Silent Love from a Quiet Dad　無言的父愛

Silent Love from a Quiet Dad　無言的父愛

◎ Adam

Many years ago, a baby boy came into this world. But unfortunately, he didn’t come with a cry, which was a big problem from the medical point of view. The doctor, tough and quick, turned the baby upside down and slapped his bottom sharply. The baby cried, and he survived. At that moment, the father yelled at the doctor, “Why did you hit my baby?” He did not realize that the doctor had saved the baby’s life. The baby cried and cried, and the father smiled and silently cried as well. He held the baby in his arms and did not allow the doctor to touch the baby anymore.

很多年前，一個男嬰來到了這個世界。但遺憾的是，他沒有“呱呱落地”，從醫(yī)學角度來說，這是一個很大的問題！好在醫(yī)生當時反應(yīng)很快，也很強悍，一下子把男嬰倒提起來，對著屁股一陣狂打。男嬰終于哭了，脫離了生命危險。在那一刻，父親對著醫(yī)生吼道：“你為什么打我的孩子?。?rdquo;他并沒有意識到醫(yī)生救了這孩子的命。男嬰不停地哭著鬧著，這位父親面帶微笑，默默地流著幸福的眼淚。他把嬰兒緊緊地抱在懷里，再也沒有讓醫(yī)生碰一下。

Contest chair, ladies and gentlemen, that baby was me, and that man was my dad. Whenever my mom told people this story, I would always laugh aloud, and my dad would just shake his head and smile quietly.

大會主持人，女士們先生們，那個嬰兒就是我，那個男人就是我老爸。每當媽媽告訴別人這個故事時，我總會放聲大笑，而老爸則一邊搖頭一邊默默地微笑。

Dad never tried to hug or kiss me when I was a child. And of course, he never said “I love you” to me, either. Maybe it’s a Chinese cultural thing, or maybe that’s the way my dad was. But whenever I felt defeated, sad or lonely, dad was always there. Dad was a man of few words, but I always liked to talk to him, and I could always feel a very special connection to him.

在我很小的時候，老爸從來不抱我，也從來不親吻我。當然，他也從來不說“我愛你”這三個字。也許這是中國文化的問題，也許老爸就是這種人。但每當我受挫，傷心或孤獨無助時，老爸總會在那里。他話不多，但我總喜歡有什么話都對他說，我總能感到和他之間那種無法言喻的特殊關(guān)系。

As I got older, I had a huge crush on a girl. She was tall and beautiful, with long hair. One day, I walked up to her and blurted out, “You are so beautiful baby. I love you so much. Please be my wife!” She was afraid and ran away with tears in her eyes. She told my teacher, and my teacher was so angry that she made me stay after school, and called my dad to take me home. My first love was over, and that year I was 7 years old.

等大一些的時候，我瘋狂地愛上了一個女孩子。她又高又漂亮，還有一頭長發(fā)。有一天，我終于忍不住了，走到她面前脫口而出：“親愛的，你太漂亮了！我太愛你了！請你做我老婆吧！”沒想到她被嚇壞了，抹著眼淚跑開了，然后就告訴了老師。老師很生氣，放學后沒讓我回家，并給老爸打電話，讓他過來領(lǐng)人。我的初戀就這樣夭折了，那年我7歲。

On the way home, dad was very quiet. It seemed that nothing had happened. Finally I broke the silence and asked him, “Daddy, did I do something wrong?” Dad paused for a while as he always did and said quietly, “Son, you did nothing wrong, except that it’s too early for you to pursuegirls.” “Daddy, do you think I could marry a tall and beautiful girl with long hair when I grow up?” I asked. Dad gave me one of his rare laughs and said, “Of course you could. You are so handsome! Just like your handsome father.” For the first time, I realized that dad had a sense of humor, although he was always quiet.

回家的路上，老爸非常沉默，好像什么事都沒發(fā)生。最后我打破了沉默，問道：“爸爸，我做錯什么了嗎？”和往常一樣，老爸沉默了一下，平靜地說道：“兒子，你沒做錯什么，只是你這個年齡追女孩子還太早。”“爸爸，你覺得我長大了以后，能娶一個又高又漂亮，頭發(fā)很長的老婆嗎？”我又問道。老爸聽了，難得地大笑了一下，說：“當然能了！你那么帥！跟你老爸一樣帥！”我第一次感覺到，老爸雖然話不多，但還是有幽默感的。

When I was in high school, dad retired and set up a food stand on the street near my school. Dad was very good at making fried noodles, and a lot of people liked his noodles. Every day when I finished school, my classmates and I would pass his food stand. But I really hated talking to dad in front of his food stand, because I did not want my classmates to know that my dad was selling noodles on the street!

等我上高中的時候，老爸退休了，在離我學校不遠的街邊擺起了面攤兒。老爸很擅長做炒面，當時很多人都很喜歡他做的面。每天放學回家，我和同學們都要路過老爸的面攤。但那時候，我真的不喜歡站在小吃攤前和他說話，因為我不想讓同學們知道我有一個在大街上擺攤賣面條的老爸。

One night, I couldn’t stand it any more and shouted, “Dad, could you stop selling your stupid noodles? I don’t need a father who sells noodles on the street!” At that moment, dad was shocked. He tried to say something but didn’t. When he turned his head away, something happened that I had never seen and would never forget for the rest of my life. His eyes were filled with tears and sadness. It was the first time that I saw dad crying. My mom later told me that dad was selling noodles to save money for my college education. I was such an idiot, and even today I still feel guilty for that night.

