15篇文章貫通四級(jí)詞匯(星火英語)6 An Ideal Position

An Ideal Position [理想職業(yè)]

Life is good. My career in elementary education in Canada is now just a fond memory. I think back on the many years of service and I recall the many classed I taught, the different schools I worked at, the countless staff meetings I attended and the many committees I served on. I estimate that the number of faculty members I worked with over the years is in the hundreds and well over a thousand students have called me teacher. Is it any wonder that I can say that I always felt comfortable walking in school corridors?

生活是美好的。在加拿大教小學(xué)的職業(yè)生涯，如今成了美好的回憶?；仡櫠嗄甑墓ぷ?，我想起了我教的許多班級(jí)，我工作過的多所學(xué)校，我出席過的數(shù)不清的教職員工會(huì)議，以及我參與服務(wù)的眾多委員會(huì)。我估計(jì)，這些年來，和我一起工作過的同事有好幾百人了，而有一千多名學(xué)生叫過我老師。我要是說我走在學(xué)校走廊上總是覺得很愉快，沒什么奇怪吧?

Sometimes I worked with students at the intermediate level. In Canada, students at that level are youth in their preteen(青春期前的) years as well as teenagers. When I decided to retire, I knew that the first step in the procedure was to write a letter to my employer, a school board, to resign my position. I postponed mailing the letter. I was reluctant to add the postage to the letter, knowing that once I mailed it, the decision could not be reversed.

有時(shí)，我的工作是教中年級(jí)的學(xué)生。在加拿大，這個(gè)階段的學(xué)生和十幾歲青少年都是青春期前的孩子。

當(dāng)我決定退休的時(shí)候，我知道辦手續(xù)的第一步是寫一封信給我的老板，即學(xué)校董事會(huì)，要求辭去我的工作。我推遲了寄信。我不太愿意把郵票貼到信封上，因?yàn)槲抑酪坏┌研偶某?，這個(gè)決定就不能更改了。

Because I was a veteran teacher of many years, I would be eligible to receive a pension. I calculated that the revenue(收入) I would receive each month would be sufficient to sustain my current lifestyle. If I was smart about my spending habits, I might even have a surplus of money. I certainly would not need to pinch every penny. I knew the money would not come to me in the form of a check. Instead, it would be deposited directly into my bank account. I could withdraw cash from my investments if I needed to supplement my income, my credit rating would allow me to be eligible for a loan when some unforeseen(預(yù)料不到的) financial crisis a rose. I knew, therefore, that there was no reason to panic, as my future was secure even if inflation increased or a recession occurred. In either case my income would only be minus a few dollars, a fraction of the total amount.

因?yàn)槲沂枪ぷ鞫嗄甑睦辖處煟矣匈Y格領(lǐng)取一份退休金。我算出我每月領(lǐng)到的退休金足夠維持我現(xiàn)在的生活方式。如果在花錢時(shí)精打細(xì)算，我甚至可能還有剩余。當(dāng)然，我不需要去節(jié)省每個(gè)便士。這些錢不會(huì)以一張支票的形式發(fā)到我手上，而是直接存入到我的銀行賬戶。如果我需要補(bǔ)貼收入，可以撤回一些投資換成現(xiàn)金。而且，我的信用等級(jí)使我有資格在出現(xiàn)無法預(yù)料的財(cái)政危機(jī)時(shí)得到銀行貸款。因此，我知道沒有理由驚惶失措，即使是通貨膨脹或者出現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，我的將來也是有保障的。不論出現(xiàn)哪種情況，我的收入只不過是減少這些錢，那只是總數(shù)中的一小部分而已。

I decided to take the plunge, but waited another fortnight before I mailed the letter. I even paused briefly(簡短的,暫時(shí)的) with the letter part way into the mail slot(投信口,狹縫) before I thrust the letter into the mailbox. I knew that the simple act of mailing that letter would alter my life.

