It was June 15,
and in two days I would be turning thirty.
那天是6月15日,
再過兩天我就要30歲了。
I was insecure about entering a new decade
of my life and feared
that my best years were now behind me.
要進入生命中又一個新的十年,
我對此感到忐忑不安,
擔心自己最美好的歲月已經(jīng)離我遠去了。
My daily routine included going to the gym
for a workout beforegoing to work.
我每日上班前都去體育館鍛煉一陣。
Every morning
I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym.
He was seventy-nine years old
andin terrific shape.
每天早上
我都會在體育館見到我的朋友尼古拉斯。
他79歲,身材棒極了。
As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day,
he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality
and asked if there was anything wrong.
那天我跟他打招呼時,
他注意到我不象往常那樣充滿活力,
便問我有什么不對勁。
I told him
I was feeling anxious about turning thirty.
我告訴他自己就要30歲了,
心里很擔憂。
I wondered
how I would look back on my life once
I reached Nicholas's age,
so I asked him,
What was the best time of your life?
不知道我要是到了尼古拉斯的歲數(shù)
會怎么回顧自己的一生,
于是我問他:
你一生中最美好的時光是在什么時候?
Without hesitation,
Nicholas replied,
Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer
to your philosophical question.
尼古拉斯毫不遲疑地答道:好吧,喬,
以下就是我對于
你那富有哲理的問題所作出的
富有哲理的回答。
When I was a child in Austria
and everything was taken care of for me
and I was nurtured by my parents,
that was the best time of my life.
小時候我在奧地利,
一切都被照顧得好好的,
我在父母的撫育下成長,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
When I was going to school
and learning the things I know today,
that was the best time of my life.
上學的時候
我學著至今都不忘記的知識,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
When I got my first job
and had responsibilities
and got paid for my efforts,
that was the best time of my life.
當我找到第一份工作,
承擔了工作中的職責
并且為自己的努力獲得報酬時,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
When I met my wife and fell in love,
that was the best time of my life.
當我遇到我的妻子并墜入愛河時,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
The Second World War came,
and my wife and I had to flee Austria
to save our lives.
二次大戰(zhàn)來臨,
妻子和我為活命不得不逃離奧地利。
When we were together
and safe on a ship bound for North America,
that was the best time of my life.
當我們一起安安全全地坐上駛往北美洲的輪船時,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
When we came to Canada
and started a family,
that was the best time of my life.
當我們來到加拿大建立了家庭時,
那是一生中最美好的時光。
When I was a young father,
watching my children grow up,
that was the best time of my life.
當我成了一位年輕的父親,
看著自己的孩子一點點地長大時,
那是我一生中最美好的時光。
And now, Joe,
I am seventy-nine years old.
I have my health,
I feel good and I am in love with my wife
just as I was when we first met.
而現(xiàn)在,喬,
我79歲了。
我身體健康,感覺很好,
而且還和初次相遇時一樣愛我的妻子。
This is the best time of my life.
這是我一生中最美好的時光。
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