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The Dark Gift--Kent Nerburn

The look on her face was one of numb disbelief. "It can't be," she says. "Why me? Why now?"
"It's not as bad as you're making it out to be," I said to my good friend Alex, as she sat there staring vacantly at the heavy cast on her leg. One moment she was running about, preparing for college, worrying about books, her car and which classes to take. Now, she was sitting here with a broken ankle. It all happened so suddenly.
This was the first time Alex had collided with an indifferent world. Everything else had been negotiable, arguable. Everything else up to now could be avoided, escaped, bought off, laughed away.

I tried to comfort her and tell her it would be all right. But this was real; this was hers. No one could change it, make it right, make it fair. It was life—an absolute without explanation—that was indifferent to her plans and dreams.
"My life is ruined," she sighed, feeling utterly depressed.
"No, your life isn't ruined. Just consider this one of those dark gifts. A bad circumstance can teach you something valuable, maybe even change your life."

Suddenly, I remembered the time several years ago when I, too, had broken an ankle. It was March. The streets were slushy paths, and corners were precarious hard-packed trails, through mounds of ice and snow. I struggled on crutches, trying to balance on uneven surfaces of ice. People pushed past me, muttering about how they had to get through, about how I was taking so long. I tried gingerly to make my way up over the snowpack without slipping or letting my cast drag in the slush. My arms ached from the tension, my shoulders were rigid and numb from the digging pain of the crutches. I tried to block out the others around me, not to feel them brushing brusquely past me.

参考译文

黑暗的礼物--Kent Nerburn

她脸上表情麻木、充满怀疑。“不可能，”她说，“为什么是我呢？为什么现在发生呢？”
“这比你自己把自己弄成这样要好些，”我对好朋友Alex说，这时，她坐在那里，双眼空洞地凝视着腿上厚厚的石膏。曾经，她奔跑着，为上大学做准备，为书本、汽车和要上的课担心着。这会儿，她坐在那里，因为脚踝扭坏了。事情发生得太突然了。Alex第一次进入一个冷漠的世界。其他所有的事都是可以解决、言之成理的。到目前为止其他所有的事都是可以避免、逃避的，都可以拿钱解决，都可以一笑而过。

我试着安慰她，告诉她这没什么。但是这是真实存在的，是她遭遇到的。每人可以改变它，扭转它，让事情公平些。这就是生活---绝对没有解释的--与她的计划和梦想无关。
“我的生活毁了，”她叹气道，极度的沮丧。
“不，你的生活没有被毁。思考下这个黑暗的礼物。逆境可以教会你一些有益的东西，或许甚至可以改变你的生活。”

突然，我想到几年前，我也扭伤了脚踝。那是三月份，街道上满是泥泞，街角难以站稳，满是成堆的冰雪。我撑着拐杖，努力在不平的冰路上保持平衡。人们从我身边挤过，咕哝着抱怨着路多么难走，抱怨着我走得多么慢。我小心翼翼地在积雪上走着，以防摔倒，或让石膏弄到泥巴上。因为用力地撑着拐杖，我的胳膊被拉疼，肩膀也变得又僵又麻。为了不让他们从我身边粗率地走过，我试着挡着他们的路。

词汇释义

1.numb adj. 麻木的,失去知觉的

例句：
The shock left me numb.
我惊呆了。

2.arguable adj. 可辩论的,可论证的

例句：
It is arguable that we would be just as efficient with fewer staff.
我们的职员少一些也能发挥同样效率, 这是言之成理的.

3.depressed adj. 沮丧的,降低的

例句：
She got depressed and began to let things slide.
她情绪低落, 一切都听之任之.

4.circumstance n. 环境,状况,事件

例句：
He was forced by the circumstances to do this.
他做此事是为环境所迫。

5.precarious adj. 不确定的,危险的

例句：
What a precarious situation we were in when the avalanche started!
雪崩发生的时候我们的处境多么危险啊！

6.crutch n. 拐杖,支柱,帮助

例句：
When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches.
他摔断腿后，只好拄着拐杖走路。

7.gingerly adv. 极度小心谨慎地

例句：
He tasted the coffee gingerly before drinking it.
他在喝咖啡以前先小心地尝一尝。

语法讲解

1.It's not as bad as you're making it out to be。

【语法讲解】这里用了固定搭配"as ...as..."，意思是“和……一样”，用于形容词、副词的同级比较，需要大家注意的是，两个as的词性和用法不一样，第一个as是副词，后面接形容词或副词的原级，第二个as多为连词，后面多接比较状语从句，其基本结构为：as + adj + as和as+adv+as。
如This dictionary is as useful as you 这本字典和你想象的一样有用。

2.This was the first time Alex had collided with an indifferent world.

【语法讲解】这里用了固定句式“It is the first time that +现在完成时”。
如：It will be the first time I've met him. 这将是我第一次遇见他。

3.I tried gingerly to make my way up over the snowpack without slipping or letting my cast drag in the slush.

【语法讲解】"without...."是介词短语做状语，修饰"made my way up".