An Everyday Adventure

Leo Luo

不同的人對青春有不同的理解。有些人認為青春是一段轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的寶貴時光，有些人認為青春是一種能擊敗時間的不老心態(tài)，還有些人則認為青春更像是一場能隨時出發(fā)、不時獲得新發(fā)現(xiàn)的探險之旅。大千世界，繽紛多彩，我們不妨跟隨作者，且走且行，踏上探尋青春的路途。

國家航空航天博物館

W hat does it mean to be young? Is it the explosive energy in one’s limbs1. limb： 肢，臂。, or perhaps the freedom from the responsibilities of society? Although most people romanticize youth as a time of life when restlessness and foolishness roared like a waterfall,sweeping those years into the annals of memory far too soon, I find such a definition too restrictive.2. annal： 記錄，年鑒；restrictive：約束的，限制的。Instead of a certain period of time, youth should be considered as a certain kind of mindset, a kind of spirit. Just as the eyes of a newborn twinkle as they behold the world for the first time,the spirit of youth blazes with each discovery unveiled, each adventure undertaken.3. twinkle：（眼睛的）發(fā)亮；behold：看，看見；blaze with： 發(fā)強光，閃耀；unveil： 透露，揭露。Such a concept lasts far beyond one’s swinging4. swinging： 活躍的，時髦的。twenties, for everyday can be an adventure, and an adventure may simply be opening those doors that we pass by every day.

With the arrival of both a new year and a new semester at Georgetown University, I reflected upon my first semester at this world-renowned institution.5. Georgetown University： 喬治敦大學，是美國最古老的大學之一，位于美國首都華盛頓特區(qū)；reflect upon： 考慮，回想。My grades were pretty solid, my extracurricular activities

8. Warren Buffet： 沃倫·巴菲特，美國著名投資家，被人們稱為“股神”。plentiful, almost too much. My two dance companies painted endless smiles upon my face.6. 我在兩家舞蹈公司的工作給我?guī)砹藷o窮的樂趣。As I cycled through all that I had accomplished during the first semester, I allowed a smug grin to creep up my cheeks.7. smug： 自鳴得意的，自以為是的；creep up：爬上。I was pretty satisfied with the way everything turned out, from attending various lectures on foreign policy to having the chance to see Warren Buffet8speak onstage.Only one aspect stuck in my mind like a thorn: I had remained cooped up in the privileged ivory towers of the university and the quaint neighbourhood as the outside world whizzed by.9. 外面的世界瞬息萬變，而我仍然困在優(yōu)越的大學象牙塔和大學周邊的古老而有趣的環(huán)境里。coop up： 關(guān)閉，禁閉；privileged：有特權(quán)的；quaint： 古色古香的，奇特有趣的；whiz by： 飛馳，高速移動。I was a young man in the capital of the United States of America and yet had barely scratched the surface10. scratch the surface： 僅觸及表面，淺嘗輒止。of what this cultural metropolis had to offer. There were Smithsonian museums to get lost in, restaurants to delight in, and monuments to marvel at.11. Smithsonian： 史密森尼博物院，世界最大的博物館體系，它所屬的十六所博物館中保管著一億四千多萬件藝術(shù)珍品和珍貴的標本。史密森尼博物院的總部設(shè)在美國首都華盛頓特區(qū)，文中提到的博物館指位于國家廣場兩側(cè)的十座博物館和美術(shù)館；marvel at： 對……驚嘆，欽佩。If youth is defined as opening doors we never thought of opening,then my journey began by opening the gates of the National Air and Space Museum12. National Air and Space Museum： 美國國家航空航天博物館。.

Jumping off the subway, I trekked down the National Mall,flanked on both sides by the classical architecture of various Smithsonian museums and monuments to the heroes of American history.13. 下了地鐵，沿著國家廣場步行，路的兩旁是史密森尼博物館古典建筑風格的各類展館，以及紀念美國歷史英雄的紀念碑。jump off： 離開； trek： 徒步；National Mall： 國家廣場，位于美國首都華盛頓特區(qū)的一處開放型國家公園。Out in the distance, the Capitol building gleamed despite the iron clouds in the sky.14. The Capitol： 美國國會大廈；iron： 鋼鐵，這里指天空如鋼鐵般灰暗。I checked my phone.The map claimed that the National Air and Space Museum would be nearby on my right. Scanning my surroundings,I suddenly came face to face with an enormous rectangular building.15. scan： 仔細查看；rectangular： 長方形的。Two tinted glass walls gave spectators a peek into the wonders the museum held.16. tinted glass： 有色玻璃；peek： 一瞥，看一眼。Even though I barely distinguished the shapes of planes hanging from the ceiling, that sight was enough. I broke into a huge grin as I rushed into the building.

