張恒

“Well be back in a couple of hours，” they said to me as they walked out the door. “OK，” I stammered1 as I feared my parents and my brother leaving me home alone for the first time. Each thing in the house seemed to be just waiting for them to leave， waiting to pounce2 on me. I had been looking forward to this for such a long time， but now all of a sudden it didnt seem so enjoyable. As they went out the door， I went to the window to wave goodbye to the rest of my life. They waved back at me nonchalantly3， not understanding the fear that was inside of me. As they pulled out of the driveway， all the usual safety was whisked4 from the house， like a toilet being flushed. Then it all began.

“我們會(huì)在幾個(gè)小時(shí)后回來(lái)，”當(dāng)他們漫步出門(mén)時(shí)，他們對(duì)我說(shuō)?！昂冒?，”我結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說(shuō)著，父母和哥哥第一次把我一個(gè)人留在家里我有點(diǎn)怕。屋子里的每一件東西似乎都在等著他們離開(kāi)，等著向我撲來(lái)。我一直盼望了這么久，但是現(xiàn)在突然覺(jué)得不那么愉快了。當(dāng)他們走出大門(mén)的時(shí)候，我走到窗前揮手告別我的余生。他們漫不經(jīng)心地向我揮手，不理解我內(nèi)心的恐懼。當(dāng)他們把車開(kāi)出車道時(shí)，所有平時(shí)的安全感都從房子里溜走了，就像廁所被沖水了一樣。然后一切都開(kāi)始了。

This was the first time I had ever been alone. Sure， my brother and I had been home alone together， but this was different. It was just me and the house， taking on all of the robbers and bad guys out there that were coming after me because of course， my parents werent home. Well， now the question was， “What do I do？” I quickly ran through the house， turning each light on， so that I could go into each room without the fear of a wicked5 witch or an axe murderer emerging from the shadows intent on killing me. I was smartly creeping6 from one room to the next， when I heard a deafening roar coming from everywhere， I thought. There was no doubt in my mind that an airplane was about to hit my house or a bulldozer7 about to run it over—something disastrous8. I ran through the house screaming， when all of a sudden， I felt a breeze rush from the vent9 in the floor. “Oh，” I said sheepishly10. “Its just the stupid heat.”

這是我第一次獨(dú)自一人。當(dāng)然，我哥哥和我以前曾經(jīng)單獨(dú)在家，但這次不同。只有我和房子，要單獨(dú)面對(duì)所有搶劫犯和壞蛋，他們就跟在我后面，當(dāng)然是因?yàn)槲腋改覆辉诩摇，F(xiàn)在問(wèn)題是：“我該怎么辦？”我趕緊跑著穿過(guò)房子，把每盞燈都打開(kāi)，這樣我就可以走進(jìn)每間屋子，而不用擔(dān)心一個(gè)邪惡的巫婆或巨斧殺手從陰影處冒出來(lái)，要?dú)⑺牢?。我正巧妙地從一個(gè)房間爬到另一個(gè)房間，我想這時(shí)我聽(tīng)到了四處傳來(lái)震耳欲聾的吼聲。毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，在我腦海中，一架飛機(jī)即將撞上我的房子，或者一臺(tái)推土機(jī)即將碾壓我的房子——這是災(zāi)難性的。我尖叫著跑過(guò)房子，突然感到一陣微風(fēng)從地板上的通風(fēng)口吹來(lái)?！芭?，”我羞怯地說(shuō)?！斑@只是愚蠢的暖氣?！?/p>

It had only been a couple minutes since my parents had left and I thought I had had enough. Then I decided “I can watch TV and Ill be fine and have some fun.” I flipped11 on the tube and avoided any violent12 shows， for fear of being brought into a mindset of a coming attack on my house by a band of robbers. Then， out of the corner of my eye， I saw headlights coming down the road in front of my house. “Well Ill just check to make sure they dont pull into my driveway，” I said. I continued to do this for each car that passed. Then， the most terrible thing happened： One of the passing cars pulled in and began barreling13 up my driveway. As it got closer， I realized that it was an old truck， and one that I had never seen before. This freaked14 me out of my mind， so I shakily15 went over to the phone， picked it up， and began to dial the number of my parents cell phone as I hid below the window next to the front door. To worsen my fears， my parents did not pick up the phone. I am a bit embarrassed to say what happened next， but if you can believe it， I went to my room and loaded16 my bb gun. I looked out of the window very carefully， only to see that I knew the person， and they were unloading some chairs and putting them next to our garage. I breathed a sigh of relief17 as I went and sat back down， fearing the darkness that began enveloping18 the house.