我決定冒險(xiǎn)一試，但我又等了兩個(gè)星期才把信發(fā)出去。甚至在信已經(jīng)部分插入投信口時(shí)，還猶豫了一會(huì)兒才把它推進(jìn)郵筒。我知道寄出這封信的這一簡單舉動(dòng)將改變我的生活。

I looked for clues to determine how striking the changes in my daily life would be. How would I spend my time? In spite of having many long yearly vacations when I could pursue other interests, I had not bothered to make an earnest effort to confine my activities to one particular hobby. Would I find life as a retiree boring? What new adventures might await me? Would I use my time to volunteer at a hospital or maybe work for a local charity? Maybe I would apply for membership in a golf league. Maybe I would donate(捐贈(zèng)) my time and work with the Better Business Bureau. I night decide to enter local politics and run for a position on town council or I could run for the position of Deputy Mayor of my town, or maybe even consider submitting my name to be a candidate in an election for member of parliament(國會(huì)). I would need to campaign and then wait to see if people would vote for me on Election Day at the polls.

我在尋找一些線索，以便決定如何就會(huì)日常生活的改變。我該如何消磨時(shí)光?盡管有了很多一年一次的假期，可以讓我追求其他的興趣愛好，我還是想盡力把我的活動(dòng)放在追求一個(gè)特別的愛好上。我會(huì)厭煩退休人員的生活嗎?會(huì)有什么新的冒險(xiǎn)生活在等著我嗎?我會(huì)利用我的時(shí)間在一所醫(yī)院或者本地的一家慈善機(jī)構(gòu)做自愿服務(wù)者嗎?也許我會(huì)申請成為一個(gè)高爾夫球協(xié)會(huì)的會(huì)員。也許我會(huì)把時(shí)間貢獻(xiàn)出來為商業(yè)扶助局工作。我可以決定進(jìn)入本地的政界，競選市議會(huì)議員的位置，或者可以競選一下本市的副市長，甚至可以考慮讓自己成為國會(huì)議員選舉中的一位候選人。我需要參加競選活動(dòng)，然后，等著看是否有人會(huì)在選舉日到投票處把票投給我。

In spite of the fact that the possibilities all had merit, I had to admit that I only had a superficial interest in pursuing any of them. In fact, I was indifferent to most of the options. Did I think they might interfere with other commitments(義務(wù),委托) or mean I would have to cancel other appointments? Or was I just too attached to the idea of teaching, feeling that it formed part of my identity?

盡管這些可能的選擇都是有益的，我必須承認(rèn)我對它們之中的任何一個(gè)都沒有多大興趣。事實(shí)上，我對其中的大多數(shù)選擇都不動(dòng)心。是否因?yàn)槲艺J(rèn)為它們可能干擾我決定要做的其他事情，或者意味著我將不得不取消其他的約會(huì)呢?還是我對教書的想法太執(zhí)著，覺得那已經(jīng)成為我自身的一部分?

I examined my emotions about the new direction my life would take. Would retirement add a new dimension to my life and multiply my feeling of satisfaction or would the world apprehension(理解,領(lǐng)悟) be more applicable?

我在心里仔細(xì)衡量著我的新生活究竟要走向何方。是退休給我的生活帶來一種全新的方式，使我倍感稱心呢，還是(走出去與人)溝通交流更切實(shí)可行?

Did I feel guilty about not being gainfully(有利益的) employed when I was qualified and capable? As a certified(被證明的) teacher, did I feel obligated to work in the field of education? Did I feel entitled to sleep in late each day, or would that bother my conscience? Would I simply grow old gracefully or would feel that ridiculous?

當(dāng)我夠資格有能力但沒被高薪聘用時(shí)，我會(huì)覺得慚愧嗎?作為一個(gè)有執(zhí)業(yè)資格的教師，我是覺得有義務(wù)在教育領(lǐng)域里工作嗎?我覺得有資格每天睡懶覺呢，還是那樣會(huì)使我良心不安?我是這樣悠閑地衰老下去呢，還是會(huì)覺得那樣很可笑?

