分享全新版大学英语教材电子书第一册第四单元
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2021年01月29日 04:35
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The
American
Dream
means
different
things
to
different
people.
But
for
many,
particularly
immigrants, it means the opportunity to make a better life for themselves. For them the dream is
that talent and hard work can take you from log cabin to White House. Tony Trivisonno did not
rise quite so high, yet he managed to make his own dream come true.
美国梦对不同的人有不同 的意义。
但对许多人，
尤其是对移民而言，
它意味着改善自
己生活的机会。< br>对于他们，
美国梦的含义就是才能与勤劳能让你从小木屋走向白宫。
托尼·
特< br>里韦索诺并没有爬到那么高，但他成功地使自己的梦想成真。
Tony Trivisonno's American Dream
Frederick C. Crawford
1
He came from a rocky farm in Italy, somewhere south of Rome. How or when he got to
America, I don't know. But one evening I found him standing in the driveway, behind my garage.
He was about five-foot-seven or eight, and thin.
托尼·特里韦索诺的美国梦
弗雷德里克·
C
·克罗弗德
他来自意大利罗马以南某地一个满地石子的农庄。
他什么时候 怎么到美国的，
我不清
楚。不过，有天晚上，我看到他站在我家车库后面的车道上。他身高五英 尺七、八左右，人
很瘦。
2
“我割你的草坪，
”他说。他那结结巴巴的英语很难听懂。
3
I asked him his name.
couldn't afford a gardener.
我问他叫什么名字。
“托尼·
特里韦索诺，
”
他回答说，
“我割你的草坪。
”
我对托尼讲，
本人雇不起园丁。
4
these Depression days were difficult, but how could I turn away a person who had come to me for
help?
< br>“我割你的草坪，
”他又说道，随后便走开了。我走进屋子，心里有点不快。没错，
眼下 这大萧条的日子是不好过，可我怎么能把一个上门求助的人就这么打发走呢？
5
When
I
got
home
from
work
the
next
evening,
the
lawn
had
been
mowed,
the
garden
weeded, and the walks swept. I asked my wife what had happened.
等我第二天晚 上下班
回到家，草坪已修整过了，花园除了草，人行道也清扫过了。我便问太太是怎么回事。
6
assumed you had hired him.
“有个人把割草机从汽车库里推出来 就在院子里忙活起来，
”
她回答说，
“我还以为是
你雇他来的。
”< br>
7
I told her of my experience the night before. We thought it strange that he had not asked for
pay.
我就把前晚的事跟她说了。我俩都觉得奇怪，他怎么没提出要工钱。
8
The
next
two
days
were
busy,
and
I
forgot
about
Tony.
We
were
trying
to
rebuild
our
business and bring some of our workers back to the plants. But on Friday, returning home a little
early, I saw Tony again, behind the garage. I complimented him on the work he had done.
接下来的两 天挺忙，
我把托尼的事给忘了。
我们在尽力重整业务，
要让一部分工人回
厂里 来。但在星期五，回家略微早了些，
我又在汽车库后面看到了托尼。我对他干的活夸奖
了几句。
9
“我割你的草坪，
”他说。
10
I managed to work out some kind of small weekly pay, and each day Tony cleaned up the
yard and took care of any little tasks. My wife said he was very helpful whenever there were any
heavy objects to lift or things to fix.
我设法凑了一小笔微薄的周薪，就这样托尼每天清扫院子，有什么零活，他都干了。
我太太说，但凡有重物要搬或有什么要修理的，他挺派得上用场。
11
Summer passed into fall, and winds blew cold.
me one evening.
夏去秋来，凉风阵阵。< br>“克罗先生，快下雪了，
”有天晚上托尼跟我说，
“等冬天到了，
你让我在厂里 干扫雪的活。
”
12
Well, what do you do with such determination and hope? Of course, Tony got his job at the
factory.
啊，对这种执着与期盼，你又能怎样呢？自然，托尼得到了厂里的那份活儿。
13
The months passed. I asked the personnel department for a report. They said Tony was a
very good worker.
几个月过去了。我让人事部门送上一份报告。他们说托尼干得挺棒。
14
One day I found Tony at our meeting place behind the garage.
said.
一天我在汽车库后面我们以前见面的地方看到了托尼。
“我想学徒，
”他说。
15
We had a pretty good apprentice school that trained laborers. But I doubted whether Tony
had the capacity to read blueprints and micrometers or do precision work. Still, how could I turn
him down?
我们有个挺不错的培训工人的徒工学校。
可我怀疑托尼是否有能力学会看图纸、
用千
分尺，是否胜任做精密加工工作。尽管如此，可我 怎么能拒绝他呢？
16
Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice. Months later, I got a report that he had
graduated as a skilled grinder. He had learned to read the millionths of an inch on the micrometer
and
to
shape
the
grinding
wheel
with
an
instrument
set
with
a
diamond.
