unit 2
T The Doctor's Son
Harold Eppley with Rochelle Melander This article is excerpted and adapted from "Chicken Soup". The Chicken Soup Series, compiled by Jack Canfield and Victor Hansen, has become a household name for its touching stories and its impact on the lives of a lot of people. The series has been translated into 37 different languages. Chicken Soup of the Soul is a collection among the Chicken Soup Series. The main themes are on coping with relationships and emotions. The series include Chicken Soup for Teenager's Soul, Chicken Soup for Girls' Soul, Chicken Soup for Mother and Daughter's Soul, Chicken Soup for Father and Daughter's Soul, Chicken Soup for Grandma's Soul, etc.
close1RT My parents moved to Vermont when I was still an infant. A soft-spoken man, my father settled quietly into his medical practice in a small town called Enosburg. Soon the local people accepted him as one of their own. Word passes quickly in small Vermont towns. They know good people when they meet them. Around town the neighbors greeted my father as "Doc Eppley." And I soon learned that as long as I lived in Enosburg I would always be known as "Doctor Eppley's son".
医生的儿子
哈罗德·埃普利、罗谢尔·梅兰德合写
我还是个婴儿的时候，我的父母亲搬到了佛蒙特州。我那温文尔雅的父亲在一个名叫伊诺斯堡的小镇上毫不张扬地开业行医了。很快，当地人就把他当成了自己人。在佛蒙特州的小镇上，消息传播得很快。人们分得清谁是好人。邻居们都称我的父亲为埃普利医生。我很快意识到，只要我住在伊诺斯堡镇，我就永远只是"埃普利医生的儿子"。close2RT On the first day of school, my classmates crowded around me because I was the doctor's son. "If you're anything like your father, you'll be a smart boy," my first-grade teacher said. I couldn't stop beaming.
入学的第一天，同学们就簇拥着我，因为我是医生的儿子。"要是你多少有点像你父亲的话，你就会是个聪明的孩子。"我的一年级老师这么说。我忍不住眉开眼笑。close3RT Somewhere in the midst of my teenage years, however, something changed. I was sixteen years old and the neighbors still called me "Doctor Eppley's son." They said that I was growing up to be an honorable and industrious young man, living an honest life just like my father. I groaned whenever I heard their compliments.
可是在我十几岁的时候，事情起了变化。 我都十六岁了，邻居们还是称呼我"埃普利医生的儿子"。他们说我长大了一定会是一个可敬又勤劳的年轻人，会像我父亲那样过着体面的生活。每当我听到这些赞美，我都很不以为然地哼哼几声。close4RT I wondered how I would ever fit in with my teenage friends. I hated being followed by my father's good name. And so when strangers asked me if I was Doctor Eppley's son, I replied emphatically, "My name is Harold. And I can manage quite well on my own." As an act of rebellion, I began to call my father by his first name, Sam.
我不知道自己怎样才能融入我那些少年朋友的圈子。我讨厌父亲的好名声像影子一样跟着我。所以当陌生人问起我是不是埃普利医生的儿子时，我会带着强调的口气说："我叫哈罗德。我自己能管好自己的事。"出于反叛，我开始对父亲直呼其名，不叫他"爸爸"，而叫他"萨姆"。close5RT "Why are you acting so stubborn lately?" my father asked me one day in the midst of an argument.
"你最近为什么这么犟？"有次争吵时，我父亲这样问我。close6RT "Well, Sam," I replied, "I suppose that bothers you."
"哼，萨姆。我想你难过了吧！"close7RT "You know it hurts me when you call me Sam," my father shouted.
"你知道的，你叫我萨姆让我很伤心。"我父亲大声地说。close8RT "Well, it hurts me when everybody expects me to be just like you. I don't want to be perfect. I want to be myself."
"哦，那人人都指望我像你一样，也很让我伤心呢。我不要完美，我只想做我自己。"close9RT I survived my last years of high school until finally I turned eighteen. The next fall I enrolled in college. I chose to attend a school far from Enosburg, a place where nobody called me "Doctor Eppley's son."
