精美英文欣赏:重聚

Old friends. They finish your sentences, they remember the cat that ran away when you were twelve, and they tell you the truth when you’ve had a bad haircut. But mostly, they are always there for you—whether it’s in person or via late night phone calls—through good times and bad. But as the years pass, it becomes increasingly difficult to see each other, to make new memories. Fortunately, my high school girlfriends and I vowed¹ long ago not to let this happen. We vowed to have reunions.

老朋友。他们会接完你没说完的句子,他们记得在你十二岁时跑掉的那只猫,如果你剪了一个很糟糕的发型,他们会跟你说实话。但主要的是,不论是在美好抑或糟糕的日子里,他们总会在你身边——或是面对面交流,或是深夜与你通电话。但是随着年月流逝,彼此越来越难见到对方,也越来越难制造新的回忆了。幸运的是,很早以前,我与我的一帮高中女友们曾立下誓言不让这样的事发生。我们许诺一定要重聚。

A few months ago, we met up for a three-day weekend in the American Southwest. We grew up together in Maine and have said for years that we should have an annual event, yet it’s often postponed² or canceled due to schedule conflicts. Not this year.

几个月前的一个周末,我们在美国西南部聚了三天。我们一起在缅因州长大,这几年来一直都在说我们应该有个一年一度的聚会,但通常都因为日程计划冲突而延迟或取消。今年终于如愿了。

Four of us-two from San Francisco, one from Boston, and one from Seattle-boarded planes bound for Santa Fe, New Mexico, where one of the gang lives and works for an art gallery. Two years ago, she moved there-escaped, rather-from the film industry in New York City, where she led a life that felt too fast, too unfulfilling. The artist in her longed for vibrant⁴ landscapes and starry⁵ moonlit skies. She wanted to drive a truck on dusty roads, a trusty dog at her side, riding shotgun. She got all that and found love, too. She is happy.

我们一行四人——两个来自旧金山,一个来自波士顿,还有一个来自西雅图——登上了飞往新墨西哥州圣菲的航班。我们这帮人中有一个住在圣菲,为那里的一家画廊工作。两年前,她搬到那里——更准确地说是从纽约的电影业中——逃离出来。她当时觉得在纽约生活节奏太快,太没有成就感。她那艺术家的本性向往生机盎然的自然景致和繁星点缀的月夜。她希望能在尘土飞扬的路上开着卡车,有只忠诚的狗坐在前排的乘客座位,陪伴她左右。这一切都实现了,她还找到了爱情。她是幸福快乐的。

The rest of us-still big city folks-converged on her like a cyclone⁶ straight out of the pages of a girlfriend novel. Chattering⁷ and memory swapping⁸, we were fifteen again in a space of five minutes. Naturally, we relived some of the stories of our youth-angst and all-but we also brought much more to the gathering⁹ this time. We were new people. We were wives and girlfriends to someone back home. We were businesswomen, artists and writers. We were no longer girls, no longer post-college grads. We were women.

我们其余几人——仍然是大城市居民——像是从女性小说的页面中直接跳出来的一股旋风似地向她袭去。我们聊天,分享回忆,仿佛在短短的五分钟内又重返十五岁。我们自然而然地重温了年轻时候的故事——忧愁怅惘等种种情感——但我们给这次聚会带来的还不止这些。我们是有着全新身份的人。我们是家里那位的妻子或女友。我们是女商人、艺术家及作家。我们不再是小女孩,也不再是刚毕业的大学生。我们已成为女人。

I shared an air mattress¹⁰ that night with my friend from Boston, the one who calls me, while rubbernecking in traffic, to catch up on her cell phone, to tell me of her life and love. On the next mattress was a gal³ from San Francisco, newly single and enjoying her independence. Our host, the artist, shared her bedroom that weekend with a married dot-commer from San Francisco. Yes, we are different, but we are also the same. The years of our youth say so.

那天晚上,我与来自波士顿的朋友共睡一张充气床。路上交通堵塞时,她会边看热闹边给我打电话闲聊,说说她的生活及爱情。旁边的另一张床上睡的是来自旧金山的朋友,她刚刚恢复单身,正享受着一个人的生活。我们的主人——那位艺术家,那个周末与来自旧金山,就职IT行业的一位已婚姐妹同住一间房。是的,我们变得不同了,但我们又仍然未变。我们的青春岁月可以证明这一切。

The apartment was open and we talked late into the night, our voices carrying back and forth¹¹ between the rooms as we laughed, cackling about things that would only be humorous to friends with this kind of history. The next morning, I awoke to a brilliant blue sky, beautifully contrasted by the earthy brown of the surrounding adobe¹². It was Saturday and the art enthusiasts¹³ were out, so, with coffee in hand, I dropped off our host at work. I returned to find the others still deep in slumber¹⁴, deep lines on their faces evidence of a restful sleep.

