獨自在家

張恒

“Well be back in a couple of hours，” they said to me as they walked out the door. “OK，” I stammered1 as I feared my parents and my brother leaving me home alone for the first time. Each thing in the house seemed to be just waiting for them to leave， waiting to pounce2 on me. I had been looking forward to this for such a long time， but now all of a sudden it didnt seem so enjoyable. As they went out the door， I went to the window to wave goodbye to the rest of my life. They waved back at me nonchalantly3， not understanding the fear that was inside of me. As they pulled out of the driveway， all the usual safety was whisked4 from the house， like a toilet being flushed. Then it all began.

“我們會在幾個小時后回來，”當他們漫步出門時，他們對我說?！昂冒?，”我結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說著，父母和哥哥第一次把我一個人留在家里我有點怕。屋子里的每一件東西似乎都在等著他們離開，等著向我撲來。我一直盼望了這么久，但是現(xiàn)在突然覺得不那么愉快了。當他們走出大門的時候，我走到窗前揮手告別我的余生。他們漫不經(jīng)心地向我揮手，不理解我內(nèi)心的恐懼。當他們把車開出車道時，所有平時的安全感都從房子里溜走了，就像廁所被沖水了一樣。然后一切都開始了。

This was the first time I had ever been alone. Sure， my brother and I had been home alone together， but this was different. It was just me and the house， taking on all of the robbers and bad guys out there that were coming after me because of course， my parents werent home. Well， now the question was， “What do I do？” I quickly ran through the house， turning each light on， so that I could go into each room without the fear of a wicked5 witch or an axe murderer emerging from the shadows intent on killing me. I was smartly creeping6 from one room to the next， when I heard a deafening roar coming from everywhere， I thought. There was no doubt in my mind that an airplane was about to hit my house or a bulldozer7 about to run it over—something disastrous8. I ran through the house screaming， when all of a sudden， I felt a breeze rush from the vent9 in the floor. “Oh，” I said sheepishly10. “Its just the stupid heat.”

這是我第一次獨自一人。當然，我哥哥和我以前曾經(jīng)單獨在家，但這次不同。只有我和房子，要單獨面對所有搶劫犯和壞蛋，他們就跟在我后面，當然是因為我父母不在家?，F(xiàn)在問題是：“我該怎么辦？”我趕緊跑著穿過房子，把每盞燈都打開，這樣我就可以走進每間屋子，而不用擔心一個邪惡的巫婆或巨斧殺手從陰影處冒出來，要殺死我。我正巧妙地從一個房間爬到另一個房間，我想這時我聽到了四處傳來震耳欲聾的吼聲。毫無疑問，在我腦海中，一架飛機即將撞上我的房子，或者一臺推土機即將碾壓我的房子——這是災(zāi)難性的。我尖叫著跑過房子，突然感到一陣微風從地板上的通風口吹來?！芭?，”我羞怯地說?！斑@只是愚蠢的暖氣。”

It had only been a couple minutes since my parents had left and I thought I had had enough. Then I decided “I can watch TV and Ill be fine and have some fun.” I flipped11 on the tube and avoided any violent12 shows， for fear of being brought into a mindset of a coming attack on my house by a band of robbers. Then， out of the corner of my eye， I saw headlights coming down the road in front of my house. “Well Ill just check to make sure they dont pull into my driveway，” I said. I continued to do this for each car that passed. Then， the most terrible thing happened： One of the passing cars pulled in and began barreling13 up my driveway. As it got closer， I realized that it was an old truck， and one that I had never seen before. This freaked14 me out of my mind， so I shakily15 went over to the phone， picked it up， and began to dial the number of my parents cell phone as I hid below the window next to the front door. To worsen my fears， my parents did not pick up the phone. I am a bit embarrassed to say what happened next， but if you can believe it， I went to my room and loaded16 my bb gun. I looked out of the window very carefully， only to see that I knew the person， and they were unloading some chairs and putting them next to our garage. I breathed a sigh of relief17 as I went and sat back down， fearing the darkness that began enveloping18 the house.

