முடங்கி கிடக்கும் உலகம்

ஒற்றை ரயில் பயணத்தில்

இருக்கை விழும்பில் நிரம்பியிருந்தும்

சுற்றிலும் தனிமை தனிமை

முற்றிலும் சூழ் மூடர் கூட்டம்

முயன்றும் இறங்க முடியாது 

முடங்கி கிடக்கும் நிர்பந்தம்

இடையில் கண்ணயர்ந்தால்

நிரந்தரமாகுமோ எம் மன நிசப்தம்?

தூரத்தில் தொடரும் துக்கம் 

தூக்கத்திலும் வரா துர்சொப்பனம் 

தேவர் செலுத்தும் வாகனம்

தவழும் அழுகுரல் பாராது

தொடர்வது தானோ எம் கர்ம பலன்?

முற்பாதை கடந்தாலும்

முட்பாதை களையுமா?

முகத்திரை அகற்றினாலும் 

அகத்திரை விலகுமா?

மனிதா அறிவாயா 

யாத்திரை நிறைவிடம்

எம்குல மயானம் என்று

Indhu d/o Ramesh (22-E3)

Reflections

In a series of essays, Eunoians reflect on life, love, and loss. The essays were written in Mandarin, and translated into English.

Adversities

As the saying goes, “Life isn’t a bed of roses.” Despite having heard this quote many times over, I still cannot help but grumble about my misfortunes in times of adversity. When I’d first started learning English, for instance, I struggled to learn all 26 letters of the alphabet. I often had to burn the midnight oil, writing till I was physically and mentally exhausted to finish writing a full essay. I had to constantly refer to the dictionary when writing, lamenting about my exasperating and difficult circumstances as I went. But in spite of the pain and suffering, I also realised that these were necessary challenges I had to endure on the road to success; if I couldn’t tackle them head-on, I would never be able to overcome those challenges. Smooth-sailing events will only stagnate me in my progress; rough times are the moments that keep me trudging forward.

     Mankind has faced all sorts of trials and tribulations since the dawn of time. Some choose not to face these challenges head-on, hence failing to learn and improve in the process. Others choose to be tested by these hardships in order to become a formidable power. Mengzi once said: “Thou who is plagued with worry and hesitation is blessed with prosperity and growth; thou who is blissful in content will inevitably perish.Thou who is blessed with Heaven’s mandate is first made to suffer, tested by enduring hardships to strengthen thy resolve, and gifting upon thee unforeseen gifts.” A person who wishes to accomplish a huge task would first have to encounter obstacles, strengthen their resolve and renew their passion in order to reinforce their abilities. Conversely, a smooth-sailing life without ever facing challenges would lead one to grow content and fail to make progress.

     Helen Keller’s incredible life story seems to prove such an understanding. She was born with numerous sensory defects but never gave up on life. Through her own hard work and some help from her tutor Ms Sullivan, she managed to overcome numerous odds to attain a Diploma in Literature. Despite being both visually impaired and hearing impaired, she held on tight to her strong sense of determination, allowing her to accomplish feats that others said were ‘impossible’; in doing so, she left a legacy behind her. After reading about her awe-inspiring story, I could not help but think: If Helen had been born without any disabilities, encountering none of the challenges she’d faced, perhaps her story would not have gone down in the books as it had. It is precisely the challenges and obstacles in her life and her determined character that made Helen Keller as inspiring she is.

     However, the hardships we face in life aren’t only determined by our fate; a dysfunctional society can also manifest huge problems in one’s life. The Harry Potter series may be widely renowned now, but its author J.K. Rowling had been poverty stricken prior to becoming a famous author. She was also unable to find a job and had to raise her children independently. Rowling could only afford to write on tiny pieces of scrap paper, but never once did she bow down to her misfortunes. Instead, she persisted through writing and publishing her work, and was finally able to present the fascinating world of her imagination to millions of readers. This allowed her to not only become a famous writer, but also break out of the poverty cycle. 

     Similarly, Benjamin Franklin was also born into a poor family and had to drop out of school at the tender age of 10. However, that did not stop him from continuing to learn; the self-accomplished Franklin then went on to become an inventor, a politician, as well as one of America’s ‘3 Founding Fathers’. As Franklin once said, “Obstacles create opportunity.” The hardships that we endure don’t merely serve as a low point in our lives; they can also be a turning point for success.

     Adversities aren’t something that only humans face; animals, too, have to fight for their own territory, escape from predators and hunt for food. They often have to face obstacles that their natural environment provides. This is explained in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as the widely-known concept of ‘Survival of the Fittest’. In the ever-changing world of nature, competition abound; if animals are unable to overcome their evolutionary challenges and adapt to their surroundings, their species would be decimated. The species that survive are those who evolve in the face of hardships, and grow stronger. If these evolutionary challenges never presented themselves, these species would have never experienced the test of survival and evolved; apes would have never walked erect as Man. Evidently, adversities are the factor that inspires change.

     Hardships are an inevitable part of life; everyone is bound to experience them on some level. However, what truly separates the victors from those who are defeated by their hardships is the crucial choice between submitting to your hardships, or achieving spiritual growth in the process.

Translated by Celest So Yee Suan 苏倚萱 (20-I4)

逆境

       有句话说:“人生不如意之事,十有八九。”虽说这个道理我也听过,但真的陷入逆境时还是不免抱怨自己的不顺。刚开始学英文时,二十六个字母都背不全,点灯熬油地写作文,写得身心俱疲。不断地查词典,同时感叹着情况的紧迫与困难。可痛苦的同时,我也明白这不顺利是通向进步的必经之路,不去面对我便永远不会将困难征服。顺遂的情况会令我停滞不前,只有逆境才使我继续迈进。

  从古到今,人们都面临了大大小小的逆境。有些人不去正视它,便不得上进;有的人经过了逆境的考验,得以成大器。孟子曾说过:“生于忧患,死于安乐。故天将降大任与斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。”如果某人想完成重大的任务,他必要面对逆境,才能振奋他的心志,坚忍他的性情,增加他原本缺少的能力。如果这人一帆风顺不曾陷入逆境,他便因安逸而不得进步。

       海伦·凯勒的生平也证实了这一规律,她生来便有许多感官上的缺陷,但她从不放弃生命,通过自身的努力与沙丽文老师的帮助,她征服了重重逆境,得到了文学学位。虽然她又盲又聋哑,但她秉持巨大的决心,办到了他人称作“不可能”的事,留下了一个传说。读到她的故事,我不禁想到,如果她生来便无任何不足,不曾面对任何逆境,或许名人录中便无海伦·凯勒这个名字了。正是她面临的困难与她坚强的人格成就了鼓舞人心的海伦·凯勒。

  有时逆境不止来自命运,险恶的社会也能够造成巨大的困难。哈利波特小说系列现在无人不晓,不过它的作者J.K.罗琳出名前很贫困,又找不到工作,还得独自照顾自己的孩子。她只能在小纸片上写作,可她从不向困境低头,在坚持写作与出版后,得以将想像中的世界呈现给数以万计的读者,不但出了名也摆脱了贫困。

  本杰明·富兰克林因家境贫困,十岁便辍学了。但他没有因此放弃学习,自学成才的他不但成为了发明家、政治家,还是美国“开国三贤”之一。他曾说过:“逆境带来机会。”可见逆境并不只是一个低谷,它也可以是一个转折点。

 逆境,也不止是人才会面对。动物们要争夺领地,逃离天敌,寻找食物,它们时常会面对自然与环境所带来的挑战。达尔文提出的进化论中便有一句广为人知的话“适者生存”。在变化多端的自然界中,挑战是非常多的。如果动物们无法克服困难,做出改变,它们便会被淘汰。生存下来的物种都是在逆境中改变、增强了的物种。而如果逆境不曾出现,物种便不会经历生存考验也不会有进化,猿便一直是猿,永不会有站立成人的阶段。可见逆境才是激发改变的因素。

  逆境无处不在,它是人生的一部分。人人都会在某种程度上面对它,只是要被它打败还是从中精进自我,是区分失败与成功的重要选择。

作者:徐宝鎏 (19-A2)

我为何选择翻译本作品:这篇文章所描述的逆境,不禁让我想起好不容易才渡过的2020年。每个人在生活中难免都会面临逆境,而每个人在这种情况下都会有不同的处理方法。文章利用不少的名言和名人的生活经验,让读者了解任何人都会在人生中面临难关。我非常喜欢文章的最后一句:“人人都会在某种程度上面对[逆境],只是要被它打败还是从中精进自我,是区分失败与成功的重要选择。” 这句话告诉读者,逆境多的是,但是我们选择拥有的态度将会影响我们在人生中的胜败。
除此之外,我意识到诺雅学生整体上对华文和华文的文学作品没什么接触。因此,我认为我的译文能够让更多诺雅学生欣赏学长的佳作,并且鼓励正面对逆境的同学们勇往直前,继续坚持下去。

Those Unforgettable Days   

In secondary one, I lived far from my school, so I had a full hour to immerse in my thoughts while travelling back.The afternoon after my first mid-year assessment, I counted in my head the number of semesters I had in secondary school. Watching the blossoming flowers through the bus window on the way home, my heart bloomed at the thought that I had just completed one-eighths of my secondary journey. 

I had forgotten whatever happened before or after this, but this was the only moment that I remember as clearly as if it was yesterday. In those four years, those eight portions of time, how much had been forgotten and how much remembered? Just like the first time stepping into the secret darkroom at the back of  the art room and soaking the film in the developer solution, what emerges from my memories is not the entire picture, but rather, fragments of it.