那房子的设计是开放式的,我们聊天至深夜,笑谈着那些要有同样经历才觉得逗笑的事情,大家的声音在各个房间之间来回飘荡着。第二天早上醒来后,我发现外面阳光灿烂,在周围那泥褐色的房屋的映衬下,蔚蓝的天空显得分外美丽。当天是周六,那些艺术爱好者们都出动了。于是,我手捧咖啡送我们的主人去工作。回来后,我发现其他人还在熟睡,她们脸上压出的深痕表明她们睡得很沉很香。

We checked out town and headed to the airport to pick up the last straggler, who came in from San Francisco for one night. “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” she said, despite her 4 a.m. trip to the airport. That night we celebrated¹⁵ over margaritas and Southwestern fare, each of us gazing at the faces around the table as we wondered, who would have thought the bonds of childhood could last this long? Some of us have been friends since the age of five, some since age twelve and, yet, here we are approaching the age of thirty. Quite rapidly, I might add.

我们离开城里,去机场接最后一个“落伍者”。她来自旧金山,会来呆上一晚。“我怎么也不能错过这次聚会。”她说。尽管她要凌晨四点赶到机场。那天晚上,我们喝着

玛格丽塔酒,吃着美国西南部的佳肴来庆祝。彼此都凝望着围坐在桌子前的这些面孔,心生感慨:谁会想到孩童时的友谊可以维持这么长时间呢?我们其中一些人自五岁起便是朋友,有些是十二岁才开始成为朋友,然而,我们现在都接近三十岁了。真的过得很快,我不得不加上这句。

The weekend consisted of long talks by the pool, wonderful meals, and a hike that brought the entire group to tears. Not tears of sadness or anger, but an outpouring of emotion over the sheer wonderment that we can be this close-twelve years after graduation-with such physical distance between us. It’s heartbreaking that we can’t spend our days together in the same neighborhood, walking the same streets, reading the same newspaper at the same coffee shop. But that’s life. Grown-up life.

那个周末的活动包括在池塘边长时间谈心,享用美味的饭菜以及一次让我们所有人泪湿衣襟的远足步行。这些不是伤心或愤怒的眼泪,而是纯粹惊叹尽管毕业十二年了,彼此距离那么遥远,但却能保持如此亲密的关系,眼泪是这种情感的迸发。我们不能在同一个社区里生活,不能每天走在同一条街道上,不能坐在同一间咖啡店里看同一份报纸,这都让人感到悲伤。但,这就是生活,成年人的生活。

Most amazing is the group’s adaptability¹⁶ to one another. The months we spend apart are non-existent. No need to get reacquainted, we jump back in the saddle and it’s as comfortable as ever. Old friends-friends with an ever-present sense of support and sisterhood, friends that know each other innately-are hard to come by and yet we remain as tight today as we were, years ago, giggling¹⁷ in the back row of Mr. McKechnie’s 9th grade math class.

最让人觉得不可思议的是我们这帮人对彼此的适应性。仿佛我们分开的那些日子不曾存在过。无须重新了解熟悉对方,只要跳回各自的角色,舒心依旧。老朋友们——那些不断给予支持,姐妹情深的朋友,那些命定知心的朋友——是很难遇到的。然而如今,我们亲密如故,就像当年念九年级时在麦基奇尼先生教的数学课上我们在教室后排咯咯傻笑那样。

Life today, however, is no math class. Our world, spinning slightly off its axis¹⁸ is full of doubt, full of fear. Yet it reminds me-now, more than ever-how vital it is that we stay in close touch. We may have questions about our future, but we have true faith in our past, and though this reunion of friends has come to a close, we are already drawing up plans for the next one.

虽然我们如今已不用再上数学课了。我们的世界稍微有点离轴,其中充满了猜疑和恐惧。然而,这反而提醒了我——让我现在比以前更清楚地知道,保持亲密关系是多么的重要。我们可能会对未来充满疑问,但我们对于过去有真正的信念。尽管这次的朋友聚会已接近尾声,但我们已经开始着手计划下一次聚会了。

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？

4 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

5 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

6 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

7 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

8 swapping   

交换，交换技术

参考例句：

• The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
• He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 adobe   

n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司

参考例句：

• They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
• Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。

13 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

14 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

15 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

16 adaptability   

n.适应性

参考例句：

• It has a wide range of adaptability.它的应用性广。

17 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。