝视夕阳。看着夕阳的同时他还得做些别的事——写作、阅读、下象棋。你可以称他是成功人士:他是一名发表过作品的作家,一位有造诣的音乐家,能说流利的德语,能熟练运用美国手语。这一连串成就看起来挺厉害的。但问题是:我想凝视夕阳。我不想边看夕阳边赶在最后期限前完成工作,也不想边看边给专栏赶稿,又或者是看着书,偶尔才朝那一抹夕阳瞥上一眼。 这引发了一个问题:如果我五点就下班去看夕阳,会有什么后果?我是否就无法爬到职场最高位?也许是,因为说实话,工作八小时就下班,想搬进角落的高层办公室或升职加薪是不太可能的。 不过,嘿,五点就下班意味着我能和家人共进晚餐。我跳上单车,穿梭在家乡的大小街道上,一切在夕阳的余晖中被拉长了影子,路上车少人稀。 从此,我看了不少夕阳美景。这肯定有其价值所在。

1 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

4 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

5 ulcer   

n.溃疡，腐坏物

参考例句：

• She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

10 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

11 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

12 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。