⊙By Peter Breslow ⊙ 翻譯：思葦

THIRTY YEARS OF PICKUP BASKETBALL街頭籃球三十年

⊙By Peter Breslow ⊙ 翻譯：思葦

老記者Peter和他的球友對(duì)街頭籃球情有獨(dú)鐘，他們每逢星期三晚上就會(huì)一起打球，這一打就是三十年，是不是有點(diǎn)不可思議？盡管大家早已不復(fù)當(dāng)年勇，你腿腳不便，我跑不起來(lái)，一不小心摔倒還把周圍的年輕人嚇得夠嗆，但是那又何妨呢？每周一次的揮灑汗水，快樂(lè)就是如此簡(jiǎn)單。

Every Wednesday night over the decades,a group of guys has come together to run full-court in a rented gym.We’ve had journalists,carpenters,doctors,1)locksmith [?l?ksm?θ] n.鎖匠locksmiths,IT guys,2)military [?m?l?t?r?] adj.軍事的，軍隊(duì)的militaryguys,lawyers,and at least one top White House staffer.This is D.C.,after all.Often,we know little about each other’s personal lives and would never recognize each other with long pants on.

Bernard Ohanian(Player): You know,when it’s really3)click [kl?k] v.<口>成功，進(jìn)行順利clicking,it’s like a jazz symphony.And most of the time,it’s like a bad4)garage band 車庫(kù)樂(lè)隊(duì)，業(yè)余搖滾樂(lè)隊(duì)garage band.

That’s Bernard Ohanian.He’s one of the almost-originals and among the few5)graybeard [?gre?b??d] n.<美>白胡子老人graybeardsleft in our group.He says the game6)endure [?n?dj??（r）] v.持久，繼續(xù)（存在）enduresbecause everyone’s friendly,plays hard,and…

Bernard:You know,the friendships and the relationships that you build up over a number of years,it just feels right.It feels like part of my life.

John Ydstie(Player): Every now and then,I do something that feels like it felt when I was 20 years old,and it just feels so great.And I…you,you realize you were once really good at this thing,and I’m not very good at it anymore,I mean…but it’s still fun.It’s just,just great fun.

For John Ydstie,retirement is not an option—not yet.

John:You know,I keep thinking…I suppose there’s a time will come when we’ll have to hang it up,but it’s not next week.And I don’t think it’s next year.Yeah,I don’t know,I think…just keep going till I can’t go anymore.

Over the years,I’ve broken my nose,cracked my7)rib [r?b] n.肋骨ribs,8)tear [te?（r）] v.撕開，撕裂，過(guò)去分詞為torn。tornmuscles and sprained ankles.My jump shot percentage is approaching that of low-fat milk.And yet,I keep playing,because the game I’ve practiced since I was nine years old keeps toying with me.I’ll have a great night—or at least a great game.I’ll hit most of my shots,maybe even a game-winner.And then I know I’ll be back next Wednesday night.

And yet,I keep playing,because the game I’ve practiced since I was nine years old keeps toying with me.

我們都知道，toy作名詞用時(shí)意為“玩具”，所以當(dāng)它改變?cè)~性時(shí)，我們不難推斷出這個(gè)動(dòng)詞的意思是“玩弄”，常與with搭配，表示“漫不經(jīng)心地?cái)[弄，戲耍，輕率對(duì)待”，如：

· Stoptoying withyour food! （別老撥拉你的食物?。?/p>

· Frank is justtoying withher affections.（弗蘭克只是在玩弄她的感情。）

· Georgetoyed withthe idea of buying a car.（喬治動(dòng)過(guò)買車的念頭——只是隨便想想而已。）

參考譯文

幾十年來(lái)，有一群人每逢星期三晚上就會(huì)約到一起，在一個(gè)租來(lái)的體育館里打全場(chǎng)。我們當(dāng)中有記者、木匠、醫(yī)生、鎖匠、IT技術(shù)人員、軍人、律師，至少有一個(gè)白宮高級(jí)官員——畢竟這里可是華盛頓特區(qū)。我們通常對(duì)彼此的個(gè)人生活知之甚少，一旦穿上長(zhǎng)褲，就誰(shuí)也認(rèn)不出誰(shuí)了。

伯納德·瓦尼安（球手）：你瞧，打得特別好的時(shí)候，那感覺就像爵士交響曲那么和諧——不過(guò)，我們?cè)诖蠖鄶?shù)時(shí)候更像一支糟糕的車庫(kù)樂(lè)隊(duì)。

這位是伯納德·瓦尼安，他幾乎是最初那批元老了，是我們這群人當(dāng)中極少數(shù)還在玩的老頭子之一。他說(shuō)，這游戲之所以如此耐玩，是因?yàn)榇蠹叶己苡焉?，努力打球，而且…?/p>

伯納德：你知道，這種花好幾年時(shí)間建立起來(lái)的友誼與關(guān)系，那感覺太棒了，它是我生活的一部分。

約翰·伊斯蒂（球手）：我偶爾會(huì)做出一些動(dòng)作，那種感覺就像20歲時(shí)一樣，實(shí)在太棒了。我……你意識(shí)到籃球曾經(jīng)是自己的強(qiáng)項(xiàng)，而我早就不像過(guò)去打得那么好了，我的意思是……但打球還是很有趣，讓人特別開心。

約翰·伊斯蒂壓根沒(méi)考慮退役——還沒(méi)到退役的時(shí)候。

約翰：你瞧，我總是在想……我們終有一天不得不告別球場(chǎng)，但那不會(huì)是下周，也不會(huì)是明年。是啊，我也不曉得，我想……就這樣打下去，直到跑不動(dòng)為止吧。

這些年來(lái)，我試過(guò)弄傷鼻子，撞裂肋骨，也試過(guò)撕裂肌肉，扭傷腳踝。我的跳投得分率就和低脂牛奶的脂肪率差不多。不過(guò)哪怕這樣，我依然堅(jiān)持打球，因?yàn)槲覐木艢q開始練籃球，至今我還樂(lè)在其中。我會(huì)度過(guò)一個(gè)盡興的晚上——或者至少能享受一場(chǎng)精彩的比賽。我的大部分投球都能命中，甚至可能投出致勝的一球。而且我確信——下星期三晚上，我會(huì)再來(lái)的。