大学英语综合教程第二册第二六单元原文及翻译

A LEFT FULL OF RICHESItwasearlyDecember2003,myfirstseasonasaSalvationArmybellringer,whenIconfrontedwiththequestion.IwasstandingjustoutsidethedoorwayofaWal-Mart,offeringa"thankyou"andasmiletoeachpersonwhodroppedadonationintomyredkettle.Aneatlydressedwomanandheryoungsonwalkeduptothekettlestand.Whileshesearchedherpurseforsomecash,theboylookedupatme.Icanstillseetheconfusionandcuriosityinhiseyesasheasked,"Areyoupoor?""Well,"Istammered,tryingtothink,"Ihavemorethansomepeople,butnotasmuchothers."Hismotherscoldedhimforthesocialno-no,andtheyhurriedofftodotheirshopping.Hisquestion,however,didnotleaveme.I'veneverthoughtofmyselfas"poor,"butIcan'tdenycertainfacts.EverytimeIfilloutmy1040form,Ifallintooneofthelowestincomebrackets.Inthepast35years,I'vetakenonevacationtrip.MyTVisablack-and-whitesetthatsomeonegavemeeightyearsago.YetIfeelnothingmorethanapassingwhimtoattainthematerialthingssomanyotherpeoplehave.My1999carshowsthewearandtearof105,000miles.Butitisstilldependable.Myapartmentismodest,butquietandrelaxing.Myclothesarewellsuitedtomywork,whichisprimarilyoutdoors.Myminimalcomputerneedscanbemetatthelibrary.InspiteofwhatIdon'thave,Idon'tfeelpoor.Why?I'veenjoyedexceptionallygoodhealthfor53years.It'snotjustthatI'vebeenillness-free,it'sthatIfeelvigorousandspirited.Exercisingisactuallyfunforme.Ilookforwardtolong,energizingwalks.AndIlovethe"cando"attitudethatfollows.Ialsocherishthegiftofcreativity.WhenIwriteabeautifullineofpoetry,orfabricateajokethatticklessomeone,Ifeelrichinside.I'mcontinuallysurprisedattheinsightsthatthroughmywritingprocess.Andtalkingwithsomanyinterestingwriterfriendsisoneofmymainsourcesofenjoyment.ButthereisonevitalareaofmylifewhereIamnotsowelloff.Inasocietythatsomuchemotionalenergyonthepursuitofpossessions,Ifeeloutofplace.WhenIwasyounger,therewasanexceptionallyinterestingpersonIdated.Whatwasmostimportanttoher,shetoldme,was"what'sontheinside."IthoughtIhadfoundspecialtosharemylifewith.ThenItookhertoseemyapartment.Atthetime,Ilivedinabasementefficiencywithafewpiecesofdatedfurniture.Theonlynew,comfortablechairtheoneatmydesk.Shortlyafterhervisit,ourrelationshipwentstraightsouth.Theseeminglyabruptchangeinherprioritieswasjolting.Itremainsamostmemorableturningpointinmypersonaljourney.Incontrasttorelationships,stuffjustdoesn'tmeanthatmuchtome.Ithinkmostpeoplefeelthesameway—exceptwhentherearesocialconsequencestonothavingparticularitems.Thereisacommercialontheradiothatbegins,"EverybodywantsaTV…"Thepressuretopurchaseisreal.Itmaybetruethateverybodywantsahigh-endTV.Afterall,nobodywantstobeanobody.ButI'mhappytolivewithoutone.Infact,notbeingfocusedonmaterialgoodsquitenaturaltome.Therearemanypeoplethroughouttheworldwhowouldconsidermylifestyletobeaffluent.Neartheendoftheyear,whenIputontheSalvationArmy'sredapron,somethingchangesinsideme.Insteadoffeelingoutofplaceeconomically,Ibegintofeelagenuinesenseofbelonging.AsIringmybell,peoplestoptosharetheirpersonalstoriesofhowmuchmeanttobehelpedwhentheyweregoingthrougharoughtime.PeoplehelpingpeopleissomethingIfeeldeeplyconnectedto.WhileI'mringingthebell,completestrangershavebroughtmehotchocolate,leavingmewithalingeringsmile.Countlessindividualshavehelpedtokeepmewarmwiththesentimentsoftheseason:"Thankyouforringingonsuchcoldday.""CanIgetyouacupofcoffee?""Blessyouforyourgoodwork."DecemberisthetimeofyearIfeelwealthiest.Overthepastfouryears,I'vegrowntounderstandmoreaboutmyselfbecauseofasinglequestionfromacuriouschild.AsI'veexaminedwhatitmeanstobepoor,ithascleartomewhatIammostthankfulfor:bothmytangibleandmyintangiblegoodfortune.富足的一生卡尔•格林200312月初，我第一次为救世军摇铃募捐的时候。当“谢谢”“嗯，”我结结巴巴，边想边回答，“我比有些人拥有的多，但比其他人拥有的少。”我从不认为自己“穷”1040是八年前别人送给我的。然而，想要得到其他那么多人都有的物质的东西，对我来说，只不过是转瞬即逝的念1999年的产品，到现在开了十万五千英里，已经很破很旧了，但是它依然我对计算机的很少的需求，可以在图书馆得到解决。尽管有些东西我没有，我并不感到贫穷。这是为什么？五十三年来我一直非常健康。越走越有劲。我喜爱步行后随之产生的一种“什么都干得了”的心态。