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Piano Music
難忘的鋼琴曲
There are advantages and disadvantages to coming from a large family. Make that a large family with a single parent, and they double. The disadvantages are never so apparent as when someone wants to go off to college. Parents have cashed in life insurance policies to cover the cost of one year.
來自大家庭既有好處也有壞處。如果是個單親大家庭，好壞都會變成雙倍。當有人要離家去念大學時，壞處尤其明顯。為了支付一年的開銷，父母只好將壽險兌換成現金。
My mother knew that she could not send me to college and pay for it. She worked in a retail store and made just enough to pay the bills and take care of the other children at home. If I wanted to go to college, it was up to me to find out how to get there.
母親一早知道她無力送我上學與支付學費。她在一家零售店工作，掙的錢剛夠養活家里的其他孩子。如果我想上大學，就得自食其力。
I found that I qualified for some grants because of the size of our family, my mom's income and my SAT scores. There was enough to cover school and books, but not enough for room and board. I accepted a job as part of a work-study program. While not glamorous, it was one I could do. I washed dishes in the school cafeteria.
我發現我的家庭人口、媽媽的收入與我的學業能力測試分數符合拿助學金的標準。那只足夠用來交學費和買書，但維持不了食宿。于是我半工半讀，找了一份工作。雖然工作不討人喜歡，可那是我力所能及的事情。我在學校飯堂里洗碗。
To help myself study, I made flash cards that fit perfectly on the large metal dishwasher. After I loaded the racks, I stood there and flipped cards, learning the makeup of atoms while water and steam broke them down all around me. I learned how to make y equal to z while placing dishes in stacks. My wrinkled fingers flipped many a card, and many times my tired brain drifted off, and a glass would crash to the floor. My grades went up and down. It was the hardest work I had ever done.
為了促進學習，我做了一副恰好能裝在大金屬洗碗機上的學習卡。把碗碟放在架子上之后，我就站在那兒翻卡片，四周彌漫著水汽，而我在學習原子的構成。我學會了如何在疊碟子的時候背下方程式。我起皺的手指翻過許多卡片，很多時候我疲倦的大腦恍恍惚惚，令玻璃杯也摔破到地上。我的成績時起時落。那是我做過的最艱難的工作。
Just when I thought the bottom was going to drop out of my college career, an angel appeared. Well, one of those that are on earth, without wings.
正當我的大學學業快進行不下去時，天使出現了。是在地球上的天使，沒翅膀的。
"I heard that you need some help," he said.
“我聽說你需要幫助，”他說。
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to figure out which area of my life he meant.
“你說什么？”我問道，竭力想弄清楚他說的是我生活中的那些方面。
"Financially, to stay in school."
“經濟上的，留校念書?！?/div>
"Well, I make it okay. I just have trouble working all these hours and finding time to study."
“這個，我還好。只是我工作得太久了，找不到讀書的時間。”
"Well, I think I have a way to help you out."
“啊，我想我可以有辦法幫你一把?！?/div>
He went on to explain that his grandparents needed help on the weekends. All that was required of me was cooking meals and helping them get in and out of bed in the morning and evening. The job paid four hundred dollars a month, twice the money I was making washing dishes. Now I would have time to study. I went to meet his grandparents and accepted the job.
接著他解釋道，他的祖父母周末需要人幫助。我只用做做飯、早晚幫他們上下床就好了。這份工作的報酬是一個月四百美元，兩倍于我洗碗賺的錢?，F在我可以有學習的時間了。我去與他的祖父母見面并接下了工作。
