Unit1TheideaofbecomingawriterhadcometomeoffandonsincemychildhoodinBelleville,butitwasn'tuntilmythirdyearinhighschoolthatthepossibilitytookhold.從孩提時(shí)代，我還住在貝爾維爾時(shí)，我的腦子里就斷斷續(xù)續(xù)地轉(zhuǎn)著當(dāng)作家的念頭，但直等到我高中三年級(jí)，這—想法才有了實(shí)現(xiàn)的可能。Lyingonthesofa,Ifinallyfaceduptotheunwelcometask,tookthelistoutofmynotebook,andscannedit.Thetopiconwhichmyeyestoppedwas“TheArtofEatingSpaghetti.”我躺在沙發(fā)上，最終不得不面對(duì)這一討厭的功課，便從筆記本里抽出作文題目單粗粗……看。我的目光落在“吃意大利細(xì)面條的藝術(shù)”這個(gè)題目上。WhenIfinisheditthenightwashalfgoneandtherewasnotimelefttocomposeaproper,respectableessayforMr.Fleagle.等我寫(xiě)完時(shí)已是半夜時(shí)分，再?zèng)]時(shí)間為弗利格爾先生寫(xiě)一篇循規(guī)蹈矩、像模像樣的文章了。Ididmybesttoavoidshowingpleasure,butwhatIwasfeelingwaspuredelightatthisdemonstrationthatmywordshadthepowertomakepeoplelaugh.我盡力不流露出得意的心情，但是看到我寫(xiě)的文章竟然能使別人大笑，我真是心花怒放。Unit2“Ihadn'tseenhimmorethanonceortwiceayearoverthepast25or30yearsbecauseImovedawayfromtheoldneighborhoodandyoukindoflosetoucheventhoughyouneverforget.Hewasagreatguy.”近25到30年來(lái)，我跟他一年只見(jiàn)一兩次面，因?yàn)槲覐脑瓉?lái)住的老街坊搬了出來(lái)，聯(lián)系自然就少了·，雖說(shuō)你一直放在心上。他在的時(shí)候可真是個(gè)大好人?！盉utIrealizedthatOldEdwasstillonhismindwhenhespokeagain,almostmoretohimselfthantome:"Ishouldhavekeptintouch.Yes,”herepeated,“Ishouldhavekeptintouch.”可我知道他還在想著老埃德。他又開(kāi)口時(shí)，與其說(shuō)是跟我說(shuō)話，還不如說(shuō)是自言自語(yǔ)：“我真該一直保持聯(lián)系。真的，”他重復(fù)道，“我真該一直保持聯(lián)系?！眞henitsaysherethattherearen'tmanyofusleft,that'sabsolutelyright.EverytimeIgotoaclassreunion,forexample,therearefewerandfewerstillaround.”信里說(shuō)我們這些人當(dāng)中留下的不多了，說(shuō)得一點(diǎn)不錯(cuò)。比如說(shuō)，每次我去參加老同學(xué)聚會(huì)，來(lái)的人總是越來(lái)越少?！盰ourfriendshipovertheyearshasmeantanawfullottome,morethanIcansaybecauseI'mnotgoodatsayingthingslikethat.你多年的友誼對(duì)我非常重要，遠(yuǎn)比我能說(shuō)出來(lái)的重要得多，因?yàn)槲也簧瞄L(zhǎng)說(shuō)這樣的話。Helookedsortofsorrowful,orasifheweretryingtoseesomethinginthedistance.“IguessIshouldhavewrittenitsooner.”他神情有點(diǎn)悲傷，似乎想看清遠(yuǎn)處什么東西。“我想我真該早些寫(xiě)這封信。Unit3Somepeoplewouldliketostopthesechangesandgobacktowhattheyseeasapurerandsimplerage.有人想中止這種種變化，回到那個(gè)他們認(rèn)為更純潔更樸素的時(shí)代。betterthanlove,afriendshipforwhichIhadbeenandmusteverbegrateful.這不會(huì)是愛(ài)情，但將是某種珍貴的、或許比愛(ài)情更美妙的東西，一種我曾經(jīng)感激，并將永遠(yuǎn)感激的友情。It'snotdifficulttounderstandandadmireMissMaynell'swisdom.Thetruenatureofaheartisseeninitsresponsetotheunattractive.梅奈爾小姐的智慧不難理解，也令人稱奇。心靈的本質(zhì)是從