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I woke before dawn to hear howling wind pelting the house with icy sleet. I peered outside at swirling sheets of white snow, whipped into frenzy by the fierce wind.
In the streetlight’s muted1 glow, I saw that snow had erased familiar landmarks; the birdbath, small shrubs2, and the doghouse were all buried. A phalanx3 of snowplows rumbled into view, spraying fountains of snow onto the stone wall, spewing sparks as blades rasped the pavement.
Shivering in the chill, I blew on the window and wrote my name in the fog, dotting the “i” with a heart. I erased it with my palm, blew again, and made a smiley face. This I left on the window. I clicked on the TV and stood impatiently as closed-school lists scrolled across the bottom of the screen. There it was: My school.
“Yes!” I whispered, “Yes!” Smiling, I headed back to bed. I pictured my students snuggled4 in bed for another hour or two, cheered by a parent’s soft whisper, “No school today, Honey. Go back to sleep.” I had said the same to my 17-year-old who would sleep past noon if I let him. Maybe I would.
Then I tripped over my bulging5 book bag, overflowing with tests and book reports to be corrected. I told myself I had too much to do to waste the day in bed.
I detoured to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and hunkered down with red pen and book reports. My fifth-graders would have a test tomorrow. Somehow I couldn’t picture them studying. I wondered if they would read a bit of the new mystery book I had assigned.
By midmorning, with papers corrected, I listed chores for the day: Clean refrigerator, change sheets, catch up on ironing, pay bills, balance the checking account... My energy lagged.
The wind had slowed, and a pale sun apologized for the weather. Laughing voices drew me to the window. Children were sledding down the hill across the street. They were sliding so fast they resembled streaks of a rainbow as their scarves blew behind. I could see puffs6 of steamy breath as they laughed. Clearly they weren’t reading or studying.
But they weren’t wasting this gift of a day. A day to enjoy was rare. I dressed for a walk and made one more plan. Tomorrow I’d take the class out to build a snowman. Their test could wait one more day.
黎明前我醒来时，听到呼啸的寒风夹杂着冰雪敲击着房子。我凝视着窗外，盘旋飞扬的雪花正被狂风抽打进一个冰冷的世界中。
借着街灯微弱的光线，我看到雪已经掩盖了熟悉的路标；鸟浴池、小灌木丛和狗窝都已被大雪掩埋起来。轰鸣着的扫雪机方阵进入我的视野，将雪花喷泉般地吹到石头墙上，刀片划过人行道时击出灿烂的火花。
在寒风中颤抖着，我朝窗子上呵口气，在布满蒸汽的窗子上写下我的名字，并用一个心形图案点缀着“i”。我用手掌将它擦去，再次呵气，然后画了一张笑脸。这次我将它留在窗子上。我打开电视，烦躁地站在那里看停课学校名单穿越屏幕底部向上移动。电视上出现的是：我的学校。
“是的！”我小声说，“没错！”我笑着回去睡觉。我想象着学生们还能在床上蜷伏一两个小时，因家长柔和的低语——“今天不上学，宝贝。继续睡吧”而满心欢喜。我对自己17岁大的孩子说过同样的话，如果让他继续睡觉，他会一直睡到下午。或许我也会这样。
然后我被鼓鼓囊囊的书包绊了一下，里面需要批改的试卷和课堂笔记散落开来。我对自己说有太多的工作要做，而不应该在床上浪费一天时间。
我绕道走进厨房，冲了一壶咖啡，然后拿着一枝红笔和课堂笔记坐下。我的五年级学生明天将进行一次测试。不知何故我无法想象出他们学习时的情景。我不知道他们是否会阅读我布置好的难以理解的新课本。
在上午改完作业后，我列出了这一天需要做的事情：清理冰箱、换被单、熨烫衣服、交付账单、结算一下支票……我有些力不从心了。
大风慢了许多，暗淡的太阳似乎在为天气的寒冷致歉。一阵欢声笑语将我吸引到窗前。孩子们正沿着山坡滑雪橇穿过街道。他们飞速滑行，围巾向后飘动着，犹如彩虹条纹。当他们欢笑时我能看见他们呼出的白汽。很明显他们并没有读书和学习。
但他们没有浪费老天的馈赠。享受一天是可贵的。我穿好衣服出去散步，并制定了另外一个计划。明天我要带学生出去堆雪人。他们的考试过两天再说。
贾庆文摘译自Life
In the streetlight’s muted1 glow, I saw that snow had erased familiar landmarks; the birdbath, small shrubs2, and the doghouse were all buried. A phalanx3 of snowplows rumbled into view, spraying fountains of snow onto the stone wall, spewing sparks as blades rasped the pavement.
