自考英语二教材英文翻译第四课：Text A Work Is a Blessing

Text A Work Is a Blessing

I grew up in Lakeland, LA, one of 12 children. We all lived on my parents#39; subsistence farm(自耕自给农场). We grew cotton, sugar cane, corn, hogs, and chickens and had a large garden, but it didn#39;t bring in much cash. So when I was 12, I got a part-time job on a dairy farm down the road, helping to milk cows. We milked 65 cows at 5 in the morning and again at 2 in the afternoon, seven days a week.

工作是一种福气

我在路易斯安那州的莱克兰长大，是家里12个孩子之一。我们所有人都依赖父母的农场勉强维持生活。我们种棉花、甘蔗、玉米，养猪、养鸡，还有一个大花园，但农场没办法让我们有多少收入，所以我在12岁时在马路旁边的一个奶牛场里找了一份兼职工作--帮忙挤牛奶。我要在早晨5点钟为65头奶牛挤奶，下午2点钟还要挤一次，一周工作七天。

In the kitchen one Saturday before daylight, I remember complaining to my father and grandfather about having to go milk those cows. My father said, “Ya know, boy, to work is a blessing.“

在一个周六的黎明之前，我记得我在厨房里跟父亲和爷爷抱怨自己一大早还要去给那些奶牛挤奶，父亲说："儿子，你要知道，能工作是一种福气啊。”

I looked at those two men who had worked harder than I ever had - my father eking out(=making/earning) a living on that farm and my grandfather farming and working as a carpenter during the Depression. I had a feeling I had been told something really important, but it took many years before it sank in(完全被弄懂).

我看着这两个男人，知道他们比我有生以来工作得要更努力--父亲靠那个农场竭力维持生计，而爷爷在大萧条期间既开农场又当木匠。我那时有一种感觉，父亲跟我说了一些非常重要的东西，但许多年后我才真正理解了其中的含义。

Going to college was a rare privilege for a kid from Lakeland. My father told me if I picked something to study that I liked doing, I#39;d always look forward to my work. But he also added, “Even having a job you hate is better than not having a job at all.“ I wanted to be a farmer, but I joined the ROTC program to help pay for college. And what started out as an obligation to the Army became a way of life that I stayed committed to for 37 years, three months and three days.

对莱克兰的孩子来说，上大学是一种珍贵的待遇。父亲跟我说，如果我学了自己喜欢从事的内容，我便会一直期待找到适合自己的工作。但他也补充道："就算从事了自己不喜欢的工作，那也比什么工作都没有要好。”我当时想做一名农夫，但为了减少学费负担，我参加了预备军官训练项目，当初的义务从军便成为我以后的生活方式，我在部队服役长达37年3个月零3天。

Serving in the U.S. Army overseas, I saw a lot of people like that woman in Bangladesh. And I have come to believe(逐步相信) that people without jobs are not free. They are victims of crime, the ideology of terrorism, poor health, depression and social unrest. These victims become the illegal immigrants, the slaves of human trafficking, the drug dealers, and the street gang members. I have seen it over and over again on the U.S. border, in Somalia, the Congo, Afghanistan and in New Orleans. People who have jobs can have a home, send their kids to school, develop a sense of pride, contribute to the good of the community, and even help others. When we can work, we are free. We are blessed.

在驻海外的美军部队服役时，我看到许多人都和孟加拉国那个女人一样，于是我开始相信，没有工作的人是不自由的。他们遭受着犯罪、恐怖主义、疾病、经济萧条和社会动荡的侵害，于是这些受害者变成了非法移民，沦为人口贩卖的囚奴、贩毒者和街头帮派的成员。这种景象我一次次地在美国边境、索马里、刚果、阿富汗以及新奥尔良目睹过。有工作的人可以建立家庭，将孩子送到学校上学，内心树立起一种自豪感，增加对社区的积极影响，甚至去帮助他人。当我们有事可做时，我们身心自由，身处幸福之中。

I don#39;t think I will ever quit working. I#39;m retired from the Army, but I#39;m still working to help people be prepared for disaster. And I may get to do a little farming someday, too. I#39;m not going to stop. I believe in my father#39;s words. I believe in the blessing of work.

我觉得我不会停止工作。如今我已从军队退役，但我仍在致力。于帮助人们在灾害来临前做好准备，可能哪天我也要去做点儿农活。我不会停下来的。我相信父亲的话。我相信工作是一种福气。