美文欣赏

编者按:

但渐渐地，我发现村民们的信念很有道理，我认同他们。我们倾向于把某个特殊的地方看作是世界的中心，在那里我们被他人所了解，并了解其他人，那地方对我们很重要，在那里我们拥有认同感和生活的意义。比如家庭、学校、城镇，还有地方区域，都会成为我们心目中的世界的中心。

The Green Banana

My encounter with the green banana started on a steep mountain road in Brazil. My ancient jeep was zigzagging when the radiator began to leak. I stopped at the next village, where people gathered to look. Three fine streams of hot water spouted from holes in the radiator.

“That’s easy to fix,” a man said. He sent a boy running for some green bananas. We exchanged pleasantries while I mulled over the green banana. Asking questions would seems silly, so I remarked on the beauty of the mountain.

“Do you see that tall one right over there?” asked my benefactor, pointing to a particular tall, slender pinnacle of dark rock. “That rock marks the center of the world.”

I looked to see if he were teasing me, but his face was serious. He in turn inspected me carefully to be sure I grasped the significance of his statement. The occasion demanded some show of recognition on my part. “The center of the world?” I repeated, trying to convey interest if not complete acceptance.

He nodded. “The absolute center.”

At that moment the boy returned with my green bananas. The man sliced one in half and pressed the cut end against the radiator. The banana melted into a glue against the hot metal, plugging the leaks instantly.

Everyone laughed at my astonishment. As a product of American higher education, I had never paid the slightest attention to the green banana. Suddenly on that mountain road, its time and my need had converged.

This chance encounter showed me the special genius of those people, and the special potential of the green banana. I had been wondering for some time about what educators like to call “learning moments”, and I now knew I had just experienced two of them at once.

The importance of the rock marking the center of the world took a while to filter through. I had initially doubted their claim, knowing for a fact that the center was located somewhere in New England. After all, my grandfather had come from there. But gradually I realized they had a valid belief, a universal concept, and I agreed with them. We tend to define the center as that special place where we are known, where we know others, where things mean much to us, and where we ourselves have both identity and meaning: family, school, town and local region.

参考译文

青香蕉

我遇到青香蕉是在巴西中部的一条陡峭山路上，我那辆老吉普车在美丽的乡村艰难穿行时，水箱开始漏水。我在下一个村子停下来。村民们走过来看发生了什么事。三小股热水从水箱外壳的洞里涌出来。

“这很容易修”，一个人边说边派一个男孩去取一些青香蕉。我们随意地聊起天来，同时我一直在想他们怎么用青香蕉修理我的水箱，然而我没有问他们，因为那会显得无知。所以我只谈了谈眼前这座美丽的大山。

“看到那块高耸的岩石了吗?”那人指着一块特别高且顶部线条柔和的黑岩石问道，“那块岩石标志着世界的中心。”

我盯着他看，看他是不是在骗我，但他表情严肃认真。而他，反过来也审视着我，好像要确认我是否理解他话中的真谛。这种情形需要我表示出对他的话的认可。“世界的中心?”我又问了一遍，在完全接受他的观点之前努力显出兴趣。

他点点头。“一个绝对的中心。”

这时候，男孩带回来了青香蕉。男人将一支香蕉切成两半，把切口处压在水箱表面。香蕉立即熔成糊状堵住了金属壳的裂缝，止住了漏水。

看到这一切我太惊讶了。在美国教育的“造就”下，我一点也没注意过青香蕉。突然间，在那条山路上，青香蕉被用来修补我的水箱的时机到了。

我开始欣赏那些人特别的智慧和青香蕉潜在的独特价值。好长一段时间我一直在想教育者们所说的“瞬间领悟到的东西”，我知道我刚刚一下子感受到了两样东西：青香蕉的特殊用途和有关世界中心的说法。

我花了更长一点的时间来理解村民们所信仰的标志着世界中心的岩石。刚开始我怀疑他们的话，因为事实上世界的中心在新英格兰。毕竟，我祖父来自那儿。但渐渐地，我发现村民们的信念很有道理，我认同他们。我们倾向于把某个特殊的地方看作是世界的中心，在那里我们被他人所了解，并了解其他人，那地方对我们很重要，在那里我们拥有认同感和生活的意义。比如家庭、学校、城镇，还有地方区域，都会成为我们心目中的世界的中心。

词汇释义

1.zigzag['zigzæg] vi. 曲折前行

The path zigzags up the hill.
这条小道向山顶蜿蜒而上。

2.spout[spaut] n. 喷口，水管，（鲸等的）喷水口 v. 喷出，滔滔不绝地说

Water is spouting out of the pipe.
水正从管子里喷出来。

3.radiator n. 暖气片，散热器，辐射体

This car has a fan-cooled radiator.
这部汽车有一个由风扇散热的冷却器。

4.pleasantry['plezntri] n. 幽默，开玩笑，客气话

The children smiled politely at the visitor's pleasantries.
孩子听了客人说的幽默话，都斯文地笑了。

5.pinnacle n. 小尖塔，尖峰 vt. 造小尖塔，放置高处

He has reached the pinnacle of his career.
他已经登上事业的顶峰。

6.converge vi. 聚合，集中于一点 vt. 使集合

The roads converge just before the station.
四面八方的道路会聚在火车站前。