Towards the end of secondary school days, we were all very busy. I moved, and my new house was only 10 minutes away from the school.  My travelling time to and fro school was almost 2 hours less; however,  it also meant that I lost the time spent pondering in the bus like I previously did. I was so busy that I didn’t even realise that that had been the last of the eighths of blue pinafore days I had spent in my ‘second home, St. Nicholas’.

As I gathered the memories captured in the films, I realised that my bittersweet struggle with art had taken a huge part of the last eighth. Nonetheless, the days where art forcefully stayed by my side turned out to be my most unforgettable ones.

Thinking back about the art room, you could say that it was untouched by light under the spectator stand;  it would be in complete darkness before we switch the lights on. The windows that line the two walls are always open, but the air in the room always had a trace of paint, clay and some kind of chemicals. The art classroom is stubborn – it doesn’t let light in but doesn’t let smells out either. In that very classroom locked the days of my youth, and the only gift I had gotten out of the generosity of the art room were the memories which I could bring along with me.

My memories relating to art seemed to be gleaming with a tinge of  gold.  It’s not that those memories were precious, but that for every art class, we would have to stay back in school for additional three hours closer to the “golden hour”. So, as we neared the end of the lessons in the evenings, the last rays of the sun always crept past the door of the art room.

That golden light was just like the lamp in the corner of the room that illuminated still life. I am still baffled about why the sunlight  only illuminates a few tiles before the door,  just like I’m equally baffled about why the lamp only brightens the still life under it, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.

Back then, we often scrambled to keep our laptop and art brushes after our teacher urged us out and switched off the lights in the room. Just before walking out, I would glance up and observe the reflection of the indistinct orange rays on the ceiling. We rushed out of the classroom under the rays of the setting sun, which made us squint and rushed us home. Those orange rays gilded the days of our youthfulness,  imprinting the silhouette of our youth onto the ground  whilst we unknowingly hurried home with the falling rays in our eyes.

The days nearing the end of my secondary school days  might have been the longest time I had spent with my oil paintings, spreading the pungent and unwelcoming oil paints and turpentine onto the equally unwelcoming canvas.  As I  rushed the final project, time slowly crept on to the days of our last examination of secondary school. In the day, I would be  attempting what seemed like never-ending practice questions. After school, I would rush to paint in the art classroom. I visited the art classroom twice a day, up from once a week. Overwhelmed with art and my other schoolwork, I felt like I was drowning.

The smell of oil paint and turpentine can be dizzying after a while, so I moved my easel from indoors to the space outside the back door,  hoping that the fragrance of the plants in the backyard would overpower the pungence. Under my brush, the paint felt soft and slippery on the raw canvas. The blend of the paint, brush and the canvas seemed to make my stress from school briefly disappear.When the sky started to dim, I knew that the sunset would be waiting for me on the other end of the art classroom.

I finally submitted my final oil painting after months of struggling with it. At that time, my mind was preoccupied with starting my revisions as soon as possible, in order not to lag behind the rest. So, just like that, I bid farewell to the final eighth of my secondary school journey, not realising that this was my farewell to art as a subject, too.

To a photographer, dusk was a magical moment.  After my final exams had eventually concluded, I flew back home to my homeland, China.  I was strolling with my cousin under the golden rays of the setting sun one evening when I suddenly turned to her and said, “The lighting is nice. Let me take a picture of  you”. 

She squinted against the sun, looking at me in confusion. Through the camera, her face was gilded with a layer of gold, reminding me of the days when my artmates and I rushed to leave the art room. In that instant, the setting sun seemed to freeze in what seemed like an eternal moment.

Those were the unforgettable days.

Translated by Lim Ying Xin 林映馨 (20-O2)

忘不了的那些日子

还在读中一的时候,家离学校非常远。回家路上的一个小时,我的思绪可以肆意飞舞。年中考过后的那天下午,我暗自把中学的四年分成八份。一边看着车窗外花满枝头,一边因为自己完成了八分之一的学业而在心里快乐地开花。那一个瞬间至今在我脑海里清晰得恍若昨日,但前后发生了什么,已经完全记不起来了。就像中学四年的、八份的时光,我记得多少?又遗失了多少?就像我第一次走进美术室里头的秘密小黑屋,把底片泡进药水里,逐渐显现出来的不是我所捕捉的整幅画面,只留住了零落的细节。

中学最后的那些日子里,我们都很忙碌,总是从这里赶到那里。我搬家到离学校走路十分钟的地方,每天省下近两小时车程,也就少了在车上思考的时间。我似乎忙到没有腾出时间去意识到,那是我穿着白衣蓝裙在那“圣中我的第二家”度过的最后的八分之一。

把回忆的底片再聚焦,中四的后半年,我与美术的恩恩怨怨可能占去了大半。美术强行陪着我的那些日子,倒成了最忘不了的一段日子。 

中学的美术室缩在操场观众席的底下,可说是不见天日,只要推门进去,就得立马开灯。两面的窗虽然从没关过,但整个房间里永远弥漫着一股颜料、泥塑和不知什么化学物质混杂在一起的味道。美术室如此固执,不仅不愿让光进去,还不允许味道出去,我的那么多年少的日子被锁在里面,能被我打包带出来的记忆是美术室对我的小小仁慈。

所有关于美术的记忆,仿佛都被镀上了一层金。不是说那些记忆有多么美好,而是我们因为美术课,一周里固定有一天要比其他同学多留下三个小时。所以每到临近放学的时刻,傍晚太阳最后的余晖总是从美术室的门口悄悄照射进来,那橙黄色的光和角落里那盏照静物的灯没有什么差别。我不理解为什么阳光只照亮门前地板上的几块方砖,就像我不理解为什么那盏灯投射下的橙黄色灯光,只顾照亮灯下的静物,却不肯让房间里再亮一点。

那时的我们,总在美术老师的催促声中和关灯后的黑暗里忙乱地收拾电脑和画笔,出门前我会看看天花板,上面好像也映着若有若无的橙黄。匆匆走美术室,在晃得我们眯起眼睛的夕阳里匆匆回家。橙黄色的阳光把年少的我们都镀成金色的,再把我们青春的剪影送给大地,而我们毫不知情地迎着夕阳眯着眼睛赶回家去。

在中学的最后八分之一里,可能是我与油画打交道最多的一段时间。难闻的油画颜料和难闻的松节油互相嫌弃,又被我往同样嫌弃它们的画布上涂抹。赶油画最终作业那几个星期,已经临近期末考试。我每天在课堂上马不停蹄地做着试题,课后吃完饭就马上赶去美术室画画。那时我光顾美术室的频率直接从每周一次骤升至每天两次。那种感觉就像溺水,美术与其它的课业无孔不入,把我淹没。

颜料和松节油的气味闻久了会令人头昏脑胀,于是我把画架从室内搬到后门外的空地,让后院植物的香气缓解油画的味道。颜料在生涩画布和画笔之间充当和事佬,那种柔软滑腻的触感似乎短暂地缓解我的压力。当后院的光线开始变暗,我就知道夕阳一定在美术室的另一边等着我了。

与油画纠缠几个月后,我终于能把最终作业交上。那时的我只想着要快点开始复习,不然落在别人后面几个星期。与中学时光的最后八分之一告别时,我没有意识到那就是我跟美术这一学科的告别。

考试后回国的一天下午,我和表妹踏着夕阳洒在地上的金色,慢慢地走着。黄昏日落时的魔术光,对摄影师来说是很珍贵的。

我转头对表妹说:“我给你拍张照吧,现在的光线很好。” 她被太阳照得眯起眼睛,有些不解地看着我。镜头里她的脸庞被镀上了一层金色,就像那时候美术室外脚步匆匆的我们。夕阳仿佛凝结在一瞬间,又仿佛是生命里的永恒。

忘不了的那些日子。

作者:门甜甜 (20-A1)

我为何选择翻译本作品:我之所以选择这篇文章是因为它打动了我。第一次读这篇文章后不禁回忆起中学时的那些点点滴滴,也让我想起那时的美 好时光。作者通过细节描写使自己的回忆更加的生动细致,能让读者想象当时的环境和气氛。再加上,我能够彻底理解作者写这篇文章时的心情,因此,我想翻译这篇文章,通过译文让更多人也能够欣赏作者想要表达的苦涩,希望从中也能打动更多人。

You are my Youth 

Just like the splendour of rainbows and the beauty of shooting stars, my youth was fleeting yet so beautiful. It was marked by your amazing hands, unwavering care, constant encouragement and so much more. Grandma, did you know? You are my Youth. 

Grandma, your hands were neither extraordinary nor exceptional. As they aged with time, they gradually got rougher too. But these hands were always filled with warmth. In kindergarten, the innocent me always wanted to hold your hand. I wanted you to accompany me to school, and only agreed to go home if you fetched me. And this was because I liked how you held my hands so tightly while you told me the story of the Big Grey Wolf and the Small White Rabbit as you walked me to and fro school. Even though it was always the same animals, always the same story 365 days a year, I never, ever got tired of it; it remained my favorite story for a long time despite the many more stories I heard later on in my kindergarten days.  “My grandma’s stories are way more interesting than our teacher’s!” was something that I often proclaimed to other kids at school. Grandma, did you know? Your stories and the touch of your hands became such precious memories of my childhood. I also came to understand that good begets good and evil begets evil. (And I know that the evil big grey wolf would definitely get his just desserts). 

