(完整word版)新标准大学英语3-UNIT1-Catching-Crabs原文+译文

1、UnitUnitoneDiscoveringoneself PAGE PAGE 4Catching Crabs1 In the fall of our final our mood changed. the relaxed atmosphere of precedingsummersemester,theimpromptuballgames,theboatingontheCharlesthe late-nightpartieshaddisappeared,andweallstartedtogetourheadsdown,studyinglate,and attendance at classe

2、s rose steeply again. We all sensed we were coming to the end of our stay here, that we would never get a chance like this again, and we became determined not to waste it. Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year. No one wanted the humiliation of finishing

3、 last in class, so the peer group pressure to work hard was strong. Libraries which were once empty after five oclock in the afternoon were standing room only until the early hours of the morning, and guys wore the bags under their eyes and their pale, sleepy faces with pride, like medals proving th

4、eirdiligence.睡眼惺忪，却很自豪，好像这些都是表彰他们勤奋好学的奖章。But there was something else. At the back of everyones mind was what we would do next, when we left university in a few months time. It wasnt always the high flyers with the top grades who knew what they were going to do. Quite often it was the quieter, less

5、impressive students who had the next stages of their life mapped out. One had landed a job in his brothers advertising firm inMadisonanotherhadgotascriptunderprovisionalacceptanceinHollywood. The most ambitious student among us was going to work as a party activist at a local level. We all saw him e

6、nding up in the Senate or in Congress one But most people were either looking continue their studies, or to make a living with a white-collar job in a bank, local government, or anything which would pay them enough to have a comfortable time in their early twenties, and then settle down with a famil

7、y, a mortgage and some hope ofpromotion.20出头的时候能挣到足够多的薪水，过上舒适的生活，然后就娶妻生子， 贷款买房，期望升职，过安稳日子。I went home at Thanksgiving, and inevitably, mybrothers and sisters kept asking me what I was planning to do. I didnt know what to I did know what to but I thought theyd probably criticize me, so I told them wh

8、at everyone else was thinking ofdoing.感恩节的时候我回了一趟家，兄弟姐妹们免不了不停地问我毕业后有什么打算，我不知道该说什么。实际上，我知道该说什么，但我怕他们批评我，所以只对他们说了别人都准备干什么。My father was watching me but saying nothing. Late in the evening, he invited me to hisstudy. We sat down and he poured us adrink.父亲看着我，什么也没说。夜深时，他叫我去他的书房。我们坐了下来，他给我们俩各倒了杯饮料。So?hes

9、aid“怎么样？”他问。Ersowhat?“啊，什么怎么样？”Sowhatdoyoureallywanttodo?heasked. “你毕业后到底想做什么？”他问道。My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school, and follow his path through life. So Ihesitated.犹豫。Then I replied, “I want to travel, and I want to be awriter.”This was not the answe

10、r I thought he would expect. Travel? Where? A writer? About what? braced myself for some resistance to theidea.的心理准备。Therewasalongsilence. 接着是一段长长的沉默。ged.There was anotherlongsilence.接着又是一段长长的沉默。I kind of wish Id done that when I was your age. “我真有点希望自己在你这个Iwaited. 我在等他把话说完。You have plenty of time.

11、You dont need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment. You need to find out what you really enjoy now, because if you dont, you wont be successfullater.SohowdoIdothis?”那我该怎么办呢？He thought for a moment. Then he said, Look, its late. Lets take the boat out tomorrow morning, just you and

12、me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and we can talk more.It was a small motor boat, moored ten minutes away, and my father had owned it for years. Early next morning we set off along the estuary. We didnt talk much, but enjoyed the sound oftheseagulls and the sight of the estuary coastline

13、 and the sea beyond.岸和远处大海的景色。There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day, so it was a smooth half-hour ride until my father switched off the motor. Lets see if we get lucky, he said, picked up a rusty, mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into thesea.在这个时候沿海水域没什么风浪，船平稳地航行了半

14、个小时之后父亲把船停了下来。他说： “咱们在这儿试试运气吧，”然后抓起一个系上绳子的生了锈的网状篓子抛到海里。We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, Give me a hand with this, and we hauled up the crab cage onto thedeck.Crabs fascinated me. They were so easy to catch. It wasnt just that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through a smal

15、l hole in the lid of the basket, but it seemed as if couldnt be bothered to crawl out again even when you took the lid off. They just sat there, waving their claws atyou.蟹钳。The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs, piled high on top of each other. Whydont they try to escape? I wondered

16、aloud to my father.Just watch them for a moment. Look at that one, there! Hes trying to climb out, but every time the other crabs pull him back in, said my father 25 And we watched. The crab climbed up the mesh towards the lid, and sure enough, just as it reached the top, one of its fellow crabs rea

17、ched out, clamped its claw onto any available leg, and pulled it back. Several times the crab tried to defy his fellow captives, withoutluck.功。Now watch! said my father. Hes startingtogetbored with thisgame.Not only did the crab give up its lengthy struggle to escape, but it actually began to help s

18、top other crabs trying to escape. Hed finally chosen an easy way oflife.了一种轻松的活法。Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning. He looked at me. Dont get pulled back by the others, he said. Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want in life. Look back at the classes youre taking, and think aboutwhich ones were most productive for you personally.