英語美文:情系小提琴 Life in a Violin Case

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　　In order to tell what I believe, I must briefly sketch something of my personal history.

　　為了闡明我的信仰，我必須簡單介紹一下我的經(jīng)歷。

　　The turning point of my life was my decision to give up a promising business career and study music. My parents, although sympathetic, and sharing my love of music, disapproved of it as a profession. This was understandable in view of the family background. My grandfather had taught music for nearly forty years at Springhill College in Mobile and, though much beloved and respected in the community, earned barely enough to provide for his large family. My father often said it was only the hardheaded thriftiness of my grandmother that kept the wolf at bay. As a consequence of this example in the family, the very mention of music as a profession carried with it a picture of a precarious existence with uncertain financial rewards. My parents insisted upon college instead of a conservatory of music, and to college I went – quite happily, as I remember, for although I loved my violin and spent most of my spare time practicing, I had many other interests.

　　我人生的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)是我決定不做發(fā)跡有望的商人而專攻音樂。父母雖然與我志趣相投，也像我一樣熱愛音樂，卻反對(duì)我以音樂為職業(yè)。考慮到我的家庭情況，他們的態(tài)度是完全可以理解的。我祖父在莫比爾的斯普林希爾學(xué)院教授音樂達(dá)四十年之久，深受學(xué)院師生的熱愛和敬重，他的工資卻只能勉強(qiáng)維持一大家人的生活。父親常說若不是祖母精明能干，克勤克儉，一家人非挨餓不可。所以在我們家，只要一提起音樂這個(gè)職業(yè)，大家就聯(lián)想起收入不穩(wěn)定的那種苦日子。父母堅(jiān)持要我上大學(xué)，不讓我進(jìn)音樂學(xué)院，我也就上了大學(xué)。記得當(dāng)時(shí)我還挺開心，因?yàn)殡m然我熱愛小提琴，大部分時(shí)間都用來練琴，我還有許多其他的愛好。

　　Before my graduation form Columbia, the family met with severe financial reverses and I felt it my duty to leave college and take a job. Thus was I launched upon a business career – which I always think of as the wasted years.

　　沒等我從哥倫比亞大學(xué)畢業(yè)，家里的經(jīng)濟(jì)情況就變得很糟，我感到自己有責(zé)任退學(xué)找工作，這才投身商界——我始終認(rèn)為那段經(jīng)商歲月是虛擲光陰。

　　Now I do not for a moment mean to disparage business. My whole point I is that it was not for me. I went into it for money, and aside from the satisfaction of being able to help the family, money is all I got out of it. It was not enough. I felt that life was passing me by. From being merely discontented I became acutely miserable. My one ambition was to save enough to quit and go to Europe to study music. I used to get up at dawn to practice before I left for “downtown”, distracting my poor mother by bolting a hasty breakfast at the last minute. Instead of lunching with my business associates, I would seek out some cheap café, order a meager meal and scribble my harmony exercises. I continued to make money, and finally, bit by bit, accumulated enough to enable me to go abroad. The family being once more solvent, and my help no longer necessary, I resigned from my position and, feeling like a man released from jail, sailed for Europe. I stayed four years, worked harder than I had ever dreamed of working before and enjoyed every minute of it.

　　我從來無意貶低經(jīng)商，我的意思是它不適合我。我經(jīng)商只是為了掙錢，除了能補(bǔ)貼家用給我?guī)硪稽c(diǎn)滿足以外，錢是我經(jīng)商得到的一切。這是不夠的。我感到年華似水從我身邊流走。對(duì)職業(yè)的不滿使我痛苦不堪。我唯一的抱負(fù)是積攢足夠的錢，辭去商務(wù)，到歐洲學(xué)習(xí)音樂。于是，我每天黎明即起，練習(xí)小提琴，然后去“商業(yè)區(qū)”上班。幾乎來不及囫圇吞下倉促準(zhǔn)備的早餐，弄得我可憐的媽媽惶恐不安。我不與業(yè)務(wù)合伙人共進(jìn)午餐，總是找個(gè)便宜的餐館，隨便混上一頓，信手寫些和聲練習(xí)曲。我不停地掙錢，終于一分一分?jǐn)€夠了出國的錢。這時(shí)，家庭經(jīng)濟(jì)情況也好轉(zhuǎn)了，不再需要我的幫助。我辭去商務(wù)，感到自己像出獄的犯人一樣自由，便乘船去了歐洲，一去就是四年。我學(xué)習(xí)比從前想象的刻苦得多，但我非?？鞓?。

　　“Enjoyed” is too mild a word. I walked on air. I really lived. I was a free man and I was doing what I loved to do and what I was meant to do.

　　“快樂”一詞還不足以表達(dá)我的心情，我是樂不可支，飄飄欲仙。我過著真正的生活。我是個(gè)自由人，做我愛做的、命中注定要做的事情。

　　If I had stayed in business, I might be a comparatively wealthy man today, but I do not believe I would have made a success of living. I would have given up all those intangibles, those inner satisfactions, that money can never buy, and that are too often sacrificed when a man’s primary goal is financial success.

　　假如我一直經(jīng)商，今天可能會(huì)相當(dāng)富有，但我不認(rèn)為我的人生會(huì)很成功。我可能會(huì)放棄一切無形的、金錢絕對(duì)買不到的精神上的滿足；這種精神上的滿足常常因?yàn)槿说闹饕钅康氖前l(fā)財(cái)致富而不可企及。

　　When I broke away from business, it was against the advice of practically all my friends and family. So conditioned are most of us to the association of success with money that the thought of giving up a good salary for an idea seemed little short of insane. If so, all I can say is “Gee! It’s great to be crazy.”Money is a wonderful thing, but it is possible to pay too high a price for it.

　　我脫離商界之舉是與所有親友的忠告相違的，因?yàn)槲覀兇蠖鄶?shù)人習(xí)慣把成功與金錢聯(lián)系在一起，為理想而放棄高薪似乎是發(fā)瘋。如果真是如此，我倒要說：“咳，發(fā)瘋可真好！”金錢是好東西，但可能為了金錢，我們付出的代價(jià)太昂貴。