我好不容易挨完高中，总算满了十八岁。第二年秋天我上了大学。我选中了一所远离伊诺斯堡的学校，一个没人管我叫"埃普利医生的儿子"的地方。close10RT One night at college I sat with a group of students in the dormitory as we shared stories about our lives. We began to talk about the things we hated most about our childhoods. "That's easy," I said. "I couldn't stand growing up in a town where everybody always compared me with my father."
在大学里，有天晚上我和一帮学生在宿舍聊起我们的生活。我们开始谈起我们童年最讨厌的事情。"想都不用想，"我说，"我受不了在一个每个人都拿我跟我父亲比的地方生活。"close11RT The girl sitting next to me frowned. "I don't understand," she said. "I'd be proud to have a father who's so well respected." Her eyes filled with tears as she continued, "I'd give anything to be called my father's child. But I don't know where he is. He left my mother when I was only four."
坐在我身边的女孩皱起眉头说："这我就不理解了。要是有这么个令人尊敬的父亲我一定会很骄傲的。"她的眼里噙着泪继续说，"要是有人把我叫做我父亲的孩子，那我会不惜一切地珍重这荣誉！但我不知道他在哪里。他抛弃了我的母亲,那时我才四岁。"close12RT There was an awkward silence, and then I changed the subject. I wasn't ready to hear her words.
大家陷入了尴尬的沉默，然后我转开了话题。她的话我当时还听不进去。close13RT I returned home for winter break that year, feeling proud of myself. In four months at college, I had made a number of new friends. I had become popular in my own right, without my father's help.
那年寒假我回了家，心中充满了自豪感。在大学的四个月中，我交了好些朋友。我没有靠父亲，而是靠自己的本事赢得了众人的欢心。close14RT For two weeks I enjoyed being back in Enosburg. The main topic of interest at home was my father's new car.
回到伊诺斯堡的两个星期里，我一直都很高兴。父亲的新车成了家里人感兴趣的话题。close15RT "Let me take it out for a drive," I said.
"让我开出去转转。"我说。close16RT My father agreed, but not without his usual warning, "Be careful."
父亲同意了，但跟往常一样提醒我，"小心点。"close17RT I glared at him. "Sam, I'm sick of being treated like a child. I'm in college now. Don't you think I know how to drive?"
我瞪了他一眼，"萨姆，我讨厌你老把我当成个孩子。我都上大学了。你以为我不会开车啊？"close18RT I could see the hurt in my father's face, and I remembered how much he hated it whenever I called him "Sam."
从父亲的脸上看得出我伤了他的心，也想起每次直呼"萨姆"时他是多么不高兴。close19RT "All right then," he replied.
"那去吧。"他说。close20RT I hopped into the car and headed down the road, savoring the beauty of the Vermont countryside. My mind was wandering. At a busy intersection, I hit the car right in front of mine before I knew it.
我跳进车里， 沿路开去， 享受着佛蒙特乡间的美丽风景。我有点心神不定。在一个繁忙的十字路口，不知怎么地就跟我前面的车撞了个正着。close21RT The woman in the car jumped out screaming: "You idiot! Why didn't you look where you were going?"
车里的妇人跳出来尖叫，"你这个白痴！你开车难道不看路吗？"close22RT I surveyed the damage. Both cars had sustained serious dents.
我看了一眼，两辆车都被撞瘪了。close23RT I sat there like a guilty child as the woman continued complaining. "It's your fault," she shouted. I couldn't protest. My knees began to shake. I choked back my tears.
我像个犯了错的孩子一样，坐在那儿听着那妇人不停地抱怨。"全怪你！"她尖叫道。我无法反驳，双腿发抖，泪水在眼眶里转。close24RT "Do you have insurance? Can you pay for this? Who are you?" she kept asking. "Who are you?"
"你有保险吗？你赔得起吗？你是谁？"她不停地问，"你是谁？"close25RT I panicked and, without thinking, shouted, "I'm Doctor Eppley's son."
我害怕起来， 想也没想就叫道， "我是埃普利医生的儿子。"close26RT I sat there stunned. I couldn't believe what I had just said. Almost immediately, the woman's frown became a smile of recognition. "I'm sorry," she replied, "I didn't realize who you were."
