雙語美文：兒子揹包裏的“計算器”

下面是本站小編整理的雙語美文：兒子揹包裏的“計算器”，歡迎大家閱讀!

A hike was the perfect order of the day. The boys were excited about the idea. It would be a good workout and it would be good to be together.

We planned to leave immediately after lunch. I noticed Daniel, who will be ten in November, and Wes, who will be seven in December, scramble for their gear. They had spent the morning pouring over outdoor outfitter catalogs looking at sophisticated equipment that would be sufficient to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail1.

I thought back over the years to the hours I spent with my official Boy Scout handbook. I was disgusted to remember that I spent more time reading about nature than I spent experiencing it. That’s when I said, “Guys, let’s just use the daypacks2 we have and take a nice hike this afternoon.” They say the smallest deed is better than the grandest intention. The boys heartily agreed.

Immediately after lunch we made for3 the trailhead. Chuck joined us and led the expedition. The little guys fell in on the trail ahead of me with their full daypacks, slouch hats, and bottles filled with water. They soon found walking sticks. I laughed as I watched Wes lurching4 along the trail ahead of me struggling with all his gear. He shuffled along behind his brothers careful not to drop behind. Not a syllable of complaint escaped his lips.

We climbed to the crest of a hill up earthen stairs built into the hillside. Finally, I asked Wes if I could carry the pack for a while. He smiled quietly and handed the thing to me.

The guys hiked quietly trying to “leave no trace5.” The air was sweet with the scent of autumn. Goldenrod nodded yellow along the trial. We crossed a footbridge over a stream that ran among small boulders. At one point, we came to the edge of the wood overlooking acres of corn ripening in an undulating6 field.

I kept Wes’s pack and finally asked him, “What’s in the pack, Wes?” “A calculator,” he said.

I thought I misunderstood him. I thought maybe trail mix, some apples, or maybe even some jerky would be good things to put in the pack. Maybe he packed a field guide, field glasses, or the writings of Thoreau7. Any of these would have made sense, but Wes said, “A calculator.”

“What else did you put in here, Wes?”

“That’s all.”

“It’s kinda heavy, Buddy. Did you put some books in here, too?”

“No, just the calculator.”

He insisted the only thing the pack contained was a calculator. Then it hit me what he meant by a calculator. He was talking about the huge desktop adding machine8 that had been underfoot at home for the last few weeks! It was complete with a power cord and a roll of paper. I was trekking the wide outdoors with an adding machine in my backpack.

“Why did you put an adding machine in your pack?”

“I just wanted something in my pack,” he said.

Kids are fun and full of surprises. I chuckle within every time I think of it and I am reminded what a priceless thing it is to have a little boy to hike with.

It’s better to live than waste your precious life watching other people pretend to live on television. It’s good to be alive, and there are people out there who want your love. Get out and do something with the family. Spend time with the people who love you while you still can. Visit, ride bikes, stroll the beach, walk the dog, get some pictures, go out for coffee and pie, or go to church.

If you can’t think of anything better to do, throw an adding machine in a backpack and hit the trails.

在這一天出去遠足再好不過了，小子們對此興奮不已。遠足是個挺好的鍛鍊，也是和家人共享時光的好方法。

我們計劃吃罷午飯立即啓程。我看見丹尼爾和韋斯在爭搶着準備自己的遠足用品——丹尼爾今年11月年滿10歲，韋斯到12月年滿7歲。他們已經花了一上午時間擠在一起翻看戶外運動用品商店的宣傳冊上那些複雜的裝備——這些裝備對這趟阿巴拉契亞山道之行來說綽綽有餘。

這讓我想起了多年前我花很長時間研讀童子軍手冊的時光。我在文字中品味大自然的時間要比我親身融入大自然的時間更多，一想起這一點我就感到厭惡，於是我跟孩子們說，“小子們，背上咱們那些小揹包就可以了，咱們今天下午出去走個痛快”。俗話說，再遠大的志向也不如實際邁出的一小步——小子們從心眼兒裏表示同意。

