生的机会留给谁?
H. C. Neal
H·C·尼尔
It came on a Sunday afternoon and that was good, because if it had happened on a weekday the father would have been at work and the children at school, leaving the mother at home alone and the whole family disorganized with hardly any hope at all. They had prayed that it would never come, ever,but suddenly here it was.
事情发生在一个星期日的下午,幸好如此,因为如果是在工作日,父亲去工作,孩子们去上学,只留下妈妈一人在家,全家聚不到一起,几乎没有任何希望。他们祈祷事情永远不要发生,但它还是突然就发生了。
The father, a slender, young-old man, slightly stooped from years of labor, was resting on the sofa and half-listening to a program of waltz music on the radio. Mother was in the kitchen preparing a chicken for dinner and the younger boy and girl were in the bedroom drawing crude pictures of familiar barnyard animals on a shared slate. The older boy was in the shed out back, cleaning some harnesses.
父亲是一位身材偏瘦、老当益壮的人,多年的劳动使他脊背微驼。他正靠在沙发上休息, 漫不经心地收听着收音机里播放的华尔兹音乐节目。母亲在厨房里准备晚饭要吃的鸡肉,小儿子和女儿在卧室里的一块石板上画农场里常见的动物。大儿子在屋后的牲口棚里清洗马具。
Suddenly the program was cut off. The announcer almost shouted:
突然,电台节目中断了。播音员几乎是大声地喊叫道:
"Bomb alert! Bomb alert! Attention! Attention! A number of missiles have just been launched across the sea, heading this way. Attention. They are expected to strike within the next sixteen minutes. This is a verified alert! Take cover! Keep your radios tuned for further instructions."
“空袭警报!空袭警报!注意!注意!大海的对岸刚刚发射了若干枚导弹,正向此处飞来。注意!预计导弹16分钟内抵达。这是经核实后发布的警报!请隐蔽!请不要关掉收音机,注意收听进一步的指示。”
"My God!" the father gasped. His face was ashen, puzzled, as though he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that this was real—but still could not quite believe it.
“我的上帝!”父亲喘着气说。他脸色灰白,惊疑不定,尽管他知道这是真的——但仍不能完全相信。