Grandma, your hands were neither extraordinary nor exceptional. As they aged with time, they gradually got rougher too. But these hands were extremely skillful. Since young, I loved changing outfits for my Barbie dolls, and you were their exclusive fashion designer. You always sewed dresses for my dolls, one prettier than the previous. To this day, I still vividly remember that white princess dress that you sewed ever so beautifully. The rim of the skirt was edged with purple cloth, the shoulders decorated with a handmade ribbon and the dress flourished with purple flowers that had gold rims. Somehow, the doll dresses that you made always turned out to be exactly what  I wanted. No matter how complicated the design was, it never seemed like a big deal to you. 

After the 2008 WenChuan Earthquake, I donated all my dolls and their beautiful dresses to the kids who were hit by the disaster. I can still clearly remember what you told me, “Many kids lost their fathers and mothers because of the earthquake. They don’t have a home of their own and need the company of these dolls way more than you do.” Grandma, did you know? I really loved every single doll dress that you made. However, I still chose to give them away because of your words. Thank you for teaching me what kindness and empathy was when I was still an ignorant young child. 

Grandma, your hands were neither extraordinary nor exceptional. As they aged with time, they gradually got rougher too. But these hands were magical. To me, you were basically a magician,making sumptuous dishes appear on the dining table ever so quickly. Whenever you cooked, the aroma of the dishes never failed to waft up my nose, making me drool. Whenever it was meal time, my younger brother and I always fought to hurry to the kitchen. And when we got there, we would be greeted by the vast variety of dishes, leaving us completely clueless about where to begin. My favourite dish was your braised ribs, poached pork slices, hot and sour potatoes, salted vegetable fish and many, many more… Whenever you cooked, I would always have a huge appetite and a huge smile. You would always remind me, “Don’t hurry! There’s still half a pot of rice left for you.” Grandma, did you know? Your dishes were the best in this world,peppering my youth with mouth-watering aroma; my baby fats stayed on me way past childhood.

When I was 10, because of my parents’ jobs, our entire family had to migrate to Singapore, a beautiful country. I had to say goodbye to my hometown, my friends and you — the one who loved me the most. At the airport, I couldn’t bear to part with everything I had here, especially you. But with a big smile, you told me, “Singapore has everything. Study hard when you get there and remember to call me often.”  Whatever you said afterwards was completely a blur, but I nodded non-stop, all the while struggling hard to hold back my tears;  Grandma, did you know? Singapore has everything except you, whom I loved the most. 

I could not have felt more alienated when I started schooling in Singapore. Every student and teacher spoke in a language I did not understand. Communicating with them was impossible. I was completely lost during lessons, and had no idea how to do any homework. I felt like giving up. Whenever I called you to complain about my plight, you always encouraged me with your gentle voice. “A tree can only thrive  after it has experienced harsh weathers; one can only achieve success after they have gone through tumultuous times.” Your words left a deep impression on me. Whenever I was on the verge of giving up, these words never failed to dry my tears, giving me the strength to carry on. 

Over time, I started to adapt to life in Singapore. I made a bunch of interesting friends, started to answer questions in class enthusiastically and actively participated in various school activities. Gradually, my life in Singapore was getting better, but you were not …… Your health started deteriorating and you started to sound weaker,  slurring over the phone. Over time, we called less frequently. I started to look forward to and treasure the holidays when I could return home. I’d treasure being reunited with you, holding your hand and walking through the mall with you, lying next to you at night as you told me your story slowly but steadily. 

“Grandma, I’ll surely be back next year! Please look after yourself!” 

“Of course, I’ll be waiting.” 

Grandma, did you know? I loved every bit about you, except that promise that you never kept. 

When I was sixteen, you taught me one last lesson: we would never be able to avoid getting old and passing away… This time, however, you did not teach me this through your words, but through your actions. When I found out about your departure, my whole world shattered. I came to realise that no one can be by my side to protect me forever, not even you, the one who loved me the most and whom I loved the most. This realisation ushered me away from my youth and into adulthood. Grandma, your hands accompanied me throughout my childhood, bringing me so much joy; your words wiped away my tears, teaching me perseverance, kindness and how to treat this world gently. Finally, your actions led me to recognise that I have grown up. Although my youth was fleeting,  it was never boring or uninteresting because of you. Grandma, did you know? You are my youth and I really miss you!

Translated by Andrea Yap 叶惠宣 (20-O2)

我的青春都是你

正如彩虹的绚烂与流星的美好,青春的美丽也稍纵即逝。我的青春有奶奶那双神奇的手,有奶奶无微不至的关怀,有奶奶“没完没了”的叮嘱,有奶奶无时无刻的鼓励以及教导,还有奶奶的……奶奶,你知道吗?我的青春都是你。

奶奶,你的手既不特殊,也不出众。随着岁月的消逝,还略显粗糙,但这双手温暖。上幼儿园时,那时单纯天真的我总是要拉着你的那双手,祈求你陪我一起上幼儿园,放学也非你来接我才肯回家。因为我喜欢你在上下学路上一边紧紧牵着我,一边生动地跟我说大灰狼和小白兔的故事。即使一年三百六十五天都是同样的动物,同样的故事情节,我还是百听不厌。后来,我在幼儿园里又听到许许多多其他故事,但是我的最爱还是你的大灰狼和小白兔,甚至经常在幼儿园里骄傲地向其他小朋友炫耀:“我奶奶说的故事比老师更有趣呢!” 奶奶,你知道吗?那时候你的双手与你的一成不变的故事为幼小的我带来了多少美好的回忆,还让我明白了善有善报。恶有恶报,恶毒的大灰狼是不会有好下场的。

奶奶,你的手既不特殊,也不出众。随着岁月的消逝,还略显粗糙,但这双手灵巧。你还记得吗?我从小就喜欢收集芭比娃娃,我喜欢给芭比娃娃换上不同的裙子,而你便是这些娃娃的专属服装设计师。你总是能在短时间内缝制出一条比一条漂亮的裙子。令我至今都记忆犹新的还是那条白色公主裙。它的裙边镶着紫色的纱,吊带上还有你亲手绑了再缝的蝴蝶结,裙子上还有许多她一朵朵缝上去镶着金片的紫色花朵。你对我想要的裙子总是有求必应,即时多复杂的设计对你来说都是小菜一碟。08年汶川大地震时,在你的鼓励与劝说下,我将我所有娃娃和那些漂漂亮亮的裙子都捐给了灾区的小朋友们。你的话我至今都记得清清楚楚,她告诉我:“好多小朋友因为地震而失去了爸爸和妈妈,没有了自己的家,他们比你更需要这些娃娃的陪伴。” 奶奶,你知道吗?你所做的每条裙子我都好喜欢,也谢谢你在我懵懂的年纪里让我学会了善良与同情。

奶奶的手既不特殊,也不出众。随着岁月的消逝,还略显粗糙,但这双手神奇。你就犹如一个魔术师,总是能在短时间内“变”出色香味俱全的美食。每当你做菜时,香喷喷的气味能从厨房飘到客厅,进入我的五脏六腑,令我“口水直流三千尺”。每到吃饭时间,我和弟弟便会争先恐后冲到厨房,看着眼前五色俱全的菜肴,不知从哪下手。我最喜欢的菜肴便是你做的红烧排骨、水煮肉片、酸辣土豆丝、酸菜鱼还有好多好多…..只要你一做饭,我的胃口便会比平时打了不知多少倍,而你总是会在一旁一边开心得合不拢嘴,一边提醒我:“慢慢吃,饭还有半锅呢!” 奶奶,你知道吗?你所烧的饭菜是世界上最好吃的,是它们令我的青春回味无穷,让童年的我又白又胖。

在我十岁那年,父母因为工作原因,带着我们全家移民到了美丽的新加坡。我告别了家乡,朋友还有最疼爱我以及我最爱的你。在机场时,我舍不得家里的一切,尤其是你。但是你还是喜笑颜开的告诉我:“新加坡什么都有,去那里要好好学习,记得经常给奶奶打电话……我强忍着眼泪,你后来说什么都没有心思仔细听,但依然乖乖地点点头。奶奶,你知道吗?新加坡的确什么都有,唯独没有我最爱的你。

在新加坡刚上学时,我仿佛来到了外星球。同学们和老师都在说着我听不懂的外星语,我与他们都语言不通。“外星老师”上课时我总是一头雾水。发下来的“外星作业”我也一个字都看不懂,多次想直接放弃。当我打电话给你抱怨时,你总是用那温和的声音鼓励我:“一棵树面经历了风雨的吹打,才能长成参天大树;一个人经历了挫折的磨练,才能达到成功的彼岸。”你的这句话便深深地烙印在我的脑海里,每当我想放弃、撑不下去时,这句话总能擦干我的眼泪,让我勇敢地坚持下去。

渐渐的,我慢慢地适应了在新加坡的生活,也交到了一堆有趣的“外星”朋友们,老师课上的提问我也开始积极回答,踊跃参与学校举办的各项活动。慢慢的,我在新加坡的生活一切都在变好,但是你却不好了……你的身体越来越差,和你通话时的声音也变得含混不清、有气无力。我们的通话频率也渐渐减少。我开始珍惜、期待放假回国与你团聚的时间,珍惜牵着你的手一起逛超市的时间,期待晚上躺在你身旁听着你一字一句慢慢诉说以前的故事。

“奶奶,我明年就会再回来的!你要好好照顾好自己!”