我坐在那里惊呆了。我简直不相信我自己会这么说。几乎同时， 妇人皱起的眉头变成了似曾相识的笑容。 "对不起。"她答道，"我刚才不知道你是谁。"close27RT An hour later, I drove my father's battered new car back home. With my head down and my knees still shaking, I trudged into the house. I explained what had happened.
一小时后，我开着被撞破了的车回了家。我低着头，迈着发颤的双腿， 拖着步子走进家门。 我解释了所发生的一切。close28RT "Are you hurt?" he asked.
"受伤了吗？"他问。close29RT "No," I replied.
"没有。"我回答。close30RT "Good," he answered. Then he turned and headed toward the door. "Harold," he said as he was leaving, "Hold your head up."
"那就好。"他答道，然后转身向门口走去。"哈罗德，抬起头来。"他边走边说。close31RT That night was New Year's Eve, and my family attended a small party with friends to celebrate the beginning of another year. When midnight arrived, people cheered and greeted each other. Across the room I saw my father. I stepped toward him. My father and I rarely hug. But recalling the day's events, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. And I spoke his real name for the first time in years. I said, "Thank you, Dad. Happy New Year."
那晚是除夕之夜，我们全家与朋友参加了一个小型晚会庆祝新年。午夜来临，每个人都欢呼并互相祝福。我看到父亲在房间的另一头，我向他走去。父亲与我很少拥抱，但我想起了白天的事，我用双臂搂着他的肩膀，很多年来第一次用他"真实的"名字来称呼他。我说，"谢谢你，爸爸。新年快乐！"
2
The Needs of Teenagers
This text is adapted from New Expressway English 4 by Colin W. Davis & Andrew J. Watts. FEP International. 1989.
close1RT While we're still children, most of us live at home with our parents more or less peacefully, but as we become teenagers, things change, and we all know the sort of difficulties we're likely to have. What's happening is that we're beginning to grow apart from our parents. We're a new generation that's almost ready to be independent, to leave the home where we grew up and make a new home of our own.
青少年的需求
小的时候，绝大多数人和父母住在一起大抵能相安无事。但进入青少年时代，一切就起了变化。我们大家也都知道大概会碰到一些什么困难：我们跟父母越来越疏远。我们是即将独立的新一代。我们即将离开我们长大成人的家庭，建立自己的小家庭。close2RT All human beings must grow up, but we don't all do it in the same way. Suppose, for instance, we belonged to a primitive tribe (部落). There, as we grew up, we'd learn the skills we needed as adults — how to hunt or fish, how to keep house and look after children. In our early teens, we'd be ready to marry and set up house near our family in the village we knew.
人人都要长大，但我们成长的方式各有不同。比如说，假如我们生长在一个原始部落里，我们就会在成长的过程中学会长大成人后所需具备的技能：如何狩猎捕鱼，如何持家和养育孩子。十几岁时就可以结婚并在我们父母家附近，我们熟知的村庄里建立家庭。close3RT We call this a primitive way of life but it's what human beings have adapted to through hundreds of thousands of years. And it's what we are still adapted to in the 21st century; for man hasn't changed much in the short time since he became civilized.
我们把这种生活称作原始的生活方式，但成千上万年来人们适应了这种方式。二十一世纪我们依然习惯这种生活方式。人在进入文明之后的短时间内实在是没有太大的变化呀！close4RT However, could we leave home and look after ourselves at puberty (发育期，青春期)? Most people in the so-called civilized countries wouldn't do very well. For, even if man hasn't changed, the society he lives in has changed enormously (巨大地), and we've more and more to learn before we're ready to leave our parents' shelter.
但是，进入青春期后我们就可以离家自立了吗？很多在所谓文明国家中的人并不见得能完全做到。因为即使人的变化不大，他赖以生存的这个社会却已经发生了很大的变化，我们在离开父母的庇护前要学会的东西也越来越多。close5RT Think what we've learnt by puberty. We've learnt to read and write. We've learnt to use figures, to use money to buy things we need. We've learnt to use such things as radios, cooking-stoves (烹饪用的炉子), buses, trains.