My instincts told me that although I would feel grateful for my good health, curiosity about other countries and lifestyles would overtake the desire to spend my time with senior citizens, playing board games, such as chess all day. Wouldn’t I rather learn about other cultures and at the same time be an ambassador for my own country?

我本能地告訴我，盡管我覺得身體很健康，應(yīng)該保持，但對其他國家和其他生活方式的好奇心，超過了希望把時(shí)間花在與老人們整天玩像國際象棋這樣的棋盤游戲上。難道我不能學(xué)習(xí)其他文化，同時(shí)做一名我自己國家文化的使者嗎?

I began to inquire about opportunities and whenever I searched the internet for jobs, I always seemed be drawn like a magnet to the category of teaching. It did not take long before I found that there were countless positions available in many countries. Amid the listings I identified several that were for teaching positions in China.

我開始尋找機(jī)會(huì)，每當(dāng)我搜索互聯(lián)網(wǎng)尋找工作時(shí)，我總是像一塊磁石一樣被吸引到教學(xué)目錄上。沒過多久，我就發(fā)現(xiàn)在許多國家可以得到數(shù)不盡的工作。在這些目錄表中，我挑選了幾個(gè)在中國的教書工作。

I decided that I would communicate with some of the people offering these positions. I sent e-mails and made phone calls to several prospective(可能的,未來的) employers. The feedback that I got from most of them was that they expected me to bring all the resources necessary. How could I pack enough in my baggage to provide what was needed? I was inclined to look for a situation where books were provided. I wanted to sign a contract for only one semester but found that most positions were for one or two years. I could sympathize with the amount of paper work needed to arrange for a person to accept one of those positions and realized that it was wiser for people to spend a year or two in one location. I attended seminars by companies trying to recruit teachers. I found several companies that captured my interest.

我決定與提供這些工作的人聯(lián)系。我給幾個(gè)有希望雇用我的雇主發(fā)電子郵件，打電話。他們中的大部分回答說，他們希望我?guī)纤斜匦璧馁Y料。我怎樣才能在我的行李中裝上足夠的東西以備所需呢?我傾向于找一個(gè)能提供書籍的地方。我只想簽一個(gè)學(xué)期的合同，但發(fā)現(xiàn)大多數(shù)的職位是一年或二年。我可以理解，要安排一個(gè)人擔(dān)任其中一個(gè)職位，要做的工作量相當(dāng)大，并認(rèn)識(shí)到受聘人員在一個(gè)地方呆一年或兩年是更明智的。我參加了想招聘老師的公司的討論會(huì)。我發(fā)現(xiàn)了幾個(gè)我感興趣的公司。

I began to review my options. I asked specific questions about the positions with companies that sincerely interested me. I inquired about how many suitcases I would be allowed to bring and what the living accommodations would be. It was refreshing to realize that there was a big demand for people who could teach English. Several positions seemed superior in their benefits and they sparked my interest even more. I especially wanted to teach students at the secondary or high school level rather than middle school.

我開始核實(shí)我的選擇。我向真正對我感興趣的公司問了幾個(gè)特定的有關(guān)職位方面的問題。我詢問我可以帶多少個(gè)手提箱，食宿條件如何。了解到對教英語的人有這么大的需求，真是令人振奮不已。有幾個(gè)職位在待遇方面好像不錯(cuò)，這更加激發(fā)了我的興趣。我特別想教的是高中而不是初中。

I could hardly believe that I was contemplating(盤算,思量) dong this at this age of my life. At times I felt that it was a radical idea but I also realized that I had always had the desire to have this kind of experience but circumstances never seemed quite right. Now they were. I decided to proceed.