“好啊,我等着呢。”

奶奶你知道吗?我喜欢你的一切,唯独除了你没有遵守你的诺言。

十六岁那年,你教会了我最后一个道理:我们永远无法改变大自然生老病死的规律……这一次,你不再亲口教会我,而是亲自用行动证明。知道这个噩耗的我感觉世界都黑暗了,慢慢地、慢慢地明白了没有人会在我身边守护我一辈子,即使是我最爱的或最爱我的。那一刻,我发现我成长了。

奶奶,你用你的手陪伴着我的成长,为我带来了不少欢乐,用你的话语为我擦去我的泪水、教会我坚持、善良以及如何温柔对待这个世界,最后用你的行动让我明白我长大了。我的青春如此短暂,但是我很高兴我的青春因为有你而不再素然无味、不再单调无色。奶奶,你知道吗?我的青春都是你,我好想你。

作者:林姿吟(20-A1)

我为何选择翻译本作品:我非常喜欢这篇文章。这篇文章的内容并不复杂,重点就是奶奶在作者成长过程扮演着多么重要的角色。一开始,作者描述奶奶在她生命中有多么的重要,我就被这又真诚,又单纯的描述给吸引住了。读到后面,我真的有被感动到。虽然故事的结局并没有出乎意料,但那详细的描写深深地打动了我。因此,我选择翻译这篇文章。再加上,这篇文章有许多细节描写,和我一般所翻译的文体不太一样。 我想挑战自己,翻译一篇我不熟悉的文体。

Poetry from the Portfolio Project

译文

The Empty Dream

In the winter months it snows,

The lady’s hair, white as willows,

as she grows old.

The moon is out, but she stays sleepless,

In the night that felt endless

She dreads the years that follow.

From afar, faintly, a flute plays,

Lingering in the air, are sounds of sorrow. 

As she yearns to see her lover.

How much she misses him, only he knows. 

原文

空夜歸

臘月飄雪柳葉飛,

白絲垂地守空閨。

月影現然難入睡,

深夜漫漫悲殘歲。

遠處隱約竹簫音,

唯君知曉夢幾回。

我为何选择翻译本作品:空夜归这首诗有许多隐藏的意思,例如「白丝」,乍看起来可能会以为「白丝」单单指的是结了霜的柳叶、但其实「白丝」还有另一层的含义、就是描述主人公老了,苍白的发丝往地上垂的场景。再来,柳叶代表了折柳,「折柳」一词寓含“惜别怀远”之意。我认为原文用景色来代表各种情感、很特別。

译文

The Beauty and the Flower

In the pond sits a single red flower,

Akin to a bright flame in still waters.

At the edge, on one side of a bench, 

a young lady rests, feeling lonely,

a breeze blowing past her face gently.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

The rain falls, incessantly; 

The lady weeps, ceaselessly,

The flame fades, gradually.

As the saying goes, beauty is a curse.

Who is more lonely, the flower or the lady?

原文

紅顏

作者:游睿蒽

池塘唯有紅花一朵,

若止水中一把艳火。

岸上長椅姑娘獨坐,

陣陣涼風輕輕撫摸。

滴答滴答滴。

綿綿雨點,結伴而落;

姑娘相眼,淚水滂沱,

只見水面紅點漸淹沒。

問世人道, 紅顏薄命。

姑娘與紅花,誰寂寞?

我为何选择翻译本作品:红颜这首诗将寂寞的姑娘比喻成一朵花、原文几乎每一句都是押韵的,这首诗的节奏感也挺強的,所以我就想尝试把这些特点在英文的译文中呈现出来。

译文

Feelings Fade

Passing notes, breakfast before school 

They were joined at the hip, in the spring afternoon.

Candlelit dinners, accompanied by melodic tunes

Under the gloomy sunset, and the chilly autumn breeze, 

were two puppets without a soul.

原文

殘情

折紙字條 課前早飯

春日午後 如影隨形

提琴伴奏 燭光晚餐

秋風晚霞 紙皮剪影

我为何选择翻译本作品:残情这首诗特别在于前四句和后四句蕴含的情感是截然相反的。前半截描述情侣轰轰烈烈的爱情,而在后半截,情侣虽然还在一起,但感情已淡化。翻译这首诗的难处就是要兼顾原文风格和情感二者,所以就引起了我的兴趣。

All poems by: 游睿蒽 Yew Rui En Rachel (20-A1)

Translated by: 黄梓彦 Christopher Wong (20-I4)

Learning like a Baby

During graduate study, I took a module titled ‘Designing for learning by creating’ by Karen Brennan. A paragraph in the course syllabus read:

I find grades stressful. Too often, I see grades preventing people from taking intellectual risks, discouraging people from being bold, causing people to worry about the least important part of the process. So let us remove that concern. You have an’A’. If you’re attending class, participating in activities, making a sincere intellectual investment in the course material, etc. ,this will not change.

Perhaps this clause was possible because my classmates cared deeply about their learning and would not use it as an opportunity to slack off (this was at the Harvard Graduate School of Education). Regardless, that was the first and only time I had encountered such an assessment system. I remember how planning my final project was so completely liberating because I was not afraid of doing something that might be too difficult, something that I might get stuck on and”fail”at. I did not agonise over balancing passion with what would also”work best”at fulfilling the assessment rubric requirements. Instead, I could ask, What am I curious about? What do I want to explore? What project will stretch me the most intellectually and contribute the most to my learning, regardless of whether it “succeeds”?I recently became a first-time mother and I spend a fair bit of time observing my five-month-old baby Ezra navigate his world. To me, watching him connects with the spirit of that module, reminding me to be curious and inviting me to contemplate the richness of learning that could unfold when exploration takes centre stage. 

Ezra and I have a naptime routine which ends with me putting him in his cot, drawing the curtains and popping his pacifier in his mouth. Invariably, he would fidget and it would fall out before he falls asleep. He would then reach for his pacifier and try to put it back. However, his hand-eye-mouth coordination still needs work and he frequently swipes his pacifier off his bed by accident,at which I would proclaim,"Uh oh! Cumi ja kai! “This translates to” [your] pacifier has fallen! “-a mash-up of Hungarian (“cumi”) and Kristang("ja kai”) , and a nod to his half-Hungarian and half-Kristang Eurasian heritage.

I watch him bring his cumi towards his mouth and miss, and am tempted to swoop in and do it for him. I often do, because my intervention means he falls asleep sooner, without me having to pick up, wash, sterilise and return his cumi again, and again and again. . .

I keep watching as my wriggly bundle of smiles reaches his chubby baby fingers towards his just-out-of-reach cumi, and, with a grunt (“Eh! “) , wiggles his bum a few centimetres forward, grabs his cumi, shoves it towards his face the wrong way around, and then drops it, where it falls on his cot mattress teat-side up. I expect him to reach out again. He does not. Instead, he face-plants into the mattress, and-somehow-gets his mouth over the teat of his cumi! “Ugyes baba! “I squeal with pride (“skilful baby! “) as he merrily sucks on the cumi that he put in his mouth.

Here, I wonder, what will I see if I suppress the urge to swoop in and help Ezra with whatever new problem his baby brain is tackling? How many new and delightful solutions will he find? What else will he learn along the way? 

I mapped out some of my observations of Ezra’s cumi explorations and came up with this:

In reflecting on these observations, what initially looks to me like problem-solving – how do I put my cumi in my mouth? – might really be just a tiny part of a great big quest to explore, where curiosity and learning takes centre stage.

I am struck by how limited his learning would be if he were only interested in achieving the”successful outcome” of putting his cumi in his mouth (quickly) and going to sleep (quickly) . While my adult brain might tend towards this outcome, I speculate that Ezra’s baby brain favours exploring and learning, and is not particularly concerned with “failing” to achieve the “successful outcome”. Because exploring possibilities reveals new solutions (like face-planting into a cumi). If not, we learn what does not work. As a bonus, we might uncover unexpected outcomes, like the fact that we really enjoy playing with the mosquito net. 

Watching Ezra reminds me of my work in my classroom of JC1 students, where seeing them struggle tempts me to swoop in and suggest a way forward so that the work would be completed sooner. And just as I often swoop in to help Ezra prematurely because I am exhausted and just want him to sleep, I too swoop in to help students more often than I would care to admit, because Socratic questioning is exhausting and I still have another 24 students to attend to. Then I think of how proud I was when Ezra face-planted into his cumi and how the pieces of student feedback I am always most proud of are the ones saying”Ms de Souza teaches us to think. “

Ezra reminds me to watch, wait and honour the learning. 

Soon, my students will choose projects to work on. I hope that they will be guided by curiosity. That they will explore possibilities and push themselves to “be bold” and “take intellectual risks”. And while there is still an assessment rubric to consider, in the balance between doing something that will “work best” at showcasing the rubric requirements and one that will contribute the most to their learning, I hope the balance will tip towards the latter. 