我还十分珍惜我的创作才能。当我写出美丽的诗句或编造出能把人逗乐的笑话时，我乐趣的主要源泉之一。此之多心力的社会中，我觉得很不自在。我年轻时曾与一位非常有趣的女士谈过朋友。她对我说，对她而言，最重要的是“人的内心”。我以为我找到了非同一般的生活伴侣。后来我就带她到我的寓所。当时我住的是一个最难以忘怀的转折点。每个人都想拥有一台高档电视…”的都想要一台高档电视机，毕竟没有人想做一个无名之辈。11.相当自然。在这个世界上有很多人认为我活得很富足。临近岁末每当我系上救世军的红围裙时，我的内心会发生变化。我非但不感到经“”“要不要我给您弄一杯咖啡?”“你做好事，上帝保佑你。”十二月是一年中我感到最富足的时候。由于一个好奇的孩子提了一个简单问题，我在过去的四年中对自己的了解进了一AMANCANApr4,20048:00PMEDT WhenIwasakid,everythinginmybedroomwaspink.Ihavetwosistersandwehadcompleteminiaturekitchen,aherdofMyLittlePoniesandseveralBarbieandKendolls.Wedidn'thaveanytoytrucks,G.I.Joesorbasketballs.WedidhaveaWiffle-ballset,butyouwouldhavebeenhard-pressedtofinditinourplayroom.Tomboysweweren't. SosomepeoplemayfinditironicthatIgrewuptobeamechanicalengineer.Infact,amtheonlyfemaleengineeratmycompany.Inordertogetmycollegedegree,Ihadtotakealotofmathandscienceclasses.Ialsohadtoworkwithateamofstudentsaspartofanationalcompetitiontoconvertagas-guzzlingSUVintoahybridelectricvehicle--that'swhereIlearnedhowtofixcars.I'mproudtosaythatIgotA'sinallmyclasses,includingmultivariablecalculusanddifferentialequations.I'vealwaysbeenprettygoodatmathanddesign,butIdidn'tunderstandwherethatcouldtakeme.Iwastogotocollege,butnooneevertoldmeI'dmakeagoodengineersomeday. WhenIwasinhighschool,Ididn'tknowthefirstthingaboutengineering.Icouldn'thavedistinguishedatransmissionfromanalternator.ThecarIdroveneededsomebutIwasafraidtotakeittothemechanic.Becausehonestly,themechaniccouldhaveshownmeanelectriccanopenerandsaid,"Thisispartofyourcarandit'sbroken--paymetofixit,"andIwouldn'thaveknownanybetter. Attheendofmyjunioryearofhighschool,Iheardaboutasummerprogramdesignedtointerestgirlsinengineering.Thesix-weekprogramwasfree,andstudentsweregivencollegecreditandadormroomattheUniversityofMaryland.Iappliedtotheprogram,notbecauseIwantedtobeanengineer,butbecauseIwascravingindependenceandtogetoutofmyparents'houseforsixweeks. IwasacceptedtotheprogramandIearnedsixengineeringcredits.ThenextyearIenteredtheuniversityasanengineeringmajor.FiveyearslaterIhadadegreeanddecentjoboffers. Ican'thelpshudderingwhenIhearaboutstudiesthatshowthatwomenareatadisadvantagewhenitcomestomath.TheyimplythatIamsomehowabnormal.I'mbutIdoknowthatifIhadn'tstumbledintothatsummerprogram,Iwouldn'tbeanengineer. WhenIwasgrowingupIwastold,asmanystudentsare,todowhatIambestat.ButIdidn'tknowwhatthatwas.Mostpeoplethinkthatwhenyouaregoodatsomething,itcomeseasilytoyou.ButthisiswhatIdiscovered:justbecauseasubjectisdifficulttoitdoesnotmeanyouarenotgoodatit.Youjusthavetogrityourteethandworkhardertogetgoodatit.Onceyoudo,there'sastrongchanceyouwillenjoyitmorethananythingelse. IneighthgradeItookalgebra.OnonetestIgotonly36percentoftheanswerscorrect.Ifailedthenextone,too.Istartedtothink,MaybeI'mjustnogoodatthis.Iwasluckyenoughtohaveateacherwhodidn'ttakemybadgradesasajudgmentofmyabilities,butsimplyasanindicationthatIshouldstudymore.Hepulledmeasideandtoldmeheknewcoulddobetter.Heletmeretakethetests,andIpulledmygradeuptoanA. Istudiedalotincollege,too.IhadmomentsofpanicwhilesittingunderneaththebuzzingfluorescentlightsintheengineeringlibraryonSaturdayafternoons,whenIworriedthattheestrogeninmybodywaspreventingmefromunderstandingthermodynamics.Buttheguysinmyclasseshadtoworkjustashard,andIknewthatIcouldn'taffordtoloseconfidenceinmyself.Ididn'twanttochoosebetweenmyfemininityandagoodcareer.SoIremindedmyselfthatthosestudies,theonesthatsaythatmathcomesmorenaturallytomen,arebasedonafaultypremise:thatyoucanjudgeaperson'sabilitiesseparatefromtheculturalcuesthatshehasreceivedsinceshewasaninfant.Nomanisanisland.Nowomanis,either. Whyarewesoquicktolimitourselves?I'mnotdenyingthatmostlittlegirlslovedollsandmostlittleboyslovevideogames,anditmaybetruethatsomepeoplefavorthesideoftheirbrain,andotherstheleft.Buthowrelevantisthattome,ortoanyone,asanindividual?Insteadoftranslatingourdifferencesintohardandfastconclusionsa