2016年高考英语上海卷 - 阅读理解A

One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word “Poems” appeared in big, hot pink letters.
一天清晨，我走进客厅，发现我的母亲正在读一本厚厚的书，书名叫《Best Loved Poets to Read Again and Again》。只有当“诗”一词出现在大而炽热的粉色字母中时，我才引起了兴趣。

“Is it good?” I asked her.
“这书怎么样？”，我问她。

“Yeah,” she answered. “There’s one I really like and you’ll like it, too.” I leaned forward.
“很好，”她回答，“有一首我很喜欢，你也会喜欢的。”我向前倾了倾。

“‘Patty Poem,’” she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:
“帕蒂诗”，她读到了标题。帕蒂是谁？我纳闷。诗的开头是：

              She never puts her toys away,               
               她从不收拾玩具，     
               Just leaves them scattered① where they lay,…      ①散乱的
              只是散开在原地...

The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:
这首诗只有三小段，最后一段是：

                  When she grows and gathers poise②,         ②稳重
                 当她长大，渐渐稳重，
                    I’ll miss her harum-scarum③ noise,         ③莽撞的
                 我会想念她发出莽撞的声音，
                    And look in vain④ for scattered toys.        ④徒劳地
                  徒劳地寻找散落的玩具。
                   And I’ll be sad.  
                  我会难过。               

A terrible sorrow washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock.
一种可怕的悲伤笼罩着我。无论帕蒂是谁，她都是个刻薄的女孩。然后是震惊。

“It’s you, honey,” My mother said sadly.
“是你，亲爱的，”母亲伤心地说。

To my mother, the poem revealed a parent’s affection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the “she” in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst out crying.
对我的母亲来说，这首诗揭示了孩子长大离开时父母的爱。对我来说，诗中的“她”是可怕的。我的母亲会难过。太可怕了，我哭了出来。

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked.
“怎么了？”母亲问。

“Oh Mama,” I cried. “I don’t want to grow up ever!”
“哦，妈妈，”我喊道，“我不想长大！”

She smiled. “Honey, it’s okay. You’re not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I’ll still love you, okay?”
她笑了：“亲爱的，没关系。你不会很快长大。当你长大了，我仍然会爱你，好吗？”

“Okay,” I was still weeping. My panic has gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person’s world.
“好吧，”我还在哭泣。我的恐慌已经消失了，但我忍不住想起了那首愚蠢的诗。过了一段看似安全的时间后，我又读了一遍这首诗，感到困惑。这首诗恰如其分，让人着迷。语言很简单，简单到我可以清楚地理解它的意思，但它仍然很美。我现在被诗歌的意境迷住了，诗歌是一种能够创造或打破一个人世界的语言。

I have since fallen in love with other poems, but “Patty Poem” remains my poem. After all, “Patty Poem” gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most.
我从此爱上了其他诗歌，但《帕蒂诗》仍是我的诗歌。毕竟，《帕蒂诗》给了我对诗歌的热爱，不是因为这首诗鼓舞了我的精神，而是因为它伤我最深。