第559期:英语美文-上帝创造的第一位母亲

　　英语美文-上帝创造的第一位母亲

　　在《圣经》中，相传创世之前，一片混沌，地球在黑暗、沉寂无声的太空飘浮，没有陆地，只有满满的海水。上帝耶和华用六天时间创造了世界。第一天创造了白天和黑夜、第二天创造空气和天；第三天创造了地、海，山川平原，花、草、树木；第四天创造了天上要布满星辰，用来划分季节和年，夜晚是休息的时间，就让宁静的月亮给那些穿越沙漠的漂泊者指明方向，帮他们找到栖身之处；第五天上帝创造了鱼、鸟等各种动物；第六天上帝创造了人；第七天上帝休息了。今天这篇文章，讲述的是上帝在第六天造人的时候，和天使的一段对话。这段对话是针对于上帝手中的“母亲”展开的。

　　New Words:

　　elastic¹ adj. 有弹力的; 可伸缩的;

　　replaceable adj. 可代替的;

　　standard n. 标准，规格; errant

　　protest n. 抗议; 反对; 申明;

　　endure vt. 忍耐; 容忍;

　　negotiate vi. 谈判，协商，交涉;

　　By the time the Lord made the first mother, he was into the sixth day working overtime². An Angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

　　等到上帝创造第一位母亲之时,他已经超时工作到第六天。这时一位天使出现了,问道："您为什么要花这么长时间造这个人呢?"

　　And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers³, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart and have six pairs of hands."

　　上帝回答说："你有没有读过说明书?她必须是可洗的,但又不像橡胶；她有二百个可活动的零件,全部可以更换；她靠咖啡和剩饭剩菜运转；她的腿上可以同时坐上三个孩子,而当她站起来时,这腿又得恢复正常长度；她的吻能治愈一切,不管是擦伤的膝盖还是破碎的心,都能治愈；她还有六双手."

　　The Angel was astounded⁴ at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands? No way!" said the Angel.

　　天使听到这些要求感到十分惊讶,说道："六双手?不可能呀!"

　　The Lord replied, "Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have."

　　上帝回答："造六双手并不是难题，最难的在于母亲必须有三双眼睛!"

　　"And that's on the standard model?" , the Angel asked.

　　"那这就是最标准的模型了吧?"天使问道.

　　The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head is to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair is here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."

　　上帝点点头表示同意,"是的。一双眼睛能看穿紧闭的房门,尽管她已经知道,但她还是要问孩子们在做什么。另一双眼睛长在后脑勺儿上面, 能看到她需要知道但在别人看来她不可能知道的事情。最后一双眼睛在头前边, 用来关注一个偏离正道的孩子, 即使没有只言片语,也能让孩子从她的眼神中看到她的理解与关爱."

　　The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

　　天使试图让上帝停下手中的活儿, "一天怎么能干这么多活儿?等明天再完成吧。"

　　"But I can't," the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She always heals herself when she is sick and can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine-year-old boy to stand in the shower."

　　"不行!"上帝抗议道,"我这就要完成我的作品了,它是那么贴近我的心。 她生病的时候总能不药而愈,而且,她能只用一磅的汉堡包就喂饱一家六口人,还能让一个九岁男孩乖乖地站着洗澡。”

　　The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

　　天使靠近并抚摸那女人, ”但是,上帝,您把她做得如此柔软。"

　　"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

　　"她是柔软,"上帝表示同意,"但是我也让她坚强.你想象不到她能够忍受多少,能够成就多少."

　　"Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel.

　　"她能思考吗?"天使问.

　　The Lord replied, "Not only Will she be able to think, she Will be able to reason, and negotiate."

　　上帝回答："她不仅能够思考,还能够推理和交涉."

　　The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like there's a leak in her face. You were trying to put too much into this one."

　　这时天使注意到了什么,伸出手触摸女人的面颊。"哎呀,她脸上好像有一个洞。您是不是在这件作品中注入了太多的东西啊."

　　"That's not a leak," the Lord objected. "That's a tear."

　　"那不是洞,"上帝说,"那是一滴眼泪!"

　　"What's the tear for?", the Angel asked.

　　"要眼泪做什么呢?"天使问。

　　The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

　　上帝说："眼泪是她表达喜悦、悲哀、失望、痛苦、孤独、忧伤和骄傲的方式。"

　　The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear."

　　天使深受感动,说道："上帝,您真是个天才! 您考虑到了一切,甚至造出了眼泪!"

　　The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear."

　　上帝看着天使,微笑着说道："恐怕你又错了。我的确创造了这个女人, 但眼泪却是她自己创造的。" 

1 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

2 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

3 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

4 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。