祈盼清风

　　Lying in bed, by an open window, and listen.No air-conditioning, how can you sleep? my fiend asks, horrified. Ive just revealed that my family had decided to shut the air-conditioner off and trim our electric bill.

　　窗边静躺，细心聆听不开空调?能睡得着吗?听说家人要为了节省电费而把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。

　　Nobody opens a window,day or night,warns another friend, whose windows have been painted shut for a decade.This is the 1990s.Its not safe.

　　不管是白天还是晚上都没有人开窗户另一个朋友警告到，他的窗户都已经关了十年了。现在是20世纪90年代。这可不安全

　　On its first night of our cost-cutting adventure, its only eighty-five degrees. Were not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble anyway. Theyve grown up in 72-degree comfort,insulated from the world outside.

　　在大胆尝试节电的第一天晚上，气温不过华氏85而已，我们并不觉得难受，但三个孩子却怨声连天。他们一直在华氏72的舒适温度下成长，与世隔绝。

　　How do you open these windows? my husband asks.Jiggling the metal tabs, he finally releases one. A potpourri of bug bodies decorates the sill. As we spring the windows one by one, the night noises howl outside and in.

　　你怎么不开窗户啊?我的丈夫问道。他摇动了金属杆，并打开了一扇窗。一片小虫群尸体遍布整个窗台。当我们把窗户一扇扇打开时，外面夜晚的喧嚣声进到了室内。

　　Its too hot to sleep. my thirteen-year-old daught moans. Im about to die from this heat! her brother hollers down the hall. Just try it tonight. I tell them. In truth, Im too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly, listening to the criket choirs outside. That remind me of childhood. The neighbors dog howls.Probably a trespassing squirrel.Its been years since Ive taken the time to really listen to the night.

　　太热了!怎么睡啊!我十三岁的女儿不停嘀咕着。热死我啦!他弟弟的牢骚声也从客厅的另一头传来。我只好说：今晚就试着忍一忍，好吗?其实我根本没有余力多做解释。脸上也出汗了。我静静地躺着，聆听着窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思绪被牵回到了童年时光。邻居家的狗叫着。也许是因为一直擅自闯入的小松鼠。我好多年都没有静下心来听一听夜晚的声音了。

　　I think about my grandma, who lived to ninety-two and still supervised my moms garden until just few weeks before she died. And then Im back there in her house in the summer heat of my child hood. I moved my pillow to the foot of grandmas bed and angled my face toward the open window. I flipped the pillow, hunting for the cooller side.

　　这是我禁不住想起了外婆，她活到了92岁，直到去世前的几个礼拜，她一直都帮助妈妈照料着花园。回到童年炎热的夏天，回到了外婆的小屋，我把枕头移到外婆的床位，脸朝着窗。之后我又把枕头翻了过来，让比较凉爽的一头朝上。

　　Grandma sees me thrashing, if you just watch for the breeze, she says, youll cool off and fall asleep. She cranks up the Vanetian Blinds. I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter. Lying still and waiting, I suddenly notice that life outside the window, the bug chorus. Neighbours, porch-sitting late, speaking in hazy words with sanded edges that soothe me.

　　看到我翻来翻去地睡不着，外婆说：只要用心去感受和祈盼，风会来的，这样你就可以一身清凉地入梦乡了。她把百叶窗拉了起来，于是我就一直注视着朦胧的白窗帘，等待它的飘动。静静地躺着，祈盼着，这时我忽然找到，窗外世界的生命。小虫的清唱;门廊外闲聊着的邻居，他们模糊不清的喋喋细语开始催我入眠

　　Mom, did you hear that? my seven-year-old blurts, I think it was an owl family.

　　妈妈，您听到了吗?我7岁的孩子囔道，我觉得那是一头猫头鹰一家子在叫。

　　Probably. I tell him, Just keep listening!

　　很有可能!我跟他说，再仔细听!

　　Without the droning air-conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the unfiltered noise seems close enough to touch. I hope Im awake tonight that the first breeze sneaks in.

　　没有了空调机的嗡嗡声，房间飘逸着一种奇异的祥和气氛，还有未经过滤的、亲近的伸手就可触及的夜声。真的希望，当第一缕清风悄然而至的时候，我依然能够迎接她的到来。

　　祈盼清风

　　Lying in bed, by an open window, and listen.No air-conditioning, how can you sleep? my fiend asks, horrified. Ive just revealed that my family had decided to shut the air-conditioner off and trim our electric bill.

