大学英语四六级经典阅读：Do It Today 今天就开始行动

 

When I was superintendent of schools in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board of trustees, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly's son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents acknowledged his academic difficulties, but always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper. 

 

当我还在加利福尼亚的帕洛·阿尔图学校做教学主管时，信托管董事会主席波利·泰勒写过一封信，这封信后来发表在《帕洛·阿尔图时报》上。波利的儿子吉姆，学习很吃力。他被诊断为"学习障碍症"，需要老师和父母花费极大的耐性去教育，但是吉姆是个快乐的孩子;他的笑声经常充盈在整个房间。父母熟知他在学习方面的困难，总是力图帮助他去认识自己的优势，让他能够自豪地走在路上。吉姆高中毕业不久，就丧生于一起摩托车事故中。他去世后，他母亲将这封信寄给了报社。 

 

Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known when I talked to him last that it would be the last time. If I had only known I would have said, "Jim, I love you and I'm so very proud of you." 

 

今天我们安葬我们20岁的儿子。他于周五晚丧生于一起摩托车事故中，我多么希望自己能预料到上次与他的谈话将是我们的最后一次谈话啊!如果我知道的话，我肯定会对他说："吉姆，我爱你，我为你感到自豪。" 

 

I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he brought to the lives of the many who loved him. I would have taken time to appreciate his beautiful smile, the sound of his laughter, his genuine love of people. 

 

我那时将会慢慢细数他给予那些爱他的人所带来的祝福。我还将慢慢欣赏他的美丽笑容，他的笑声以及他对人们真诚的爱。 

 

When you put all the good attributes on the scale and you try to balance all the irritating traits such as the radio which was always too loud, the haircut that wasn't to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., the irritations don't amount to much. 

 

当你把他所有的优点放在天平的一端，并且你也会试着把他一些恼人的事放在另一端以求平衡。比如：他会把录音机的声音开得过大，他会把头发剪成我们不喜欢的样式，把臭袜子放在床底等等，这些讨厌的东西算起来可真多。 

 

I won't get another chance to tell my son all I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, you do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear if you knew it would be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the day he died. He called me to say, "Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. Got to go to work. Bye." He gave me something to treasure forever. 

 

我再也没有机会去告诉儿子我本来想让他知道的事，但是，其他的父母，你们还有机会告诉你们的孩子你们想让他们听到的。把它当作是你们之间的最后一次谈话。我和吉姆的最后一次谈话就是在他走的那天。他打电话跟我说："嗨！妈咪，我打电话只想告诉你我爱你。去上班了。拜拜。"他给了我一些值得我永远珍惜的东西。 

 

If there is any purpose at all to Jim's death, maybe it is to make others appreciate more of life and to have people take the time to let each other know just how much we care. 

 

如果说对于吉姆的死，得到什么启示的话，或许，这可能使大家更加珍惜生命，能够让大家细细体会彼此之间的关爱。 

 

You may never have another chance. Do it today! 

 

你可能再也没有这样的机会，所以今天就行动吧! 

 

词汇注释 

 

superintendent n. 管理人，监督人 

 

handicapped adj. 缺陷的，残疾的 

 

submit vt. 呈送，递交 

 

motorcycle n. 摩托车 

 

blessing n. 祝福 

 

treasure vt. 重视，珍藏