我父母離開(kāi)的時(shí)間只有幾分鐘，我想我已經(jīng)受夠了。然后我決定“我可以看電視，我會(huì)沒(méi)事的，而且會(huì)玩得很開(kāi)心。”我打開(kāi)電視機(jī)，避開(kāi)任何暴力節(jié)目，因?yàn)楹ε乱蝗簭?qiáng)盜會(huì)襲擊我的房子。然后，我從眼角看到車頭燈從我家前面的路照過(guò)來(lái)。“好吧，我去檢查一下，確保他們不會(huì)把車開(kāi)進(jìn)我家的車道?！蔽艺f(shuō)。我繼續(xù)對(duì)每輛經(jīng)過(guò)的車做這件事。然后，最可怕的事情發(fā)生了：一輛過(guò)往的車停了進(jìn)來(lái)，開(kāi)始開(kāi)進(jìn)我家車道。當(dāng)它開(kāi)近時(shí)，我意識(shí)到那是一輛舊卡車，是我以前從未見(jiàn)過(guò)的。這嚇得我魂不附體，所以我搖搖晃晃地走到電話前，拿起電話，開(kāi)始撥我父母的手機(jī)號(hào)碼，我躲在前門(mén)旁邊的窗戶下面。我的父母沒(méi)有接電話加劇了我的恐懼。我有點(diǎn)不好意思說(shuō)接下來(lái)發(fā)生了什么，但如果你能相信的話，我到自己的房間給我的空氣槍裝上了彈藥。我小心翼翼地往窗外看，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)我認(rèn)識(shí)那個(gè)人，他們正在卸椅子，把它們放在車庫(kù)旁邊。我一邊走一邊松了一口氣，然后坐了下來(lái)，對(duì)開(kāi)始籠罩房子的黑暗感到有點(diǎn)害怕。

As the night wore on， I continued to check each car that went by—just to be safe. Luckily， there were no more problems and I even had a little fun playing my Super Nintendo. It wasnt all fun and games from there on out， though. I thought for sure that a bad guy was trying to break in when a tree branch fell on top of the roof. I refused to go outside， but I took my dads spotlight and flashed it out the window. What I saw outside and scared to death—a set of green eyes， reflecting in the lights beams， was staring back at me. I screamed out loud and dropped the flashlight. Once again， I went to my room and loaded my bb gun. I went back to the window， ready for anything—even a guy crashing through the window. As I refocused19 the light， I was able to make out a squirrel. “Get a hold of yourself，” I said to myself out loud. The night continued on pretty slowly， but I got through it with only a few cuts and bruises， but a new understanding of independence20.

夜幕降臨，我繼續(xù)檢查每輛車，只是為了確保安全。幸運(yùn)的是，沒(méi)有別的問(wèn)題，我甚至有一點(diǎn)興致來(lái)玩我的超級(jí)任天堂。不過(guò)，那并不是只有玩樂(lè)和游戲。我肯定有個(gè)壞人想闖進(jìn)來(lái)，這時(shí)一根樹(shù)枝掉到了屋頂上。我拒絕出門(mén)，但我抓起爸爸的聚光燈，從窗戶朝著外面照了照，外面的景象嚇了我一跳——一雙綠色的眼睛，反射著光線，正回頭看著我。我尖叫著，扔掉了手電筒。我再次回到房間里，給我的空氣槍裝好彈藥。我回到窗前，準(zhǔn)備好了一切，即使是有個(gè)家伙從窗口摔進(jìn)來(lái)。當(dāng)我重新聚焦光線時(shí)，才認(rèn)出來(lái)是一只松鼠?！翱刂颇阕约?，”我大聲地對(duì)自己說(shuō)。這個(gè)夜晚過(guò)得很慢，但是我只有幾處割傷和擦傷，但我對(duì)獨(dú)立有了新的認(rèn)識(shí)。

Staying home alone was something that I had to do sooner or later. When I finally did it， I realized that it was a great experience for me—it was a coming of age opportunity. Each time I stayed home alone， it became a bit easier and some of the noises in the house were forgotten. I faced my fears that very first night， which was the first step in the stairs of growing up—when I began earning some independence. Now I cant wait for my parents to leave so I can have the house to myself.

獨(dú)自呆在家里是我遲早要做的事。當(dāng)我最終做到這一點(diǎn)時(shí)，我意識(shí)到這對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是一次很棒的經(jīng)歷——這是一個(gè)成長(zhǎng)的機(jī)遇。每次我一個(gè)人待在家里，就會(huì)變得容易一些，而且屋子里的某些噪音也漸漸地被我忘記了。那天晚上，我第一次面對(duì)恐懼，那是我成長(zhǎng)的第一步——當(dāng)我開(kāi)始學(xué)會(huì)獨(dú)立時(shí)?，F(xiàn)在我迫不及待地想讓我的父母離開(kāi)，這樣我就可以獨(dú)享這所房子了。

1. stammer [ ] vt. 口吃；結(jié)巴著說(shuō)出；vi. 口吃；結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說(shuō)

2. pounce [ ] vi. 突襲，猛撲；vt. 撲過(guò)去抓住

3. nonchalantly [ ] adv. 冷淡地，漠不關(guān)心地

4. whisk [ ] v. 拂，撣；攪動(dòng)；揮動(dòng)；迅速帶走

5. wicked [ ] adj. 邪惡的；惡劣的

6. creep [ ] vi. 爬行；蔓延；慢慢地移動(dòng)

7. bulldozer [ ] n. 推土機(jī)

8. disastrous [ ] adj. 災(zāi)難性的；損失慘重的；悲傷的

9. vent [ ] vt. 發(fā)泄感情；放出；給……開(kāi)孔

10. sheepishly [ ] adv. 羞怯地；愚蠢地

11. flip [ ] vt. 擲；輕擊

12. violent [ ] adj. 暴力的；猛烈的

13. barrel [ ] vi. 快速移動(dòng)

14. freak out被嚇壞了，使崩潰

15. shakily [ ] adv. 虛弱不堪地；顫抖著；搖動(dòng)著

16. load [ ] v. （給武器） 裝彈藥

17. relief [ ] n. 救濟(jì)；減輕，解除；安慰

18. envelop [ ] v. 包封；遮蓋

19. refocus [ ] vt. 重調(diào)……的焦距

20. independence [ ] n. 獨(dú)立性，自立性；自主