Ezra reminds me of the kind of learning I hope to see my students and myself embrace. And as Ezra gets older, I hope he will always approach learning the way his five-month-old self does.

by Ms Adrienne de Souza

作品出处:The Birthday Book

赤子之心

在研究生学习期间,我选修了凯伦·布伦南教授(Karen Brennan)的一门名为“通过创造来学习”的课程。课程大纲中有这么一段话:我觉得成绩让人很有压力。我常常看见人们因为成绩不敢积极地去挑战知识上的难题、失去犯错的勇气,只会担心学习过程中最琐碎的的问题。让我们放下这些顾虑吧。这门课你已经获得“A”了。只要你出席这门课、积极参加活动并认真学习课程材料,这“A”便不会改变

教授敢说这段话,大概是因为我的同学们都是认真求学、不会借机偷懒的学生(这可是哈佛教育研究生院)。无论如何,那是我人生第一次,也是唯一一次遇到这样的评估系统。我还记得在规划期末作业时,我是多么自由,因为即使我知道我可能会深陷困境并面临失败,我也不再害怕挑战自己,做出一些超出自己能力范围的事情。在保持激情与完美达成评估标准之间,我也不再纠结。相反的,我还可以问问自己:我究竟对什么感兴趣呢?我想探索什么呢?什么样的作业最能激发我的思维能力?让我学到最多?作业能“成功”与否反而不是最重要的了。

身为新手妈妈,我花了不少时间观察我那五个月大的宝宝以斯拉,看他如何摸索他的世界。对我来说,观察他使我想起那门课程所推广的精神,提醒我要时刻保持好奇心,并让我思考:如果以探索作为学习的核心,那学习将是多么丰富多彩。

我每天哄以斯拉睡午觉都有个固定流程。流程的最后一步就是由我把他抱到婴儿床上、拉上窗帘并把奶嘴塞进他的嘴里。他总是不停乱动,还没睡着,奶嘴便掉了。于是他便会伸手去捡他的奶嘴,想把奶嘴放回嘴里。然而,他的手、眼与嘴巴的协调能力仍然还有很大的进步空间,经常一不小心就将奶嘴从床上扫到地上。每当我看到这一幕时,我便大喊道:“哎呀!Cumi ja kai!”这翻译过来就是“奶嘴掉了!”——一句话混搭了匈牙利语(“cumi”)和克里斯坦语(“ja kai”),也算是对他一半匈牙利、一半克里斯坦的欧亚血统的认可。

我看着他将奶嘴慢慢地放到自己嘴前,然后偏了,忍不住想扑过去帮他。我一般都会帮他,因为那会让他尽快睡着,而我也无需一而再、再而三地去将奶嘴捡起来、清洗、消毒再还给他。

我继续注视着我的小开心果扭动着,看他用尽全力将自己那胖乎乎的小手伸向奶嘴,可惜还差那么一点才能够着。他不禁哼了一声。“嗯!”紧接着,他的屁股向前扭动了几厘米,抓住自己的奶嘴,再将它扫向自己的脸上。万万没想到,奶嘴掉在了他的婴儿床上——奶嘴头朝上。我原以为他会再伸手去够奶嘴。但他没有。相反的,他将脸趴在床垫上,然后不知怎么的用嘴巴盖住了奶嘴头! 看着他将奶嘴塞进嘴里然后开开心心地吮吸着,我骄傲地尖叫道:“Ugyes baba!( 真是个灵巧的宝宝!)”

这时,我在想,如果我能抑制住想要帮助以斯拉解决问题的冲动,我会看到什么呢?他又会找到多少新鲜可喜的解决方案?在这个过程中,他还会学到什么呢?

我将我对以斯拉的“奶嘴探索”的一些观察结果列出来,并得出了以下结论:

回想起这些观察,便会发现“如何把奶嘴放进嘴里?”这个我最初以为亟待解决的问题,其实只是宝宝对外大探索中的冰山一角。而好奇心和求知欲,才是这场探索的的核心。

我顿时恍然大悟,突然明白了如果以斯拉只对“成果”感兴趣——(快速地)把奶嘴放进嘴里并(快速地)入睡,那么他的学习将是多么的有限!虽然我的大脑可能会更在意“快速入睡”这个结果,但我推测以斯拉的小脑瓜会更喜欢探索和学习,不会特别在意最终的结果会不会“失败”。探索不同的可能可以为我们带来新的解决方案(比如把脸栽向奶嘴)。即使我们无法解决问题,我们也至少能知道什么是行不通的。我们甚至有会发现一些意想不到的结果作为收获,比如发现我们其实对蚊帐情有独钟。

看着以斯拉的成长让我想起了我的高一学生们。正如我疲倦的时候经常过早地帮助以斯拉,以让他尽快入睡,每当看到这学生为作业挣扎时,我也总是很想冲上前为他们提出建议,以便他们更快地完成工作。尽管我不愿承认,我也经常过早地帮助学生们,因为苏格拉底式的提问很累人,而且我还有其他24个学生需要照看。这时,我便会想到:当以斯拉把脸栽进他的奶嘴时,身为妈妈的我是多么的自豪!而身为老师,我觉得最引以为傲的,则莫过于写着“de Souza老师教我们思考”的学生反馈。

以斯拉提醒我要学会旁观,学会等待,学会尊重学习过程。

我的学生们很快就要选择自己要做的专题作业了。我希望他们会保持好奇心,探索各种可能性,勇于犯错并愿意挑战知识上的难题。这专题作业当然还是有一个评估标准需要顾及,但在尽力达标与学有所获这两者之间,我希望学生能更在意后者。

以斯拉的学习方式,是我希望我学生和我自己都能够具有的学习方式。以斯拉会逐渐长大,只希望他能一直保持着那颗赤子之心,永远像五个月大的自己那样学习。

译者:林姿吟

Translated by: Lin Ziyin (20-A1)

If I Become Rich One Day

If I become rich one day

My first instinct isn’t to travel the world

I’ll lie on the world’s largest and most comfortable couch

Eat, sleep and repeat for a whole year 

Ever since I heard this song by Chinese Singer Mao Buyi, it has been stuck in my head. On the surface, there seems to be nothing special about this song — it even has a tinge of negativity. But after listening to it and taking in every word, you will realise this song has a strong message, that youngsters like us can resonate with. 

Indeed– what would I do if I really become rich one day? 

As a kid, my answer would definitely be to travel the world! However, as I grow up, I slowly understand that having lots of money is only one of the conditions to fulfil this “dream” of mine. On top of that, I need to have the capability and freedom to put aside time for this. In Singapore, every aspect of our lives are fast-paced, and that makes travelling the world an extravagant dream. This is especially so with the world’s top class education system driving us forward, causing us to feel suffocated by the heavy (academic and non-academic) workload. And whenever we have free time, we often yearn to do what the song lyrics say: have a lazy day with no work or worries, lay on our cozy beds for a nice long nap, and do anything we want when we wake up. Or sometimes, just simply do nothing at all! In fact, how many of those adults who hustle on weekdays and bustle with chores on weekends yearn to do the same? But the harsh reality is that everyone has their  responsibility in society, one that they cannot escape from. Hence from this perspective, the desire for this laidback lifestyle may not be a bad thing; at least it motivates us to seize the day. Work hard and play hard should be a life philosophy that youngsters like us should embody. 

If I become rich one day

I can keep everyone close to me 

Laugh, eat, drink and repeat everyday

With no worries about tomorrow or goodbyes

“All good things come to an end”. I still vividly remember the day when I graduated from primary school and my form teacher handed me my graduation certificate. Surrounded by my teachers and classmates, it was meant to be a joyous occasion, yet I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I was well aware of the fact that in this generation of advanced communication technology, we could still keep in contact after graduation and Singapore isn’t that big, so we could always arrange to meet up. Even so, I could not help but dread this parting, fearing that we would become strangers and drift apart . Eventually, I have come to realise that each of us have our own lives to lead, our own paths to walk, and with the passage of time, drifting apart is a reality we cannot avoid. Even if we make it a point to stay connected, these online interactions becomes superficial over time, till one day we will barely know one another on a surface level. When the net is broken, the fish swims away. Goodbyes are part and parcel of life, and what’s important is how we graciously accept it and cross that hurdle within us. As the saying goes: To miss is better than to meet. May we take each goodbye with a little more positivity and a little less negativity.

“Becoming rich, becoming rich,

How many have wasted their time all day and night

Becoming rich, becoming rich,

And then pretended to be humble by claiming that money was not everything”

Money cannot buy us time. Indeed, time is extremely valuable. We cannot buy back the time we have lost, but if we make good use of it, it allows us to lead a more fruitful life.

We constantly lament about how fast time passes by, but we do not treasure and make good use of the time we have in the present. This vicious cycle then repeats itself. Are we going to let it continue? Seizing the moment is enough to grant us spiritual satisfaction, so all the more we should stop wasting time dwelling on our regrets.

“If I became rich one day,

I will buy all those rare smiles

Let all vulnerable children have no more fears,

And all evil to lose their right to speak”

Smiles always brightens people’s days, be it from one’s parents, friends, lovers or even strangers. During the Eunoia Junior College’s 2018 Bicultural Studies Programme overseas trip, a group of us followed ChongQing No.8 Middle School students to a nursing home near their campus ground and had lighthearted interactions with the elderly. Time flew by; in seemingly a split second, the excitement then has now become part of the memories. Till today, I still remember Granny Wang’s kind smile. Even though she could not express herself clearly, the genuity in her eyes made me determined to communicate with her no matter what. Even though I could not stay by her side for long,  I tried my best to make her happy with the limited time I had,– be it by dancing or singing. I also managed to take a picture with her as a memento. During the time spent with her, I could feel how lonely she was, how happy and touched she felt when we went to visit their nursing home and how she could not bear to let us go when we were leaving. That was the first time we met, and mostly likely our last, but her smile constantly warms my heart, pushing me forward.

There are many people who are less fortunate than us in this world, but when we are successful and enjoying ourselves, we rarely pay attention to others’ pain and struggles. On one side of the world, here we are, enjoying our stable life without having to worry about the bare necessities. Yet on the other side of the world, there are plenty of people who are suffering from the shortage of food and clothing and are constantly starving. 

What’s fortunate is that many capable and ambitious people hold a grateful heart and know to give back to society, displaying the best of human nature. Jose Mujica, Uruguay’s former president donated 90 percent of his salary to charity organisations when he was still in office. He even rejected government funding after he retired, living a simple but meaningful life.