My first instinct was to look up. Suspended by steel wires,full scale planes from every era of flight graced my eyes, from Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched, to SpaceShipOne, the first privately developed plane to reach outer space.17. suspend： 懸掛；grace： 使增色，使生輝；Sputnik： 斯普特尼克號（人造地球衛(wèi)星）；SpaceShipOne： 太空船一號，是航天史上首次由私人投資建造的準載人航天器，由美國微軟公司創(chuàng)辦人之一保羅·艾倫贊助。I whipped out my phone and began snapping photos from every angle.18. whip out： 快速拿出；snap： 拍攝，拍照。I rushed from exhibit hall to exhibit hall, giddy with the joy of marveling at all these testaments to human ingenuity and ambition.19. giddy： 興奮的，非常高興的；testament to：證據(jù)，證明。With only two hours to enjoy the museum, I was a wide-eyed mouse scurrying my way through the building,weaving my way through hordes of tourists, freezing in mytracks only to pose for a picture or scan the descriptions of exhibits.20. 由于只有兩小時的時間參觀，我就像一只睜大眼睛的老鼠，在博物館里快速奔走，穿梭于成群的游客之間，我不時停下來一動也不動，只為了擺姿勢拍一張照片或者瀏覽展品的介紹。scurry： 急促地跑。My eyes would not absorb the sights fast enough. Some of my memories only exist as winged blurs.21. 我的一些記憶僅僅是那些飛快掠過的模糊影子。

史密森尼博物院一景

One sight did remain etched22. etched： 刻骨銘心的，記憶猶新的。in my memory. I had just barreled23. barrel： 快速行進，飛奔。into the exhibit hall on the United States’space program and was snapping away pictures. A familiar sight caught my eye. It was video on a huge projector screen displaying an overgrown plain against blue skies.24. projector： 投影儀，放映機；display： 顯示，展示；overgrown：過大的。Jutting out from the plain was a towering structure with an unmistakable aircraft attached: the Space Shuttle Discovery.25. 平原上赫然佇立著一座高大的建筑物，很明顯地，它裝載著一架航天器：發(fā)現(xiàn)號航天飛機。 jut： 突出，伸出；towering： 高聳的，高大的；Space Shuttle Discovery： 發(fā)現(xiàn)號航天飛機，1984年首次飛行，負責進行各種科學研究與作為國際太空站（International Space Station）計劃的支援，2011年結(jié)束了長達27年的飛行任務(wù)。I stood there entranced by the countdown sequence and the crackling voices of NASA and the astronauts in the shuttle.26. 我站在那里，飛行前的倒數(shù)、國家航空局里發(fā)出的響聲，以及機艙里的宇航員令我著了迷。；entranced： 著迷的，入迷的；crackling： 爆裂聲，劈啪聲；NASA： 即 National Aeronautics and Space Administration， 美國國家航空航天局。Then the sparks began to fly from the shuttle’s engines. As the distinctive voice reported: “Three…two… one… we have lift-off,” a blue inferno erupted from the thrusters.27. lift-off：（航天器的）發(fā)射，升空；inferno： 大火，火海；thruster：（火箭）推進器。The entire spaceship roared as it lurched away from the docking tower28. docking tower： 對接塔。. In a searing plume of light and fire, the Discovery was a burning spear rocketing away on its final mission to space.29. searing： 灼熱的；plume： 羽狀物（如煙云、雪云等）；spear：矛，槍；rocket： 迅速上升，迅速移動。Although I had seen countless takeoff videos, this one struck me for some strange reason. Simply seeingthe shuttle arc over the curvature of the Earth, entering where man, nay, life even,should not have been able to go, ignited a sense of wonder.30. arc： 走弧線；curvature： 圓弧，曲度，nay： 而且，甚至。Perhaps I was finally mature enough to appreciate the intricacies and manpower it took to shoot something into space,31. intricacies： intracacy的復數(shù)形式，錯綜復雜的系統(tǒng)，紛繁難懂之處；manpower： 勞動力，體力。let alone living beings. Or perhaps today I felt a connection to the veteran spaceship. Discovery. Maybe that was the wonder of space. Despite how many missions the Discovery had logged, each one represented a new perspective, a new understanding of the final frontier of space.There was always something new to see, and that is what kept the Discovery young. And just like that space shuttle, I was also on my own adventure to make the most of my youth.

史密森尼博物院一景

The skies had already darkened by the time I left the museum. In the distance, the Capitol building shone like terrestrial32. terrestrial： 地球的，陸生的。star. I stood at a crossroads: do I return to the subway station and back to my ivory tower,or do I keep walking and see where I end up? The choice was easy. With the memory of the Discovery still resonating33. resonate： 共鳴，共振。in my spirit, I walked off into the distance, the subway station left ignored. My night had just begun. After a magnificent view of the Capitol building and a meal in a Spanish restaurant I had never visited before, I returned to Georgetown much later than planned. Today was simply an ordinary day, and yet I was the happiest I had been in a long time only because of a choice to step outside of my comfort zone. That step may be as exotic jet-setting around the world.34. exotic： 奇異的，異乎尋常的；jetsetting： 乘噴氣式飛機到處旅游。But for an everyday student on a student budget,getting on a subway to who knows where may just be enough. Either accompanied by friends or alone, always take opportunities to discover adventures, because complacency easily makes one grow old long before they are truly old.35. accompany： 陪伴，陪同； complacency： 自滿，沾沾自喜。