　　窗边静躺，细心聆听不开空调?能睡得着吗?听说家人要为了节省电费而把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。

　　Nobody opens a window,day or night,warns another friend, whose windows have been painted shut for a decade.This is the 1990s.Its not safe.

　　不管是白天还是晚上都没有人开窗户另一个朋友警告到，他的窗户都已经关了十年了。现在是20世纪90年代。这可不安全

　　On its first night of our cost-cutting adventure, its only eighty-five degrees. Were not going to suffer, but the three kids grumble anyway. Theyve grown up in 72-degree comfort,insulated from the world outside.

　　在大胆尝试节电的第一天晚上，气温不过华氏85而已，我们并不觉得难受，但三个孩子却怨声连天。他们一直在华氏72的舒适温度下成长，与世隔绝。

　　How do you open these windows? my husband asks.Jiggling the metal tabs, he finally releases one. A potpourri of bug bodies decorates the sill. As we spring the windows one by one, the night noises howl outside and in.

　　你怎么不开窗户啊?我的丈夫问道。他摇动了金属杆，并打开了一扇窗。一片小虫群尸体遍布整个窗台。当我们把窗户一扇扇打开时，外面夜晚的喧嚣声进到了室内。

　　Its too hot to sleep. my thirteen-year-old daught moans. Im about to die from this heat! her brother hollers down the hall. Just try it tonight. I tell them. In truth, Im too tired to argue for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly, listening to the criket choirs outside. That remind me of childhood. The neighbors dog howls.Probably a trespassing squirrel.Its been years since Ive taken the time to really listen to the night.

　　太热了!怎么睡啊!我十三岁的女儿不停嘀咕着。热死我啦!他弟弟的牢骚声也从客厅的另一头传来。我只好说：今晚就试着忍一忍，好吗?其实我根本没有余力多做解释。脸上也出汗了。我静静地躺着，聆听着窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思绪被牵回到了童年时光。邻居家的狗叫着。也许是因为一直擅自闯入的小松鼠。我好多年都没有静下心来听一听夜晚的声音了。

　　I think about my grandma, who lived to ninety-two and still supervised my moms garden until just few weeks before she died. And then Im back there in her house in the summer heat of my child hood. I moved my pillow to the foot of grandmas bed and angled my face toward the open window. I flipped the pillow, hunting for the cooller side.

　　这是我禁不住想起了外婆，她活到了92岁，直到去世前的几个礼拜，她一直都帮助妈妈照料着花园。回到童年炎热的夏天，回到了外婆的小屋，我把枕头移到外婆的床位，脸朝着窗。之后我又把枕头翻了过来，让比较凉爽的一头朝上。

　　Grandma sees me thrashing, if you just watch for the breeze, she says, youll cool off and fall asleep. She cranks up the Vanetian Blinds. I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter. Lying still and waiting, I suddenly notice that life outside the window, the bug chorus. Neighbours, porch-sitting late, speaking in hazy words with sanded edges that soothe me.

　　看到我翻来翻去地睡不着，外婆说：只要用心去感受和祈盼，风会来的，这样你就可以一身清凉地入梦乡了。她把百叶窗拉了起来，于是我就一直注视着朦胧的白窗帘，等待它的飘动。静静地躺着，祈盼着，这时我忽然找到，窗外世界的生命。小虫的清唱;门廊外闲聊着的邻居，他们模糊不清的喋喋细语开始催我入眠

　　Mom, did you hear that? my seven-year-old blurts, I think it was an owl family.

　　妈妈，您听到了吗?我7岁的孩子囔道，我觉得那是一头猫头鹰一家子在叫。

　　Probably. I tell him, Just keep listening!

　　很有可能!我跟他说，再仔细听!

　　Without the droning air-conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the unfiltered noise seems close enough to touch. I hope Im awake tonight that the first breeze sneaks in.

　　没有了空调机的嗡嗡声，房间飘逸着一种奇异的祥和气氛，还有未经过滤的、亲近的伸手就可触及的夜声。真的希望，当第一缕清风悄然而至的时候，我依然能够迎接她的到来。