I'll Always Be There for You　我永遠都在你身邊

I'll Always Be There for You　我永遠都在你身邊

◎ Jim Burns

In 1989 an 6.9 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 270 people in less than four minutes.

1989年，一場6.9級的地震幾乎鏟平美國，在短短不到4分鐘的時間里，奪去了270余人的生命！

In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

在徹底的破壞與混亂之中，有位父親將他的妻子安頓在家后，跑到他兒子就讀的學校，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)這所學校已經(jīng)被夷為平地。

After the unforgettably initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his son.

看到這令人震驚的一幕，他想起了曾經(jīng)對兒子所做的承諾：“不論發(fā)生什么事，我都會在你身邊?！敝链?，父親熱淚盈眶。目睹曾經(jīng)的學校成為了一堆廢墟，真叫人絕望。但父親的腦中仍然牢記著他對兒子的諾言。

He began to direct his attention towards where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son’s classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the ruins.

他開始努力回憶每天早上送兒子上學的必經(jīng)之路，終于記起兒子的教室應(yīng)該就在那幢建筑物后面，位于右邊的角落里，他急急忙忙地跑到那兒，開始在廢墟中挖掘。

As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived, clutchingtheir hearts, saying: “My son!” “My daughter!” Other well-meaning parents tried to pull him off what was left of the school, saying: “It’s too late! They’re all dead! You can’t help! Go home! Come on, face reality, there’s nothing you can do!”

當這位父親正在挖掘時，其他束手無策的學生家長趕到現(xiàn)場，揪心地叫著：“我的兒子呀！”“我的女兒呀！”一些善意的家長試圖把這位父親拉開，告訴他：“一切都太遲了！他們?nèi)懒?！這樣做沒用的！回家去吧，面對現(xiàn)實，你也無能為力??！”

To each parent he responded with one line: “Are you going to help me now?” And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

面對種種勸告，這位父親的回答只有一句話：“你們愿意幫我嗎？”然后繼續(xù)進行挖掘工作，在廢墟中尋找他的兒子，一塊石頭也不放過。

The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off the school’s ruins saying, “Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home.” To which this loving, caring American father asked, “Are you going to help me now?”

消防隊長出現(xiàn)了，他也試圖把這位父親勸走，對他說：“火災(zāi)頻現(xiàn)，四處都在發(fā)生爆炸，你在這里太危險了。這邊的事我們會處理，你回家吧！”對此，這位慈愛關(guān)切的父親仍然回答：“你們愿意幫我嗎？”

The police came and said, “You’re angry, anxious and it’s over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!” To which he replied, “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped.

警察趕到現(xiàn)場，對他說：“你現(xiàn)在又氣又急，該結(jié)束了，你在危及他人，回家吧！我們會處理的！”這位父親依舊回答：“你們愿意幫我嗎？”然而，人們無動于衷。

Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know for himself, “Is my boy alive or is he dead?”

為了弄清楚兒子是死是活，這位父親鼓起勇氣，獨自一人繼續(xù)進行他的工作。

He dug for 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours, then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, “Armand!” He heard back, “Dad? It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you! You did it, Dad!”

他挖掘了8小時，12小時，24小時，36小時，38小時后，父親推開了一塊巨大的石頭，聽到了兒子的聲音。父親尖叫著：“阿曼德！”他聽到了兒子的回音：“爸爸嗎？是我，爸爸！我告訴其他的小朋友不要擔心。我告訴他們，如果你活著，你會來救我的。如果我獲救了，他們也就獲救了。你答應(yīng)過我，不論發(fā)生什么，你永遠都會在我的身邊，你做到了，爸爸！”

“What’s going on in there? How is it?” the father asked.

“你那里的情況怎樣了？”父親問。

“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building collapsed, it made a triangle, and it saved us.”

“我們有33個，只有14個活著。爸爸，我們好害怕，又渴又餓，謝天謝地，你在這兒。教室倒塌時，剛好形成一個三角形的洞，救了我們。”

“Come out, boy!”

“快出來吧，孩子！”

“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

“不，爸爸！讓其他小朋友先出來吧！因為我知道你會接我的！不管發(fā)生什么事，我知道你永遠都會來到我的身邊！”

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