Life is like a bag of frozen peas

安徽太湖中學 周艷霞

精彩導讀

當生活將你擊倒，當你所知的一切土崩瓦解，當你以為自己再也無法熬過艱難時光時，請記住，生活不過是一袋散落一地的冷凍豌豆。正如地上的豌豆可以被拾起，生活也可以繼續下去。

A few weeks after my first wife， Georgia，was calledto heaven，I was cooking dinner for my son and myself.For a vegetable dish，I decided to use frozen peas.As I was cutting open the bag，it slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor.The peas，like marbles，rolled everywhere.I tried to use a broom，but with each sweep the peas rolled across the kitchen，bounced（彈跳）off the wall on the other side and rolled in another direction.

我的第一任妻子喬治婭去世幾周后的一天，我正在為自己和兒子做晚餐。我決定用冷凍豌豆做一道素菜，可就在我剪開包裝袋時，袋子不小心從我手中滑落，落到了地上，豌豆如彈珠般滾得到處都是。我試著用掃帚收拾，可每掃一下，豌豆便滾著穿過廚房，撞到對面的墻上后反彈回來，又向另一個方向滾去。

◎閱讀點睛：was called to heaven是一種委婉語，意為“死去；去世”。

My mental state at the time was fragile.Losing a spouse is an unbearable pain.I leaned and pulled them into a pile to dispose（處理）of.I was half laughing and half crying as I collected them.I could see the humor in what happened，but it doesn't take much for a person dealing with grief to break down.

那時，我的心理狀態很脆弱。喪偶帶來的是一種令人難以承受的痛苦。我伏在地上，將豌豆撥成一堆，以方便收拾。在將它們聚在一起的過程中，我一會兒笑，一會兒哭。我體會到了這件事的幽默，但對于一個正在應對悲傷的人而言，一點點的小事便會導致崩潰。

◎閱讀點睛：在黑體句中，what引導的是賓語從句，作介詞in的賓語；dealing with grief作名詞a person的定語，but后的句子為 “it takes+賓語 +for sb to do”句型，意為“做某事花費某人……”。

For the next week，every time I was in the kitchen，I would find a pea that had escaped my first cleanup.In a corner， behind a table leg，in the frays（ 磨 損 處 ）at the end ofa mat， or hidden under a heater， they keptturning up.Eight months later， I pulled out the refrigerator to clean，and found a dozen or so petrified peas hidden underneath.

接下來的一周，我每次進廚房，都會發現一顆逃脫了第一次清理的豌豆。角落里、桌腿后、墊子角的磨損處、熱水器下方，豌豆一個接一個地出現。8個月后，我將冰箱拉出來清理，在冰箱下面又發現了十幾顆已經風干的豌豆。

◎閱讀點睛：at the end of“在……末端”；turn up“露面；出現”；pull out“拉出”。

At the time I found those few remaining peas，I was in a new relationship with a wonderful woman I met in a widow/widower support group.After we married，I wasreminded ofthose peas under the refrigerator.I realized my life had been like that bag of frozen peas.It had shattered （散開）because my wife was gone.I was in a new city with a busy job and a sonhaving trouble adjusting tohis new surroundings and the loss of his mother.I was a wreck.I was a bag of spilled frozen peas.My life had come apart and scattered （散亂的）.

發現那幾顆遺落的豌豆時，我正與一個美麗的女士發展一段嶄新的戀情。我是在一個寡婦/鰥夫互助小組上認識她的。我倆結婚后，我想起了那些藏在冰箱下的豌豆。我意識到，我過去的生活就如同那袋冷凍豌豆，因為失去妻子而散落一地。在一個新的城市里，我不僅要應付繁忙的工作，還要照顧難以適應新環境、承受著喪母之痛的兒子。我整個人都糟糕透了。我就像一包散落在地的冷凍豌豆，我的人生四分五裂。

◎閱讀點睛：remind...of“提醒……；注意……”；have trouble （in）doing...“做某事有困難”；adjust to“適應”。

When life gets you down;when everything you know comes apart;when you think you can never getthroughthe tough times， remember， it is just a bag of scattered frozen peas.The peas can be collected and life will move on.You will find all the peas.First the easy peas come together in a pile，and then you pick them up and start to move on.Later you will find the bigger and harder-to-find peas.When you pull all the peas together，life will be whole again.

當生活將你擊倒，當你所知的一切土崩瓦解，當你以為自己再也無法熬過艱難時光時，請記住，生活不過是一袋散落一地的冷凍豌豆。正如地上的豌豆可以被拾起，生活也可以繼續下去。最終你會找到所有的豌豆。一開始，你可以將那些容易找到的豌豆撥成一堆，然后將它們撿起，開始前行。之后，你會找到那些更大且更難發現的豌豆。當你找齊所有豌豆時，你的人生便會完整如初。

◎閱讀點睛：come apart“（精神）錯亂；崩潰；瓦解”；get through“度過”。

The life you know can be broken at any time.You will move on，but how fast you collect your peasdepends onyou.Will you keep scattering them around with a broom，or will you pick them up one-by-one and put your life back together?How will you collect your peas?

你所熟悉的生活隨時都可能支離破碎。你終會前行，但以怎樣的速度撿拾豌豆取決于你自己。你是會堅持用掃帚將它們掃得到處都是，還是會一個一個將它們撿起，將生活拼湊完整?你會如何撿拾自己的豌豆?

◎閱讀點睛：depend on“依靠；依賴”。

讀后創寫

閱讀文章，結合以下名句，按要求用英文寫作。

Although the world is full of suffering，it is full also of the overcoming of it.

—Helen Keller

雖然世界多苦難，但是苦難總是能戰勝的。

——海倫·凱勒

要求：

1.無須寫標題；

2.除詩歌外，文體不限；

3.內容必須結合你生活中的具體事例；

4.可以根據自己對文章的理解，從其他角度進行創寫；

5.詞數不少于 120，如引用名句，則不計入總詞數。

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