英語(yǔ)美文:“蝸居”之百味 Living in an Apartment

閱讀，不是為了得到什么，而是在被生活打擊的無(wú)路可退時(shí)最后的安身之所。靜靜等待，閱讀，一定會(huì)給予你獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。下面是英語(yǔ)美文:“蝸居”之百味 Living in an Apartment的資料，希望你會(huì)喜歡！

　What’s it like living in an apartment with a baby?” is a question I am often asked. Usually it’s from someone expecting her first baby and trying to decide where to live.
　　帶著一個(gè)小寶寶住在公寓里會(huì)是怎樣的呢?”這是我常被問(wèn)及的一個(gè)問(wèn)題。通常,提問(wèn)的都是些懷著第一胎,考慮要搬去哪里住的準(zhǔn)媽媽。

　　If there is one thing I’ve learned from all these years of apartment living, it’s that I don’t need a house to have a home.
　　如果說(shuō)這些年的公寓生活讓我學(xué)到了一樣?xùn)|西,那就是,我不需要非得擁有一座房子才算擁有一個(gè)家。

　　And that’s the truth. There is something really special about having a story that begins, “When we first started out, we lived in a small apartment…”
　　這是事實(shí)。以“我們一開(kāi)始只是住在一間小公寓里……”這樣的語(yǔ)句開(kāi)始講述一段奮斗歷程,還真有點(diǎn)特別。

　　But that’s not all there is to it of course. When all our friends were buying houses, we chose to stay in an apartment, and here is how our experience has been so far.
　　當(dāng)然,還不止。當(dāng)年我們所有的朋友都在買(mǎi)房子,我們卻選擇住在一間公寓里,以下就是迄今為止我們對(duì)住公寓的一些感受。

　　We lived in a one bedroom apartment when we found out we were expecting Lane. After the shock 1)wore off, one of my first thoughts was for the 2)nursery. I wanted a room that was beautiful just like in the pictures I saw.
　　發(fā)現(xiàn)懷上連恩的時(shí)候,我們本來(lái)是住在只有一間臥室的公寓里。驚喜過(guò)后定下神來(lái),我首先想到的一件事就是得有個(gè)嬰兒房。我想要一個(gè)漂亮的房間,就像我在圖冊(cè)上看到過(guò)的那種。

　　We had a small 3)side room with a4)slouchy couch and a television set. We sold the couch (and later the television) and turned that little space into a baby room with a crib and a changing area. We turned a 5)wet bar cabinet into an organized baby closet. With just a few changes our one-bedroom apartment had a nursery.
　　我們的公寓里有個(gè)邊角空間,那里原來(lái)放著一張軟沙發(fā)和一臺(tái)電視機(jī)。我們賣(mài)掉了沙發(fā)(后來(lái)把電視也賣(mài)掉了),把那點(diǎn)空間弄成一個(gè)嬰兒房,在里面放了一張嬰兒床,以及一個(gè)換尿布臺(tái)。我們把一個(gè)吧臺(tái)櫥柜改造成了一個(gè)井然有序的嬰兒用品柜。不過(guò)是簡(jiǎn)單地改造了幾下,我們這間只有一個(gè)臥室的公寓就擁有了一個(gè)嬰兒房。

　　We had no option but to live with less stuff than catalogs say you need. We chose “travel size” for a lot of things. We didn’t need a baby bathtub when we could give our kid a bath in the kitchen sink. 6)Craigslist was our storage unit. Knowing we couldn’t keep baby 7)gear long-term, I bought and sold stuff as we needed it, and sometimes I even sold things for more than I paid.
　　沒(méi)辦法,我們只能輕裝宅居,并沒(méi)推銷(xiāo)冊(cè)子上羅列的各式必需品。很多東西我們都是挑其“輕便裝”來(lái)買(mǎi)。既然能把寶寶放在廚房水槽里洗澡,我們就不需要嬰兒澡盆?？死赘袼沽λ固胤诸悘V告網(wǎng)站是我們的“儲(chǔ)藏室”。明白到我們是不會(huì)長(zhǎng)期用那些嬰兒用具的,我會(huì)根據(jù)需要來(lái)買(mǎi)進(jìn)或賣(mài)出一些東西,有時(shí),同一件物品,我的賣(mài)出價(jià)甚至還高于買(mǎi)入價(jià)。

　　We didn’t buy many toys, but our baby didn’t mind playing with apples, pears, and sheets of paper, the occasional cardboard box, or stuff from my closet. We often reminded people, “We don’t have much space in our apartment,” and they helped us by considering that. Most toys came from grandparents, and some toys stayed at the grandparents’ house.
　　我們沒(méi)有買(mǎi)很多玩具,但我們的寶寶不介意玩蘋(píng)果、雪梨、紙張、偶爾出現(xiàn)的紙盒,或是我壁櫥里的東西。我們經(jīng)常跟別人提起:“我們的公寓很小”,他們考慮到這點(diǎn)就會(huì)給予我們幫助。大部分玩具都是祖父母給的,有些還在他們家里放著。

