ROCK OF AGES

When i came to the farm as a bride, the rock was there,just around the coner of the house. It was an ugly dull orange, about a foot in diameter, and stuck up a couple of inches through the back lawn waiting to trip me .



当我成为一个新娘来到这个农场的时候，这块石头就在那儿，正好就在房子的拐角处。它外表丑陋，呈暗色橙形，直径大约有一英尺，有几英寸高凸起在屋后的草坪上，好像随时等着要绊倒我似的。



" Can 't we dig it out ?" I asked after I hit full speed with the lawn mower,breaking the blabe.



有一次我正全速开着割草机，一下就撞上了那块石头，连刀刃都碰坏了。于是我就问道：“难道我们就不能把它挖出来吗？”



"No, it's always been there." my husband said , and his father agreed. " It goes down pretty deep, i reckon. " my father-in-law added, "My wife 's family has lived here since the Civil War." No one ever got it out."



“不行，它一直都在那儿。”我丈夫说。他父亲也表示赞同。接着我公公又补充说：“我估计，它在土里埋得很深。自从内战以来，我妻子一家就住在这里，没有人曾挖动它。”



So it stayed. My children were born, grew up and went away. My father in-law died.Some time later ,my husband died.



于是那石头就一直留在那里。接着，我的孩子们出生了，长大了，又各自离开了。我公公去世了。一段时间后，我丈夫也去世了。



After the mouring,there was the coping---and with a sharpened awareness of my sorroundings,because i could change them more easily than my life's situation.The way a woman sees her house when a company comes umexpectedly. I saw a hundred little sore spots. I began to heal them , one at a time.



哀痛之后，我面临着妥善安排生活的问题——我强烈地感到应改变一下周围的环境，因为改变它要比改变我的生活状况容易得多。现在我开始观察我周围的院子，就像一个妇人在一大群客人意外来访时审视自己房子一样。结果我看到的都是伤心之处。于是，我开始对它们一个一个地加以修补。



The spot at the southwest corner of the house,however, was never going to look nice. Now with that rock protection weeds and crab grass to form a scab on the green.



然而，房屋西南角的那一块地方总是让人看着别扭。在石头周围长满了野草，仿佛绿油油的草坪上有一块伤疤。



I went to the shed and got my shovel. I was going to dig out the rock.



我走进小棚里，拿出铁锹，打算把那块大石头挖出来。



I braced myself for what was to be a long day,perhaps experienced by previous generations who had tried to dislodge the rock. I put on heavy shoes and rolled out my wheelbarrow. If it took the whole day , that rock was going to come out.



我鼓起勇气，准备大干一整天。也许先辈们已经尝试过要移走这块石头，但没成功。我穿上笨重的鞋，推出了我的手推车。即使要花一整天时间，我也要把那块石头挖出来。



Five minutes later the rock was out .It had been about a foot deep, and maybe six inches wider than it looked from the top. I pried it loose with a crowbar and hoisted it into the wheelbarrow.



五分钟之后，石头就露出来了。它入地约有一英尺深，地下部分比从上面看到的可能要宽六英寸。我用撬棍把它撬松，然后搬到了手推车里。



I was stunned. That rock had presisted there beyond living memory.Each family had taken it on faith that the previous generation had tried and faith to remove it .Because the rock had appeared to be large and deep,it was treated as immovable and strong.I have seen people do this too---and get others to walk carefully around them and assume a depth of character and knowledge solely from demeanor rather than from actual accomplishment.



我十分惊讶。那块石头一直盘踞在那里，以至于今天的人们都记不起它了。每个家庭都深信不疑地以为前辈们曾试图搬走它，但都失败了。因为那块石头外表看起来似乎很大，入土似乎也很深，于是人们就觉得它坚如磐石，根本挪不动。我就曾见过这样的人：他们摆出学问渊博、深不可测的脸孔，其实纯粹是装装样子，没什么真才实学，只是想让人们对他们敬而远之。



The orange rock had earned my respect. I couldn't just dump it behind the barn. So i wheeled it over to the shed ,still within sight of the house. It rests there,with vinca growing around it.



这块橙形的石头已经赢得了我的敬意。我不能就把它倒在仓库后面不管了。于是，我把它推出小棚，仍作为房舍的一景。它默默地呆在那里，周围爬满了常春藤。



I still see the rock every day but now as something good in my little landscape.It's a reminder that each generation ought to find things out for itself.



我每天仍然能看到这块石头，但是现在它成了我眼中一道美丽的风景。它提示着人们：每一代人都应当亲自去探究某些事物。



Key words 关键词



diameter n. 直径



blade n. 刀刃、刀片



stick up 突起、竖起



trip v. 绊倒



reckon v. 估计、猜想



a sharpened awareness 一种强烈的意识、一种深切的感受



sore spots 使人伤心的事、令人伤心的地方



company 陪伴、一大群



shovel n. 铲，生产



braced myself 鼓起勇气



demeanor n.举动、态度



accomplishment n. 才干、学识、才艺



vinca n.长春蔓、长春花



mower n. 割草机



wheelbarrow n. 手推车



dislodge v. 赶出、移动、驱逐



crowbar n. 撬棍



hoist into 搬入



stun v.使惊愕、使目瞪口呆