《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》 31 男孩来到水晶店

The crystal¹ merchant awoke with the day, and felt the same anxiety that he felt every morning.

水晶店的老板眼瞅着天放亮了。每天早晨，他都会一如既往地感到心烦意乱。

He had been in the same place for thirty years: a shop at the top of a hilly street where few customers passed.

他的店铺在一座山丘的顶部，几乎三十年了，一直在这个地方，很少有人光顾。

Now it was too late to change anything—the only thing he had ever learned² to do was to buy and sell crystal glassware.

现在作任何改变都为时已晚，他这辈子唯一的本事就是做水晶生意。

There had been a time when many people knew of his shop: Arab merchants, French and English geologists³, German soldiers who were always well-heeled.

过去有一段时间，很多人知道他的商店，有阿拉伯商人，有英国和法国的地质学家，还有口袋里从不缺钱的德国士兵。

In those days it had been wonderful to be selling crystal, and he had thought how he would become rich, and have beautiful women at his side as he grew older.

那年头卖水晶风险很大，他曾盘算着发财，在晚年的时候有美女相伴。

But, as time passed, Tangier had changed.

尔后，好景不长，风光不再。整座城市都是这样。

The nearby city of Ceuta had grown faster than Tangier, and business had fallen off.

休达市发展得更快，超过了丹吉尔，商机随之发生变化。

Neighbors moved away, and there remained only a few small shops on the hill.

邻居纷纷搬走，山丘上只剩下少数几家店。

And no one was going to climb the hill just to browse⁴ through a few small shops.

由于商店太少，很少有人到山坡上来了。

But the crystal merchant had no choice.

但是，水晶店老板别无选择。

He had lived thirty years of his life buying and selling crystal pieces, and now it was too late to do anything else.

三十年来，他一直靠卖水晶维持生计，现在改弦易辙为时太晚了。

He spent the entire morning observing the infrequent comings and goings in the street.

整个上午，他都在望着行人稀少的街道。

He had done this for years, and knew the schedule of everyone who passed.

这种情形已经有些年头了，他甚至熟知每个行人的作息时间。

But, just before lunchtime, a boy stopped in front of the shop.

还差几分钟就该吃午饭的时候，一个外国男孩在水晶店的橱窗前停了下来。

He was dressed normally⁵, but the practiced eyes of the crystal merchant could see that the boy had no money to spend.

他的穿着很平常，阅历丰富的水晶店老板认定男孩没钱。

Nevertheless, the merchant decided⁶ to delay his lunch for a few minutes until the boy moved on.

老板决定回到店里稍等片刻，待那男孩离去后再吃饭。

1 crystal   

n.水晶，水晶饰品，结晶体；最好的玻璃器皿

参考例句：

• It used to be a crystal stream.那曾是条清澈见底的小溪。
• Those fine wine glasses are made of crystal.那些漂亮的酒杯是用水晶做的。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

4 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

5 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

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。