第2章 金秋时节

第一篇 Things about Love

爱的两三事

Altogether Autumn

佚名 / Anonymous

Suddenly I think of my youngest daughter， living now in Amsterdam. Very soon she will call and ask， “Have you planted the bulbs yet？” Then I will answer teasingly that actually I’m waiting until she comes to help me. And then we will both be overcome by nostalgia， because once we always did that together. One entire sunny autumn afternoon， when she was just over three and a half years old， she helped me with all the enthusiasm and joyfulness of her age.

It was one of the last afternoons I had her around because her place in school had already been reserved. She wandered around so happily carefree with her little bucket and spade， covering the bulbs with earth and calling out “Night night” or “Sleep tight”， her little voice chattering constantly on. She discovered “baby bulbs” and “kiddie bulbs” and “mummy and daddy bulbs”—the latter snuggling cozily together. While we were both working so industriously， I watched my child very deliberately. She was such a tiny thing， between an infant and a toddler， with such a round little tummy.

Every autumn， throughout her childhood， we repeated the ritual of planting the bulbs together. And every autumn I saw her changing； the toddler became a schoolgirl， a straightforward realist， full of drive. Never once dreamy， her hands in her pockets； no longer happily indulging her fantasies. The schoolgirl developed long legs， her jawline changed， she had her hair cut. It was autumn again and I thought “Bye roses； bye butterflies； bye schoolgirl.” I listened to her stories while we painstakingly burrowed in the earth， planting the promise of spring.

Suddenly， much quicker than I had expected， a tall teenager was standing by my side； she had grown taller than I. The ritual became rather silent， we no longer chattered away from one subject to another. I thought about her room full of posters and knick-knacks， how it had been full of treasures in bottles and boxes， white pebbles， a copper brooch， colored drawings， the treasures of a child who still knew nothing of money， who wanted to be read aloud to and who looked anxiously at a spider in her room and asked， “Would he want to be my friend？”

Then came the autumn when I planted the bulbs alone， and knew that from then on it would always be that way. But every year， in autumn， she talks about it. Full of nostalgia for the security of childhood， the seclusion of a garden， the final moments of a season. How both of us would dearly love to have a time machine. To go back. Just for a day.

我突然想起了自己的小女儿，现在她在阿姆斯特丹生活。她一会儿就会打电话过来问，“你种上洋葱了吗？”然后，我就会跟她开玩笑说，事实上，我正等她回来帮我呢。这样，我俩便双双陷入回忆之中，因为，我们曾经总在整个金秋时节的午后，一起种洋葱，当她还只有三岁半时，就满怀孩童的热情和欢欣来帮我了。

那天午后，她最后一次陪在我身边，因为她已经准备上学了。她拿着小桶和铁锨无忧无虑、满心欢喜地走来走去，用土盖洋葱时喊着：“晚安”或者“睡觉觉”，稚嫩的声音叽叽喳喳地说个不停。她发现了“洋葱宝宝”、“小洋葱”和“洋葱爸妈”——后者总是偎依在一起。当我们非常卖力地干活时，我刻意去观察自己的孩子，她如此娇小，刚学会走路，挺着一个小圆肚子晃晃悠悠的。

每年秋天我们都会一起种洋葱，在她的童年中无一例外。我每年秋天都能看到她的变化，从蹒跚学步的孩童变成一个女学生，坦率而现实，活力四射。她从不两手插兜地展开幻想，也不再满心欢喜地纵容自己沉湎于幻想。女学生双腿修长了，下巴的线条也改变了，她还剪短了头发。又一个金秋时节，我想，“再见了，玫瑰；再见了，蝴蝶；再见了，女学生。”我一边听她讲故事，一边用力挖土，播种春天的希望。

突然之间，这比我想象的要快很多，我的身边站着一位高挑的少女，她已经长得比我还高了。以往见面的仪式被沉默所取代，我们不再海阔天空地交谈。我想起她的房间满是海报和小装饰品；装满白色卵石、一枚铜制胸针、彩色图画等“宝物”的瓶子，在对钱财一无所知的孩子们看来，这些如此珍贵；她还曾想让大人大声给她念故事书，曾焦急地看着自己房间的蜘蛛问：“它想跟我做朋友吗？”

终于，那个秋天到了，我必须独自栽种洋葱了，我知道从那时起，将不会再有人陪我。但是每年秋季，女儿都会说起种洋葱，言语中流露出怀旧之情，怀念无邪的童年、仙境般的花园以及夏季的最后时光。我们都如此深深地渴望拥有一部时光机器，回到过去，即使仅有一天时间。

记忆填空

1. It was one of the afternoons I had her around because her in school had already reserved. She wandered around so happily carefree with her little bucket and spade， covering the bulbs with and calling out“Night night”or“Sleep tight”， her little voice chattering constantly .

2. Never once ， her hands in her pockets； no longer happily indulging her fantasies. The schoolgirl developed long ， her jawline changed， she had her hair . It was autumn again and I thought“ roses； bye butterflies； bye schoolgirl.”

佳句翻译

1. 那天午后，她最后一次陪在我身边，因为她已经准备上学了。

2. 我一边听她讲故事，一边用力挖土，播种春天的希望。

3. 我们都如此深深地渴望拥有一部时光机器，回到过去，即使仅有一天时间。

短语应用

1. Suddenly I think of my youngest daughter， living now in Amsterdam.

think of：记起，想起；考虑；想象；关心

2. The ritual became rather silent， we no longer chattered away from one subject to another.

no longer：不再