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1. Counting Beans
篇一 和奶奶一起數豆子
My grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Seeing her condition deteriorate over time, causing her to drift away from us and knowing there was nothing I could do, created a feeling of hopelessness in me.
我的祖母患有阿爾茨海默病。看到她的病情隨著時間的推移不斷惡化，使她的生命漸漸離我們而去，并且知道自己什么忙也幫不上，令我感覺非常絕望。
As the years passed and my understanding of the disease grew, my despondency turned first to anger, then resignation, and eventually to acceptance. Though the disease was destined to slowly eat away at my grandmother, there were ways to help slow its progress, including the counting of beans.
隨著歲月的流逝，以及我對這種疾病認識的加深，我的沮喪首先變成了憤怒，然后變成了放棄，最后變成了接受。雖然這種疾病注定要慢慢消耗掉我祖母的生命，但還是有辦法讓這個過程變得緩慢些，其中一種辦法便是“數豆子”。
Every night the two of us would sit together and chat while my grandmother would count. The exercise had a dual-effect; it helped to keep her mentally sharp, but also provided a chance for us to grow closer.
每天晚上，我們倆都會坐在一起，一邊聊著天，一邊我的祖母數著豆子。這種練習具有雙重效應：它有助于讓我的祖母保持敏捷的思維，同時還給我們提供了一個變得彼此更加親密的機會。
Gradually however her counting became slower, and she would lose track of things more easily. While at night we would count beans, in the day I immersed myself in studies of the sciences, especially biology. My earlier feelings of hopelessness gave way to optimism; advances in genetic engineering offered the possibility that one day those like my grandmother could be cured, or prevented from developing Alzheimer's in the first place.
然而，她數豆子的速度還是在漸漸變慢，并且變得更容易數錯。晚上，我和祖母一起數豆子。到了白天，我就會沉浸在科學研究中，特別是生物學研究中。我之前的絕望逐漸被樂觀取代；基因工程方面的發展進步提供了這樣的可能性：有一天，像我祖母這樣患有阿爾茨海默病的人可以被治愈，或者從一開始就可以防止患上這種疾病。
Seeing my grandmother slip away motivated me to take honours biology courses and participate in extracurricular experiments in high school, to learn more about cells, the nervous system, and how genetic information determines the structure of proteins.
看著我的祖母的生命悄悄從我們身邊溜走，激發我在參加榮譽生物課程，也讓我有動力參加高中的課外實驗，去更多地了解細胞、神經系統，以及遺傳信息是如何決定蛋白質的結構。
Preparing for the 2016 iGEM Competition led me to learn more about gene editing techniques, and research in my free time helped me to better understand how our knowledge of chronic aging diseases has grown in the past decade. Gradually I began to see new possibilities for preventing the onset of diseases like Alzheimer's.
為參加2016年國際遺傳工程機器大賽（iGEM）所做的準備，讓我了解了關于基因編輯技術方面的更多知識；我在業余時間所做的研究，也幫助我更好地了解了過去十年來我們在慢性衰老疾病知識方面的增長歷程。漸漸地，我發現了預防阿爾茨海默病等疾病的新的可能性。
Nowadays, my grandmother cannot count beans anymore; she doesn't recognize me at all. Once she used to tell me stories and I confided in her all my problems. Now I am a stranger to her. Sometimes I wonder about other families sitting together out there, counting beans. One day I want to contribute to a future where no child has to watch their grandmother count the time they have left together.
現在，我的祖母已經不能再數豆子了。她完全認不出我是誰。曾經，她給我講過好多好聽的故事，我還會把自己遇到的所有難題都向她傾訴?？墒乾F在，我對于她只是個陌生人。有時候，我的頭腦中會浮現出這樣一幅畫面：有那么一家人，坐在一起，數著豆子?？傆幸惶?，我要讓這個世界上不再有孩子不得不看著自己的祖母數著與他們共度的時光。
2. Wooden Bowls
篇二 爺爺的木碗
A frail old man lived together with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his four-year-old grandson. His eyes were blurry, his hands trembled, and his step faltered.
一個體弱多病的老人和他的兒子、兒媳以及四歲的孫子生活在一起。他的雙眼看不清東西，雙手顫抖，步履蹣跚。
The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult for him. Peas rolled off his spoon and dropped on the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily on the tablecloth.
一家人每天晚上都會在餐桌上一起吃飯。但是，老人那顫顫巍巍的雙手和逐漸減退的視力讓他吃起飯來相當困難。豌豆會從他的勺子上滾下，掉落在地上。當他拿起一杯牛奶的時候，往往會笨拙地將牛奶灑在桌布上。
With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated by the mess he made. "We must do something about grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor," the daughter-in-law agreed. So the couple set up a small table in the corner.
幾乎每天晚上都會發生這樣的事情，老人搞的這一團糟終于激怒了兒子和兒媳。兒子說：“我們必須對爺爺做點什么了。”兒媳表示同意：“我已經受夠了他把牛奶弄灑，吃東西時發出嘈雜的聲音，還把食物掉在地板上?！庇谑?，這對夫妻在房屋的一個角落里擺了一張小桌子。
There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
從那以后，爺爺開始獨自一人在小桌子上吃飯，而家里的其他人則仍然在餐桌上享用晚餐。由于爺爺打破了一兩個盤子，因此他開始改用木碗進餐。有時，家人會瞥一眼爺爺的方向，看到的總是老人獨自一人吃著飯，眼里噙著淚水。盡管如此，這對夫妻依舊只會在爺爺把叉子掉在地上或濺出飯菜時跟爺爺說上一句話，而且還是言辭尖銳的告誡。四歲的孩子默默地看著這一切。
One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly: "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from, when I am a grown up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
一天傍晚，晚餐前，父親注意到兒子在地板上玩著木頭碎片。他溫柔地問孩子：“你在做什么？”男孩也同樣溫柔地回答說：“噢，我正在為你和媽媽做一個小碗，等我長大的時候，給你們盛飯菜飯用?！比缓?，這個四歲的孩子微笑著回到了工作中。
These words struck the parents so much that they were speechless. Tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, they both knew what had to be done. That evening, the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.
孩子話令父母感到非常震驚，以至于無言以對。眼淚順著他們的臉頰流淌下來。盡管他們什么也沒說，但他們知道要去做什么了。那天傍晚，孩子爸爸拉著爺爺的手，緩緩地帶他回到了一家人共進晚餐的餐桌上。
For the remainder of his days, grandfather ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither his son nor his daughter-in-law seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk was spilled or the table cloth was soiled.
在余下的日子里，爺爺和家人始終一起共進每一餐。出于某種原因，他的兒子和兒媳似乎不再在意他把叉子掉落在地上，將牛奶弄灑，或者把桌布弄臟。