Similarly, Malala Yousafzai, an activist from Pakistan who fought for female education rights won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17. She was the youngest Nobel prize recipient ever. Despite being threatened by the Taliban, and was even shot by the Talibans, she never gave up her mission, that is to stop the unfair treatment of women and continue to fight for their education rights. Of course, there are many other successful people who gave back to society, for example, Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates, Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and many more…

Even though Mao Buyi’s “If I became rich one day” was a song that kept emphasising on the fantasy of becoming rich, it’s last sentence “From the bottom of our hearts, we can then truly say that money is not everything” was able to shed light on the song’s real purpose- Money can’t buy everything. It is indeed important as it allows us to survive and fulfill our materialistic satisfactions. Yet it will never be able to grant us spiritual satisfaction. Since we became obsessed with monetary gains, we tend to neglect the most valuable things around us, like time and kinship. As the Chinese saying goes, “The tree would prefer stillness, but the wind continues to blow. The child wishes to practice filial devotion, but his parents are already gone”. There are some things in life that you will not get to redo. If we do not treasure our loved ones now, we may not have a chance to love them when they are gone. Hence, I hope that people will look past the practicalities of life and pay more attention to other things besides money, grabbing the opportunities to love and care for family and friends instead of wasting precious time!

Translated by Lee Hui En 李卉蒽 (20-I4)

and Quek Zhi Jun 郭芷君 (20-A6)

如果有一天我变得很有钱

如果有一天我变得很有钱

我的第一选择不是去环游世界

躺在世界上最大最软的沙发里

吃了就睡醒了再吃先过一年”

自从听了中国歌手毛不易的《如果有一天我变得很有钱》之后,我一直难以忘怀。这首歌乍听一下平淡无奇,甚至有些消极。但听完之后细细品味,就会发现这首歌具有灵魂,它会让我们这样的年轻人产生共鸣。

是啊,如果你有钱了,你会做什么?

——这个问题如果是问年少时的我,我的答案一定是环游世界!只是长大后的我们都渐渐明白,金钱只是实现“幻想”的条件之一,除此之外还必须具有与之匹配的能力和支配时间的自由。而生活在各方面节奏都很快的新加坡,环游世界对绝大多数人来说真的是一种奢望,尤其是作为世界顶尖的教育系统中砥砺前行的我们,平时在繁重的课内外任务的“压迫”下常常有种喘不过气的感觉。偶有闲暇时的渴望就是能像歌中所说:拥有慵懒的一天,抛开所有任务和烦恼,躺在舒服的床上,睡个懒觉,起来后想做什么就做什么,什么都不做也完全可以。其实,平时忙着打工、周末忙着家务的大人们,何尝没有同样的渴望?只是现实中每一个人都有各自既定的、无法逃避的社会责任罢了。从这层面上来说,对慵懒生活的渴望也未必是件坏事,起码它成了促使我们努力在当下的动力。Work hard & play hard,是我们年轻人应有的生活哲学。

“如果有一天我变得很有钱

我就可以把所有人都留在我身边

每天快快乐乐吃吃喝喝聊聊天

不用担心关于明天或离别”

“天下没有不散的宴席”,万物皆有始终。还记得小学毕业的那一天,我从班主任手中接过我的毕业证书,周围老师同学环绕,明明应该是欢庆的时刻,我的眼前却不知为什么朦胧了。虽然内心很清楚:在这个通讯发达的时代,毕业后仍可随时保持联络;而且新加坡那么小,我们随时可以创造见面的机会。可不知为何,我心里却止不住泛起离别的恐惧,害怕从此天涯是路人、再没有以前那样的感情。现在我渐渐意识到,每个人有各自的生活要过、有各自的道路要走,随着时间的流逝,变得陌生是无法躲避的现实。就算时常在手机上保持联络,但那种交流会日益肤浅,直至不再认识真正的彼此。网破了,鱼就走了。离别是人生的必然,重要的是你自己能否坦然以对,迈过心头的那道坎。所谓相见不如怀念,但愿我们面对离别时,能更多一点洒脱乐观,少一点消极负面。

“变有钱我变有钱

多少人没日没夜地浪费时间

变有钱我变有钱

然后故作谦虚地说金钱不是一切”

“一寸光阴一寸金,寸金难买寸光阴”。没错,时间异常宝贵,过去的时间用金钱无法买回,但是把握时间却能让我们更有机会变得富有。我们常常不停感叹时间飞逝,却往往不好好珍惜和利用眼前所拥有的时间,到头来又再一次悔恨过往,这样徒劳无功的循环值得继续吗?把握好当下,就是给予自己精神上的满足,少浪费时间在对过往的后悔上。

“如果有一天我变得很有钱

我会买下所有难得一见的笑脸

让所有可怜的孩子不再胆怯

所有邪恶的人不再掌握话语权”

人们总是渴望得到一些笑容,它可以是父母的笑容、朋友的笑容、爱人的笑容,甚至是陌生人的笑容。在2018年双文化之旅中,我们诺雅高中一行人跟随重庆八中的同学们来到了他们校园附近的一家老人疗养院,与院内老人进行了愉快的交流和互动。时间过得飞快,转眼兴奋已变成了怀念。有一位王奶奶的慈祥笑容让我印象深刻、记忆至今。王奶奶虽然咬字不清,说的每句话都含含糊糊,不过她双眼透露出来的真诚是促使我想方设法与她保持沟通的动力。我虽然无法一直留在她身边,但我在有限的时间内竭尽所能用唱歌跳舞去逗她开心,与她合影留念。跟她相处的那段时间,我能体会她的寂寞,看得出我们来养老院探访时她的开心感动以及我们离去时她的念念不舍。那是我们的初次见面,也很可能是最后一次。但她的笑容,时刻温暖着我的内心,促使我努力前行。

在这世上比我们不幸的人很多,但我们在享受快乐、成功的时候却很少关注他人的痛苦。在世界这一端的我们过着衣食无忧的安定生活。在世界的另一端,却有许多人缺衣少食、三餐不继。值得庆幸的是,许多有能力、有抱负的人不忘恩负义,懂得回报社会,展现了人性善良的一面。Jose Mujica, 乌拉圭(Uraguay)的前任总统,在任时把自己每月百分之九十的薪水捐给了慈善机构,就连任职结束后也拒绝了政府资助金,过着平淡但具有意义的生活。同样的,马拉拉·尤萨夫扎伊(Malala Yousafzai), 一位出生于巴基斯坦(Pakistan)的一位活动家,她为争取女性教育而奋斗,17岁时荣获了诺贝尔和平奖,是所有诺贝尔奖项中最年轻的获奖人。尽管面临塔利班的反对,还曾遭遇塔利班枪击,不过在被抢救后,马拉拉不放弃自己的使命,不让女性继续承受不平等待遇,继续为争取女性教育而努力。当然还有更多的成功人士,不忘回报社会,比如微软创始人比尔盖茨、Facebook创始人扎克伯格······

尽管毛不易这首歌一直唱着对变有钱的幻想,但是却用歌曲的最后一句“然后发自内心地说金钱它不是一切”点出了真正的主旨:金钱并不是万能的。金钱的确很重要,它能让我们生存,给予一切物质上的满足,可是它却无法给予我们精神上的满足。当我们痴迷于金钱时,我们忽略了身边更为宝贵的东西,例如时间和亲情。所谓“树欲静而风不止,子欲养而亲不待”,一些东西一旦错过了就不能再重来,我们亲爱的人若不好好珍惜,等到他们离开时便没有机会再去疼爱他们了。因此,希望人们多看看金钱之外的世界,多珍惜除金钱之外的事物,多多把握住机会,疼爱身边的家人与爱人,别再虚度光阴!

作者: 郭源峻 (18-O5)

我为何选择翻译本作品:我选这篇文章的原因是因为它分析了毛不易的一首歌的歌词,我觉得这一点很特别。这样不但能让英文读者接触到华文歌,也能让那些听过这首歌的人,意识到这首歌想传达的信息。另外,作者在分析歌词时,也谈到了年轻人在生活中面对着很现实的一些问题和烦恼, 所以身为年轻人的我能产生共鸣。最后,他谈到了最重要的一点,就是钱不是万能的,所以我们应该多看看金钱以外的世界。我觉得很多人都晓得这一点,却总还是看不开。这篇文章重新提醒了我们这个道理,所以希望翻译后,能让更多人再次领悟到这个道理。

Why Learn Chinese?

During my internship, I noticed a girl who was not proficient in the Chinese language but was incredibly attentive in the Secondary 3 class I was teaching. Whenever I taught Chinese composition writing, she would copy down all the model sentences incessantly. Afterwards, she would annotate every single new Chinese vocabulary in English. Teachers all love hardworking students, do they not? Just then, I felt that I should be ashamed of myself if I don’t manage to teach her well.

Yet, her answer to a survey questionnaire shocked me – she did not like the Chinese language at all. To her, it was useless. I went to her after class the next day, hoping to talk about her response. She was practising for tingxie (Chinese spelling) with her classmates then. Once again, she admitted that she disliked the language and felt that it was difficult. 

Nonetheless, she was indeed studious. She diligently practised writing the new Chinese characters that would be tested for spelling, again and again. She said that even if she had memorised the words by heart, she would still forget them shortly after the tingxie test. “Is Chinese really useful?” She asked me in all sincerity.

I was at a loss for words. The Chinese language is definitely of use if one wishes to connect with the Chinese-speaking world or work with China, a rising superpower, then the Chinese language will definitely be of use. There was a series of advertisements a few years back, in which Caucasian cast members could pronounce Chinese words more clearly than I can. At the end of the advertisements, the slogan “华文谁怕谁(I don’t fear you, Chinese!)” was flashed on the screen. These advertisements were, in fact, screened as part of the Speak Mandarin Campaign. How could one say that the Chinese language is impractical when even the Caucasians were speaking it now? But the word “fear” stood out too much to be ignored. Had I shown those advertisements to my students, I was afraid that this would have ended tragically.