午飯過後，我們立即前往山道的起點。這時，查克也加入到我們之中並打頭陣。小傢伙們揹着鼓囊囊的揹包，頭頂闊邊帽，手拿水壺，一起走在我前面，很快他們就撿到了“手杖”。韋斯帶着他的全部裝備在我前面費勁地沿山道蹣跚而行，看見此景我笑了起來。他慢吞吞地跟在哥哥們的後面，努力不被他們落下，但他一句抱怨的話都沒說。

我們順着建在山坡上的土階往山頂上走。我最終還是詢問韋斯是否要我幫他拿一會兒揹包，他笑而不語，將“裝備”遞給了我。

孩子們安靜地走着，儘量“不留下任何痕跡”。空氣中瀰漫着秋日的芬芳，清新甜美。道旁的黃花草搖曳着朵朵金黃。我們跨過一座人行橋，橋下一條小溪在鵝卵石間穿行。我們行至樹林盡頭，一眼望去，成畝的玉米在起伏的田地中生長。

我一路拿着韋斯的揹包，終於我還是開口問他：“韋斯，這包裏裝的什麼啊?”“一臺計算器，”他說。

我以爲我聽錯了。我覺得什錦乾果啦，幾個蘋果啊，甚至是一些牛肉乾啊都是帶在揹包裏不錯的選擇。也許他會帶上一本野營指南、望遠鏡，或者是梭羅的散文。任何這些東西都講得通，不過韋斯卻說是“一臺計算器”。

“韋斯，包裏還有其他東西嗎?”

“沒了。”

“夥計，這包可不輕啊。你還帶着一些書呢吧?”

“沒有，就是一臺計算器。”

他堅持說揹包裏只有一臺計算器，然後我忽然意識到他所謂的“計算器”是什麼東西了——他說的是我家在幾周以前就扔在一邊的那臺巨大的桌上機械加法機!這東西還配備一條電源線和一卷紙。如今我正在廣闊的大自然中跋涉，而揹包裏塞着一臺加法機。

“你爲什麼把那臺加法機放進揹包?”

“我只是想讓揹包裏有點東西，”他說。

孩子們是有趣的，他們也總能給我們帶來驚喜。每當我想起這件事就不由地咯咯笑起來。我意識到，能有一個小男孩和你一起遠足是件千金不換的事。

與其浪費珍貴的生命看着電視中的人們假裝過日子，不如自己切實地體會生命。活着是件美好的事，而且你的身邊有人希望得到你的愛。走出家門和家人一起做些什麼吧，在你還可以的時候與那些愛你的人共處吧：旅遊、騎單車、海邊散步、遛狗、外出照相、出去喝杯咖啡吃個餡餅，或者一起去教堂做禮拜。

如果你想不出更好的主意，那就在揹包裏塞上一臺“計算器”，和家人一起去遠足吧。

1. 阿巴拉契亞山道(Appalachian Trail)地處阿巴拉契亞山脈，是世界著名的徒步旅行路線之一。

2.從事登山等需要攜帶諸多器械和用品的戶外活動時，人們通常會帶一大一小兩個揹包，其中大的稱爲“backpack”，小的稱爲“daypack”。

3. make for: 前往…。

4. lurch v. 東倒西歪地前進;蹣跚。

5. Leave No Trace是美國開展的一項教育計劃，其理念倡導人們在進行戶外活動時要“行前完善計劃”“在耐久的地表旅行或露營”“恰當處理廢棄物”“不帶走任何自然界的東西”“將營火對自然的影響減到最小”“尊重野生動物”並要“考慮到其他遊客”。文中的孩子們接受過這種理念的教育，但對“leave no trace”還只是字面理解。

6. undulating a. 起伏的;波浪形的。

7. 亨利·戴維·梭羅(Henry David Thoreau，1817～1862)是美國作家，著名的自然主義者。他從1845年開始在瓦爾登湖畔隱居兩年多，隨後出版了散文集《瓦爾登湖》(Walden)，書中有許多對自然的精彩描寫，優美的文字中散發出他的人生哲理。

8. adding machine是一種老式、笨重的機械加法機，在電腦被髮明以前是辦公室中常見的工具，多用於記賬。

雙語美文賞析：品味當下