雙語 ● 父親、兒子與答案 A Father, a Son and an Answer
■ 父親、兒子與答案 A Father, a Son and an Answer
◎ Bob Greene
Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile[44] and impersonal, the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.
一天早晨，在去亞特蘭大機(jī)場時(shí)，我看見一輛列車載著旅客從航空集散站抵達(dá)登記處。這類免費(fèi)列車每天單調(diào)無味地往返其間，沒人覺得有趣。但在這個(gè)周六，我聽到了笑聲。
At the front of the first car—looking out the window at the track that lay ahead—were a man and his son.
頭節(jié)車廂的最前面，坐著一個(gè)男人和他的兒子。他們正透過窗戶觀賞著一直往前延伸的鐵道。
We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer[45] delight.
我們停下來等候旅客下車。之后，車門再次關(guān)閉。“我們走吧。拉緊我！”父親說。那個(gè)男孩大約5歲模樣，一路上都喜不自禁。
I know we’re supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations—and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.
車上坐的多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有這對黑人父子穿著樸素簡單。我知道如今我們不該種族歧視，所以我希望我這樣描述沒人會介意。
“Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.
“快看！”父親對兒子說，“看見那位飛行員了嗎？我敢肯定是去開飛機(jī)的?！眱鹤由扉L脖子看。
As I got off, I remembered some thing I’d wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided to go back.
下車后，我突然想起一些事：我還得在航空集散站買點(diǎn)東西。離起飛時(shí)間還早，于是我決定再乘車回去。
I did—and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn’t been heading for a flight, but had just bee riding the shuttle.
正準(zhǔn)備上車的時(shí)候，我看到那對父子也來了。我意識到他們不是來乘飛機(jī)的，而是特意來坐區(qū)間列車的。
“I want to ride some more!”
“我還想再坐一會兒！”
“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. “You’re not tired?”
“再坐一會兒！”父親嗔怪地模仿著兒子的語調(diào)，“你還不累？”
“This is fun!” his son said.
“這太好玩了！”兒子說。
“All right.” the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.
“好吧?！备赣H回答說。車門開了，我們都上了車。
There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten[46] . There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.
很多父母有能力送孩子去歐洲、去迪斯尼樂園，可他們還是墮落了。很多父母住豪華別墅，孩子有車、有游泳池，可他們還是學(xué)壞了。富人和窮人，黑人和白人，那么多人都輕易學(xué)壞了。
“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.
“爸爸，這些人去哪兒？”兒子問。
“All over the world.” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.
“世界各地?！备赣H回答。機(jī)場來來往往的人流，或準(zhǔn)備遠(yuǎn)行，或剛剛歸來。這對父子卻在乘坐區(qū)間列車，享受著父子間的親情與陪伴，分享著彼此的興奮。
So many troubles in this country—crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile obscenities in public, the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.
我們正面臨各種各樣的問題：犯罪，越來越多的年輕人變得冷漠無情，教育水平下降，公共場合卑劣淫穢上升，起碼的禮貌喪失等。我們有那么多的問題要處理。而在這里，這位父親卻很在意花上一天陪伴兒子，并在這樣一個(gè)星期六的早上，想出這個(gè)計(jì)劃。
The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.
其實(shí)，答案很簡單：父母愿意花時(shí)間，愿意關(guān)注，愿意盡心盡職。這不用花一分錢，卻是世間的無價(jià)之寶。
The train picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again, and the answer is so simple.
火車加速了。父親指著窗外說著什么，兒子又笑了。是的，答案就是這么簡單。
