A great street sweeper
了不起的街道清潔工

I had been working much too long on this job. I guess things could have been worse. I certainly wasn't doing hard labour. But going door to door asking questions as a representative of the federal government wasn't the most satisfying position either.
這件事情發(fā)生時，我已經(jīng)從事這份工作很長時間了。不然的話，我猜情況可能會變得更糟。當(dāng)然，我的工作并非體力勞動。但是，代表聯(lián)邦政府挨家挨戶提問，確實(shí)也不算什么好差事。
It was August. It was hot. I had to wear a tie. "Hello. My name is Bob Perks and we are doing a survey in this neighbourhood..." "I'm not interested! Good bye!"...slam, lock.
當(dāng)時正值八月，天氣炎熱，但我還得系上領(lǐng)帶?！澳茫业拿质酋U勃·珀克斯，我們正在本社區(qū)做一項(xiàng)調(diào)查......”“沒興趣！再見！”......砰的一聲關(guān)上了門，上了鎖。
You can't imagine how many times I heard that. I finally caught on and began with "Before you slam the door, I am not selling anything and I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and the community."
你無法想象我聽到多少次這樣的回答。最后，我終于有所醒悟，換了這樣的開場白：“在您關(guān)上門之前，我先說清楚，我不賣任何東西，我只需要問幾個關(guān)于您自己和本社區(qū)的問題?！?br />The young woman inside the doorway, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders confused by my rude introduction.
站在門里的那位年輕女子頓了一下，然后揚(yáng)起眉頭，聳了聳肩，從我粗魯?shù)淖晕医榻B中緩過神兒來。
"Sure. Come on in. Don't mind the mess. It's tough keeping up with my kids." It was an older home in a section of the valley where people with meagre income found affordable shelter. With the little they had, the home looked comfortable and welcoming.
“當(dāng)然可以。進(jìn)來吧。屋里比較亂，希望您別介意。跟在孩子屁股后面收拾簡直太困難了?！边@是坐落在山谷中一所老房子，這地方對于收入微薄的人們來說，應(yīng)該是個不錯的選擇。屋里擺設(shè)比較簡單，看起來很舒適且適合待客。
"I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and family. Although this may sound personal I won't need to use your names. This information will be used..." She interrupted me. "Would you like a glass of cold water? You look like you've had a rough day."
“我只需要問幾個關(guān)于您自己和家人的問題。雖然這可能聽起來很容易泄露隱私，但我不需要使用您的名字。這些信息將會被使用.....”她打斷了我?！澳胍槐渌畣?？您看起來今天過得不太順?！?/p>

"Why yes!" I said eagerly. Just as she returned with the water, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband. "Joe, this man is here to do a survey." I stood and politely introduced myself.
“噢，好的！”我急切地回答說。就在她拿著水回來時，一名男子從前門走了進(jìn)來，是她的丈夫?！皢蹋@個人來做一項(xiàng)調(diào)查。”我站起身來，禮貌地進(jìn)行了自我介紹。
Joe was tall and lean. His face was rough and aged looking although I figured he was in his early twenties. His hands were like leather. The kind of hands you get from working hard, not pushing pencils. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. As they looked at each other you could see the love that held them together. She smiled and tilted her head, laying it on his shoulder. He touched her face with his hands and softly said "I love you!"
喬長得又高又瘦。盡管我認(rèn)為他也就二十出頭，但他的面部很粗糙，而且看起來很老。他的雙手像皮革一樣，一看就是那種從事辛苦的體力勞動的雙手，而非舞文弄墨的那種。她倚在他身上，輕輕地吻了他的臉頰。當(dāng)他們彼此相視時，你可以看到那種彼此依戀的愛。她微笑著，側(cè)過頭，靠在他的肩膀上。他用雙手撫摸著她的臉，溫柔地說：“我愛你！”
They may not have had material wealth, but these two were richer than most people I know. They had a powerful love. The kind of love that keeps your head up when things are looking down. "Joe works for the borough." she said. "What do you do?" I asked. She jumped right in not letting him answer. "Joe collects garbage. You know I'm so proud of him."
