Two weeks later I stared sullenly at the bare plot. No corn sprouts. None. No future maize. Glaring at the dirt, then the sky, I asked, "Why?" Nobody answered. I jerked open the shed door and dug through my box of seed packets, finally coming up with the packet of corn seeds. Having only cursorily skimmed the planting instructions, I had not actually read all of the information available. Two lines down, I found the problem: Plant in warm ground in a sunny area.
两周后,我闷闷不乐地看着那片光秃秃的土地。没有玉米苗长出来,一株也没有,将来也结不出玉米来。我看看那块地,又仰天而问:“为什么呢?”没有人回答。我猛地打开棚子的门,在装有各种种子包装袋的盒子里翻找,最终找到了玉米种子的包装袋。之前我只是草草地看了一眼种植说明,根本就没有读完所有有用的信息。再往下读两行,我发现了问题所在,上面写着:种植在温暖向阳的地方。
I looked up and glared again. But this time, I glared at the trees that shaded the southern end of my garden for about six hours of the day. Muttering to myself, "Too early. Planted them too early. Gotta have warm ground," I made my way to my healthy tomato plants and took comfort in their rough stems and fuzzy leaves. I broke a leaf off and breathed in its wonderful pleasant smell. Recharged, re-energized and renewed, I weeded around my zucchini then went inside.
我又抬头看了看,但这次我看的是前面一排树,它们每天大约有六个小时都在遮着菜园的南端。我自言自语道:“太早了,种得太早了。应该种在温暖的地方。”我走向正在健康生长着的西红柿,摸着它们粗糙的茎和有绒毛的叶子,我深感欣慰。我摘下一片叶子,沉浸在它那沁人心脾的芳香中。我再次感到精力充沛、精神饱满、体力恢复,回屋前我给西葫芦除了草。
"Yeah, so we planted that corn in the wrong place," I said, stepping through the back door into my small home. "Needs to be in direct sunlight."
“所以说我们是把玉米种错地方了!”我边说边穿过后门走进小屋,“要种在有阳光直射的地方。”
"What do you mean 'we'?" my wife asked, grinning at me.
“你说‘我们’是什么意思?”妻子露齿而笑。
I muttered something witty and rude and went off to the kitchen, in search of a drink of water. "Yeah, well we'll give it some time. Maybe as it warms up, it'll grow okay."
我诙谐而又有点粗鲁地低语了几句,然后走向厨房去找水喝。“那好吧,我们给它点时间,也许随着天气渐渐变暖,它会长得很好的。”