Perhaps I should have reiterated that the Chinese ought to learn to speak Mandarin? I was reminded of another incident with another class, which I had gone to relief-teach. Their  learning attitudes then were atrocious. 

I asked one of the girls, “Don’t you want to properly grasp the Chinese language?”

She replied with a question, “Why should I? I’m not even Chinese.” It turned out that she was from another race, and I was left speechless. 

What exactly is the point of learning languages? What’s wrong with not learning your mother tongue? “Don’t you find it hard to study Chinese?” Another teacher intern asked  me. Even though she was born in China, she was raised in Singapore and had wholly embraced the Singaporean way of life. I could not have told her apart from any other Singaporeans.  “It is easier to form words in English. And even if there is a word you don’t understand, you can still somewhat spell it. But for Chinese, you have to get all the strokes correct in order to form a character. When picking up a language, isn’t it most important that words are easy to form? ”

“Easy”– a key word that is ever so closely linked to the concept of practicality.

Is the Chinese language challenging to pick up? According to the experiences of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, it is a language that requires hard work. The speech he made during his book launch had a lasting impression on me. 

He expressed, “It would be tough to survive in Singapore if one does not know how to speak English; it will be your lifelong regret if you do not know how to speak Mandarin. We should learn to speak Mandarin not because of the rise of China’s economy, but  to understand our  cultural roots.” One would have mistaken these stirring words as those that would have been spoken by Chinese education advocates. He might have indeed felt remorseful. However, Singapore’s education policies for the Chinese language currently focus mainly on the spoken tongue, not so much on reading and writing. While Chinese lessons are  undoubtedly much easier  now, are we able  we preserve our  cultural roots this way?

Then again, which is more important: to understand one’s cultural heritage, or to be more practical? 

The little girl told me, “What’s the problem? My friends and I  speak in English in school all the time.” She sounded almost identical to those“successful” figures who disdainfully brag, “I only speak English. Even so, I can still afford to live in a big house and drive a big car.” 

Ardent supporters of the English language policies would confidently claim, “Singapore would not have been able to reach where it is today if English had not been the main language.”

We can’t possibly turn back time. If Chinese were to be Singapore’s main language from the very start, what would Singapore be like now? For a start, Singlish– something that we now take much pride in– probably would not have existed.  Also, how would the different ethnic groups communicate with one another? Would our economy still prosper as it does now? The essentiality of English in modern Singapore  is not one to be arbitrarily questioned. It would be difficult for Mandarin Chinese to go head to head with the English language taking into consideration pragmatism and the assumption that one can only master one language.  it may even be accused of being an impediment that burdens Singapore and hinders her from moving forward. Is Chinese that important? My English-educated friends barely spoke Chinese in their lives. Yet, they are still doing well. It is not fair to assume that they are failing at life, is it?

If Mandarin is so unpopular and unwelcomed, even less needs to be said about dialects. Singapore’s Speak Mandarin Campaign has been implemented for 30 years and seemed to have  made remarkable results.  Youths in Singapore hardly know any dialects now. Has the sacrifice of dialects increased the Chinese proficiency of Singaporean youths? Definitely not. In fact, quite the opposite. I often have to use English to aid in my teaching, but I could never use Hokkien or Cantonese to explain certain words. What should I tell the students? Should I say that dialects are not our mother tongues? Or that dialects play no significance in preserving our cultural roots??

As a mere relief teacher, I stopped myself from elaborating further into ethnic pride or languages being the medium in preserving cultural identity.  Instead, I only explained the formation of the Chinese characters briefly, using the few words that I had tested them to write in the tingxie. No one will ever ask if a piece of art is “useful” when created, would they? Even if she has yet to recognise the beauty of Chinese characters, at least it would be less tedious for her to prepare for tingxie

   “That is actually quite interesting,” she said as I was about to leave. And those genuine words were enough to soothe my heart. 

Nevertheless, there are some things which I still cannot get over. If the purpose of studying is to find out more about the world, we should start by understanding ourselves better. It is always a shame when people wish to know more about themselves but do not know much about their own culture  or mother tongue. And what is even more of a pity is when any race completely loses grasp of languages that were once theirs, never knowing what they had lost.


Afterword: I wrote this article to pen down my thoughts in July 2012,  after a 4-week internship at a neighbourhood secondary school in Singapore.

Translated by Yew Rui En Rachel

游睿蒽 (20-A1)

为什么要学华文

上个月当实习老师时,我注意到我中三班上有个小女生,华文程度不好,但上课时很专心。老师教写作时给的例句,她一直抄一直抄;然后在每个生词旁都写下英语注释,一直写一直写。老师都喜欢好学的学生吧。那时候就觉得,若教不好这样的学生,我是应该感到愧疚的。

但后来填调查问卷时她的答案却有点出乎我的意外。她完全不喜欢华文,她觉得华文没用。隔天课后找她聊聊,那时她在和她同学练习听写。她再次坦承她不喜欢华文,说华文很难。但她的确是个很乖的学生,要听写的那几个生词,她很努力地写了一遍又一遍。她说背熟后听写过关了,也就会忘了。她很诚恳地问我说:华文真的有用吗?

我该怎么回答她呢?如果要在华人世界生存,要和崛起的中国打交道,华文当然有用。几年前新加坡有一组广告,里面几个洋人把华语说得比我还字正腔圆,广告最后打出“华文谁怕谁”的字样,竟是“讲华语运动”的广告。洋人都讲华语了,你能说华文没用吗?但那“怕”字太突出了,如果要我把那组广告播给学生看,我怕会徒生悲凉。

或许我该和她重申“华人就该学华语”的论调?我没有。我只想起了另一班的学生。那时候我去代课,班上几位同学的学习态度都很差。我问其中一位女生:“你难道不想学好华文?”她反问我:“我又不是华人,为什么要学华文?”这让我无言以对的居然是位马来同胞。

学语言到底需要什么目的?不学母语有错吗?和我一起实习的一位老师,来自中国,但自小在新加坡长大,已十足是个新加坡人的样子。她用英语问我,你不觉得华语难学吗?英语容易拼写,听到不懂的生词也可以大概拼写出来,不似汉字一笔一画都讲究。语言难道不是容易写最重要吗?

“容易”,那可是个和“实用”紧紧扣实的关键词啊。

华文难学吗?以新加坡建国总理李光耀的经历来说,那是需要“苦学”才能掌握的。记得去年他在新书首发仪式上的一番话,令我印象相当深刻:“要在新加坡生存,没有英语会很辛苦,没有华语你会后悔莫及,并不是因为中国崛起,是因为你自己要了解你自己的根。”俨然华教人士口吻,闻之足以动容。我相信他是真有悔意的。但如今新加坡的华文教育政策,只重口语,不重读写,易则易矣,却要如何保住文化的根?

话说回来,是了解自己的根重要还是实用重要?

小女生用英语和我说:“我在学校和朋友都讲英语的,一点问题也没有。”

有所谓成功人士语带不屑:“我只讲英语,还不是住那么大间的房,驾那么大辆的车。”

英语政策的铁杆支持者言之凿凿:“新加坡若不是以英语为第一语言,根本无法取得今天的成就。”

历史无法重来,新加坡当初若以华语为第一语言,如今会落入何等境地,恐怕没人能预测得了。大概没有那Singlish来引以为豪了吧?各族之间会怎么沟通呢?不会有如今的繁荣昌盛了吗?当今英文的重要性,没有人可以随便置疑。实用主义加上鱼与熊掌二选一的假定,华文忽然好像变得很难与英文正面交锋了,一不小心甚至变成会拖累国家前进的包袱。华语就那么重要吗?多少受英文教育的朋友,一辈子没讲几句华语,也是活得好好的,岂可就此说他们做人失败?

华语如此,方言就更不用说了。新加坡“讲华语运动”推行了三十年,效果可谓显著,年轻一辈的新加坡人,通晓方言的已寥寥无几。牺牲了“没用”的方言,华文程度却不升反降。我在课堂上频频以英语辅助教学,却无法用福建话或广东话来解释特定词语了。面对学生,我该怎么说呢?方言不是属于我们的语言吗?方言里没有文化吗?

所以那天我这小小的代课老师没和那学生说什么民族大义,也没谈语言如何承载文化,我只就她听写的那几个词讲了些汉字的造字法。就像画一幅画时不会问“这幅画有用吗?”一样那么纯粹。如果她还无法体会到文字的优美,至少听写也不必学得那么辛苦吧。临别时她诚恳地说:“That is actually quite interesting.”足慰我心矣。

但有些事情我还是无法释怀的。如果说读书求学是为了更了解这个世界,那了解世界当从了解自己开始。想了解自己而不了解自己的民族、不了解自己的母语,那总是教人可惜的。而更教人可惜的是,一个民族完全忘却原本属于自己的语言,却再也不知道自己已缺失了些什么。

后记:2012年7月,于新加坡邻里中学实习四周后有所感慨,遂作此文以记之。

作者:庄祖邦

(Eunoia Junior College MTL Department)  

我为何选择翻译本作品:我想翻译这篇文章的原因有几。第一, 我能够跟这篇文章产生共鸣。我认为现代青少年大多都没有意识到华文的重要性,所以他们才会以那么不认真的态度学习这门语言。第二,我觉得很多人都对学习华文有特别大的误解。比如:很多人都以为华文是个特别枯燥的科目,字不但有很多不同的笔画,词语还有无数个搭配方式,实在难以掌握。其实,换个角度来说,学习华文何尝不是件有趣的事。因此,我想通过翻译《为什么要学华文》,利用既朴实,又有趣的故事情节,将华文推广给更多青少年。

Half A Kennel

He would have been more dumbfounded, had he known that she made the decision because of half of a kennel.

