自考英语二教材英文翻译第十二课：Text A

Text A Feeling Free

I woke up feeling cranky(脾气坏的). I didn#39;t want to do housework, though the laundry was piling up. I didn#39;t want to read the work I brought home from the office. I didn#39;t want to do anything that resembled responsible behavior. It was that kind of day.(承上总结句)

感受自由

一醒来我的心情就很糟糕。我不想做家务，尽管要洗的衣服已经堆积如山。我也不想理会那些我从办公室带回家的工作。我不想做任何负责任的事。这就是那样的一天。

As I drank my morning tea, I thought I felt a headache coming on. Yes, there it was, a dull throb(跳动)just behind my eyes. Maybe I should go back to bed until it subsided(消退). As I put the dishes in the sink, it seemed that my muscles were beginning to ache. Or was the ache in my joints? That could mean I was coming down with the flu. (承上启下句) Everyone I knew had the flu this year. Why should I be the one to escape(免于)it? I absolutely should be in bed.

当我喝早茶的时候，我就感到阵阵头痛袭来。是的，就是，一阵隐隐约约的疼痛充斥着我的眼睛。或许，我应该继续睡觉直到疼痛消失。当我把盘子丢进水槽里的时候，我的肌肉好像也开始隐隐作痛。或许是我的关节在痛?那是不是我得了流感了呢?我认识的每个人今年都得了流感。凭什么我幸免于此?我的确应该躺在床上。

I shuffled(拖步走)back to bed, wiggled(扭动)under the covers and shut my eyes. Another couple of hours of sleep would be so nice, but I was already completely awake. I ought to get up. But no, there was that headache and the beginning of a sniffle(吸鼻子). Better get the tissues.

我拖拉着回到床上，在被子下扭动了下就闭上了眼睛。能再睡几小时就好了，可我现在已经完全清醒了。我应该起床。不，还是不要了。我的头还痛着，鼻子也开始抽抽搭搭了，我最好去拿些纸巾。

On my way back from the bathroom with a family-sized(家用的)tissue box, I stopped to grab that big new novel I had bought but had no time to read. I opened the book and settled(安顿)against the pillows.

我去浴室取了一盒家庭装的纸巾，在回到卧室的路上，我停下来抓起那本我早买了但一直没有时间看的大部头小说。我靠在枕头上打开了书。

The morning was moving along and so was my reading. Another twenty pages and I was stretching. I should try to crack(找到解决.方法)the report I was working on. I should at least get up and do the wash. What if I was contagious? I certainly didn#39;t want to spread any germs. The wash could wait. My family was resourceful enough to scrounge(索取)clothing for the next day.

一早上就这样过去了，我的阅读也这样继续着。接着我又看了20页，我伸展了一下身体。我应该把那个我一直忙着的工作报告做完。或许，我至少应该起床，洗点衣服。要是我患了传染性感冒怎么办?我可不想传播细菌啊。那些脏衣服可以等等再洗。家人有足够的能力找到第二天能穿的衣服。

Maybe I wasn#39;t actually getting the flu. I didn#39;t really want to be sick. To be truthful, all I wanted was a little time off. I needed to nurture(养育) myself away from people, chores(琐事), career and the outside world. Did I have to wait to be sick to do that? As a child, the only respite(暂停) from school or family chores was illness. But I wasn#39;t a child any more. Did I have to manufacture(捏造) symptoms to provide myself with an excuse? No, I decided, I didn#39;t.

或许我根本就没有感冒。我其实也并非真想生病。说实话，我只是想要一点闲暇的时间而已。我想让自己远离人群、琐事、职业以及外面的世界。我就非得等到生病了才能那样吗?孩子能不上课或不做家务的唯一方法就是生病，但我已经不再是个孩子了。我不得不装出生病的症状来给自己找借口吗?不，我决定了，我不需要。

I talked to myself. Okay, I said, you need a day off. Admit it. Accept it. Toss out(扔掉) the guilt and enjoy a mini-vacation. What would you like to do? Read? You#39;re already doing that. Pamper(纵容,放纵) yourself? Take a bubble bath. Be a hermit(隐士)? Let the machine answer the phone.

我和自己交谈，好的，我说，你需要休息一天。承认吧，接受吧，抛掉罪恶感，去享受这个小假期。那你想做些什么呢?阅读吗?你已经那么做了啊。要不就纵容一下自己，洗个泡泡浴?还是就做个隐士，让答录机去接电话呢?

I poured half the bottle of bath gel into the streaming water and added a hearty(大的) handful of chamomile(春黄菊)bath salts. Then I lit a vanilla-scented (香草味的) candle and gingerly stepped into the bathtub. With a grateful sigh, I immersed myself in my homemade spa. I heard the phone ring somewhere off in the distance and smiled.

我在水中倒了半瓶沐浴露，还加了一大把甘菊浴盐，然后点起一支香草味的蜡烛，轻手轻脚地走进了浴缸里。我长舒了一口气，泡起了自制的水疗。我听见远处电话响起，笑而不应。

It is funny how the aches subsided in the heat of the tub. They just slipped away with the last of the bubbles down the drain. My head felt just fine, the throb replaced by a sense of well-being.

真是有意思，在热气腾腾的浴缸里，那些疼痛竞消失得无影无踪了，它们都随着最后的泡泡流进了下水道里。我的头感觉好多了，眼痛也被美好的感觉取而代之。

By late afternoon, I was back at it(恢复原样), refreshed physically, mentally and emotionally. And rather than feeling helpless, I felt empowered. I had given myself permission to listen and respond to my needs, to care for myself the way I tended to(注意,留心) my family. I didn#39;t need the crutch(拐杖) of illness to justify a rest. It was such a simple awareness, but then isn#39;t it the simple things that set us free?

下午晚些时候，我恢复了精神，身体上，精神上，情绪上全都焕然一新。我也不再感到无助，反而感觉到充满力量。我给了自己倾听并满足自己需求的机会，像照顾家人一样关心了一下自己。我根本不需要生病这样的理由去休息。这其实是一个非常简单的意识，不过难道不是那些简单的事情让我们感到自由吗?