精美英文欣赏:青香蕉

编者按:

但渐渐地，我发现村民们的信念很有道理，我认同他们。我们倾向于把某个特殊的地方看作是世界的中心，在那里我们被他人所了解，并了解其他人，那地方对我们很重要，在那里我们拥有认同感和生活的意义。比如家庭、学校、城镇，还有地方区域，都会成为我们心目中的世界的中心。

The Green Banana

My encounter with the green banana started on a steep mountain road in Brazil. My ancient jeep was zigzagging¹ when the radiator² began to leak. I stopped at the next village, where people gathered to look. Three fine streams of hot water spouted³ from holes in the radiator.

“That’s easy to fix,” a man said. He sent a boy running for some green bananas. We exchanged pleasantries while I mulled over the green banana. Asking questions would seems silly, so I remarked on the beauty of the mountain.

“Do you see that tall one right over there?” asked my benefactor⁴, pointing to a particular tall, slender pinnacle⁵ of dark rock. “That rock marks the center of the world.”

I looked to see if he were teasing me, but his face was serious. He in turn inspected me carefully to be sure I grasped the significance of his statement. The occasion demanded some show of recognition on my part. “The center of the world?” I repeated, trying to convey interest if not complete acceptance.

He nodded. “The absolute center.”

At that moment the boy returned with my green bananas. The man sliced one in half and pressed the cut end against the radiator. The banana melted into a glue against the hot metal, plugging the leaks instantly.

Everyone laughed at my astonishment⁶. As a product of American higher education, I had never paid the slightest attention to the green banana. Suddenly on that mountain road, its time and my need had converged⁷.

This chance encounter showed me the special genius of those people, and the special potential of the green banana. I had been wondering for some time about what educators like to call “learning moments”, and I now knew I had just experienced two of them at once.

The importance of the rock marking the center of the world took a while to filter through. I had initially⁸ doubted their claim, knowing for a fact that the center was located somewhere in New England. After all, my grandfather had come from there. But gradually I realized they had a valid⁹ belief, a universal concept, and I agreed with them. We tend to define the center as that special place where we are known, where we know others, where things mean much to us, and where we ourselves have both identity and meaning: family, school, town and local region.

青香蕉

我遇到青香蕉是在巴西中部的一条陡峭山路上，我那辆老吉普车在美丽的乡村艰难穿行时，水箱开始漏水。我在下一个村子停下来。村民们走过来看发生了什么事。三小股热水从水箱外壳的洞里涌出来。

“这很容易修”，一个人边说边派一个男孩去取一些青香蕉。我们随意地聊起天来，同时我一直在想他们怎么用青香蕉修理我的水箱，然而我没有问他们，因为那会显得无知。所以我只谈了谈眼前这座美丽的大山。

“看到那块高耸的岩石了吗?”那人指着一块特别高且顶部线条柔和的黑岩石问道，“那块岩石标志着世界的中心。”

我盯着他看，看他是不是在骗我，但他表情严肃认真。而他，反过来也审视着我，好像要确认我是否理解他话中的真谛。这种情形需要我表示出对他的话的认可。“世界的中心?”我又问了一遍，在完全接受他的观点之前努力显出兴趣。

他点点头。“一个绝对的中心。”

这时候，男孩带回来了青香蕉。男人将一支香蕉切成两半，把切口处压在水箱表面。香蕉立即熔成糊状堵住了金属壳的裂缝，止住了漏水。

看到这一切我太惊讶了。在美国教育的“造就”下，我一点也没注意过青香蕉。突然间，在那条山路上，青香蕉被用来修补我的水箱的时机到了。

我开始欣赏那些人特别的智慧和青香蕉潜在的独特价值。好长一段时间我一直在想教育者们所说的“瞬间领悟到的东西”，我知道我刚刚一下子感受到了两样东西：青香蕉的特殊用途和有关世界中心的说法。

我花了更长一点的时间来理解村民们所信仰的标志着世界中心的岩石。刚开始我怀疑他们的话，因为事实上世界的中心在新英格兰。毕竟，我祖父来自那儿。但渐渐地，我发现村民们的信念很有道理，我认同他们。我们倾向于把某个特殊的地方看作是世界的中心，在那里我们被他人所了解，并了解其他人，那地方对我们很重要，在那里我们拥有认同感和生活的意义。比如家庭、学校、城镇，还有地方区域，都会成为我们心目中的世界的中心。

1 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

2 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

3 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 benefactor   

n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人

参考例句：

• The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。
• The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。

5 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

6 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

7 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？