◎ Kevin Carey
Cary is very popular in his college and nearly everybody knows him. He is a basketball star. And for this reason, he has become the pride of the college, envy of the boys, and hero of the girls. Among his many admirers is a girl called Nola.
凱里在大學(xué)時是個十分受歡迎的籃球明星,幾乎人人都知道他。正因為如此,他成了學(xué)院的驕傲,男同學(xué)嫉妒他,女同學(xué)則把他當(dāng)成英雄。有一個名叫諾拉的女孩,是眾多仰慕者中的一個。
Nola is Cary’s classmate, and Professor Johnson’s daughter. Mr. Johnson is a strict father, and in a family where a sports star is not so highly regarded, Nola never dares to mention Gary’s name. In the school, they seldom speak to each other and always keep a certain distance.
諾拉是約翰遜教授的女兒,凱里的同班同學(xué)。在家里,約翰遜先生是一個很嚴(yán)厲的父親,而一個體育明星在這樣的家庭是得不到太高評價的。因此,諾拉在家中從未提過凱里的名字。在學(xué)校里,兩個人幾乎很少說話,而且彼此之間總是保持一定的距離。
Nola’s family lives on the campus and there is a big sports ground near their house. Every afternoon, after school, Cary would spend at least one hour practicing basketball before returning home. Nola lives on the third floor, and from their balcony[66] she can see the sports ground. As a habit, Nola would sit in a chair on the balcony, reading or doing her homework every day when she comes home. Sometimes she would raise her head to watch Gary shoot or count how many times he can hit the basket.
諾拉的家就在大學(xué)校園里,她家附近有一個很大的操場。每天下午放學(xué)以后,凱里都會在那里至少練習(xí)一個小時的籃球,然后才回家。諾拉的家住在三樓,她從陽臺上就能夠看到操場。每天放學(xué)回家后,諾拉總是習(xí)慣坐在陽臺的椅子上,讀書或者寫作業(yè)。有時,她會抬起頭,看著凱里投籃,或者數(shù)他進(jìn)了多少次球。
Cary doesn’t seem to pay any attention to Nola on the balcony.
然而,凱里似乎沒有注意到陽臺上的諾拉。
One afternoon, Nola moved her chair into the room to avoid[67] the breeze outside. But she could still hear the noise from the sports ground. The noise suddenly stopped and the sports ground became very quiet. Nola thought it strange and looked through the window.
一天下午,外面起風(fēng)了,諾拉便把椅子搬進(jìn)了房間。但是,她仍然能夠聽到操場上傳來的球聲。突然,球聲消失了,操場變得非常安靜。諾拉覺得有點反常,便透過窗子向外看去。
She saw Cary bending down[68] there and writing something on the ground with a piece of chalk. What was he writing? She wondered. Cary finished writing and stood up, he picked up his bag and dragged his way home.
她看見,凱里蹲在操場上,拿著一支粉筆在地上寫著什么。諾拉很好奇:“他在寫些什么呢?”寫完之后,凱里站起身,背起書包,拖著沉重的步伐回家了。
After Cary left, Nola went down quickly and walked quietly to the sports ground. When she got to the place where Cary had just stayed, she found these words, “Nola, why didn’t you watch me play?”
見凱里離開了,諾拉迅速地跑下樓,悄悄來到了操場上。當(dāng)走到凱里剛才待的地方時,她看到地上寫著這樣的話:“諾拉,你為什么不看我打球呢?”
She picked up the chalk end on the ground and added below the line, “But yes, I did.”
諾拉拾起地上的粉筆頭,在那句話的后面加上了這樣一句:“可是,我真的看了呀?!?