我父母離開的時間只有幾分鐘，我想我已經(jīng)受夠了。然后我決定“我可以看電視，我會沒事的，而且會玩得很開心。”我打開電視機，避開任何暴力節(jié)目，因為害怕一群強盜會襲擊我的房子。然后，我從眼角看到車頭燈從我家前面的路照過來。“好吧，我去檢查一下，確保他們不會把車開進我家的車道?！蔽艺f。我繼續(xù)對每輛經(jīng)過的車做這件事。然后，最可怕的事情發(fā)生了：一輛過往的車停了進來，開始開進我家車道。當它開近時，我意識到那是一輛舊卡車，是我以前從未見過的。這嚇得我魂不附體，所以我搖搖晃晃地走到電話前，拿起電話，開始撥我父母的手機號碼，我躲在前門旁邊的窗戶下面。我的父母沒有接電話加劇了我的恐懼。我有點不好意思說接下來發(fā)生了什么，但如果你能相信的話，我到自己的房間給我的空氣槍裝上了彈藥。我小心翼翼地往窗外看，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)我認識那個人，他們正在卸椅子，把它們放在車庫旁邊。我一邊走一邊松了一口氣，然后坐了下來，對開始籠罩房子的黑暗感到有點害怕。

As the night wore on， I continued to check each car that went by—just to be safe. Luckily， there were no more problems and I even had a little fun playing my Super Nintendo. It wasnt all fun and games from there on out， though. I thought for sure that a bad guy was trying to break in when a tree branch fell on top of the roof. I refused to go outside， but I took my dads spotlight and flashed it out the window. What I saw outside and scared to death—a set of green eyes， reflecting in the lights beams， was staring back at me. I screamed out loud and dropped the flashlight. Once again， I went to my room and loaded my bb gun. I went back to the window， ready for anything—even a guy crashing through the window. As I refocused19 the light， I was able to make out a squirrel. “Get a hold of yourself，” I said to myself out loud. The night continued on pretty slowly， but I got through it with only a few cuts and bruises， but a new understanding of independence20.

夜幕降臨，我繼續(xù)檢查每輛車，只是為了確保安全。幸運的是，沒有別的問題，我甚至有一點興致來玩我的超級任天堂。不過，那并不是只有玩樂和游戲。我肯定有個壞人想闖進來，這時一根樹枝掉到了屋頂上。我拒絕出門，但我抓起爸爸的聚光燈，從窗戶朝著外面照了照，外面的景象嚇了我一跳——一雙綠色的眼睛，反射著光線，正回頭看著我。我尖叫著，扔掉了手電筒。我再次回到房間里，給我的空氣槍裝好彈藥。我回到窗前，準備好了一切，即使是有個家伙從窗口摔進來。當我重新聚焦光線時，才認出來是一只松鼠?！翱刂颇阕约海蔽掖舐暤貙ψ约赫f。這個夜晚過得很慢，但是我只有幾處割傷和擦傷，但我對獨立有了新的認識。

Staying home alone was something that I had to do sooner or later. When I finally did it， I realized that it was a great experience for me—it was a coming of age opportunity. Each time I stayed home alone， it became a bit easier and some of the noises in the house were forgotten. I faced my fears that very first night， which was the first step in the stairs of growing up—when I began earning some independence. Now I cant wait for my parents to leave so I can have the house to myself.

獨自呆在家里是我遲早要做的事。當我最終做到這一點時，我意識到這對我來說是一次很棒的經(jīng)歷——這是一個成長的機遇。每次我一個人待在家里，就會變得容易一些，而且屋子里的某些噪音也漸漸地被我忘記了。那天晚上，我第一次面對恐懼，那是我成長的第一步——當我開始學會獨立時?，F(xiàn)在我迫不及待地想讓我的父母離開，這樣我就可以獨享這所房子了。

1. stammer [ ] vt. 口吃；結(jié)巴著說出；vi. 口吃；結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說

2. pounce [ ] vi. 突襲，猛撲；vt. 撲過去抓住

3. nonchalantly [ ] adv. 冷淡地，漠不關(guān)心地

4. whisk [ ] v. 拂，撣；攪動；揮動；迅速帶走

5. wicked [ ] adj. 邪惡的；惡劣的

6. creep [ ] vi. 爬行；蔓延；慢慢地移動

7. bulldozer [ ] n. 推土機

8. disastrous [ ] adj. 災(zāi)難性的；損失慘重的；悲傷的

9. vent [ ] vt. 發(fā)泄感情；放出；給……開孔

10. sheepishly [ ] adv. 羞怯地；愚蠢地

11. flip [ ] vt. 擲；輕擊

12. violent [ ] adj. 暴力的；猛烈的

13. barrel [ ] vi. 快速移動

14. freak out被嚇壞了，使崩潰

15. shakily [ ] adv. 虛弱不堪地；顫抖著；搖動著

16. load [ ] v. （給武器） 裝彈藥

17. relief [ ] n. 救濟；減輕，解除；安慰

18. envelop [ ] v. 包封；遮蓋

19. refocus [ ] vt. 重調(diào)……的焦距

20. independence [ ] n. 獨立性，自立性；自主