評論
打印
6 Catch of Lifetime
6 一生的收獲
He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family’s cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
他11歲那時，只要一有機會，就會到他家在新漢普郡湖心島上的小屋的碼頭上釣魚。
On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
鱸魚季節開放的前一天晚上，他和父親早早開始垂釣，用小蟲作餌釣太陽魚和鱸魚。他系上魚餌，練習如何拋線。魚鉤擊在水面，在夕陽中漾起一片金色的漣漪，夜晚月亮升出湖面時，漣漪就成了銀色。
When his fishing rod doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
當魚桿向下彎的時候，他知道線的另一端一定釣到了一條大魚。父親看著他技巧純熟地在碼頭邊沿和魚周旋，眼神充滿贊賞。
Finally, he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
最后他小心翼翼地將筋疲力盡的魚提出水面。這是他所見過的最大的一條，還是一條鱸魚。
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.-- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
男孩和他父親看著這條漂亮的魚，它的魚鰓在月光下一張一翕。父親點燃一根火柴，看了看表。十點了--離開禁還有兩個小時。他看了看魚，又看了看男孩。
“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
"你得把它放回去，孩子，"他說道。
“Dad!” cried the boy.
"爸爸！"男孩叫道。
“There will be other fish,” said his father.
"還有其他的魚嘛，"父親說道。
“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.
"但沒這么大，"男孩叫道。
He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father's voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.
他環視了一遍湖。月光下附近沒有其他的漁民或船只。他又看了看他父親。即使沒有人看到他們，更無從得知他們何時釣到了魚。從父親不可動搖的語氣中，他知道這個決定沒有商量余地，他慢慢地將魚鉤從大鱸魚的唇上取下，然后蹲下將魚放回水中。
The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
魚兒擺動著它強健的身軀，消失在水中。男孩想，他可能再也看不到這么大的魚了。
That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father’s cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.
那是34年前的事了。現在，男孩是紐約的一個成功的建筑師。他父親的小屋依然在湖心島上，他帶著自己的兒女仍然在同一個碼頭上釣魚。
