LilyM. 张宁

Lucy stuck the last candle into the cake and stepped back with a sigh1. She looked at the kitchen， completely decked2 out for her dads 60th birthday surprise party. Shiny party hats were neatly stacked3 on the table， and there were so many colorful streamers that it was difficult to see the ceiling. A huge banner hung from the wall read “Happy 60th， Dad！” and the house was filled with the sweet aroma4 of chocolate cake just out of the oven. Everything looked perfect. So why didnt Lucy feel satisfied？

露西把最后一支蠟烛插进蛋糕里，叹了口气退了回去。她看着为了她父亲60岁生日惊喜派对而装饰得漂漂亮亮的厨房。桌上整齐地堆放着闪亮的派对帽子，五颜六色的彩带几乎遮住了天花板。墙上挂着一面巨大的横幅，上面写着“60岁快乐，爸爸！”，屋子里充满了刚出炉的巧克力蛋糕的香气。一切看起来都很完美。那么露西为什么感到不满意呢？

Since the age of six， Lucy had begun to realize that her parents were much older than most of her friends parents. When classmates heard the ages of her mom and dad， they gave her looks of confusion. Now， she was 14， her dad 60. When she was 34， hed be 80. When she was 54， hed be 100. Sometimes she wondered， would her parents be alive to meet her future husband？ Would they get to know her children？ “I dont want dad to turn 60，” she thought. For Lucy， 60 was the age a person became old， growing closer to death. So the beginning of the end of her fathers life didnt seem like something to celebrate; rather it was something she wanted to ignore.

从六岁起，露西就开始意识到她的父母比她大多数朋友的父母年龄大得多。当同学们听到她父母的年龄时，都显得很困惑。现在，她14岁，她父亲60岁。她34岁时，他就80岁了。她54岁时，他就100岁了。有时她会想，她的父母会活到见到她未来丈夫的时候吗？他们会知道她的孩子吗？“我不想爸爸变成60岁。”她想。对露西来说，60岁是一个人开始变老，越来越接近死亡的年龄。因此，她父亲生命终结的开始这件事似乎并不值得庆祝，她甚至想要忽略掉它。

What she couldnt ignore， though， were memories of her with her father. Looking around the kitchen， she remembered his warm hands enveloping her little hands as they mixed pancake batter5 together. She thought of him sitting with her at the kitchen table explaining a math problem. And she couldnt count the number of times theyd stood by the sink after dinner， her dad washing the dishes， she drying， both of them laughing at some silly joke. “Why cant I celebrate dad on his birthday， when I love him so much？” Lucy thought.

不过，她不能忽视的是她和父亲在一起的回忆。她环顾厨房，想起了他曾用温暖的双手把她的小手包在一起，一起搅拌面糊。她想起了他曾坐在厨房的桌子旁给她解释一道数学题。她数不清有多少次晚饭后他们站在水池边，她父亲洗盘子，她擦干，他们俩都因为一个愚蠢的笑话而开心大笑。“既然我这么爱爸爸，为什么我不在他生日那天为他庆祝呢？”露西想。

“Wow！It looks amazing.” Her mom walked into the room with an armful of gifts. “Hes going to love it！”

“哇！”她母亲抱着一大堆礼物走进房间。“他会喜欢的！”

Lucy smiled and said， “Thanks， mom.”

露西微笑着说：“谢谢，妈妈。”

“Everything okay， honey？” Her mother walked over， giving her shoulder a squeeze6.

“一切都还好吗，亲爱的？”她母亲走过来，挤了挤她的肩膀。

“Yeah， Im just tired，” replied Lucy， forcing some enthusiasm into her voice.

“是的，我只是累了。”露西努力从她的声音里挤出点热情回答说。

“Ill leave you to it， sweetie！ Thanks again for doing such a beautiful job，” her mother said， leaving the room. “Remember， hell be home in ten minutes！”

“亲爱的，你来做吧！再次感谢你做得这么棒。”她母亲说着离开了房间。“记住，他十分钟后就回来了！”

Once she was gone， Lucy looked over the kitchen one last time before turning off the lights and walking into the living room. She collapsed7 onto the couch， sinking into its soft cushions， and turned on the television. Flipping through8 the channels， she finally settled on the local news.