想一想我们到了青春期时学到了什么？我们学会了读书和写字。我们学会了使用数字计算，用钱买我们所需的东西。我们也学会了使用收音机、灶具，学会了搭乘公共汽车还有火车。close6RT All the same, at puberty we still don't know enough. We may be very nearly adult human beings, but we're certainly not adult members of society. We've still a lot to learn, and while we learn it, we still need shelter — so we usually live on in our parents' home.
不过，到了青春期我们所学到的东西仍然是远远不够的。我们也许接近成年，但我们显然还不是社会的成年成员。我们还有很多东西要学。当我们学习的时候，我们仍需要庇护所，所以我们一般还与父母同住。close7RT No wonder, then, there are difficulties. Physically, we become adults younger and younger. Socially, we become adults older and older. And the more ambitious we are about what we want to do in life, the more we must learn, and the longer we need support.
这样就理所当然地出现了问题。从身体发育的角度来看，我们成熟得越来越早，而从适应社会的角度来说，我们成熟得越来越晚。我们的人生抱负越大，我们要学得的就越多，我们依赖父母的时间就更长。close8RT No wonder teenagers feel frustrated, restless, rebellious.
怪不得青少年常感到沮丧和不安，常存有叛逆心理。close9RT Here is what a teenaged girl, Marjorie, said about this time in her life: "I suppose it all began in the usual way. My parents weren't any worse or any better than most parents. When I was about fourteen, my parents would let me go round to a girlfriend's house and get home late, or stay up to watch a midnight movie on television, but if I wanted to go to a dance or a party, they made me return home by ten o'clock.
一个名叫玛乔丽的少女是这样描述她自己这一人生阶段的："我想一开始一切还算正常。我的父母跟其他大多数的父母差不多。我十四岁左右时，我的父母会让我去女性朋友的家，晚回家或者熬夜看电视上的午夜节目。但如果我去舞会或晚会，他们规定我在十点前必须回家。"close10RT "I was scared of them being annoyed with me, so I used to try and be in on time, but sometimes things didn't always work out like that and if I was later than they said, they were furious. My mother would sit up with a furious expression on her face whatever time of the night it was and she'd terrify me so much that it wouldn't happen again for ages."
"我非常怕他们生我的气，所以我尽量准时回家，但有时做不到。假如我比他们规定的时间晚了，他们会很生气。不管几点妈妈都不上床睡觉，怒气冲冲地坐在那里。我实在怕死了，所以好久都不敢再很晚回家。"close11RT Most of Marjorie's girlfriends were going through the same sort of thing, but as she got older, things became worse. Her parents refused to give her the house-key and she had to wake them at whatever time she got home. Once, her father came to a dance and dragged her out while she was dancing.
玛乔丽的大多数朋友都有过类似的经历。但她长大些以后，情况变得更糟。她的父母不给她房门的钥匙，她什么时候回家都必须叫醒他们。有一次，她的父亲竟到一个舞会上，把正在跳舞的她拖了出来。close12RT "... My mother had such an unnaturally (违反常规的，反常的) tight rein (缰绳) on me. She was always very possessive and, whereas my girlfriends' parents treated them as friends, I was never allowed to think for myself. My mother would tell me when to have a bath, what to wear, when to wear it. She was over-protective (过于爱护备至的). When I started going out with Jim, she didn't trust me an inch. She wanted to know where we were going, when we were coming back and where she could get hold of me.
"…我妈妈对我的管束实在严得不行。她非常专制。我那些朋友的父母将儿女当朋友，而我的父母从来就不让我独立思考。我妈妈规定我什么时候洗澡，穿什么衣服以及什么时候穿。她对我过度保护。当我开始和吉姆约会的时候，她压根儿就对我没有一丁点儿的信任。她要知道我们去哪里，几时回来，在哪里可以找到我。"close13RT "The ironic (具有讽刺意味的) thing, of course, is that my friends' parents were more lenient (宽厚的，仁慈的), and yet it was me who ended up in trouble."
