《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 92 (219):标准的预言家
日期:2012-10-24 06:44

(单词翻译:单击)

A regular Nostradamus, that Susan.

标准的预言家,这个苏珊。

By the next morning, when I checked my e-mail, $700 had already been pledged. The next day, donations passed what I could afford to match.

隔天早上我查看电子邮件,已筹到七百块钱。再隔一天,捐款已超过我拿得出来的相当款项。

I won't go through the entire drama of the week, or try to explain what it feels like to open e-mails every day from all over the world that all say, "Count me in!" Everyone gave. People whom I personally knew to be broke or in debt gave, without hesitation. One of the first responses I got was from a friend of my hairdresser's girlfriend, who'd been forwarded the e-mail and wanted to donate $15. My most wise-ass friend John had to make a typically sarcastic comment, of course, about how long and sappy and emotional my letter had been ("Listen—next time you feel the need to cry about spilled milk, make sure it's condensed, will ya?"), but then he donated money anyway. My friend Annie's new boyfriend (a Wall Street banker whom I'd never even met) offered to double the final sum of whatever was raised. Then that e-mail started whipping around the world, so that I began to receive donations from perfect strangers. It was a global smothering of generosity. Let's just wrap up this episode by saying that—a mere seven days after the original plea went out over the wires—my friends and my family and a bunch of strangers all over the world helped me come up with almost $18,000 to buy Wayan Nuriyasih a home of her own.

我不去细说那个礼拜的整个戏剧化过程,或去说明我每天打开来自世界各地传来"算我一份"的信件时,心中的感受。每个人都愿意给予。我个人所知的破产或负债之人都毫不迟疑地捐钱过来。我最先收到的回应之一,是来自我的美发师的女友的一个朋友,她收到转寄的信后捐了十五元。我那最自以为是的朋友约翰,自然会先发表一套讽刺的言论,说我的信多么冗长、感伤、情绪化("听着——下回你觉得必须为打翻的牛奶哭泣时,先确定是浓缩牛奶,好吗?"),但他还是捐了款。我的朋友安妮的新男友(一位华尔街银行业者,我甚至没碰过面)愿意捐助最后筹得款项的两倍。而后,这封电子邮件开始绕行全世界,于是我开始从完全不相识的人那儿收到捐款。这个全球性的慷慨之举令人窒息。我们简单下个总结吧——从最初透过电邮发送出去的恳求,仅过七天——全世界各地的亲朋好友和一群陌生人帮我筹得了大约一万八千元款项,将要捐给大姐买房子。

I knew that it was Tutti who had manifested this miracle, through the potency of her prayers, willing that little blue tile of hers to soften and expand around her and to grow—like one of Jack's magic beans—into an actual home that would take care of herself and her mother and a pair of orphans forever.

我知道让奇迹出现的人是图蒂,透过她强有力的祈祷,竭尽所能让她那一小块蓝色瓷砖在她四周软化扩展——犹如杰克的魔法豌豆——变成一座实体的家,永远照顾她自己、她的母亲和一对孤儿。

One last thing. I'm embarrassed to admit that it was my friend Bob, not me, who noticed the obvious fact that the word "Tutti" in Italian means "Everybody." How had I not realized that earlier? After all those months in Rome! I just didn't see the connection. So it was Bob over in Utah who had to point it out to me. He did so in an e-mail last week, saying, along with his pledge to donate toward the new house, "So that's the final lesson, isn't it? When you set out in the world to help yourself, you inevitably end up helping . . . Tutti." Eat, Pray, Love

最后还有一件事可以说说。我必须满怀羞愧地承认,是我的朋友鲍伯(而不是我自己)发现了一个显而易见的事实:"图蒂"在意大利语当中,意指"每一个人"。我怎么没早些留意到这件事?我还在罗马待过几个月!我并未看见这个关联。必须等到犹他州的鲍伯向我指出这一点,我才恍然大悟。他在上周的电邮来信中允诺捐款购新屋的同时,指出:"这可真是最后的一课,对吧?当你前往世界帮助自己,最后却免不了帮上……每一个人。"

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重点单词
  • willingadj. 愿意的,心甘情愿的
  • commentn. 注释,评论; 闲话 v. 注释,评论
  • embarrassedadj. 尴尬的,局促不安的,拮据的
  • pledgen. 保证,誓言,抵押,抵押品 vt. 保证,发誓,以
  • originaladj. 最初的,原始的,有独创性的,原版的 n. 原件
  • potencyn. 效力,潜能,权势
  • miraclen. 奇迹
  • hesitationn. 犹豫
  • sarcasticadj. 讽刺的
  • obviousadj. 明显的,显然的