Shivering in the chill, I blew on the window and wrote my name in the fog, dotting the “i” with a heart. I erased it with my palm, blew again, and made a smiley face. This I left on the window. I clicked on the TV and stood impatiently as closed-school lists scrolled across the bottom of the screen. There it was: My school.
“Yes!” I whispered, “Yes!” Smiling, I headed back to bed. I pictured my students snuggled4 in bed for another hour or two, cheered by a parent’s soft whisper, “No school today, Honey. Go back to sleep.” I had said the same to my 17-year-old who would sleep past noon if I let him. Maybe I would.
Then I tripped over my bulging5 book bag, overflowing with tests and book reports to be corrected. I told myself I had too much to do to waste the day in bed.
I detoured to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and hunkered down with red pen and book reports. My fifth-graders would have a test tomorrow. Somehow I couldn’t picture them studying. I wondered if they would read a bit of the new mystery book I had assigned.
By midmorning, with papers corrected, I listed chores for the day: Clean refrigerator, change sheets, catch up on ironing, pay bills, balance the checking account... My energy lagged.
The wind had slowed, and a pale sun apologized for the weather. Laughing voices drew me to the window. Children were sledding down the hill across the street. They were sliding so fast they resembled streaks of a rainbow as their scarves blew behind. I could see puffs6 of steamy breath as they laughed. Clearly they weren’t reading or studying.
But they weren’t wasting this gift of a day. A day to enjoy was rare. I dressed for a walk and made one more plan. Tomorrow I’d take the class out to build a snowman. Their test could wait one more day.
黎明前我醒来时，听到呼啸的寒风夹杂着冰雪敲击着房子。我凝视着窗外，盘旋飞扬的雪花正被狂风抽打进一个冰冷的世界中。
借着街灯微弱的光线，我看到雪已经掩盖了熟悉的路标；鸟浴池、小灌木丛和狗窝都已被大雪掩埋起来。轰鸣着的扫雪机方阵进入我的视野，将雪花喷泉般地吹到石头墙上，刀片划过人行道时击出灿烂的火花。
在寒风中颤抖着，我朝窗子上呵口气，在布满蒸汽的窗子上写下我的名字，并用一个心形图案点缀着“i”。我用手掌将它擦去，再次呵气，然后画了一张笑脸。这次我将它留在窗子上。我打开电视，烦躁地站在那里看停课学校名单穿越屏幕底部向上移动。电视上出现的是：我的学校。
“是的！”我小声说，“没错！”我笑着回去睡觉。我想象着学生们还能在床上蜷伏一两个小时，因家长柔和的低语——“今天不上学，宝贝。继续睡吧”而满心欢喜。我对自己17岁大的孩子说过同样的话，如果让他继续睡觉，他会一直睡到下午。或许我也会这样。
然后我被鼓鼓囊囊的书包绊了一下，里面需要批改的试卷和课堂笔记散落开来。我对自己说有太多的工作要做，而不应该在床上浪费一天时间。
我绕道走进厨房，冲了一壶咖啡，然后拿着一枝红笔和课堂笔记坐下。我的五年级学生明天将进行一次测试。不知何故我无法想象出他们学习时的情景。我不知道他们是否会阅读我布置好的难以理解的新课本。
在上午改完作业后，我列出了这一天需要做的事情：清理冰箱、换被单、熨烫衣服、交付账单、结算一下支票……我有些力不从心了。
大风慢了许多，暗淡的太阳似乎在为天气的寒冷致歉。一阵欢声笑语将我吸引到窗前。孩子们正沿着山坡滑雪橇穿过街道。他们飞速滑行，围巾向后飘动着，犹如彩虹条纹。当他们欢笑时我能看见他们呼出的白汽。很明显他们并没有读书和学习。
但他们没有浪费老天的馈赠。享受一天是可贵的。我穿好衣服出去散步，并制定了另外一个计划。明天我要带学生出去堆雪人。他们的考试过两天再说。
贾庆文摘译自Life