雙語 ● When Adversity Knocks On Your Door 當逆境找你時
When Adversity Knocks On Your Door 當逆境找你時
◎ Charlie Harary
A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her, she did not know she was going to make it and want to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling .It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
一個女兒向她父親抱怨她的生活現狀，她覺得凡事都很艱難，不知該怎樣挺過去，想放棄。她厭倦了不斷地抗爭和奮斗，似乎一個問題剛剛解決，另一個問題就馬上站起來了。
Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen, he filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire .Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He led them sit and boil, without saying a word.
她的父親是個廚師，他把她帶到了廚房。他在三個壺里分別裝滿了水，然后放到高溫的火上燒。很快，壺里的水被煮開了。他往第一個壺里放了些胡蘿卜，往第二個壺里放了幾個雞蛋，在最后一個壺里放了些磨碎的咖啡豆。然后，任由水把它們煮滾，一句話也沒說。
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners, He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her he asked,” Darling, what do you see?”
女兒咂巴著牙齒發(fā)出聲響，不耐煩地等待著，對父親的行為感到很納悶。大約20分鐘后，父親關掉了火爐，把胡蘿卜撈出來放在碗里。又把雞蛋揀出來放進另一個碗里，接著他舀一勺咖啡出來倒進一個杯子里，然后轉過頭來，對她說：“親愛的，你看到了什么？”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee.” she replied.
“胡蘿卜、雞蛋和咖啡。”她答道。
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots, she did and noted that they were soft .He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee .She smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.
父親讓她靠近這些東西，要她去摸胡蘿卜，她摸了之后，注意到它們變柔軟了。然后，他又要她把雞蛋剝開。在把殼剝掉之后，她看到了煮熟的雞蛋。最后，父親要她嘗嘗咖啡，品嘗著芳香濃郁的咖啡，她微笑起來。
“What does it mean, Father?” she humbly asked.
“這是什么意思，爸爸？”她謙遜地問道。
He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently, the carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and weak. The egg had being fragile, its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
父親解釋說，這三樣東西面臨著同樣的困境——煮沸的開水，但它們的反應卻各不相同。胡蘿卜本是硬的，堅固而且強度大，但在遭受煮沸的水后，它變得柔軟而脆弱。雞蛋本來易碎，薄薄的外殼保護著內部的液體。但是在沸水中煮過后，它的內部卻變硬了。不過，最獨特的卻是磨碎的咖啡豆，當它們被放入煮沸的水后，它們卻改變了水。
“Which are you?” he asked his daughter.
“哪一個是你呢？”他問女兒。
When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
當逆境找上你時，你該如何應對呢？你是胡蘿卜、雞蛋還是咖啡豆？
