Father's Eyes　父親的雙眸

Father's Eyes　父親的雙眸

◎ Leow Wee Kang

Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.

鮑勃·理查茲，前撐桿跳世界冠軍隊成員，一個極其瘦弱但非常熱愛橄欖球的男孩，有一個非常感人的故事。

Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played. This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.

每次球隊訓練，他都全身心地投入。但由于他的身材不及其他孩子的一半，幾乎沒有上場的機會。所有比賽他都滿懷希望地坐在板凳上，卻從來沒有上過場。這個十幾歲的少年和父親住在一起，他們倆之間有一種特殊的關系。

Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always standing with cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.

即使兒子總是坐在板凳上，他的父親也總會在看臺上為他歡呼。他從沒錯過一場比賽。當升入高中時，這個年輕人仍然是班里最小的。他的父親一如既往地鼓勵他，同時也對他說明，如果男孩不想再踢球，他不會強迫他。但這個男孩非常喜歡踢球，并決定堅持到底。他決心每次訓練都要盡全力，也許等成為老隊員時，他就會有機會上場。

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

整個高中四年，他沒有錯過一堂訓練課，也沒錯過一場比賽，但一直都是“冷板凳”球員。他善良的父親總是站在看臺上，鼓勵著他。

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”. Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

當這個年輕人升入大學時，他決定嘗試加入足球隊成為一名“替補隊員”。所有的人都認為他做不到，但他做到了。教練同意把他留在比賽名單中，因為在每一次訓練中，他總是全身心地投入，把全部心靈和靈魂都投入進去，這是其他球員很難做到的。

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.

當聽說他沒有被球隊裁掉的消息時他激動萬分，飛奔到最近的電話亭把這個消息告訴了父親。父親和他一同分享著喜悅，并收到了整個賽季的所有門票。在大學四年，盡管從未上過場，但這個堅持不懈的年輕運動員沒有錯過一次訓練。

It was the end of his last football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.

在賽季末，最后一場季后賽前的訓練課，當他急匆匆跑進訓練場準備參加訓練時，教練給了他一張電報。這個年輕人讀著電報，陷入了死一般的沉默。

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”

忍受著巨大的悲痛，他咕嚕著對教練說：“今天早晨我父親去世了。今天我可以不參加訓練嗎？”教練輕撫他的肩膀，說：“孩子，接下來的一周你都可以不用來了。甚至可以不用回來參加周六的比賽。”

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon. “Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today.” said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted the worst player in this close playoff game.

周六到了，比賽進展得非常不順。在第三節(jié)，當球隊落后10分時，一個安靜的年輕人悄悄溜進空蕩蕩的更衣室里，換上了比賽裝備。當他回到場邊時，教練和球員都為這個忠實的同伴這么快回來而驚訝萬分。“教練，讓我上場吧，今天我一切都準備好了。”年輕人說。教練假裝沒聽見，因為他沒有任何理由讓這個最差的球員參加賽季的收官之戰(zhàn)。

But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right.” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked like a star.

但這個年輕人仍然堅持要上場，最后教練也覺得對不住這個孩子，作出了讓步。“好吧。”他說，“你可以上場了。”沒多長時間，教練、隊員以及所有的觀眾都不敢相信自己的眼睛。這個默默無聞的小球員，雖然在此之前從未參加過比賽，卻把一切都做得非常完美。對方球員根本阻擋不了他，他跑動、傳球、阻擊都像一個球星。

His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard.

他的球隊開始反擊得分，比分很快就被扳平了。在比賽的最后幾秒，他截斷對方傳球，并長途奔襲觸地得分，取得了勝利。球迷懸著的心落地了。隊友們把他扛在肩膀上。場地中一片前所未有的熱烈歡呼聲。

He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”

他看著教練，眼里飽含著淚水，說：“你知道我父親去世了，但你知道我的父親是個盲人嗎？”這個年輕人忍著悲傷，迫使自己微笑著說：“爸爸每場比賽都來看，但今天是他第一次能看到我真正上場比賽，我也想用我的行動向他證明，我可以做到！”

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