The Worry Tree

劉嘉琦

其實(shí)我們好多人都會有一種錯誤的做法，就是心情不好時會對最親近的人發(fā)泄情緒。文中的主人公會將自己的煩惱掛在煩惱樹上，第二天再將煩惱帶走。但是他說，等他第二天想帶走所有煩惱的時候會有一個奇怪的發(fā)現(xiàn)！

Paresh， an Indian carpenter I once hired to help me restore my old farmhouse， had just finished a difficult and hard first day on the job. A flat tyre on his lorry made him lose an hour of work， his electric saw packed in， and now his ancient pick up truck refused to start. While I drove him home， Paresh sat in stony， thoughtful silence.

① On arriving， Paresh invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door， he paused briefly at a small tree， touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

②When opening the door to his home， he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

After a cup of tea， he walked me to my car. We passed the tree and my curiosity ③got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh， thats my worry tree，”Paresh replied. “I know I cant help having troubles on the job， but one thing for sure， troubles dont belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again. Funny thing is，” he smiled， “when I come out in the morning to pick them up， there arent nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

精彩譯文：

煩 惱 樹

帕萊什，是一個我雇來幫我翻修老房子的印度木匠。他剛剛忙完艱難的第一天工作。結(jié)果他的卡車車胎癟了又讓他忙活了一個小時。好不容易把電鋸裝上車了，結(jié)果他那個古董皮卡車又打不著火了。沒辦法，我只好開車送他回家。一路上，他坐在那兒，鐵青著臉，一言不發(fā)，一聲不吭。

一到家，帕萊什就邀請我見見他的家人。當(dāng)我們走向他家前門的時候，他在一棵小樹前停了下來，雙手撫摸樹梢。

當(dāng)門被打開的一刻，帕萊什頓時變成了另外一個人。他黝黑的臉上綻放了笑容。只見他一把摟過兩個年幼的孩子，并吻了妻子一下。

過了一盞茶的時間，我起身告辭，他送我出門。當(dāng)我們經(jīng)過那棵小樹的時候，我經(jīng)不住好奇心的引誘，問起他剛才的舉動。

“哦，那是我的煩惱樹，”帕萊什答道，“我知道，工作中難免會遇到不順心的事，但有一點(diǎn)是肯定的，那就是，這些煩惱不屬于我的家人，不屬于我的妻子和孩子。因此每晚回家時，我都把這些煩惱掛在樹上。早上再去取回。有意思的是，”他微笑著說，“當(dāng)我在早上出門去取回它們時，它們已經(jīng)完全不像我記得的昨晚掛的那么多了?！?/p>

難點(diǎn)解析：

①On arriving， Paresh invited me in to meet his family. 一到家，帕萊什就邀請我見見他的家人。

on/upon doing sth 一……就…… 例如：

On arriving at school， he got down to his work.他一到學(xué)校，就開始工作。

②When opening the door to his home， he underwent an amazing transformation.當(dāng)門被打開的一刻，帕萊什頓時變成了另外一個人。

When引導(dǎo)的時間狀語從句中，若從句主語與主句主語一致并且從句中有be動詞則可以省略從句中的主語和系動詞。例如：

When crossing the street， you must be careful.

當(dāng)過馬路的時候，你一定要加小心。

③get the better of sb.占上風(fēng)，勝過。例如：

We can let our fears get the better of us.我們會被憂慮打敗。