我?guī)缀醪幌嘈旁谖乙簧械倪@個(gè)階段還希望做這件事。有時(shí)，我覺得這是一個(gè)過激的想法，但是我也知道我一直有想獲得這種經(jīng)歷的欲望，只是環(huán)境從來沒有這么合適?，F(xiàn)在是時(shí)候了。我決定堅(jiān)持下去。

I made an oral agreement with a company. I read their written contracts, clause by clause; to be sure nothing had been omitted from the oral agreement. In spite of wanting the clause about staying two years to be deleted, I signed the legal contract after a few minor changes were made and initialed in the margin.

我與一家公司達(dá)成了一個(gè)口頭協(xié)議。然后我一條一條地讀了他們的書面合同，確信沒有從口頭協(xié)議中漏掉什么。盡管很想刪掉關(guān)于工作二年的那一條，但在做了一些較小的變動(dòng)后，我簽了法律合同并在頁邊簽字。

There were many details to consider. After choosing the company that I wanted to work for, I still had to take a long time look at my circumstances. I decided that I would sell my car, put my personal belongings in storage and rent my house. A lot of time and effort was required to make all the arrangements. I decided to tackle(解決) one aspect at a time.

還有很多細(xì)節(jié)要考慮。在選定了我要去工作的公司后，我還花了很長時(shí)間認(rèn)真地考慮我現(xiàn)在的狀況。我決定賣掉我的汽車，把我的個(gè)人財(cái)產(chǎn)保存好，并把我的房子租出去。做好所有這些安排要花許多時(shí)間和精力。我決定一件一件來處理。

The first thing I targeted was to sell my car. As a matter of principle, I felt that the value of the car would depreciate(貶值,跌價(jià)) over the time I was out of the country. The sensible strategy was to sell it. Fortunately, my niece wanted to buy the car.

我要做的第一件事是賣掉我的汽車。事實(shí)上，我覺得在我出國這段時(shí)間里汽車會(huì)貶值，明智的辦法就是賣掉它。正好，我的侄女想買這輛汽車。

I made a list of things to take with me. I was advised to take auxiliary light. I packed battery-operated flashlights to be used to case of power failure. I included a waterproof jacket in case I needed to walk to school in the rain.

我列出了一個(gè)我要帶走的物品的清單。有人勸我?guī)陷o助照明設(shè)備。我在包里裝進(jìn)了使用電池的手電筒，以備萬一停電時(shí)使用。我也沒忘帶上一件防水夾克，以防下雨時(shí)需要步行。

I needed to sort my belongings. I had to decide what to save and what to pitch out. For example, I decided I no longer needed my typewriter, as I only used my computer for word processing now, so I decided to give it away.

我需要的把我的財(cái)產(chǎn)分類。我必須決定哪些東西保留，哪些東西扔掉。例如，我決定不再需要打字機(jī)了，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在我只用計(jì)算機(jī)作文字處理，于是我決定把它贈(zèng)送給別人。

I made many lists and developed a cold as a way to catalogue my possessions. As I packed items in cardboard boxes, I made a list regarding the contents on the outside of each box. I packed dishes in towels to protect them. Many times I had to undo a box because I forgot to list the contents. When I finally snapped the lid of a box shut, I sealed it with transparent tape and checked to be sure that it would not loosen. I also included another tag, which gave each box a number because all cardboard boxes look identical. I was careful not to abbreviate(縮寫) the names of items in the lists lest that would mislead me as to the contents. I continued with this method, which also created an index of items. It seemed the rational way to coordinate and organize things. I remarked many times during this phase of my preparations that I had not realized I had so much gear.

