读者文摘:父亲在工作和照顾女儿之间的斗争(4)

I leave them in conversation and return to my desk.

我留下他们两个说着话，自己回到办公桌前。

Within five minutes she appears before me, wearing her mother's shoes.

不到五分钟，她就穿着她妈妈的鞋子出现在我面前，

She reaches up to the typewriter keys and depresses four of them simultaneously¹.

伸手够打字机的键盘，同时按下了四个键。

"No, thank you, Meghan. Daddy's seen your work. He'll do it himself."

“不，谢谢你，梅根。”爸爸看到你打的字了，爸爸会自己做的。”

She backs off.

她离开了

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her in the kitchen watching the grop swim around in his circular world.

余光中，我可以看到她在厨房里盯着碗里游来游去的“格罗”（一条鱼）。

I can see that the water in his bowl needs to be changed.

我能看到碗里的水需要换了。

Back to the test. Determined². ("Discuss illusion and reality in Benito Cereno.")

接着出题，就这了。（“讨论《贝尼托·切里诺》里面的虚幻与现实”）

"Don't even ask, Meghan. Not today."

“别问了，梅根，今天不行。”

She stands in front of me with her shoes and socks in her hands.

她站在我面前，手里拿着鞋子和袜子。

I know the pattern.

我知道她接下来会怎么做。

First the shoes and socks.

首先是鞋子和袜子。

Then the stroller.

然后是推车。

And pretty soon we're in the park.

很快我们会去到公园。

She'll want me to pick her a dandelion or a leaf from a tree.

她想让我给她摘一朵蒲公英或一片树叶。

And she'll clutch that leaf or dandelion the way she always does when we walk to the park.

她会像我们去公园散步时候一样，抓着那片树叶或蒲公英。

Oh, yes, I know the pattern.

哦，是的，我知道。

She rests her head on my leg, just as she did when she first learned to walk.

她把头靠在我的腿上，就像刚学会走路时那样。

She used to bring her plastic comb or her hairbrush and rest her head on my leg while I combed her hair.

她常常带着她的塑料梳子或发梳，当我给她梳头时，她就把头靠在我的腿上。

That ritual, however, ended after only a few months—much too soon for me.

然而，仅仅几个月后就结束了——对我来说太早了。

Finally she leaves, and I watch her frustration³ as she sits on the floor and tries for several minutes to put on one of her socks.

最后她离开了，我看到她坐在地板上，穿袜子穿了几分钟的沮丧。

The art proves too elusive⁴.

事实证明袜子对她来说太难了。

In years to come, she'll put on stockings or leotards with the ease and grace of a ballerina.

在未来的几年里，她会穿上丝袜或紧身连衣裤，像芭蕾舞演员一样轻松优雅。

But today, a tiny pair of socks defeats her.

但是今天，一双小小的袜子打败了她。

1 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。