祈盼清風

　　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.

　　窗邊靜躺，細心聆聽不開空調?能睡得著嗎?聽說家人要為了節省電費而把家里的空調關掉時，我的朋友一臉驚愕。

　　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.

　　不管是白天還是晚上都沒有人開窗戶另一個朋友警告到，他的窗戶都已經關了十年了。現在是20世紀90年代。這可不安全

　　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.

　　在大膽嘗試節電的第一天晚上，氣溫不過華氏85而已，我們并不覺得難受，但三個孩子卻怨聲連天。他們一直在華氏72的舒適溫度下成長，與世隔絕。

　　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.

　　你怎么不開窗戶啊?我的丈夫問道。他搖動了金屬桿，并打開了一扇窗。一片小蟲群尸體遍布整個窗臺。當我們把窗戶一扇扇打開時，外面夜晚的喧囂聲進到了室內。

　　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.

　　太熱了!怎么睡啊!我十三歲的女兒不停嘀咕著。熱死我啦!他弟弟的牢騷聲也從客廳的另一頭傳來。我只好說：今晚就試著忍一忍，好嗎?其實我根本沒有余力多做解釋。臉上也出汗了。我靜靜地躺著，聆聽著窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思緒被牽回到了童年時光。鄰居家的狗叫著。也許是因為一直擅自闖入的小松鼠。我好多年都沒有靜下心來聽一聽夜晚的聲音了。

　　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.

　　這是我禁不住想起了外婆，她活到了92歲，直到去世前的幾個禮拜，她一直都幫助媽媽照料著花園。回到童年炎熱的夏天，回到了外婆的小屋，我把枕頭移到外婆的床位，臉朝著窗。之后我又把枕頭翻了過來，讓比較涼爽的一頭朝上。

　　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.

　　看到我翻來翻去地睡不著，外婆說：只要用心去感受和祈盼，風會來的，這樣你就可以一身清涼地入夢鄉了。她把百葉窗拉了起來，于是我就一直注視著朦朧的白窗簾，等待它的飄動。靜靜地躺著，祈盼著，這時我忽然找到，窗外世界的生命。小蟲的清唱;門廊外閑聊著的鄰居，他們模糊不清的喋喋細語開始催我入眠

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

　　媽媽，您聽到了嗎?我7歲的孩子囔道，我覺得那是一頭貓頭鷹一家子在叫。

　　Probably. I tell him, Just keep listening!

　　很有可能!我跟他說，再仔細聽!

　　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.

　　沒有了空調機的嗡嗡聲，房間飄逸著一種奇異的祥和氣氛，還有未經過濾的、親近的伸手就可觸及的夜聲。真的希望，當第一縷清風悄然而至的時候，我依然能夠迎接她的到來。

　　祈盼清風

　　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.

　　窗邊靜躺，細心聆聽不開空調?能睡得著嗎?聽說家人要為了節省電費而把家里的空調關掉時，我的朋友一臉驚愕。

　　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.

　　不管是白天還是晚上都沒有人開窗戶另一個朋友警告到，他的窗戶都已經關了十年了。現在是20世紀90年代。這可不安全

　　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.

　　在大膽嘗試節電的第一天晚上，氣溫不過華氏85而已，我們并不覺得難受，但三個孩子卻怨聲連天。他們一直在華氏72的舒適溫度下成長，與世隔絕。

　　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.

　　你怎么不開窗戶啊?我的丈夫問道。他搖動了金屬桿，并打開了一扇窗。一片小蟲群尸體遍布整個窗臺。當我們把窗戶一扇扇打開時，外面夜晚的喧囂聲進到了室內。

　　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.

　　太熱了!怎么睡啊!我十三歲的女兒不停嘀咕著。熱死我啦!他弟弟的牢騷聲也從客廳的另一頭傳來。我只好說：今晚就試著忍一忍，好嗎?其實我根本沒有余力多做解釋。臉上也出汗了。我靜靜地躺著，聆聽著窗外蟋蟀的合奏曲，思緒被牽回到了童年時光。鄰居家的狗叫著。也許是因為一直擅自闖入的小松鼠。我好多年都沒有靜下心來聽一聽夜晚的聲音了。

　　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.

　　這是我禁不住想起了外婆，她活到了92歲，直到去世前的幾個禮拜，她一直都幫助媽媽照料著花園。回到童年炎熱的夏天，回到了外婆的小屋，我把枕頭移到外婆的床位，臉朝著窗。之后我又把枕頭翻了過來，讓比較涼爽的一頭朝上。

　　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.

　　看到我翻來翻去地睡不著，外婆說：只要用心去感受和祈盼，風會來的，這樣你就可以一身清涼地入夢鄉了。她把百葉窗拉了起來，于是我就一直注視著朦朧的白窗簾，等待它的飄動。靜靜地躺著，祈盼著，這時我忽然找到，窗外世界的生命。小蟲的清唱;門廊外閑聊著的鄰居，他們模糊不清的喋喋細語開始催我入眠

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

　　媽媽，您聽到了嗎?我7歲的孩子囔道，我覺得那是一頭貓頭鷹一家子在叫。

　　Probably. I tell him, Just keep listening!

　　很有可能!我跟他說，再仔細聽!

　　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.

　　沒有了空調機的嗡嗡聲，房間飄逸著一種奇異的祥和氣氛，還有未經過濾的、親近的伸手就可觸及的夜聲。真的希望，當第一縷清風悄然而至的時候，我依然能夠迎接她的到來。