我做了許多目錄，還作了編碼，作為對我的東西進(jìn)行分類的一個(gè)辦法。當(dāng)我把這些物品裝入紙板箱時(shí)，在每個(gè)箱子的外面，我再作一個(gè)所裝物品的目錄。我用毛巾把盤子包起來保護(hù)它們不會(huì)破碎。有很多次，我因?yàn)橥浟谐鏊b的東西而不得不再次把箱子打開。當(dāng)我在最后啪嗒一聲關(guān)上箱子蓋子的時(shí)候，我就用透明膠帶把它封好，并進(jìn)行檢查，確信它不會(huì)松動(dòng)。我還準(zhǔn)備了另一個(gè)標(biāo)簽，為每個(gè)箱子編一個(gè)數(shù)字，因?yàn)樗械募埌逑淇瓷先ナ且粯拥?。我很小心，不在目錄中縮寫每一件的名字以免使我認(rèn)錯(cuò)里面的東西。我繼續(xù)使用這個(gè)方法，還編制了一個(gè)物品索引?？磥磉@是一個(gè)組織協(xié)調(diào)的合理方法。在準(zhǔn)備期間，我多次感嘆，我怎么會(huì)有這么多雜物。

At times I had to laugh at myself. My activities seemed like they would make a good script for a comedy. Maybe I should write a play about what I was doing and copyright it. It certainly would be good for a few scenes on a soap opera.

有時(shí)，我不得不自我解嘲。我的活動(dòng)好像可以作為一出喜劇的好素材。也許我應(yīng)該把我正在做的事情寫成一個(gè)劇本并取得版權(quán)，作為一出肥皂劇里面的幾幕肯定是不錯(cuò)的。

On the spur of the moment I decided to loan my sofa and my rug to my niece who was moving to a larger home. That would mean a few less things to put into storage. I fulfilled my obligation to provide proof of good health. I had a chest x-ray taken. I had a complete physical examination. I had dental check up. Because my health reports all indicated I was in excellent health, all of the health care professionals I visited encouraged me to pursue my adventure. I renewed my passport, my proof of identity as a Canadian citizen. I knew that once I arrived in China I would also be registered with the Canadian Embassy.

我不假思索地就決定把我的沙發(fā)和我的小地毯借給我的侄女，她就要搬到一個(gè)較大的家了。這意味著可以少儲(chǔ)藏幾件東西了。我履行了提供身體健康證明的義務(wù)。我作了X光胸透，還作了一個(gè)全面的體檢，并且檢查了牙齒。因?yàn)樗械慕】祱?bào)告都表明我身體很好，我拜訪過的那些保健專家都鼓勵(lì)我去從事我的冒險(xiǎn)活動(dòng)。我延長了護(hù)照的期限，那是確認(rèn)我是一個(gè)加拿大公民的證明。一旦抵達(dá)中國，我要在加拿大使館登記。

My family’s reaction when I told them about my plans was as expected. Although they sanctioned my idea and supported me the endeavor(努力,盡力), they were sad to think that I would be half way across the world for such a long time. The frown on my grandson’s face told me that the situation would be especially difficult for him and that he might feel neglected by me.

當(dāng)我把我的計(jì)劃告訴我的家人時(shí)，他們的反應(yīng)和我預(yù)料的一樣。雖然他們同意我的想法而且盡力支持我，但想到我要橫跨半個(gè)世界，離開如此長的時(shí)間，他們還是有點(diǎn)難過。我孫子眉頭緊鎖的表情告訴我，他尤其難過，他可能覺得我忽視了他。

Although I could scarcely argue with the comments of my family about their feelings, for their sake I talked about the time away from home as if it was just a few short days. I would be backing home before they knew it. They suggested that I come back after one year for the summer and then return for the second year. I agreed to this plan.

對于我家人的擔(dān)心，雖然我不用就他們的意見進(jìn)行解釋，但為了讓他們放心，我說這次離家的時(shí)間就好像只是短短幾天罷了，不知不覺我就回家了。他們提議我在一年之后回來過夏天，然后再返回去繼續(xù)第二年的工作。我同意了這個(gè)計(jì)劃。

Five years ago, would I have thought that this was in the realm of possibility? I doubt that I would have. But here I am in China, in my second year of living in this amazingly progressive civilization, and I can honestly say that I have never once regretted my decision to teach in China. I must also admit that I have learned far more from my students than they have learned from me. I admire their thirst for knowledge and they seem to thrive on challenges. They never seen tempted to take a short cut, always working hard and giving a supreme effort. Their tolerance for their English teacher’s lack of familiarity with Chinese customs has been appreciated. They always are positive in their attitudes toward me and have helped me whenever they could. At times they have insisted on doing things for me that was capable of doing myself. It has become a habit to surrender to their wishes to assist. One student in particular always takes on the job of carrying my packages, saying that it is his pleasure to be my porter.

