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"Fertile," he laughed as he reached down and picked up a double handful of the soil. "This is the land, son! This is it." Then he smelt the dirt.
“肥沃，”他笑着弯下身捧起了一捧泥土，“这才叫肥沃呢，儿子！这才是真货色。”说着，他闻了闻那泥土。
"Just like fresh air," he said as he let the dirt run between his fingers. "It's pleasant to touch, too," he added.
“就像新鲜空气那样。”他一面说着，一面让那土从他的指缝间流在地上。“这土摸着都舒服。”他加了句。
"But Dad—" I said.
“可是爸——”我说道。
"I know what you think," he interrupted. "Your mother thinks the same thing. She wonders why I ever climbed to this mountaintop to raise my potatoes, yams and tomatoes! But, Jess," he almost whispered. "Anything grown in new ground like this has a better flavor. Wait until my tomatoes are ripe! You'll never taste sweeter tomatoes in your life!"
“我知道你在想什么。”他打断了我。“你妈也这么想。她不明白我为什么要爬到山顶去种土豆、甜薯和西红柿！但是，杰西，”他这时几乎像在和我耳语，“在这样新开垦的地里种出来的任何东西，都有特别的风味。等到西红柿熟了的时候吧，你会发现你这辈子从没有吃过那么甜的西红柿！”
"This is the cleanest patch I've ever seen," I exclaimed. "But I still don't see why you took all this trouble. And all against your doctor's orders!"
“这的确是我见过的最干净的一块地，”我激动地大声说道，“但我还是不明白你为什么要去费那个劲，而且还不听医嘱！”
"Twenty times in my life," he said, "a doctor has told me to go home and be with my family as long as I could. Told me not to work. Not to do anything but to live and enjoy the few days I had left me. But I have cheated death many times! Now, I've reached the years the Good Book allows to a man. Three-score years and ten!"
“我这辈子曾有二十次，”他说道，“医生跟我说，叫我回家和家人待在一起，能团聚几天就团聚几天。叫我不要再工作了。叫我什么都不要干，只要在剩下的几天时间里尽情地享受。可是每一次我都躲过了死神！我现在已经用尽了《圣经》上说上帝赐给每个人的寿命，我已经整七十岁了！”
He got up from the tree stump where he was sitting and wiped the drops of sweat from his red-wrinkled face.
他从刚才坐着的树桩上站了起来，用手擦去了他那布满皱纹的通红的脸上的汗水。