He finally acceded to her request after three years. Yet, she cowered.

   She once firmly believed that she would never fall for a married man like him. Yet, firmly, too, she once believed that should she ever fall for a man, she would have loved him, bravely and unapologetically.

Her disposition was probably formed since young. She had always perceived herself to be a free and independent woman, and was strongly convinced by the notion that happiness was never for someone else to give. This conviction was probably why she never kept pets. She did have a liking for dogs. However, as she had later on realised the vast and inherent difference between the lifespans of humans and dogs, something dawned on her: wasting your emotions on something that could so easily pass on was simply worthless. She loved dogs as a child. Whenever she had passed by the pet shop with her Daddy, she was never able to take her eyes off those puppies. Just a few weeks before her birthday that year, her Daddy told her, “I’m going to give you the most, most special birthday present this year.” And that gift was the pure white chihuahua she had been eyeing for the longest time. 

“I will also build a beautiful kennel for the chihuahua,” her Daddy said.

Although she had no clue how the beautiful kennel would have looked, she was still so thrilled that on some nights, she would dream of the different shapes and constructions of the kennel. However, Daddy was not much of a carpenter. He took ages to build the kennel, and amidst the numerous heated arguments with Mommy, the kennel was never completed. 

She was reminded of these trivial matters when she saw a stray dog on the streets. At that time, she had finally decided to confront the man’s wife. They were living in the same city, and were sleeping beside the same man. And yet, despite seeming to be so near to each other, she had never seen the woman before. She had seen pictures of the woman, but she knew that these were useless in saying anything beyond the photos. This sitch was very much like how she could not say what breed the stray dog was despite the self-asserted dog knowledge of hers. The stray dog lumbered about the streets slowly. It looked lonely…so lonely, that it was compelling people to pat its head; that yet, at the same time, looked so dirty that people would subconsciously avoid the unkempt canine from afar. She avoided it, while imagining how the woman who opened the door would call her a bitch. It was as if she could see the anger and abhorrence in the woman’s eyes. Her feelings towards the stray dog then got even more perplexed.

She thought of that chihuahua she never owned. At times, when she looked at her family portraits taken when she was young, she would always regret not taking a picture of the chihuahua. When Mommy subsequently took her to walk past the pet shop, the chihuahua was no longer to be seen on the outside of the shop. Someone must have bought it, she thought. She had desperately wanted to cry at that moment, but with Mommy beside her, she held her tears back. She held on. And on. And on. And all of a sudden, she had already walked to the doorstep of his house.

Never had she considered that his wife was not home. It was their 8-year-old daughter who opened the door. She looked a lot like her father. Stunned, she widened her eyes with all her might. The girl was holding a pure white chihuahua in her arms.

Then, she was reminded of that one deeply buried in her heart, that one uncompleted and will forever remain as, that half of a kennel.

Translated by Chia Wan Ting Jolene

谢婉婷 (20-A1)

半间狗屋

要是知道她作这决定是因为半间狗屋,他会更错愕。

三年了,好不容易他答应了,她却退缩了。

曾经她坚决地以为自己不会爱上这样的男人,一个有妇之夫。而曾经她又坚决地以为自己如果真爱上了一个男人,她便会爱得义无反顾,九死未悔。

这个性是自小养成的吧。她一直自认是一个独立而自主的女人。幸福不是别人给的,她坚信。这或许也是她不养宠物的原因。虽然她很喜欢狗,但后来领悟到狗的生命和人毕竟大有不同,把感情用在一个随时会轻易逝去的东西身上,太不值得。

小时候她是真的很喜欢狗的,爸爸带她路过宠物店时都会目不转睛地盯着小狗们看。那一年生日前的几个礼拜,爸爸说,我会送你一份最特别最特别的生日礼物。那是她盯了好久的一只纯白色吉娃娃。爸爸说,我会再给它盖一间漂亮的狗屋。她不知道漂亮的狗屋是长什么样的,却兴奋得在好几个夜晚的梦裡模拟了各种不同形状的狗屋。但爸爸的手工不太好,狗屋盖了好几天,和妈妈也大吵了好几次,却一直都没盖好。

这些琐事是她看到街上的一只杂毛野狗时想起的。那时她好不容易正狠下心要去找他太太面对面摊牌。她从未见过那女人,虽然她们住于同一个城市,睡于同一个男人身旁,虽然她们的距离看起来是那么地接近。她是看过那女人的相片的,但她知道那并无助于了解任何相片以外的东西。就像她说不出那杂毛野狗是什么品种,虽然她自认对狗还算有研究。野狗慢悠悠地在街上蹉跎着,神情落寞得让人想过去摸摸它的头;但它又有点脏,脏得让人从远处便会下意识地避开。她避开了,预想着开门的女人如何痛骂她狗男女,彷彿看见了女人眼睛裡的愤怒和鄙夷,于是对狗的感情便更复杂了起来。

她又想起了那只她不曾拥有过的纯白色吉娃娃。有时候她看着小时候照的全家福,颇会后悔当时为什么不也给那吉娃娃拍张照。妈妈后来带她再次路过宠物店时,她在店外怎么也再也找不到它了。肯定是被人买走了吧。她那时候就很想哭,但妈妈站在旁边,她便一直把眼泪忍着,忍着忍着,忽焉她已走到了他的家门口。

却万没想到他太太不在,开门的是他们八岁的女儿。女儿眉宇间实在像她爸爸,她愣了一下,用力地撑了撑双眼,清楚看到了小女孩手上正抱着一隻纯白色的吉娃娃。

于是她就忽然想起了那间深深隐蔽着的,没盖好,也永远盖不好的,半间狗屋。

作者:庄祖邦 

(Eunoia Junior College MTL Department)  

我为何选择翻译本作品:首先,这篇文章是由我们最亲爱的翻译老师–庄老师写的。因此,作为我对老师谆谆教导的答谢之礼,我希望我能学以致用,尽我所能地把老师所教的翻译知识展现在这篇译文上。除此之外,我本身也非常喜欢这篇文章。行文言简意赅,仅从一个女人的角度来诉说故事的经过,看似平淡无奇,却耐人寻味,我读后深有感触。所以,我很荣幸能有机会翻译此作品,也希望能通过这个’portfolio project’的平台与他人分享庄老师的作品。

தண்ணீர்

மலையிலும், நதியிலும் கரைபுரண்டது வெள்ளம் அந்நாளில்.

ஓடையிலும், ஏரியிலும் நிறைந்தது தண்ணீர் பொன்னாளில்.

நிலத்தடி இருந்த நீரை இறைத்தோம் குடிப்பதற்காக பின்னாளில்,

குடிக்க நீருக்கு நடையாய் நடக்கிறோம் இந்நாளில்.

பரவையில் வாரி இறைத்த காலம்,

வாளியில் அள்ளிக் கொட்டிய காலம்,

குவளையில் கொப்பளித்த காலம் தாண்டி,

அகப்பையில் அளந்து குடிக்கும் நேரமிது.

நிதானிப்போம், எதிர்கால சந்ததியைக் காப்போம்,

நீர்வளம் பேணுவோம், நீரை சேமிப்போம்.

சொட்டுவது வெறும் தண்ணீரல்ல,

அது எதிர்காலத்தின் உயிர்.

Vaidyanathan Deshika (19-E2)

海风吹来一张纸

十月海风
吹来远方枯木潮落
我们用木筏
覆住洋流
张起亚麻风帆
我遇见你
一如珊瑚遇见颜色

夜晚覆住海
粗布流网
鱼虾星辰
装入半晌酒瓶
点燃做渔火
驶向另一片星河

早雾坠落
化做晴雪
化在目光里
只要有眸里的蓝色诗篇

你若问我爱是什么
我将回答说
是清尘收露
是世间万物
是大雪覆不住的不变你我

李昊辰 (19-O5)  

星空下的飘零之叹

——论析杜甫《旅夜书怀》中的抒情手法

文/胡思源

旅夜书怀作为杜甫五律中的名篇,可谓是大家之作,充分体现出杜甫的大家风范。这一年的正月,诗人辞去节度使参谋职务,四月,在成都的好友严武死去,身处于如此凄孤无依之境,诗人便决意离蜀东下。因此,这里不是空泛地写景,而是喻景抒情,通过写景展现他的境况和情怀:像江岸细草一样渺小,像孤舟一样寂寞。颔联”星垂平野阔,月涌大江流”写远景,明星低垂,平野辽阔;月随波涌,大江东流。这两句写景雄浑阔大,突出了诗人胸襟与视野。 实际上,诗人写辽阔的平野、浩荡的大江、灿烂的星月,正是为了反衬出他孤苦伶仃言,此诗“通首神完气足,气象万千,可当’雄浑’之品”。此诗为诗人杜甫的生命写照,彼时杜甫已是垂暮之年,又经历好友相继离世,居无定所,仕途坎坷的生活境况,因而苍凉悲慨,哀愁伤感的意绪润于字里行间。诗人在悲从中来,感时忧之时写下此诗,以此抒发心中悲凉感伤之情,其主要表现手法体现于因景生情,情景交融;意象使用,譬拟比托;反问,设问;对比,呼应以及炼字短句等手法。

Continue reading 星空下的飘零之叹