Unit4AmericanDream课文翻译.docx

1、Unit4AmericanDream课文翻译Unit-4-American-Dream课文翻译LTdriveway, behind my garage. He was about five-foot-seven or eight, and thin.他来自意大利罗马以南某地个满地石子的农庄。他什么时候怎么到美国的，我不清楚。不过，有天晚上，我看到他站在我家车库后面的车道上。他身高五英尺七、八左右，人很瘦。2“I mow your lawn,” he said.It. was hard to comprehend his broken English.“我割你的草坪，”他说。他那结结巴巴的英语很

2、难听懂。3I asked him his name. “Tony Trivisonno,” he replied. “I mow your lawn.” I told Tony that I couldnt afford a gardener.我问他叫什么名字。“托尼特里韦索诺，”他回答说。“我割你的草坪。”我对托尼讲，本人雇不起园丁。4“I mow your lawn,” he said again, then walked away. I went into my house unhappy. Yes, these Depression days were difficult, but h

3、ow could I turn away a person who had come to me for help?“我割你的草坪，”他又说道，随后便走开了。我走进屋子，心里有点不快。没错，眼下这大萧条的日子是不好过，可我怎么能把一个上门求助的人就这么打发走呢 ?5When I got home from work the next evening, the lawn had been mowed, the garden weeded, and the walks swept. I asked my wife what had happened.等我第二天晚上下班回到家，草坪已修整过了，花园除

4、了草，人行道也清扫过了。我便问太太是怎么回事。6“A man got the lawn mower out of the garage and worked on the yard,” she answered. “I assumed you had hired him.”.“有个人把割草机从汽车库里推出来就在院子里忙活起来，”她回答说。“我还以为是你雇他来的。”7I told her of my experience the night before. We thought it strange that he had not asked for pay.我就把前晚的事跟她说了。我俩都觉得奇

5、怪，他怎么没提出要工钱。8The next two days were busy, and I forgot about Tony. We were trying to rebuild our business and bring some of our workers back to the plants. But on Friday, returning home a little early, I saw Tony again, behind the garage. I complimented him on the work he had done.接下来的两天挺忙，我把托尼的事给忘了

6、。我们在尽力重整业务，要让一部分工人回厂里来。但在星期五，回家略微早了些，我又在汽车库后面看到了托尼。我对他干的活夸奖了几句。9“I mow your lawn,” he said.“我割你的草坪，”他说。10I managed to work out some kind of small weekly pay, and each day Tony cleaned up the yard and took care of any little tasks. My wife said he was very helpful whenever there were any heavy object

7、s to lift or things to fix.我设法凑了一小笔微薄的周薪，就这样托尼每天清扫院子，有什么零活，他都干了。我太太说，但凡有重物要搬或有什么要修理的，他挺派得上用场。11Summer passed into fall, and winds blew cold. “Mr. Craw, snow pretty soon, Tony told me one evening. “When winter come, you give me job clearing snow at the factory.”夏去秋来，凉风阵阵。“克罗先生，快下雪了，”有天晚上托尼跟我说。“等冬天到了，

8、你让我在厂里干扫雪的活。”12Well, what do you do with such determination and hope? Of course, Tony got his job at the factory.啊，对这种执着与期盼，你又能怎样呢 ? 自然，托尼得到了厂里的那份活儿。13The months passed. I asked the personnel department for a report. They said Tony was a very good worker.几个月过去了。我让人事部门送上一份报告。他们说托尼干得挺棒。14One day I fou

9、nd Tony at our meeting place behind the garage. “I want to be prentice,” he said.一天我在汽车库后面我们以前见面的地方看到了托尼。“我想学徒，”他说。15We had a pretty good apprentice school that trained laborers. But I doubted whether Tony had the capacity to read blueprints and micrometers or do precision work. Still, how could I t

10、urn him down?我们有个挺不错的培训工人的徒工学校。可我怀疑托尼是否有能力学会看图纸、用千分尺，是否胜任做精密加工工作。尽管如此，可我怎么能拒绝他呢 ?16Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice. Months later, I got a report that he had graduated as a skilled grinder. He had learned to read the millionths of an inch on the micrometer and to shape the grinding whe

11、el with an instrument set with a diamond.My wife and I were delighted with what we felt was a satisfying end of the story. 托尼减了薪水当了徒工。几个月之后，我收到报告，他已从徒工学校毕业，成了熟练磨工。他学会了在千分尺上辨识一百万分之一英寸，会用镶嵌着金刚石的工具制作砂轮。我和太太都挺高兴，觉得他的事总算有了个令人满意的结局。17A year or two passed, and again I found Tony in his usual waiting place.

12、 We talked about his work, and I asked him what he wanted.两年过去了，我在托尼惯常等我的地方又看到了他。我们聊起了他的工作，接着我问他有什么要求。18“Mr. Craw,” he said, “I like a buy a house.” On the edge of town, he had found a house for sale, a complete wreck.“ 克罗先生，”他说，“我想买房。”在小镇边上，他看到有房出售，完全是幢破房。19I called on a banker friend. “Do you ever

13、 loan money on character?” I asked. No,” he said. “We cant afford to. No sale.”我去见一位当银行家的朋友。“人品贷款你干不干 ? ”我问。“不干，”他说。“我们承担不起。没门。”20“Now, wait a minute,” I replied. “Here is a hard-working man, a man of character, I can promise you that. Hes got a good job. You re not getting a damn thing from your lo

14、t. It will stay there for years. At least he will pay your interest.”“哎，等等，”我应道。“有个人干活勤勉，人品端正，这点我担保。他有个好工作。眼下，你从你那块地上分钱也得不到。那块地空在那儿要好多年呢。至少他会付你利息嘛。”21Reluctantly, the banker wrote a mortgage for $ 2,000 and gave Tony the house with no down payment. Tony was delighted. From then on, it was interestin

15、g to see that any discarded odds and ends around our placea broken screen, a bit of hardware, boards from packingTony would gather and take home.那位银行家勉强开了两千美金抵押贷款，没要托尼首付就把房子给了他。托尼乐不可支。从那以后，只要我家附近有什么被人扔弃的零星杂物，坏了的屏风啦，五金器具啦，包装纸板啦，托尼都要收起来拿回家，看他这个样子真是有意思。22After about two years, I found Tony in our famil

16、iar meeting spot. He seemed to stand a little straighter. He was heavier. He had a look of confidence.约摸过了两年，我在我们见面的老地方又看到了托尼。他身子似乎挺直了些，人也见胖了，样子挺自信。23“Mr. Craw, I sell my house! he said with pride. “I got $ 8,000.“克罗先生，我卖房子 ! ”他得意地说。“我得了八千美金。”24I was amazed. “But, Tony, where are you going to live without a house?”我非常吃惊。“可