母亲离开了，露西最后一次看了看厨房，然后关灯走进客厅。她倒在沙发上，窝进沙发的软垫里，并打开了电视。她匆匆切换着频道，最终停在了当地的新闻上。

“Tomorrow， there will be a 20 percent chance of rain.” The woman in TV looked down at her paper， a sad look crossing her face. “And now， a tragic story. A young couple died today in a car accident. Chelsey and Brian Stratford， ages 35 and 36， the parents of three children， were driving on I-95 when someone texting and driving drove into their car at full speed.” A picture of a beautiful family at the beach appeared on the screen.

“明天，有20%的幾率会下雨。”电视机里的女士低头看了看稿纸，脸上露出悲伤的表情。“现在，有一个悲惨的消息。今天有一对年轻的夫妇死于车祸。35岁的切尔西·斯特拉特福德和36岁布莱恩·斯特拉特福德是三个孩子的父母，他们在95号州际公路上驾车行驶时，有人因为在开车时发短信，全速撞上了他们的车。”屏幕上出现了一张海滩边幸福的一家人的照片。

Gasping9， Lucy sat up straight. Those people were familiar. She realized one of the girls in the picture was in her grade. Lucy turned off the television， feeling the prickle10 of goose bumps11 raise on her skin.

露西喘着气，直直地坐了起来。那些人她很熟悉。她认出来照片上的一个女孩和她在同一个年级。露西关掉电视，感到皮肤上起了鸡皮疙瘩。

Taking in a deep breath， she closed her eyes， and an image of her own family appeared behind her eyelids. It could be anyone at anytime， no matter how old or young they may， she realized.

她深深地吸了一口气，闭上眼睛，眼前出现了她自己家人的模样。她意识到，任何人在任何时候都有可能死去，无论他们年龄有多大或多小。

“Lucy！ Hes here！” Her mothers loud whisper startled12 Lucy out of her trance13. She jumped to her feet， dashing to the kitchen， a smile on her face. Hiding in the darkened room， Lucy heard her dads key turning and the front door opening.

“露西！他来了！”她母亲的低语声让露西从恍惚中惊醒过来。露西跳起来，冲到厨房，脸上带着微笑。她藏在黑暗的房间里，听到她父亲转动钥匙，打开了门。

Her dads footsteps grew closer， until he finally appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. A look of confusion passed over his bright blue eyes. Seeing him standing there， a sudden burst of love for her father overwhelmed Lucy.

她父亲的脚步声越来越近，直到他终于出现在厨房的门口。他那双明亮的蓝眼睛里流露出一丝困惑。看到父亲站在那里，对他的爱意突然涌上了露西的心头。

“Hello？ Anyone home？” He slowly entered the kitchen， and reached for the light switch.

“你好？有人在家吗？”他慢慢地走进厨房，伸手去摸电灯开关。

“SURPRISE！” Lucy and her mom jumped out of their hiding places. Her fathers face was as bright as a childs on Christmas morning. As for Lucy， she hurled14 herself at her father， jumped into his arms and wrapped him in a fierce bear hug.

“驚喜！”露西和她母亲从他们的藏身处跳了出来。她父亲的脸就像圣诞节早晨孩子的脸一样闪亮。至于露西，她朝着父亲扑去，跳进他怀里，给了他一个大大的熊抱。

【Notes】

1. sigh [     ] n. 叹息，叹气 2. deck [     ] vt. 装饰

3. stack [     ] v. （使）放成整齐的一叠 4. aroma [     ] n. 芳香

5. batter [     ] n. （用鸡蛋、牛奶、面粉等调成的）糊状物

6. squeeze [     ] n. 挤压;紧握

7. collapse [     ] v. 倒塌;倒下，昏倒;（尤指工作劳累后）坐下

8. flip through 浏览;草草翻阅 9. gasp [     ] vi. 喘气;喘息

10. prickle [     ] n. 刺痛;针刺般的感觉

11. goose bump 鸡皮疙瘩 12. startle [     ] vt. 使吓一跳;使惊奇

13. trance [     ] n. 恍惚;出神 14. hurl [     ] vt. 丢;用力投掷