他們的物質(zhì)財(cái)富可能沒那么充裕，但他們比我認(rèn)識的大多數(shù)人都要富有。他們擁有強(qiáng)大的愛。這種愛，能夠在遭遇窘境時，讓你繼續(xù)昂首向前?！皢虨樽灾问墟?zhèn)工作。”她說?！澳悄唧w做什么工作呢？”我問。她馬上接過話來，沒讓丈夫回答?！皢特?fù)責(zé)撿垃圾。你知道，我為他感到非常的驕傲?！?br />"Honey, I'm sure the man doesn't want to hear this." said Joe. "No, really I do." I said. "You see Bob; Joe is the best garbage man in the borough. He can stack more garbage on the truck than anyone else. He gets so much in one truck that they don't have to make as many runs.", she said with such passion. "In the long run," Joe continues, "I save the borough money. Man hours are down and the cost per truck is less."
“親愛的，我敢肯定人家不想聽這個?！眴陶f?！安?，我真的想聽?！蔽艺f。“你知道，鮑勃，喬是自治市鎮(zhèn)里最棒的垃圾工。他可以在卡車上堆放比其他人更多的垃圾。他可以讓一輛卡車多裝一些，這樣他們就可以少拉幾車了?！彼錆M激情地說道?！皬拈L遠(yuǎn)來看，”喬接過話來，“我的確為自治市鎮(zhèn)節(jié)省了開支。工時減少了，每輛卡車的費(fèi)用也降低了?！?br />There was silence. I didn't know what to say. I shook my head searching for the right words. "That's incredible! Most people would gripe about a job like that. It certainly is a difficult one. But your attitude about it is amazing." I said.
我沉默了，不知道該說些什么。我搖著頭，腦子里尋找著合適的詞語?！斑@太不可思議了！大多數(shù)人都會抱怨這樣的工作。這肯定不是什么輕松的工作。但您對它的態(tài)度真的令人驚訝?！蔽艺f道。
She walked over to the shelf next to the couch. As she turned she held in her hand a small framed paper.
“她走到沙發(fā)邊上的架子旁，轉(zhuǎn)過身時，手里拿著一個小紙框。
"When we had our third child Joe lost his job. We were on unemployment for a time and then eventually welfare. He couldn't find work anywhere. Then one day he was sent on an interview here in this community. They offered him the job he now holds. He came home depressed and ashamed. Telling me this was the best he could do. It actually paid less than we got on welfare."
“當(dāng)我們有了我們的第三個孩子時，喬丟掉了工作。有一段時間，我們倆都失業(yè)了，最后開始領(lǐng)取社會救濟(jì)金。他到處也找不到工作。然后有一天，他被帶到這個社區(qū)，接受了一次面試。他們給了他現(xiàn)在的這份工作。那天他回到家時，臉上滿是沮喪和慚愧，告訴我這是他能找到的最好的工作了。這份工作的收入實(shí)際上比我們領(lǐng)取的救濟(jì)金少。”
She paused for a moment and walked toward Joe. "I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don't think the job makes the man. I believe the man makes the job!" "We needed to live in the borough in order to work here. So we rented this home." Joe said.
她停了片刻，朝喬走去。“我一直為他感到驕傲，而且會始終如此。你知道，我并不認(rèn)為是工作造就了人。我相信是人造就了工作?！薄拔覀冎挥凶≡谶@個自治市鎮(zhèn)，才能在這里工作。所以我們租了這套房子?！眴陶f。
"When we moved in, this quote was hanging on the wall just inside the front door. It has made all the difference to us, Bob. I knew that Joe was doing the right thing." she said as she handed me the frame.
“當(dāng)我們搬進(jìn)這套房子時，剛進(jìn)前門的墻上掛著這句話。它對我們的影響很大，鮑勃。我知道喬的選擇是正確的。”她邊說，邊把紙框遞給了我。
It said: If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
紙框上寫著：如果一個人成為了街道清潔工，他就應(yīng)該像米開朗基羅繪畫一樣，或者像貝多芬創(chuàng)作音樂一樣，亦或像莎士比亞寫詩一樣，去打掃街道。他應(yīng)該把街道打掃得干干凈凈，讓天使和凡人都會停下來，說一句：“這里住過一位了不起的街道清潔工，他工作做得非常棒?！?