評論
打印
The first night she brought out a story about a three-year-old boy who knew the capitals of all the states and even most of the European countries. A teacher was quoted as saying the little boy could also pronounce the names of the foreign cities correctly.
第一個晚上，她找出一個三歲男孩的故事。這個男孩熟知美國各州的州府，甚至大多數歐洲國家的首都的名字。人們引用一位教師的話，說這個小男孩還能準確無誤地說出外國城市的名字。
"What's the capital of Finland?" my mother asked me, looking at the story.
“芬蘭的首都是哪？”母親看著雜志上的故事問我。
All I knew was the capital of California, because Sacramento was the name of the street we lived on in Chinatown. "Nairobi!" I quessed, saying the most foreign word I could think of. She checked to see if that was possibly one way to pronounce "Helsinki" before showing me the answer.
當時我只知道加州的首府！我們住的唐人街的街名就叫薩克拉曼多?！皟攘_畢！”我猜道，盡可能說出我能想到的最有外國味兒的名字。在她告訴我答案前，她對了對手中的雜志，看看“赫爾辛基”是否能這樣發音。
The tests got harder—multiplying numbers in my head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on my head without using my hands, predicting the daily temperatures in Los angeles, New York, and London.
測試越來越難：心算乘法，從一副撲克中找出紅心K，試著拿大頂，預測洛杉磯、紐約和倫敦每天的氣溫。
One night I had to look at a page from the Bible for three minutes and then report everything I could remember. "Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance and…that's all I remember, Ma," I said.
每天晚上，我必須只用三分鐘來讀一頁《圣經》，然后說出讀過的內容?！凹s沙法大有尊榮資財……媽，我只記得這一句?！蔽艺f。
And after seeing my mother's disappointed face once again, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations. Before going to bed that night I looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when I saw only my face staring back—and that it would always be this ordinary face—I began to cry. Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high-pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror.
再次看到母親那張失望的臉，我的夢想開始破滅。我憎恨這種測試，過高的希望和達不到的期盼。那天夜里睡覺前，對著洗手池上方的鏡子，看到盯著向己看的這張永遠平常的臉，我哭了。多么傷心、難看的女孩！我發出發狂野獸的嚎叫，想把鏡子里的那張臉抓破。
And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me—because I had never seen that face before. I looked at my reflection, blinking so I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts or rather thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not.
可隨后我看到自己似乎天才的一面，因為以前我從未見過那張臉。看著鏡子里的自己，我睜大了眼睛，想看得更清楚些。盯著我看的這個女孩憤怒、自信。我和這個女孩一模一樣。一個新的念頭升起，固執的想法，或者說是一種永遠說“不”的想法。我不會被她改變。我就是我。我向自己承諾。我要永遠做自己。
