精美英文欣赏:实习天使（在线收听）

The apprentice angel

实习天使

One day, a little angel who wanted to be a big angel was spending some time with a more seasoned angel.

一天，一个一心想成为大天使的小天使和一个经验丰富的天使在一起。

They were invisibly walking down a busy city street, and the older angel said to the apprentice angel:

他们隐身走在闹市的街头，年长天使对实习天使说:

Would you like to hear something amazing?

想不想听点惊人的事?

The little angel didn't know but he finally said, well, all right, what is it?

小天使有点茫然，于是说:那么，好吧，是什么?

They proceeded down the street and into a little coffee shop, and in there was a man drinking his coffee.

他们继续沿着街道前行，来到一家咖啡馆，里面正坐着一个喝咖啡的男人。

As soon as the two angels took a seat, an invisible devil sauntered in and sat right next to the man drinking his coffee.

这两个天使在咖啡馆里刚坐下，一个隐身的魔鬼踱着步子走进来，在喝咖啡的男人身边坐下了。

Come on over here. said the senior angel.

到这儿来，大天使对实习天使说。

Now, angels can see devils but devils can't see angels, so this devil couldn't see the two angels watching him.

顺便说一下，天使可以看见魔鬼，而魔鬼是看不见天使的，所以魔鬼不知道有两个天使正在看他。

If he could have seen them, then he never would have done what he was about to do,

如果说他能看见天使，他一定不会做接下来的事情，

because everything that angels learn about what devils are doing gives angels the opportunity

因为天使对魔鬼的臭名早就一清二楚，他们要

to teach human beings how to be smarter than devils.

教人们如何变得比魔鬼聪明。

So, this devil leans over to the man sitting there in the coffee shop,

魔鬼低伏在喝咖啡的男人身边，

and the angels lean forward to hear something that the devil whispers into the man's ear.

天使们向前倾着身子想听听魔鬼对男人小声说了什么。

The little angel falls back and says, ah ha! I see now. This explains so much.

小天使直起身子说道:啊哈，我知道了，这就难怪了。

The senior angel confirms, that's right.

大天使点点头:没错。

What the little angel heard the devil whisper in the man's ear was this:take this pain and pass it along.

小天使听到魔鬼跟男人说:承受这些痛苦，并把它带给别人。

With those words, the devil gave that man a little bit of pain.

说着，魔鬼给了男人一些痛苦。

The angels followed the man as he walked down the street.

男人走上街道，两个天使也跟了出去。

When he got to his car, he found that somebody had parked his car too close to his,

当他来到自己的车旁时，他发现有人把车停得太近了，

making it very hard for him to get out of his parking space.

这使他很难把车开出停车场。

A string of oaths came out of the man's mouth as he contemplated banging his car into the offending car.

男人说了一连串的脏话，打算撞向那辆讨厌的挡路车。

Then, just as he lets out that stream of violent energy, a woman walking down the street nearby

就在他发泄那股暴烈的怨气时，一个女人正从街上走过来。

who actually didn't hear what the man said—did exactly what the devil had told the man to do,

女人并没有听到男人骂了些什么，然而男人遵照魔鬼的指示:

which was to take this pain and pass it along.

承受这些痛苦，并把它带给别人。

That woman picked up the man's pain and never even knew it, never saw it, never felt it going into her.

就把痛苦传给了她，而她却完全没有意识到那看不见，摸不着的痛苦正在慢慢向自己袭来。

The moment that pain entered into the woman walking down the street,

就在痛苦侵袭了街上那女人的时候，

she looked in a store window and saw a co-worker who had said something to her yesterday.

她恰好看见昨天曾和自己说了些什么的同事在逛商店。

Now she knew why she was in pain because there was the idiot that made her feel that way.

现在她终于明白自己为什么会痛苦，因为让她痛苦不堪的笨蛋就在商店里。

The woman in the shop looked out and saw the woman looking in with a scowl on her face,

商店里的那个女人往外张望，恰好看见了街上正怒视着店内的女人，

and felt the pain that woman was passing to her.

她感受到了这个女人正在传递给她的痛苦。

The minute the woman in the store felt it, she began to think of her son who had gotten bad grades

就在这一刻，她开始响起自己成绩又差

and who continued to resist the education that was necessary.

又厌学的儿子。

She made up her mind that when she got home, she was going to ground him and really show him something.

于是她下定决心回家之后一定要让他尝尝大人的厉害。

And to the devil's delight, the pain was passed along endlessly to unsuspecting human beings.

让魔鬼高兴的是，这种痛苦就这样不断地在毫无防备的人类世界蔓延开来。