https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/0007/7579/聊一聊林語堂在哈佛大學(xué)上學(xué)的經(jīng)歷.mp3
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今天的這段對(duì)話,在討論林語堂,
聊一聊林語堂在哈佛大學(xué)上學(xué)的經(jīng)歷
來聽今天的講解:
A: Oh, it’s you, John, you just freaked me out.
哦,是你呀,約翰,嚇壞我了。
B: Sorry. Are you reading a thriller?
對(duì)不起,你在看驚險(xiǎn)小說嗎?
A: No, I never read or watch a thriller. I’m chicken hearted. I’ll be scared to death.
不是,我從來不看驚險(xiǎn)小說。我膽子很小,會(huì)被嚇?biāo)赖摹?br />
B: Why were you so frightened? What are you reading?
那你為什么嚇一跳呀?你在看什么?
A: Moment in Peking.
《京華煙云》。
B: I’ve never heard of it.
我從來沒聽說過。
A: It’s no surprise that you don’t know, The novel mainly tells a story of a family which went through the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938. But you may have heard about the author, Lin Yutang.
這不奇怪。這本小說主要說的是1900 ~ 1938年一個(gè)中國(guó)家庭經(jīng)歷的動(dòng)亂。但是你可能聽說過這本書的作者,林語堂。
B: I’m afraid I don’t know him.
恐怕我不知道。
A: He’s a famous Chinese writer. I thought you knew him because he was in a sense Harvard alumnus.
他是著名的中國(guó)作家。我以為你知道他,因?yàn)樵谀撤N意義上他是哈佛畢業(yè)的。
B: Han,I’m not Mr. Know-It-All, but I’d like to learn and know as much as possible. Tell me something about him.
韓,我不是萬能先生。但我喜歡學(xué)習(xí)更多的東西。跟我說說他的事。
A: I guess perhaps you’re most interested in his life at Harvard.
我猜你對(duì)他在哈佛的生活更感興趣。
B: Yes. You can read my mind now.
是的。你都知道我在想什么。
A: Lin had many ups and downs in his life. He met with many challenges and obstacles. His life at Harvard was no exception.
林語堂的一生經(jīng)歷了很多起伏,遇到了很多挑戰(zhàn)和障礙。在哈佛的生活也不例外。
B: I like this kind of people. Usually they are men of backbone.
我喜歡這種人。通常他們更有毅力和骨氣。
A: He only received a half-scholarship. Worse still,even the half-scholarship was cancelled one year later.
他只獲得一半的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。更糟的是,一年后就連半數(shù)獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金也被取消了。
B: Why? Didn’t he deserve the scholarship?
為什么?他不應(yīng)該得嗎?
A: On the contrary, he got all A’s. No one knows why. Anyway, he became even poorer. He said he even had no money to buy a ticket for the Games.
相反,他的成績(jī)?nèi)渴茿。沒人知道為什么。不管怎樣,他變得更窮了。他說甚至沒有錢買票去看哈佛一耶魯橄欖球賽。
B: That poor? What did he do in his spare time?
那么窮?他業(yè)余時(shí)間做什么?
A: He loved reading. For him, Harvard was Widener Library and Widener Library was Harvard. When he was in the Library, he felt he was like a monkey in a jungle.
他喜愛讀書。對(duì)他來說,哈佛是威德納圖書館,威德納圖書館就是哈佛。當(dāng)他在圖書館的時(shí)候,感覺就像是一只在叢林里的猴子。
B: Why?
為什么?
A: A monkey in a jungle is free to search for any nuts and fruits. The jungle offers the monkey a feast of nuts and fruits.
叢林里的猴子可以免費(fèi)獲得任何堅(jiān)果和水果。叢材給猴子提供豐富的堅(jiān)果和水果。
B: Oh, I see. When he was in the Library, he could find any book he’d like to read. The Library was just like the jungle and offered him a feast of books.
哦,我明白了。當(dāng)他在圖書館的時(shí)候,能夠找到任何他想要的書。圖書館就像叢林,給他提供豐富的書籍。
A: You’re smart. He indulged himself in reading in the Library. As long as there,s no class,he would go to the Library. Even when his wife was having an operation, he was studying Anglo-Saxon grammar.
你太聰明了。他沉浸在圖書館里讀書。只要一沒有課,他就會(huì)去圖書館。甚至他妻子做手術(shù)時(shí),他還在研究盤格魯撒克遜語法。
B: That’s a little impersonal.
那有點(diǎn)沒有人情味了。
A: He thought appendectomy was not a big operation. It only turned out that his wife was subjected to infection. She needed another operation.
他覺得闌尾切除術(shù)只是一個(gè)小手術(shù)。結(jié)果是他的妻子受到了感染,需要再次手術(shù)。
B: Disaster comes one after another in succession. That’s adding insult to injury.
災(zāi)難總是接二連三發(fā)生。真是雪上加霜呀。
A: So, they only had one tin of oatmeal for a week.
所以,他們一周只靠一罐燕麥粥維持生活。
B:If I were him, I would go back to China.
如果我是他的話,我會(huì)回中國(guó)去。
A: Life is hard. Sometimes, we have to bow down to others. Lin borrowed some money from his brother-in-law.
生活是艱難的。有時(shí)我們必須向他人所低頭。林語堂向他的姐夫借了些錢。
B: Did they feel ashamed?
他們覺得羞愧嗎?
A: No, at least his wife believed that he showed the utmost fortitude to go through such a difficult period.
沒有,至少他妻子認(rèn)為他表現(xiàn)出了最大的毅力來渡過這個(gè)難關(guān)。
B: Was this amount of money enough to sustain life?
他借的錢能維持生活嗎?
A: No. So he had to leave Harvard early and go to France and Germany where the cost of living was not so high.
不能。所以他不得不提前離開哈佛去了法國(guó)和德國(guó),那里生活成本沒有那么高。
B: Sometimes life is really hard for an oversea student. Han, if you have any problem, you can turn to me. You can count on me.
有時(shí)對(duì)海外學(xué)生來說生活確實(shí)很艱難。韓,如果你有任何困難就踉我說。你可以信得過我。
A: Oh, John,thank you. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend. You’ve helped me a lot.
哦,約翰,謝謝你。有你這樣的朋友很幸運(yùn)。你已經(jīng)幫了我很多了。