一天晚上，我再也忍不住了，朝老爸吼道：“爸爸，你能不能不再去賣面條？我不需要一個在大街上賣面條的父親！”在那一刻，老爸驚呆了。他想要說點什么，但最終沒有說。當他扭過頭的時候，發(fā)生了一件事，我還從來沒有見過這樣的狀況，我想我一輩子也不會忘記。他的眼里充滿了淚水和哀傷。這是我第一次看到老爸流淚。后來媽媽告訴我，老爸擺攤賣面條是在為我上大學攢學費。我簡直是個白癡！即使今天，我仍然為那天晚上的所作所為而感到內(nèi)疚。

Time really flies. I finished college and then left my home city. For the past ten years, whenever I’ve visited home, dad was always there meeting me and seeing me off quietly at the railway station. Whenever he saw me off, he never tried to hug me or touch me, although I always expected a father’s hug. When I was away from home, dad never wrote or called me, but he always pushed my mom to call me. Whenever mom was calling me, dad would sit beside her with a list of questions. He would instruct mom to talk to me for him. That’s the way dad is, and that’s how dad shows his love to me.

時間飛逝。大學畢業(yè)后我就離開了我的家鄉(xiāng)。在過去的十年中，每當我回老家，老爸總會默默地在火車站接我然后再送我。每當他在車站送我時，他從來不會擁抱我，也從來不會碰我一下，雖然我總是期待他能抱我一下。當我遠在他鄉(xiāng)時，老爸從來不寫信給我，也從來不給我打電話。但他總是會催媽媽給我打電話。每當媽媽給我打電話時，老爸就會坐在她身邊，準備好一系列問題，然后讓媽媽幫他傳話。老爸就是這樣的，這就是他表達愛的方式。

I was married three years ago. Dad was very happy for me. And now he likes to tell people that his daughter-in-law is tall and beautiful, with long hair.

三年前我結(jié)婚了，老爸很為我感到高興。現(xiàn)在他喜歡告訴別人，他的兒媳婦又高又漂亮，還留著一頭長發(fā)。

Dad is still quiet, but I still feel a connection. Ladies and gentlemen, when a connection is deep and powerful, it lives in a place far beyond words, and it becomes something special—“a silent father’s love”.

老爸還是話不多，但我仍能感到和他之間的那種特殊的密切關(guān)系。女士們，先生們，當這種關(guān)系變得如此深厚，如此強烈時，它會根植于某處，再也無法用語言表達；它會變成一種特殊的情感——“無言的父愛”。

“A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.”

“父親總是把他的女兒塑造成一個小女人。當她成了一個真正的女人時，他又不斷地指引她前進。”

—Enid Bagnold

——巴格諾爾德

“It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all.”

“我不厭其煩地不斷尋找父親的影子。最后，我終于深深地享受并懂得了他的用心良苦。”

—Alice Walker

——愛麗斯·沃克

“None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of such a father who has not his equal in this world—so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don’t be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal.”—Victoria, Queen of England

“你可能從來沒有因為世界上有這樣一位偉大的、完美的父親而自豪。努力吧，跟隨他的腳步，不要氣餒，因為你們都還沒有達到像他那樣的程度。我相信，將來你們會的，至少某一方面有點像他，而且你可以完全做到。” ——英格蘭王后維多利亞

“That is the thankless position of the father in the family—the provider for all, and the enemy of all.”

“父親在家里是個吃力不討好的角色——既要養(yǎng)活全家，又受全家敵視。”

—J. August Strindberg

——斯特林堡

“It is a wise father that knows his own child.”

“聰明的父親都應(yīng)該了解他們自己的孩子。”

—William Shakespeare

——威廉·莎士比亞

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” —Anne Sexton

“父親是什么樣的人并不重要，重要的是我心目中的父親是什么樣的人。” ——安妮·塞克斯頓

“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”

“一個父親比一百個校長還頂用。”

—English Proverb

——英國諺語

“To be a successful father... there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” —Ernest Hemingway

“作為一個成功的父親……有一個絕對遵守的原則：當你有了小孩的時候，在頭兩年里不要給他們太大的壓力。” ——海明威

“A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.”

“我們知道，當一個人慢慢長大成人的時候，他們開始慢慢變得像他的父親。”

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”

“我想象不出還有什么比父親的保護讓一個孩子渴求得更強烈。 ”

—Sigmund Freud

——弗洛伊德

“I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example.”

“我看到一個小個子的男人，用他長滿老繭的雙手，每天工作十五六個小時。我曾經(jīng)看到，紅紅的鮮血從他的腳底下流出來。這個男人來到這里，沒有受過教育，孤零零一個人，不懂當?shù)卣Z言。就是這個男人，單單以他的言行，教會了我需知道的一切，關(guān)于堅強的信念，關(guān)于辛苦勞作。”

—Mario Cuomo

——馬里奧·庫莫

“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.” —Bill Cosby

“如果一個美國新爸爸感到有所困惑，甚至是被擊敗，那么，讓他欣慰的是，他所做的任何孕育下一代的努力，有50％的概率是正確的。”——比爾·考斯比

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!” —Lydia M. Child

“幸福，事實上就是一個男人聽到許多溫柔的聲音叫他爸爸！” ——莉迪亞

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