英语PK台 第482期:一个低智男孩的园艺王国

 　　'Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you'. One of the worst evils of today is the exaggerated importance given to so-called intelligence tests. Many other qualities besides agility¹ in answering trick questions go into the making of human personality. A man can fail all the tests and make a wonderful life. Let me tell you what happened to a young Canadian boy.

　　总有一天，你会发现你有特别的天赋，当你去使用它，你的父母也会为你骄傲。所谓的智力测试被过分看重，这是如今的不幸。诸如敏捷应答难题等此类的素质其实也参与人格塑造。一个人就算各种测试一败涂地也能活出精彩人生。我来告诉你一个年轻的加拿大男孩经历过什么。

　　Call him Johnnie Martin. He was the son of a carpenter, and his mother worked as a housekeeper². They lived frugal³ lives, saving their money for the day when they could send their son to college. Johnnie had reached the second year in high school when the blow fell. A psychologist attached to the school called the young man, just reached sixteen, into his private office and this is what he said.

　　他叫约翰尼?马丁，是一个木匠的儿子。母亲是一位家庭主妇。父母节衣缩食，为了将来能送孩子上大学。就在约翰尼上高中二年级那年，一个沉重的打击袭来。学校的心理医生把刚满16岁的约翰尼叫到了他的办公室，对约翰尼说了下面这段话：

　　Johnnie, I've been studying your marks and I've gone over your various tests in motor and sensory⁴ impressions—your physical examination. I've made a very careful study of you and your achievements.' 'I've been trying hard,' put in Johnnie. 'That's just the trouble.' said the psychologist.

　　“约翰尼，我一直在研究你的学习成绩，我仔细核查了你的运动和感觉系统的各项测试—你的体检情况，我已经对你和你的成绩作了十分仔细的研究，” “我一直都在努力。” 约翰尼插话说。“问题就在这里。”心理医生说。

　　'You have worked very hard indeed—but it has not helped. You just don't seem able to get ahead in your studies. You're just not cut out for it, and for you to remain in high school would, in my opinion, be a waste of time.'

　　“你的确已经非常努力了，可一点效果也没有。你的学习好像无法再取得任何进步。你天生不是这块料，如果你继续上中学，依我看，也只是浪费时间。”

　　The boy buried his face in his hands. 'This will be hard on my mother and father,' he said. 'Their one idea is for me to be a college man.

　　约翰尼用双手捂住了脸。“这会让妈妈、爸爸非常难过的。”他说，“他们唯一的希望就是让我上大学。”

　　The psychologist laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. 'People have different kinds of talents, Johnnie,' he said.' 'There are painters who were never able to learn the multiplication⁵ table, and engineers who can't sing on key. But every one of us has something special—and you are no exception. Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you.'

　　心理医生把手放在男孩的肩膀上，说：“约翰尼，人都有不同的天赋。有的画家一辈子也学不会乘法表，有的工程师唱歌就是找不着调。然而，我们每个人都有自己独特的才能——你也不例外。总有一天，你会发现自己独特的天赋，到那时，你会让父母为你感到骄傲的。”

　　Johnnie never went back to school. Jobs were scarce in town, but he managed to keep busy mowing⁶ the lawns of the householders and puttering in their flower-beds. And then a curious thing happened. Before long his customers began to notice that Johnnie had what they called a 'green thumb'. The plants he tended grew and blossomed, and the rose trees blossomed. He fell into the habit of making suggestions for re-arranging the tiny front-yard landscapes. He had an eye for colour and could make surprising combinations that pleased the eye.

　　约翰尼再也没有回学校。镇上工作很难找，但他还是设法找到些给人修剪草坪、摆弄花坛的活计。这时，一件奇怪的事情发生了。他的顾客很快发现，约翰尼其实是一个园艺高手。由他侍弄的植物开花了，玫瑰也繁花似锦。他渐渐习惯了建议别人重新布置小小的前院的景观。他对色彩很有鉴赏力，颜色搭配常常出人意料，让人看了赏心悦目。

　　One day while he was down town he happened to notice a stretch of unused land behind the city hall. Chance or fate or whatever you may like to call it brought one of the town's alderman round the corner just at that moment. Impetuously the boy said, 'I can make a garden out of this dump, if you'll let me.'

　　一天，他去城里的时候，偶然在市政厅的后面发现一块闲置的空地。机缘巧合，此时正好有一位市政委员走过市政厅的拐角。男孩一阵冲动，对他说：“如果您允许的话，我可以把这片垃圾场变成一个花园

　　'The town's got no money for frills,' said the alderman. 'I don't want any money for it,' said the boy, 'I just want to do it.'

　　“市里可没有钱来搞什么美化。” 市政委员说。“我一分钱都不要。”男孩说，“我只是想试试。”

　　The alderman, being a politician, was astounded⁷ to find anyone who did not want money, under any and all circumstances. He took Johnnie into an office, and when the young man came out he had the authority to clean up the public eyesore.

　　竟然有人干活不要钱，这让市政委员感到很惊讶。他把约翰尼领进一间办公室。当这个年轻人出来的时候，他已经得到授权来清除这个公认的“眼中钉”。

　　That very afternoon he borrowed extra tools and seeds and soil. Someone gave him a few young trees to plant. When others heard of it they offered rose-bushes and even a hedge. Then the town's leading manufacturer heard of it, and volunteered to supply some benches.

　　就在当天下午，约翰尼借来工具、种子和土壤。有人给了他一些树苗。其他人听说此事后，纷纷提供玫瑰花丛，甚至还有树篱。市里的一家大工厂听说了此事，免费提供一些长椅。

　　Before long the dreary⁸ old dump had become a little park. There were grassy⁹ lawns and little curving walks and restful seats and little house for birds. All the townspeople were talking about what a lovely improvement the young man had made. But it was also a kind of show window for Johnnie. People saw the result of his skill and knew him for a natural landscape gardener.

　　没多久，那块沉闷乏味的垃圾场就变成了一个小小的花园。有绿油油的草地，有蜿蜒曲折的花径，还有供人休憩的坐椅和为小鸟搭建的窝巢。镇上所有的人都在谈论，这个年轻人把这块地方变得多么可爱。 不过，这也是展示约翰尼才艺的一个窗口。人们见识到他的手艺，知道他是一个天生的园艺设计师。

　　That was twenty-five years ago. Today Johnnie is the head of a prosperous business in landscape gardening. His customers extend into neighbouring provinces. Johnnie still cannot speak French or translate Latin, trigonometry is unknown to him.

　　这已是25年前的事情了。现在的约翰尼是一家生意兴隆的园艺设计公司的负责人。他的客户已经扩展到临近的其他省份。约翰尼到现在还是不会讲法语，也不会翻译拉丁语，对三角学更是一窍不通。

　　But colour and light and lovely prospects¹⁰ are his bread and butter. His aging parents are proud of Johnnie, for he is not only a success—a man of affairs and a member of the best clubs in town— he has also made his part of the world a lovelier place to live in. Wherever he and his men go, they spread beauty before the eyes of people.

　　然而，色彩、光线和怡人的景观设计成了他的职业。他年迈的父母为他感到骄傲，不仅仅因为他是一位成功人士，还因为他把自己的那部分世界变得更为美好，适宜居住。不管他和他的设计团队去到哪里，他们都散播赏心悦目的美丽。

1 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

2 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

3 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

4 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

5 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

6 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

8 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

9 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。