english-A Chance of a lifetime 生命的機遇-english language

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english learning centre "This is a chance of a life time," I declared to my friend Stacy as I locked the door of my office and left the restaurant I managed. "It's every twenty-seven-year-old woman's dream to live in New York City, and in a few months I'll know if I get the transfer." "這可是我生命中的一次機遇，"我對斯泰西說。說著，我鎖上辦公室的門，離開了我經營多年的飯店。在紐約生活，這可是每個27歲的女人所夢寐以求的.還有幾個月我就可以知道能否獲準遷入。 I watched the moonlight glisten on the waters of Laguna Beach. "I'll miss it here, but living in the Big Apple is everything I've ever wanted - a dream come true." 我凝視著倒映在拉古納灣水面上的月光。"我很留戀這里，可住在紐約是長久以來我心中惟一的夢想--如今，美夢就要成真了!" We met a group of our friends at a local cafe, and I jabbered on about the possibility of my move. Laughter erupted from a nearby table. I watched as a handsome man captured the attention of his friends with his engaging story. His broad, warm smile and air of confidence held me in a trance. Stacy nudged me. "You're staring, 在街上的一家小咖啡店里，我們遇到了一群朋友，我便和他們閑聊著我可能要走的事。這時，鄰近的一張桌子爆發出陣陣笑聲。我應聲望去，看見一個英俊的男人正在給他的朋友講一個引人人勝的故事。他那坦率、溫暖的笑容和自信的模樣讓我不由地發怔。 斯泰西輕輕地捅了我一下，說道："嘿，米歇爾，你發什么呆，好像著魔了一樣。" Michelle, and about to drool." "Wow," I whispered. I watched the gorgeous guy push up the sleeves of his bulky sweater. Everyone at his table had their eyes fixed on him. "That's the man I want to marry." "Yeah, right," Stacy droned. "Tell us more about where you'd like to live in New York, because we all plan to visit you there when you land this job. " As I spoke my gaze drifted back to the debonair man. 我看著那英俊的家伙卷起他那寬松外套的衣袖。他桌邊的同伴都全神貫注地望著他。我輕呼道；"哦！那正是我要嫁的男人。""的確不錯，"斯泰西說。"不過，還是快說說你在紐約打算住哪兒？要知道我們都打算等你工作定了去那兒看你。" 我回答著她的問題，目光卻不由自主地移向那個神采飛揚的男人。 Three months later my friends and I gathered at the same restaurant. "To life in the Big Apple!" they cheered as we tapped our glasses together. "My chance of a lifetime!" We talked for hours. I told them of my plan to save money by moving out of my beach cottage and renting a room for the few remaining months. Our friend offered, "I have a fellow South African friend who is considering renting one of the four bedrooms in his house. His name is Barry. A great guy." He scribbled on a napkin. "This is his number. He's a forty-two-year-old confirmed bachelor. Says he's much too busy being a single dad to be a husband." 三個月后，我和朋友又相聚在同一家餐廳里。我們互相碰杯，歡呼道："為了紐約的新生活！"我們聊了幾個小時，我總說這是我生命中的一次機遇。我告訴他們為省錢我決定搬出海邊的小木屋，準備在離開前的幾個月內租一間房間住。"我有一個來自南非的朋友，"一個朋友主動提出，"他叫巴里，是個很不錯的家伙。""這是他的電話，"他在一張餐巾紙上寫下了號碼。"他是個42歲堅定的單身主義者。他戲言自己忙于做一個單身父親而沒有時間再做丈夫。" I made an appointment to see the room the same day. I approached the entrance of the spacious house, and the door opened. "You must be Michelle," he said. He pushed up the sleeves of his bulky sweater and flashed his handsome smile. It was the man from the restaurant months before --- the man I wanted to marry. 當天，我便預約去看房子。我正朝那所大房子走去時，門開了。"你一定是米歇爾，"他說著，卷起他寬松外套的衣袖，臉上漾起迷人的微笑。這不就是幾個月前飯店里的那個男人--那個我想要嫁的男人！ I stood staring, my mouth gaping, hoping I wasn't drooling. 我目瞪口呆地站在那里，希望自己沒有失態。 "You are Michelle, aren't you? " he said, coaxing me out of my trance." Would you like to see the room?" "你就是米歇爾，對嗎？"他打斷了我的思緒，說道："你想看看房間嗎？" A Chance of a lifetime 生命的機遇（2） I followed him through a tour of the house, then accepted when he offered me a cup of tea. Barry had a sophisticated kindness about him and listened attentively as I chattered nervously about myself. His silver-rimmed glasses accented a few gray streaks in his dark hair. Soon, his warm, inviting smile put me at ease, and we spent the next two hours talking casually. Ultimately, I decided not to take the room and reluctantly bade him good-bye. 我便隨著他參觀了一下房子，并接受了他的邀請，喝了一杯茶。巴里沉穩而耐心，他專心地聽我喋喋不休地談論著自己。他那銀鑲邊的眼鏡使他深色頭發中的幾縷白發格外醒目。很快，他燦爛、熱情的微笑令我放松。在接下來的兩個小時里，我們隨意地聊著。最后，我決定不租那房間，并依依不舍地和他道別。 The months went by quickly while I busied myself with preparation for the move. I thought of Bany often, but couldn't consider calling him. 之后，我整天忙于搬家的事，幾個月飛快地過去了。這段日子里，盡管我常常想到巴里，卻不曾想過要打電話給他。 "I'm moving to New York in three weeks, "I said to Stacy as we walked out of my office and into the dining area. "As much as I'd like to see him again, it would only complicate my life. 一天，當我和斯泰西離開我的辦公室走向飯廳時，我說："再過三個星期，我就要去紐約了，再見他一面，只會使我的生活變得一團糟。" "Well, brace yourself for complications," Stacy muttered, then nodded toward the door. Barry, with his big blue eyes and engaging smile, walked into my restaurant. "那么，就讓它一團糟吧！"斯泰西低語道，朝著門那邊點了點頭。是巴里，他用那雙蔚藍色的眼睛望著我，臉上帶著攝人心魄的微笑，走進了飯店。 "Hello," he said softly. "Do you have time to join me for a cup of coffee?" "Of course." I tried not to gasp. "你好，"他溫柔地說道。"現在有空喝杯咖啡嗎?quot; "當然！"我試著不讓自己窒息。 We slid into a booth and our conversation picked up where it left off before. He, too, was making a career change and was moving back to South Africa. His departure date was one week before mine. Now I knew I had to calm my pounding heart. We obviously had no future together. He took my phone number and invited me to dinner sometime. I accepted, suppressing my sadness, knowing I would be leaving in two short weeks and the date would probably never happen. 我們拐進了一家路邊小店，接著上次的話題聊了起來。從他的談話中，我得知他也正要換一份工作，回到南非去。他的行程先于我一個星期。現在我明白我必須讓自己沖動的心冷靜一下。很明顯，我們倆不會有結果。他問了我的電話號碼，說以后會請我吃飯。我強忍著悲痛接受了，因為我知道兩個星期后我將離開，這可能是永遠都無法實現的約會。 But it did. He picked me up a few days later for a movie and dinner. We talked for hours about our lives, our hopes, our separate dreams--- mine in New York, his in South Africa. Never had I spoken so freely, so comfortably, with a man. He reached across the table and took my hand. I thought I saw in his eyes the same love l felt swelling in my hear. He said, "I'm just sorry I met you only one week before l leave." 可它竟然實現了！幾天后，他來接我，我們一起看電影，吃晚飯。我們聊了幾個小時，聊生活，聊希望，聊我們各自的夢想--我的在紐約，而他的在南非。我從不曾和一個男人談得如此暢快，如此舒服。他握住我的手。從他的眼神里，我想我看到了正在我心中急劇膨脹的愛。他說。"我真的很遺憾，走前的一個星期才遇到你。" "We still have seven days, " I said meekly. "可我們還有整整七天。"我無限深情地答道。 "Then let's make the most of it." He helped me on with my sweater. Hand in hand, we strolled to the car and made plans for the next day and the next and the next. As he drove me home, Tracy Chapman sang, "Give me one reason to stay, and I'll turn right back around." Was his heart singing along like mine? "那么就讓我們充分地享受它們吧，"說著，他幫我穿上外套。我們手牽著手走向汽車，計劃著我們的明天以及明天的明天。在他開車送我回家的路上，我心中響起了特蕾西·查普曼的歌? "給我一個留下的理由，我將會回頭……"。不知他心里是否也在和我一起歌唱呢？ A Chance of a lifetime 生命的機遇（3） We spent part of every day together for the next week. I knew I was falling in love, but dared not speak it. I couldn't upset our chances for a lifetime. 在之后的一個星期里，我們每天都會抽時間在一起。我深知自己已墜入了愛河，可卻沒有膽量說出來。我不愿因此而破壞我們各自生活中的良機。 " And I know he loves me, too," l moaned to Stacy over a cup of coffee in my near-empty restaurant. "We've even talked about trying to get together over holidays. He's meeting me here soon to bring me a gift to remember him by." "我知道，他也愛我，"當我和斯泰西在我那已快人去樓空的餐廳里喝咖啡時，我輕聲說。"我們甚至已經在計劃假期如何一起度過。他很快就要上這兒來，送我一件禮物做紀念。" Just then, Bary strolled in. I stood to welcome his arms around me. We sat, sipping our coffee. "I will miss you so much, "he said softly. "But I know you'll think of me whenever you hear this. "He placed a Tracy Chapman CD on the table in front of me. Then he pointed to the song title, Just Give Me One Reason. "We can listen to the same music and remember each other." 正說著，巴里走了進來。我站起來，投人他的懷抱。坐下后，我們各自抿著杯中的咖啡。"我會想你的，"他無限溫存地說道。"不過，我想當你聽它的時候一定會想起我，"他拿出那張特蕾西·查普曼的CD放在我的面前，他指著那首主打歌《我只要一個理由》，說道："當我們聽同一首歌時，我們都正在思念著對方。 "Oh, and one more thing to remember me by." He set a small box on top of the CD. The same awe I felt at our first meeting paralyzed me now. The love I saw in his eyes as we gazed across the table was gift enough for a lifetime. Finally I reached for the box and opened it slowly. A diamond ring! "對了，還有一樣東西。"他拿出一個小盒子放在CD上。我好像第一次見他那樣完全怔住了。我們彼此凝望，他眼中的愛意是我一生都受用不盡的禮物。最后，我拿起那只盒子，慢慢地打開了它。一枚鉆石戒指！ "Michelle, I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. On our first date, even before we had coffee, l knew you were the woman I was going to marry. I woke up this morning, desperate, thinking, it's May 3! In three days I'll lose my angel. Sure, my career in South Africa is a chance in a lifetime, but you, Michelle, are my dream come true. Please marry me." "米歇爾，我見到你的第一眼便深深地愛上了你。在我們第一次約會之前，不，甚至在我們一起喝咖啡之前，我已經知道你是我要娶的女人。今天早上，我睜開眼睛，一想到已經是5月3號，我絕望極了，再過三天，我將失去我的大使。的確，在非洲的事業是我生命中的一個轉機。可是你。米歇爾，讓我的夢想成真。請嫁給我吧，親愛的米歇爾?quot; "Yes, Barry, yes, "I cried. " "噢，是的，巴里，是的，我同意！"我流著淚答道。 I know what moving to New York means to you, but will you come with me to South Africa? I believe with all my heart, Michelle, that we were brought together on purpose. Nothing in my life is going as I planned it, but l know it's all a part of a bigger plan." Barry chuckled. "God has a great sense of humor, but a poor sense of timing." "我知道到紐約對你意味著什么，可是你能到南非和我一同生活嗎？我深深地感到，米歇爾，我們的相遇是上天的安排。我生活中的許多事都與計劃背道而馳。可我相信那都是一個更大計劃的組成部分?quot;巴里笑言："上帝的確夠幽默，可卻不太會安排時間。" Exactly one year later, on May 3, we were married under an African sky. Our dream come true. Our chance of a lifetime. 一年后的5月3號，我和巴里在南非的天空下舉行了婚禮。我們都夢想成真，也不曾錯過我們生命中的機遇。 english oral