My
wife
and
I
were
delighted with what we felt was a satisfying end of the story.
托尼减了薪水当了徒工。
几个月之后，
我收到报告，他已从徒工学校毕业，
成了熟练
磨工。
他学会了在千分尺上辨识一百万分之一英寸，
会用镶嵌着金刚 石的工具制作砂轮。
我
和太太都挺高兴，觉得他的事总算有了个令人满意的结局。
17
A year or two passed, and again I found Tony in his usual waiting place. We talked about
his work, and I asked him what he wanted.
一两年过去了，
我在托尼惯常等我的地方又看到了 他。
我们聊起了他的工作，
接着我
问他有什么要求。
18
sale, a complete wreck.
“克罗先生，
”他说，
“我想买房。
”在小镇边上，他看到有房出售，完全是 幢破房。
19
I called on a banker friend.
我去见一位当银行家的朋友。
“人品贷 款你干不干？”我问。
“不干，
”他说，
“我们承
担不起。没门。
”
20
promise you that. He's got a good job. You're not getting a damn thing from your lot. It will stay
there for years. At least he will pay your interest.
“哎，
等等，
”
我应道，
“有个人干活勤勉，
人 品端正，
这一点我担保。
他有个好工作。
眼下，
你从你那块地上一分钱也得不 到。
那块地空在那儿要好多年呢。
至少他会付你利息嘛。
”
21
Reluctantly,
the
banker
wrote
a
mortgage
for
$$2,000
and
gave
Tony
the
house
with
no
down
payment.
Tony
was
delighted.
From
then
on,
it
was
interesting
to
see
that
any
discarded
odds and ends around our place
─
a broken screen, a bit of hardware, boards from packing
─
Tony would gather and take home.
那位银行家勉强开了两千美金抵押贷款，
没要托尼首付就把房 子给了他。
托尼乐不可
支。从那以后，只要我家附近有什么被人扔弃的零星杂物，坏了的屏风啦 ，五金器具啦，包
装纸板啦，托尼都要收起来拿回家，看他这个样子真是有意思。
22
After about two years, I found Tony in our familiar meeting spot. He seemed to stand a
little straighter. He was heavier. He had a look of confidence.
约摸过了两年，
我在我们见面的老地方又看到了托尼。
他身子似乎挺直了些 ，
人也见
胖了，样子挺自信。
23
“克罗先生，我卖房子！
”他得意地说。
“我得了八千美金。
”
24
I was amazed.
我非常吃惊。
“可是，托尼，没了房子你住哪儿呢？”
25
“克罗先生，我买农庄。
”
26
We sat down and talked. Tony told me that to own a farm was his dream.
He loved the
tomatoes and peppers and all the other vegetables important to his Italian diet. He had sent for his
wife and son and daughter back in Italy. He had hunted around the edge of town until he found a
small, abandoned piece of property with a house and shed. Now he was moving his family to his
farm.
我们坐下聊了起来。托尼告诉我说， 拥有一个农庄是他的梦想。
他喜欢番茄、辣椒以
及意大利菜肴中相当重要的其它各种蔬菜。他把在意大利的妻子和儿子女儿都接来了。
他在
小镇周边到处找，终于找到一处没人要的一 小块地产，有一幢房，
还有间小棚。他正在把家
搬到农庄去。
27
Sometime later, Tony arrived on a Sunday afternoon, neatly dressed. He had another Italian
man with him. He told me that he had persuaded his childhood friend to move to America. Tony
was sponsoring him. With an amused look in his eye, he told me that when they approached the
little farm he now operated, his friend stood in amazement and said,
又过了一些 时候，
在一个星期日的下午托尼来了，
他穿戴得整整齐齐。
和他一起来的
还有 另一位意大利人。他告诉我，他说服了儿时的伙伴前来美国。
托尼为他作经济担保。他
眼里露出 顽皮的神情，对我说，他俩来到他经营的小农庄时，他的朋友惊奇地站住说，
“托
尼，你是个百 万富翁啦！
”
28
Then, during the war, a message came from my company. Tony had passed away.
后来，在战争期间，公司里传出了一个消息。托尼去世了。
29
I asked our people to check on his family and see that everything was properly handled.
They found the farm green with vegetables, the little house livable and homey. There was a tractor
and a good car in the yard. The children were educated and working, and Tony didn't owe a cent.
我让公司的人去他家看看，
确保各项事宜都得到妥善安置。< br>他们看到农场上长着绿油
油的蔬菜，
小屋布置得舒适温馨，院子里有一辆拖拉机，
还有一辆不错的汽车。孩子受过教
育，都工作了，托尼身前没有分文欠债。
30
After he passed away, I thought more and more about Tony's career. He grew in stature in