英语阅读翻译之：男孩的使命
In 1945, a 12-year-old boy saw something in a shop window that t his heart racing. But the price—five dollars—was
far beyond Reuben Earle's means. Five dollars would buy
almost a week's groceries for his family.
1945年，一个12岁的男孩在一家商店橱窗里看到一样令他心动的东西，但是——5美元——远不是鲁本?厄尔能付得起的。5美元几乎
够买全家一周的食品呢。
Reuben couldn't ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made through fishing in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada. Reuben's mother, Dora, stretched like elastic to feed and clothe their five children.
鲁本不能向父亲要钱。马克?厄尔的每一分钱都是靠在加拿大纽芬
兰的罗伯茨湾捕鱼挣来的。鲁本的母亲多拉，为了不让五个孩子冻着
饿着，差不多是一个钱当两个钱用。
Nevertheless, he opened the shop's weathered door and
went inside. Standing proud and straight in his flour-sack
shirt and washed-out trours, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, “But I don't have the money right now. Can you plea hold it for me for some time?”
菠萝的营养价值即使如此，鲁本还是推开商店那扇久经风雨的门走了进去。他穿
着面粉袋改做的衬衫和洗得褪了色的裤子，站得笔直，丝毫不觉困窘。他告诉了店主他想要的东西，又加上一句：“可我现在还没有钱买它，您能为我预留一段时间吗?”
“I'll try,”the shopkeeper smiled. “Folks around here don't usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”
“我尽量吧，”店主微笑着说，“这儿的人买起东西来，一般不
会花那么大一笔钱的，一时半会儿卖不出去。”
Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the sunlight with the bay rippling in a freshening wind. There was purpo in his loping stride5. He would rai the
five dollars and not tell anybody.
鲁本很有礼貌地碰了碰他的旧帽沿儿，走出店外。阳光下清新的
微风吹得罗伯茨湾的海水泛起阵阵涟漪。鲁本迈着大步，下定决心：
他要凑齐那5美元，而且不告诉任何人。
Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea.
听到街边传来的铁锤声，鲁本有了主意。
He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using
ardsnails purchad in hessian sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of building, and Reuben knew he could ll them back to the factory for
five cents a piece.
他循声跑过去，来到一处建筑工地。罗伯茨湾的人喜欢自己建房，用的钉子是从本地一家工厂买的，都用麻袋来装。有时干活时忙乱中
麻袋就被随手丢弃，而鲁本知道他能够 5分钱一条把麻袋再卖给工厂。
That day he found two sacks, which he took to the
rambling wooden factory and sold to the man in charge of packing nails.
那天，他找了两条麻袋，拿到杂乱的木材厂，卖给为钉子装袋的人。
The boy's hand tightly clutched the five-cent pieces as
he ran the two kilometers home.
两公里的路程他是一路跑着回的家，手里紧紧攥着两个5分硬币。
Near his hou stood the ancient barn that houd the family's goats and chickens. Reuben found a rusty soda tin
and dropped his coins inside. Then he climbed into the loft
of the barn and hid the tin beneath a pile of sweet smelling hay.
他家旁边有个颇有年头的谷仓，里面圈着家里的山羊和鸡。鲁本
在那里找到一个生锈的装苏打的铁罐，把两枚硬币放了进去。然后，
他爬上谷仓的阁楼，把铁罐藏在一堆散发着甜香味的干草下面。
It was dinnertime when Reuben got home. His father sat at the big kitchen table, working on a fishing net. Dora was at the kitchen stove, ready to rve dinner as Reuben took his place at the table.
晚饭时分，鲁本跨进家门。父亲正坐在厨房大餐桌旁摆弄渔网，
多拉在灶台边忙碌着，准备开饭。鲁本就在桌边坐下了。
He looked at his mother and smiled. Sunlight from the window gilded her shoulder-length blonde hair. Slim and beautiful, she was the center of the home, the glue that held it together.
他看着妈妈，笑了。窗户透进的夕阳余晖将她棕褐的披肩发染成
了金色。苗条、美丽的母亲是这个家的中心，她像胶水一样使这个家
避孕套英文紧紧粘结在一起。
the crowded roomHer chores were never-ending. Sewing clothes for her
英语周报网站family on the old Singer treadle machine, cooking meals and baking bread, planting and tending a vegetable garden,
milking the goats and scrubbing soiled clothes on a washboard. But she was happy. Her family and their well-being were her highest priority.
母亲的家务活永远也没个完。用老式的“胜家”缝纫机为一家人
缝缝补补；要做饭、烤面包；要照料菜园；要挤羊奶；还要在洗衣板
上搓洗脏衣服。可母亲是快乐的，全家人的幸福、健康在她心中是最
重要的。
Every day after chores and school, Reuben scoured the town, collecting the hessian nail bags. On the day the two-room school clod for the summer, no student was more delighted than Reuben. Now he would have more time for his mission.
每天放学，做完家务事后，鲁本就在镇上搜寻装钉子的麻袋。只
有两间教室的学校开始放暑假的那天，没人能比鲁本更高兴了。现在
他有更多时间去完成他的使命。bathe
All summer long, despite chores at home weeding and watering the garden, cutting wood and fetching water—Reuben kept to his cret task.
整整一个夏天，鲁本除了干家务——给菜园锄草、浇水，砍柴和
打水外，始终实行着他的秘密任务。
Then all too soon the garden was harvested, the
vegetables canned and stored, and the school reopened. Soon
the leaves fell and the winds blew cold and gusty from the bay. Reuben wandered the streets, diligently arching for
his hessian treasures.
necps转眼菜园里该采收了，蔬菜被装罐腌制后储藏，学校也开学了。再不久，树叶飘零，海湾吹起阵阵寒风。鲁本在街头徘徊，努力寻找着被他视为宝物的麻袋。
Often he was cold, tired and hungry, but the thought of the object in the shop window sustained him. Sometimes his mother would ask：“Reuben, where were you? We were waiting for you to have dinner.”
他经常是饥寒交迫，疲惫不堪，但是一想到商店橱窗里的那样东西，他就又有劲儿坚持下去了。有时妈妈会问：“鲁本，你上哪儿啦?我们等你吃饭呢!”
“Playing, Mum. Sorry.”above
explained“玩去啦，妈妈。对不起。”
Dora would look at his face and shake her head. Boys.
这时候，多拉总会瞧着他的脸，无奈地摇摇头，心想：男孩就是男孩。
esther williamsFinally spring burst into glorious green and Reuben's spirits erupted. The time had come! He ran into the barn, climbed to the hayloft and uncovered the tin can. He poured the coins out and began to count.
春天终于来了，带来片片绿意，鲁本的精神也随之振奋。是时候了!他跑到谷仓，爬上草垛，打开铁罐，倒出所有硬币清点起来。
Then he counted again. He needed 20 cents more. Could there be any sacks left any where in town? He had to find four and ll them before the day ended.
他又数一遍，还差20美分。镇上哪儿还会有丢弃的麻袋吗?他必须在今天结束之前再找4条去卖掉。
