譯文來惹～

The Chip 盤子碎片

One?day?when?I?was?about?nine?years?old,?I?ran?into?my?mother's?bedroom?and?opened?the?dresser.

大概在我九歲那年，某天我跑進母親的臥室打開了衣櫥。

In?the?top?drawer?was?a?small?wooden?jewelry?box.?I?was?fascinated?by?those?pieces?of?jewelry?in?it.

第一層抽屜里放著一個小小的木質(zhì)珠寶盒。我很喜歡其中的幾件珠寶。

Then?I?saw?there?was?something?hidden?under?a?piece?of?cloth.

隨后我看到一塊布下面藏著什么東西。

Lifting?the?cloth,?I?found?a?little?white?chip?of?china.

掀開布來，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了一小塊白色的陶瓷碎片。

Why?did?my?mother?keep?this?broken?thing??Shining?slightly?in?the?light,?it?offered?no?answers.

為什么我的母親要保存這個碎片呢？在燈光下，它看起來微微閃爍，我想不出答案。

Some?months?later,?I?was?setting?the?dinner?table?when?our?neighbour?Marge?knocked?at?the?door.

幾個月后，某天我正在布置晚餐桌，這時鄰居瑪吉來敲門。

Coming?in?and?glancing?at?the?table,?Marge?said,?"Oh,?you?are?expecting?company.?I'll?stop?by?another?time."

她走了進來，朝餐桌看了一眼，說道，“你們要招待客人呢，那我下次再來吧。”

"No,?come?on?in."?Mom?replied.?"We?are?not?expecting?anyone."

“不是的，你進來吧?！?母親回答道?！皼]有客人要來?！?/p>

"But?isn't?that?your?good?china?"?Marge?asked.?"I'd?never?trust?kids?to?handle?my?good?dishes!"

“但那不是好餐具嗎？” 瑪吉問道。“我從不放心把這么好的餐具交到孩子們手里！”

Mom?laughed.?"Tonight's?my?family's?favorite?meal.?If?you?set?your?best?table?for?a?special?meal?with?guests,?why?not?for?your?own?family?

母親笑了?！敖裢砦覀兗乙煤孟硎芤活D晚餐。既然可以用最好的餐具、不常吃的菜來招待客人，為什么不這樣對家里人呢？“

A?few?broken?plates?are?a?small?price?to?pay?for?the?joy?we?get?using?them."

”碎幾個盤子沒什么大不了的，畢竟一點小損失就能換來家人的快樂。”

Then?she?added.?"Besides,?every?chip?and?crack?has?a?story?to?tell."

她繼續(xù)說道：“除此之外，每一個碎片和裂縫都暗含故事。”

Mom?went?to?the?cupboard?and?took?down?a?plate.

母親走到碗櫥，拿下來一個盤子。

She?said,?"Seeing?this?chip?here??It?happened?when?I?was?17."

她說：“看到盤子上的缺口了嗎？這是我17歲時發(fā)生的事?！?/p>

Her?voice?softened,

她的聲音變得柔和起來。

"One?day?my?brother?invited?a?young?man?to?dinner?and?he?was?seated?next?to?me.

“一天，我的哥哥邀請了一位年輕人來吃晚餐，他被安排坐在我旁邊。“

I?was?so?nervous?that?when?I?took?the?plate,?it?slipped?and?knocked?against?the?chair.

”我非常緊張以至于當我拿盤子的時候，它滑了下去，摔在椅子上。“

As?the?young?man?was?leaving,?he?laid?a?piece?of?broken?china?in?my?hand?without?saying?a?word."

”當這位年輕人要離開的時候，他把從盤子上掉的那塊碎片放在我的手里，沒有說一句話。”

I?couldn't?forget?about?that?plate?with?the?missing?chip.

我忘不了這個有一塊缺口的盤子。

I?went?up?to?take?out?the?little?wooden?jewelry?box?again.?I?examined?the?chip?carefully.

我走上樓去，把小小的木質(zhì)珠寶箱再次拿出來。我仔細端詳這塊碎片。

The?chip?mother?had?saved?with?care?belonged?to?the?plate?she?broke?on?the?day?she?met?my?father.

母親精心保存的這塊碎片，就是她遇到我父親那天打碎的那個盤子上的。