文字難度:★★☆
One day I decided to plant a garden in our backyard, and my husband began to paint our weathered fence. We’re renters, not owners, and were growing tired of waiting for the day when we would be able to buy something, so we began turning our house into a place we could call home.
一天,我決定在我們的后院里栽種花木,建一個(gè)花園,而我的丈夫開始給我們那因日曬雨淋而褪色的柵欄刷上油漆。我們是這套房子的租客,不是房主,但我們越來越厭倦等待有錢買房的那天到來,于是我們開始把這套房子變成我們可以稱之為“家”的地方。
But it’s not just our house that we’ve become committed to—it’s our neighborhood and our neighbors, not to mention our city. The more people we get to know here and the more friends we make, the more we grow interested in local politics and come to care about what happens to our community. For example, a newspaper article about the future of dog parks in our city means something more to us now that we use those parks and have friends that value and enjoy them as well.
但我們不僅僅對租來的房子投入了感情,還融入到周圍的街區(qū)和鄰居們當(dāng)中,對于我們所在的這座城市,我們更是以心相許。我們在這里認(rèn)識的人以及結(jié)交的朋友越多,我們就越是對本地的政治感興趣,越是關(guān)心我們社區(qū)里發(fā)生的事情。比如,我們格外關(guān)心一篇關(guān)于我們這座城市未來的遛狗公園的新聞報(bào)道,因?yàn)槲覀儠?huì)去那些公園,而且我們有朋友同樣重視這些公園,享受它們帶來的樂趣。
We’ve also taken on new responsibilities: I started volunteering at the city’s animal shelter, and my husband has been volunteering for a nonprofit art gallery. Being involved in this way has given each of us an increased sense of purpose and strengthened our ties to the place we live.
我們也承擔(dān)了新的職責(zé):我開始在市里的動(dòng)物庇護(hù)所里當(dāng)志愿者,我丈夫也一直在一個(gè)非營利性的藝?yán)犬?dāng)義工。用這種方式參與到這座城市里增強(qiáng)了我們每個(gè)人的使命感,鞏固了我們和我們所居住的地方的聯(lián)系。
But it’s not just the things that you can add to your resume that matter. I’m happy to be able to help out an elderly woman I see struggling with her bag. I know I’ve done something good when I knock on a neighbor’s door and let her know her car lights are still on. I feel I’ve done my part when I find a lost dog wandering in the neighborhood and return him to his relieved owner.
然而并不是唯有像做義工這種可以作為工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)寫進(jìn)簡歷的事情才是重要的。當(dāng)我看見一個(gè)老婦人艱難地拎著包,我很開心自己能夠去幫助她;當(dāng)我敲開鄰居的門告訴她,她的車燈忘了熄,我知道我做了一件好事;當(dāng)我在家附近發(fā)現(xiàn)一只迷路的狗在外游蕩,并把它歸還給如釋重負(fù)的狗主人時(shí),我感覺自己盡到了作為這社區(qū)一份子的職責(zé)。
No doubt it works the other way, too. As we come to care about the place we live, the people here grow to know and care about us. It feels good to know that when we’re out of town, our neighbors are picking up our mail and keeping an eye on our house for us. It makes me smile when my husband and I go to our favorite Indian restaurant just across the bridge, and the owner already knows what I’ll be ordering. I’m excited when I see that new trees have been planted on our street by people in our neighborhood. We 1)beam with delight when a neighbor congratulates us on my pregnancy.
當(dāng)然,這些行為也給我們帶來了回報(bào)。隨著我們開始關(guān)心我們所居住的社區(qū),這里的人們也開始了解和關(guān)心我們。我們在外地時(shí),鄰居會(huì)幫我們接收信件、照看門戶,那種感覺真的很好。當(dāng)我和丈夫在橋?qū)Π赌情g我們最喜歡的印度餐館落座,而店主就已經(jīng)知道我將點(diǎn)什么東西吃時(shí),我總會(huì)欣然微笑;當(dāng)看見街坊們在我們房子坐落的街道上栽種新樹木,我會(huì)很興奮;當(dāng)一位鄰居為我懷孕的事祝賀我們夫婦時(shí),我們會(huì)眉開眼笑。
This 2)symbiotic relationship we’re building with our community is exciting and inspiring. As I watch new life sprouting up in my garden, I think about all the possibilities for laying down more roots to this place and growing along with it—other projects I’ll undertake, other neighbors I will get to know, the friendships we will cultivate. And as I think about the baby growing in my 3)womb, I am 4)elated knowing we will be bringing a new person—a new participant—into this community, a community he’ll call his hometown.
我們和我們的社區(qū)建立起來的這種共生的關(guān)系,讓我們備感興奮和鼓舞。當(dāng)我看著我的花園里萌發(fā)出來的新生命,我想到如果我們在這個(gè)地方扎下更多的根并和這個(gè)地方一起成長的所有可能性——我會(huì)開展其他計(jì)劃,我將認(rèn)識其他鄰居,我們將結(jié)下友誼。當(dāng)我想著正在我子宮里成長著的寶寶時(shí),我心懷喜悅地意識到我們正在把一個(gè)新人——一個(gè)新的參與者——帶到這個(gè)他將稱之為“家園”的社區(qū)里。