评论
打印
One spring morning, 18-month-old Lucy and I boarded a train for Morgantown to visit Aunt Ruth. A woman offered me half her seat in the crowded car. I thanked her and busied myself with Lucy, while the woman turned her attention to the landscape speeding by.
一个春天的上午，我和才18个月大的露西坐火车去摩根敦看望鲁思姨妈。在拥挤的车厢里，一位妇人把她的一半座位让给我坐，我向她道了谢，便忙着照料露西，那妇人则转过头去看着窗外一闪而过的风景。
After settling my baby in my arms for a nap, I started to talk with the woman. She said she was going to Morgantown to see her daughter and brand–new grandson. “Surely you know my aunt, Ruth Wood,” I said. “She's had a real-estate office in Morgantown for years.”
让孩子躺在我怀里睡着后，我开始跟那妇人交谈。她说她去摩根敦看女儿和刚出生的外孙。“你一定认识我的姨妈鲁思·伍德，”我说。“她在摩根敦经营一家房地产公司有好多年了。”
“No,” she answered. “I've been away a long time, and that name is not familiar to me.”
“不认识，”她回答说。“我离家很久了，不熟悉那个名字。”
For several minutes, the woman looked out the window. Then, without turning her head, she began to speak.
那妇人向车窗外看了几分钟。接着，她开始说话了，头还是没转过来。
“There was a Miss Lucy Wood, a teacher, in Morgantown years ago. She probably left there before you were born. You said the name Wood, and, suddenly, I can't stop thinking about her. I haven't thought of her for years, but once I loved her very much. She was my teacher. My parents owned a bakery on Watts Street. They were on the verge of divorce. They fought and quarreled all the time. I had to work very hard at home and in the bakery, too.
“许多年前，摩根敦有个露西·伍德小姐，是个教师。可能你还没出生她就离开那儿了。你说起了伍德这个姓，我不由得一下子就想起了她。我有好多年没想起过她了，可是，我曾经非常热爱她。她是我的老师。我父母在沃茨街上开面包店。他们闹得快要离婚了。两人整天又打又吵的。我也只好家里、店里两边忙着照应。
