2006年高考英语湖北卷 - 阅读理解C

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. “Bananas 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira.” He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 totals for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn’t have change, so I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
小男孩看到了我，或者更确切地说，他看见了车，迅速向我跑过来，急切地想卖掉他的一捆香蕉和一袋花生。虽然他看起来大约十二岁，但似乎已经尝过了生活的苦。“香蕉300奈拉，花生200奈拉。”他低声说。我把总价还到200奈拉。他同意后，我递给他一张500奈拉的钱。他没有零钱，所以我告诉他不要担心。他说了声谢谢，露出一行完美的牙齿。

When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it’s not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
两周后，当我再次见到这个男孩时，我更加意识到自己在这个社会中的地位，在这个社会里，看到一个应该在学校里的小男孩烈日下站在街角卖水果并不罕见。我的父母让我意识到我们获得的好处和它给我们带来的责任。

I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. “What’s up?” I asked him.
我把车停下来，摇下车窗。他准备了一串香蕉和一袋花生。我示意不需要，问：“怎么了？”

“I…I don’t have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills. “Will this help?” I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. “Thank you, sir.” he said. “Thank you very much!”
“我……我没有钱买书上学。”我把手伸进口袋，递给他两张崭新的500奈拉。“这会有帮助吗？”我问。他在拿钱之前紧张地环顾四周。对于一个家庭每年可能挣5000奈拉或更少的人来说，1000奈拉是一大笔钱。“谢谢你，先生。”他说。“非常感谢！”

When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he’s a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn’t know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
开车回家时，我想知道我的小朋友是否真的把钱花在了学校书本上。如果他是个骗子呢？然后我想知道我为什么这么做。我这么做是为了让自己感觉更好吗？我在利用他吗？后来，我意识到我不知道他的名字，也不知道关于他的任何情况，我也没有想过去问他。

Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.
在接下来的六个月里，我在尼日利亚北部的一家通讯社忙碌着。我回来后的某个时候，我开车出去。当我准备靠边停车时，男孩突然出现在我的车窗前，脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。

“Oh, gosh! Long time.”
“哦，天哪！好久不见了。”

“Are you in school now?” I asked.
“你现在在学校吗？”我问。

He nodded.
他点了点头。

“That’s good,” I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. “Here,” I held out a 500 naira bill. “Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s a gift.”
“太好了，”我说。我们面面相觑，一片寂静，然后我意识到他想要什么。“给，”我拿出一张500奈拉的钞票，“拿着。”他摇了摇头，退后一步，好像受了伤。“怎么了？”我问。“这是一份礼物。”

He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat. He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, “I’ve been waiting to give these to you.”
他又摇了摇头，从背后伸出手来，脸上流着汗水。他在前排座位上扔了一串香蕉和一袋花生，然后说：“我一直在等着给你。”