马甲线不是一天练成的
The firm abs was not made within one day
by: 赵晓芳
中译英
斧子的二当家
审校、朗诵：Michael
明
天是“三八”了，大家纷纷在朋友圈里晒美食、晒车图、晒各地风景照，只有她，已是两个孩子的母亲，却悄悄晒出，她在健身房里挥汗如雨的“马甲线”。并附上文字：健身 是这个世界上少有的，付出就有回报的美事。感慨之余，引来一片“啧啧”的赞美声。
Tomorrow is Women's Day (March the 8th) and lots of people have posted delicious food on their internet profiles, showing pictures of cars and beautiful scenery everywhere. Only she, a mother of two children, has quietly showed her sweating, firm abs（short form for abdominal muscles）at the gym. There was also a text added: fitness is one of the things in the world that will surely pay off with beauty. The posted material attracted a lot of emotions and chattering full of praises.
健身 是这个世界上少有的，付出就有回报的美事
熟
悉她的人都知道，她当年的身材绝对只能用“虎背熊腰”这词来形容，而如今居然可以秀马甲线了，这不能不说是天翻地覆的改变吧。
Those who know her well enough are aware that before her figure could only be described as "a back of a tiger and a waist of a bear". But now she could show off the firm abs. It was really a huge change, as if the sky and the earth have changed upside down.
Before
Now
我
们按捺不住内心的好奇，争着向她打听其中的秘诀。有的说，是不是吃药了?或请了专门健身教练？或动手术抽脂了？
We couldn't resist our curiosity and tried to get the secret from her. Some asked "have you taken any pill? " or "did you hire a personal fitness trainer?" or "did you have a liposuction?"
她
摇摇头，叹口气说，这世上哪有什么秘诀？罗马非一日建成，我的马甲线整整练了四年，就是坐月子那会儿也没落下一天。不知流了多少汗，吃过多少苦头。
She shook her head and sighed: “What secret is there in this world? Rome wasn't built within a day. The abs took me four years' of exercises to complete and even when I was in the delivery recovery period, my exercises were not interrupted. I do not know how much sweat I had, nor how much pain I have suffered...”
一
番话说得我们低下了头，偷偷摸了一下自己那微微隆起的小肚子。
The words made us lower our heads and secretly touch our slightly swollen bellies.
是
呀，马甲线不是一天就能练成的。就像我们的人生，原本就没有捷径可走。
Yeah, well, you can't get a firm abs like this in a day. Like our lives, there are no shortcuts.
不瘦二十斤，不换头像
网
上曾有一组很火的漫画，名叫《人生没有捷径》。
它说的是这样一个故事：我们每个人，生来都背负着一个沉重的十字架，有人觉得太重，就想，是不是可以砍掉一块，让十字架变轻一些。于是他决定将十字架砍掉一截。砍掉一 截后，他又重新启程。
确实轻松了很多，走起来似乎也比别人快了很多。
走了一段后，他又觉得十字架重了些，就又砍掉一截。这样就更轻松了。他渐渐超越了很多人，走到了队伍的最前面。走着走着 ，出现了一条鸿沟。
There used to be a group of popular cartoons on the internet called "There is no shortcut in life. "
It tells the story that each one of us was born with a heavy cross and some of us believe it’s too heavy. So we start wondering if we could just cut off a piece of it to make it lighter. So a man decides to cut off a piece of his cross and then he starts to walk again.
It really becomes a lot easier and seems that he can walk much faster than others. After walking for a while, the man felt that the cross was still heavy so again he cut off another piece of it. That made it easier to walk once more. He gradually passed many people and finally reached to the front of the team. Along walking his way, a gap in the ground has appeared.
肿么办
？
」别人都用十字架搭建的“桥梁”走了过去。然而，他的十字架却因为砍掉了好几截，长度不够，无法跨越那条鸿沟。
Others have used their crosses to build a "bridge" for them to walk over. His cross, however, was cut so many times that it was not long enough to allow him to cross the chasm.
他懊悔不已，却已无计可施，他的人生之路就此搁浅。
He was filled with remorse and regretted it. But there was nothing he could do and his life reached a deadlock.
马
甲线不是一天练成的。
人生的路需要一步一个脚印，慢慢走出来。需要经受风霜与雨露，需要忍受痛苦与磨难。失意是主题，迷茫是常态。只有坚持不懈地耕耘与付出，才能获得丰美的果实与回报。
有人认为，这个人成功了，可能是家庭条件好，有背景，也可能是他的智商高情商好，甚至颜值高。
其实捷径也是一条路。既然是一条路，人人都想走。那些因走捷径而节省的所有路，不久的将来，需要走十倍甚至百倍的弯路去弥补，去偿还。
世上没有哪种成功是一蹴而就的。无论是不可替代的专业技能，还是让人信赖的品行与诚信，都需要时间的打磨与锤炼。千万不要抱着急功近利的心情去寻找什么秘诀与捷径，持之以恒才是追向梦想的桥梁。
The firm abs was not made within one day.
The path of life needs to be walked step by step and walked slowly. It takes wind and rain to experience, pain and suffering to endure. Frustration is the main motive and confusion is an ordinary state. Only through perseverance and persistent efforts we can obtain fruitful and prosperous rewards.
Some people think that a person's success may come from good family conditions and background or his high IQ and EQ or even good appearance.
In fact, shortcut is also a road. Since this is the road everyone wants to go. All the shortcut one will made will need to be made up ten or even hundred times in the near future.
No success in the world can be achieved overnight. No matter whether it is an irreplaceable professional skill or a trustworthy character, it takes time to polish and temper. Do not seek for a quick road to success and instant benefits. There are no shortcuts to take. Perseverance is the only bridge that will allow you to pursue your dreams.
人生的路需要一步一个脚印，慢慢走出来。
持
之
以
恒
人
生本来简单，你付出了什么，就必然会得到什么。这世上没有免费的午餐，也没有过不去的坎。我们就这样，义无反顾地走下去吧，不必等到天亮，也不必等到有艳阳。在最无 趣，最阴暗的日子里，始终保持对生活的信赖与好奇。我想，天总有一天会亮起来的，太阳总有一天会照到我们头上。因为通向梦想的路，哪怕是一夜成名，背后也是我们所没有 看到的厚积薄发。但行好事，莫问前程。
Life is simple. You get what you paid for. There is no free lunch in the world and there is no difficulty that can't be overcome. So we go like this, without hesitation, without waiting for a dawn nor for a sunny day. In the darkest and the most gloomy days, always be trustful and curious of life. I’m sure that the sun will shine upon us one day. Because on the road to dreams, even if you see someone who became famous overnight, you can be sure there were a lot of efforts behind it before which we didn’t see that eventually have paid off. Just go and keep doing the right thing and don’t ask for a reward.
马甲线不是一天练成的。
The firm abs was not made within one day.
作
者简介：赵晓芳，女，中小学高级教师，湖南省作协会员。喜欢文字与教育，有散文集《一起看云去》和教育随笔《与教书结缘》出版。
Introduction of the author:
Zhao Xiaofang, female, a senior teacher in a primary and secondary school, member of Hunan Writers’ Association. As a fan of writing and education, she has published essay "Watching the clouds together" and an educational essays " Attached to teaching".
Hi there! I’m Michael. Big fan of China, its culture and cuisine. Made a choice in 2017 to pack my things and come here from Europe. I love traveling, jogging and listening to music.