在五年前，我會(huì)想到這是可能的嗎?我想我不會(huì)。但是，現(xiàn)在我就在另，已經(jīng)是在這個(gè)正以驚人的速度前進(jìn)的文明國度里的第二年了。我可以真誠地說，對于在中國教書的決定，我從不曾后悔過。我還得承認(rèn)，我從學(xué)生們那里學(xué)到的東西，遠(yuǎn)多于他們從我這里學(xué)到的。我欽佩他們對知識(shí)的渴望，他們含金量在挑戰(zhàn)之中成長。他們從不設(shè)法走捷徑，總是刻苦學(xué)習(xí)，付出最大的努力。他們對他們的英語老師對中國習(xí)俗缺乏了解的寬容，值得贊賞。他們總是以肯定的態(tài)度待我，并且盡可能給我?guī)椭?。有時(shí)，他們要堅(jiān)持為我做我能夠做的事。滿足他們要幫忙的愿望已經(jīng)變成一個(gè)習(xí)慣了。有一個(gè)學(xué)生很特別，總是干幫我提包的事，說他很高興當(dāng)我的搬運(yùn)工。

When I started to plan this adventure I had only a vague idea of what the country of china would be like. I could recognize their flag but was not even familiar with their national anthem(國歌). My comprehension of the customs of the country was very limited I felt almost ashamed at how little I knew. I did not know if they used the metric or the imperial(英制的) system of measurement. Would I buy fluids such as milk and soda in quarts or liters? Would I need to learn the Chinese word for gram or for inch? Indeed I had never heard the word ‘jin’ before.

當(dāng)我開始計(jì)劃這次冒險(xiǎn)時(shí)，對于中國到底是個(gè)什么樣子，我只有一個(gè)模糊的概念。我可以認(rèn)出他們的國旗，但還不熟悉他們的國歌。我對這個(gè)國家的習(xí)俗的了解也非常有限。我覺得慚愧得很，我知道得太少了。我不知道他們是用公制還是英制單位。我要按夸脫還是按升去買牛奶和蘇打等液體商品?我需要學(xué)習(xí)表示“克”或“英寸”的中國字嗎?的確，我以前從未聽到過“斤”這個(gè)字。

I knew little about the food I would be eating. Would dairy products such as skim milk and cheese and yoghurt(酸酪) be available? Would I eat only rice and noodles or would the variety of foods be endless? May be I would be enjoying a rack of lean pork ribs as a delicious treat.

I was unaware that there were so many dialects in the Chinese language. I had no idea how I would communicate but when I arrived in china, I soon found myself having a limited dialogue with Chinese people. They would try to speak a few words of English and I would attempt a few words in Chinese. However, I resorted to sign language more than words.

對于我將要吃的食品，我知道得很少。可以買到像脫脂牛奶、乳酪和酸酪這樣的奶制品嗎?我只能吃米飯和面條，還是有各種各樣的食品?也許我能享受到作為美味款待的烤瘦肉豬排。我不知道漢語有這么多方言。我一點(diǎn)兒不知道如何進(jìn)行交流，但是當(dāng)我抵達(dá)中國后，很快發(fā)現(xiàn)我自己可以和中國人進(jìn)行有限的對話。他們常常試著說幾句英語，而我就嘗試幾句漢語。不過，我借助手勢語的時(shí)候超過口語。

How much I have learned! It has been a wonderful, rewarding experience and the one comment that comes to my mind is “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!”

我居然學(xué)了這么多!這真是一次令人愉快的、十分有益的經(jīng)歷。這使我想起了一句話，就是“無論如何我沒有錯(cuò)過它!”