精美英文欣赏:The Child You Remember你所记得的孩子

当你的孩子是个婴儿时,你所记得的,是你对自己创造出的堪称完美奇迹的作品,感到不可思议的敬畏...

 

All you remember about your child being an infant is the incredible awe¹ you felt about the precious miracle you created. You remember having plenty of time to bestow² all your wisdom and knowledge. You thought your child would take all of your advice and make fewer mistakes, and be much smarter than you were. You wished for your child to hurry and grow up.

All you remember about your child being two is never using the restroom alone or getting to watch a movie without talking animals. You recall afternoons talking on the phone while crouching³ in the bedroom closet, and being convinced your child would be the first Ivy⁴ League college student to graduate wearing pullovers at the ceremony. You remember worrying about the bag of M&M's melting in your pocket and ruining your good dress. You wished for your child to be more independent.

All you remember about your child being five is the first day of school and finally having the house to yourself. You remember joining the PTA and being elected president when you left a meeting to use the restroom. You remember being asked“Is Santa real?”and saying“yes”because he had to be for a little bit longer. You remember shaking the sofa cushions for loose change, so the tooth fairy could come and take away your child's first lost tooth. You wished for your child to have all permanent teeth.
当你的孩子是个婴儿时,你所记得的,是你对自己创造出的堪称完美奇迹的作品,感到不可思议的敬畏。
你记得你有大量的时间去传授你所有的智慧和知识。你认为你的孩子将会接受你所有的忠告而少犯错误,将会比孩提时代的你聪明许多。
你多希望你的孩子快快长大。

孩子两岁时,你所记得的,是从不能独自使用 卫生间,
从不看一部与动物无关的电影。
你记得那些蜷缩在卧室储衣间跟朋友通电话的下午,
深信你的孩子将是
第一个身着套头衫出席毕业典礼的常春藤名牌大学毕业生。

你记得你担心那袋M&M巧克力糖会在你的衣兜里融化,毁了你体面的衣服。
你多希望你的孩子更独立些。

孩子5岁时,你所记得的,是他上学第一天你终于独自拥有整个房子了。
你记得参加家长—教师联系会,在你离开会议室去洗手间时,你当选为会长。
你记得孩子问你"圣诞老人是真的吗？"你回答"是的",因为他还需要你的肯定回答,尽管不久他就能自己判断了。
你记得在沙发垫子下一通翻腾要找出些零钱,
这样牙齿仙女就会来把你孩子掉的第一颗牙带走。
你多希望孩子的牙都换成了恒牙。
1.bestow  vt.给与, 授, 赠, 赐

例句：

Time spent in study is well bestowed⁵. 
把时间用于学习是值得的。

2.crouch  v. 蹲下,蜷著,缩著

例句：

They bent⁶ double crouching under the table. 
他们蜷著身子蹲在桌子底下.

3.pullover   n. 毛线套衫

例句：

The pullover scratches a bit. 
这件羊毛套衫有点刺激皮肤。

4.PTA      abbr. Parent-Teacher Asociation ,家庭教师协会

例句：

They are in the front row at PTA meetings.
她们坐在家长教师联谊会的前排。

5.tooth fairy    牙仙女

例句：

It was only left to America to replace the beneficent “tooth rat” with the more agreeable fairy and to replace the traditional hope of hard molars with our more characteristic hope of hard cash.
美国人只是把好心的“牙齿老鼠”换成了更可亲的仙女，而传统上人们希望长出坚固的牙齿，到我们这儿却变成了希望拿到现金，这就更具有我们的特色。
 

1 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

3 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

5 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。