【漢譯英】

我依然記得陽光灑在她頭發(fā)上的樣子。她轉(zhuǎn)過頭，我們四目相對，在五年級喧囂的教室里，一絲奇妙的情愫掠過我的心。一剎那，我的心好像中了一擊。就這樣，我的初戀開始了。

她叫Rachel。我渾渾噩噩地讀完了五年級和中學(xué)，在此期間，只要見到她我就會動(dòng)心，只要有她在場，我就會說不出話來。除了我，還會有誰被她微亮的窗燈吸引，徘徊在夜幕中，像夏夜里可憐的蟲子?那種如癡如狂的激情，雖非性愛，但卻是那樣急迫，那樣難以抗拒，使我局促不安，使我的聲音凝噎。如今，這一切就像那場難圓的夢。

一條通往家和學(xué)校的林間小道上，我常常與她邂逅，然而這卻讓我萬分沮喪，因?yàn)樗偸且桓比魺o其事，鎮(zhèn)定自如的樣子。回到家之后，我只能獨(dú)自重溫和她每次相遇時(shí)的情景，而一想到自己不善言談我就深深為之苦惱。即便這樣，在我們十幾歲的時(shí)候，我卻能感受到她對我的柔情。要做“男女朋友”我們還缺乏那份成熟。她的猶太正教的教養(yǎng)和我天主教的自責(zé)心，迫使我們表現(xiàn)出單身者的莊重，在我們之間連接吻也變得可望而不可及，雖然我們都非?？释?一次舞會上我終于擁抱了她——當(dāng)然，有父母在場。我的擁抱使她咯咯地笑起來，那充滿天真，信賴的少女的笑聲讓我痛恨自己當(dāng)時(shí)莫名冒出來的想法。無論如何，我對Rachel的愛仍然只是單相思。后來，我們都高中畢業(yè)，她考上了大學(xué)，而我則參了軍。

二戰(zhàn)使我們天各一方，因?yàn)槲冶慌赏撕Ｍ?。一段時(shí)間里我們只能寄鴻雁以訴衷腸。在那段艱難無望，漫漫無期的歲月里，她的書信是我最刻骨銘心的記憶。一次她寄給我一張她身著泳裝的快照，這張照片使我對她的思念飆到了極點(diǎn)。在回復(fù)她的信中，我談到我們結(jié)婚有沒有可能，而就從那以后。她的信越來越少，越來越陌生了?；貒笪移炔患按鼐腿ニ艺宜ｉT，是她母親給開的。后來我才知道，Rachel已經(jīng)不在那住了。她早結(jié)婚了，和一個(gè)在大學(xué)里認(rèn)識的學(xué)醫(yī)的同學(xué)。她母親對我說：“我以為她已經(jīng)寫信告訴你了。”她的絕情書終于被我收到了，那是在我等候復(fù)原的時(shí)候。她委婉地向我解釋，我，和她，結(jié)婚，是不可能的?，F(xiàn)在回想起來，雖然在開始的幾個(gè)月里我想自己再也不愿意活下去了，我當(dāng)時(shí)還算很快就熬過了那段苦海無邊的日子。像Rachel一樣，后來，我也找到了屬于自己的她——一個(gè)我學(xué)會用永恒的更深沉的承諾去愛的人，直到今天，此情依舊!

【參考譯文】

I remember the way the light touched her hair. She turned her head, and our eyes met, a momentary awareness in that raucous fifth grade classroom. I felt as though I' d been struck a blow under the heart Thus began my first love affair.

Her name was Rachel, and I mooned my way through the grade and high school, stricken at the mere sight of her, tongue-tied in her presence. Does anyone, anymore, linger in the shadows of evening, drawn by the pale light of a window--her window--like some hapless summer insect?

That delirious swooning, asexual but urgent and obsessive, that made me awkward and my voice crack, is like some impossible dream now.

I would catch sight of her, walking down an aisle of trees to or from school, and I' d become paralyzed. She always seemed so poised, so self-possessed. At home, I' d relive each encounter,

writhing at the thought of my inadequacies. We eventually got acquainted and socialized as we entered our adolescence, she knew I had a case on her, and I sensed her affectionate tolerance for me. "Going sready" implied a maturity we still lacked. Her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and my

own Catholic scruples imposed an inhibited grace that made even kissing a distant prospect, however fervently desired. I managed to hold her once at a dance-chaperoned, of course. Our embrace made her giggle, a sound so trusting that I hated myself for what I' d been thinking. At any rate,my love for Rachel remained unrequited. We graduated from high school, she went on to college,and I joined the Army.

When World War II engulfed us, I was sent overseas. For a time we corresponded, and her letters were the highlight of those grinding endless years. Once she sent me a snapshot of herself in a bathing suit, which drove me to the wildest of fantasies. I mentioned the possibility of marriage in my next letter, and almost immediately her replies became less frequent, less personal. Her Dear

John latter finally caught UD with me while I was awaiting discharge. She gently explained the impossibility of a marriage between us. Looking back on it, I must have recovered rather quickly, although for the first few months I believed I didn' t want to five. Like Rachel, I found someone else, whom I learned to love with a deep and permanent commitment that has lasted to this day.