读者文摘:自学号角向老兵致敬(3)

"I collapsed¹ at work," he says. "And all of a sudden I was 4-F."

“服兵役的时候我崩溃了，”他说。“突然间我成了4-F。”

4-F: unfit to serve.

4-F意思是不适合当兵。

Gary's father had served during World War II and some of his high school friends had already died in Vietnam,

加里的父亲曾在二战期间服役，他的一些高中朋友已经在越南去世，

but Gary was suddenly freed of his obligation. "I think ashamed is the word," he says.

但加里的义务突然被解除了。他说：“我认为应该感到惭愧。”

"I was ashamed I was happy I didn't have to go."

“我为自己窃喜于不用去而感到羞耻。”

Not a day goes by that Gary does not play taps. Every evening, as the sun sets over his lakeside home,

加里每天都玩起小号。每晚，当夕阳余晖笼罩着湖畔家园时，

he walks to the railing of his deck and points his horn toward the water.

他走到甲板的栏杆边，对着湖水，举起小号。

His neighbors no longer close their windows. In fact, they stop what they're doing, stand at attention, and listen.

他的邻居不再关上窗户，停下来，驻足，凝神倾听。

On some nights, neighbor Alan Greene emerges on his deck to accompany Gary on his flute².

几个晚上，邻居艾伦·格林会来到甲板上，和加里一起吹小号。

"It's a last call; it's daily rest," says Gary. "It's a prayer".

“这是吹的最后一次；属于每日消遣，”加里说。“是祈祷”。

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。