英语美文背诵 通往广场的路不止一条(上)

More Than One Way to the Square

通往广场的路不止一条

We were standing¹ at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small Italian town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why."Look down, Elsa," Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross of twisting, turning streets leading to the square.

当时我们正站在一个教堂塔楼的顶上，是父亲把我从罗马的家里带到这个离家不远的意大利小镇楼顶上来的，我不明白他要做什么。"向下看，埃尔莎，"父亲对我说。我鼓足勇气向下看去，看到了村子中央的广场，还看到蜿蜒曲折的街道交错着通向这个广场。

"See, my dear," Father said gently. "There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another."

爸爸语气温和地对我说："明白了吧，亲爱的，通向广场的路不止一条，生活也是如此，如果一条路走不到想去的地方，就试着走另一条路。"

Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.

现在我明白我为什么会到这儿来了。那天早些时候我请求妈妈为学校提供的难吃午餐想点儿办法，但她拒绝了我的要求，她不相信学校的午餐会像我说的那样糟。

When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere². Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.

我转向爸爸求援，他不想干预此事，却把我带到这个高塔上，给我上了一课。到家时，我已经有了主意。

At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon³ soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I talked the cook into serving it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly⁴. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered⁵, "The cook must have gone mad!" Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!

第二天在学校吃午餐时，我偷偷地把我的那份午餐汤倒进一个瓶子，把它带回了家，然后说服厨师，让她在晚餐时把汤端给妈妈。我的计划进行得很成功。妈妈喝了一勺汤，就吐了出来，说："厨师一定发疯了！"我马上告诉妈妈这是我安排的，妈妈斩钉截铁地表示她第二天就去学校就午餐问题提出交涉。

In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I knew where I wanted to go in life. I wanted to be a fashion designer. And on the way to my first small success I found the road blocked. What could I do? Accept the roadblocks and fail？Or use imagination and wits⁶ to find another road to my goal？

随后的这些年里，我时常记起爸爸给我上的这一课。我知道我的人生目标：我想当时装设计师！就在我走向第一个小小的成功之路时，却遇到了阻碍。怎么办呢？是承认此路不通，败下阵来；还是发挥想像力和智慧，去寻找通向目标的另一条道路呢？

I had come to Paris, the center of the world of fashion, with my sketches⁷. But none of the famous fashion designers seemed interested in buying them.

我带着我的设计草图来到世界时装中心巴黎，但是好像没有一个著名的时装设计师有兴趣购买。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 sputtered   

v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句

6 wits   

n.风趣( wit的名词复数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智v.风趣( wit的第三人称单数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智

参考例句：

• The authorities are at their wits' end about juvenile delinquency. 当局对青少年犯罪束手无策。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You have to have your wits about you in a dangerous situation. 在危急的情况下，你得随机应变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》