　　Our big challenge was storage: not baby storage, just regular stuff. We didn’t have a kitchen 8)pantry, so our crackers and dry goods were in the bathroom under the towels. With everything stuffed into every possible storage space in whatever way it could fit, we often left it exposed for baby exploring. It was so easy for her to pull out everything that was accessible, and I spent a lot of time putting stuff back.
　　我們最大的挑戰(zhàn)在于物品儲(chǔ)存:不是嬰兒用品,而是些日常物品。我們的廚房沒(méi)有食物儲(chǔ)存柜,所以我們把餅干和其他干貨放在浴室的毛巾下面。所有東西都被我們左擠右塞,能用的空間都被我們?nèi)麧M了,往往沒(méi)遮沒(méi)蓋地任由寶寶去“探索”。對(duì)她來(lái)說(shuō),把那些她夠得著的東西拉出來(lái)是件輕而易舉的事,而我得花費(fèi)大量時(shí)間把東西放回原處。

　　Having a 9)patio outside space saved my 10)sanity more than once. We frequently went places, visiting parks and coffee shops. Every weekend we were glad not to have to keep up with a lawn.
　　幸虧有露天庭院這樣的戶外空間,不然我就不止一次處于精神崩潰的境地。我們經(jīng)常去別處,逛公園和咖啡店。每個(gè)周末,我們都慶幸自己無(wú)需打理草坪。

　　Baby #2 was coming, and I briefly thought about staying. Our rent was cheap, but our apartment was lacking. We decided to pay more, and we moved to an apartment that was bigger and better with a park close by. I’m glad we decided to pay the extra money because with two kids I stay home more, and it’s nicer. I think the lack of windows in our old apartment was making me depressed.
　　第二個(gè)孩子快要出生了,一絲想繼續(xù)住在原來(lái)的公寓里的念頭閃過(guò)我的腦海。那時(shí)我們的租金便宜,只是那公寓的空間實(shí)在不夠用了,于是我們決定多花一點(diǎn)錢(qián),搬進(jìn)了一間更大、條件更好且臨近公園的公寓里。我很慶幸作了這個(gè)決定,因?yàn)橛辛藘蓚€(gè)孩子后,我呆在家里的時(shí)間更多了,居住環(huán)境也更好了。我覺(jué)得,因?yàn)橹白〉哪情g老公寓沒(méi)有窗,所以老是讓人感覺(jué)很抑郁。

　　The kids share a room, and a while ago I shared a tour of how we made a place for both of them. It has its challenges (one kid is a light sleeper).
　　孩子們共用一個(gè)房間,而不久前,我還帶別人在公寓里逛了一圈,與其分享我們是如何為兩個(gè)孩子開(kāi)辟出一個(gè)房間來(lái)的。這里面也有不少難題(其中一個(gè)孩子睡得不沉,很容易醒)。

　　Sometimes I wish I could decorate any way I want. Sometimes I wish we didn’t have carpet. Wow, I’m just thinking of all the reasons why I wish we didn’t have carpet.
　　有時(shí),我希望能隨心所欲地去裝飾公寓。有時(shí),我又希望我們沒(méi)有鋪地毯。呀,我正好在想著自己不希望鋪地毯的各種理由。

　　We use cloth diapers, but we have our own washer and dryer. I don’t think I would use cloth if I had to go to a 11)laundromat, though I know more persistent people who have done it.
　　我們使用布質(zhì)尿布,但我們有自己的洗衣機(jī)和干衣機(jī)。我想,如果我們要去自助洗衣店,我們就不會(huì)用布質(zhì)尿布了,盡管我認(rèn)識(shí)一些更有毅力的人是這么做的。

　　We invite small friends to play and it makes it really noisy for our downstairs neighbor.
　　我們邀請(qǐng)小朋友們來(lái)玩,但這讓我們樓下的鄰居感覺(jué)確實(shí)有點(diǎn)吵。

　　I like being able to always know where my kids are. I like always being within 12)earshot of them.
　　我喜歡隨時(shí)知道孩子們?cè)谀睦?。我喜歡總能聽(tīng)見(jiàn)他們的聲音,跟他們相隔不遠(yuǎn)。

　　Sometimes we drive by our old apartment which is just five minutes away, and my four-year-old always says, “I don’t like our new home, Mommy, I like our old home better. I like my old room better. It’s little. Little kids need little rooms.” So there you have it.
　　有時(shí),我們駕車(chē)經(jīng)過(guò)我們以前住的老公寓——離我們的新居只有五分鐘的車(chē)程——我那四歲大的孩子總說(shuō):“我不喜歡我們的新家,媽媽,我更喜歡我們以前的家。我更喜歡我的舊房間。它很小。小孩子需要小的房間。”你看,就是這樣的。

　　I don’t know how long we’ll stay in an apartment, but it’s definitely helped make our lives better. It’s been good, and it’s been worth it.
　　我不知道我們還會(huì)在公寓里住多久,但這種生活經(jīng)歷肯定有助于使我們的生活變得越來(lái)越好。住在公寓里感覺(jué)很好,這段生活經(jīng)歷也很值得。