譯文來惹～

Christmas Gifts 圣誕禮物

I?never?believed?in?Santa?Claus.?None?of?us?kids?did.?Mom?and?Dad?refused?to?let?us.

我從不相信圣誕老人。我們幾個孩子都一樣。母親和父親不讓我們相信。

They?couldn't?afford?expensive?presents?and?they?didn't?want?us?to?think?we?weren't?as?good?as?other?kids?who,?on?Christmas?morning,?found?all?sorts?of?fancy?toys?under?the?tree?that?were?supposedly?left?by?Santa?Claus.

他們負擔不起昂貴的禮物，也不想讓我們覺得自己不如別的孩子好，別的孩子會在圣誕節(jié)的早晨發(fā)現(xiàn)據(jù)說是圣誕老人放在樹下的各種精美玩具。

Dad?had?lost?his?job,?and?when?Christmas?came?that?year,?we?had?no?money?at?all.?On?Christmas?Eve,?Dad?took?each?one?of?us?kids?out?into?the?desert?night?one?by?one.

父親丟了工作，當去年圣誕節(jié)來臨時，我們已經(jīng)一貧如洗。平安夜的晚上，父親把我們幾個孩子一個個帶到廢墟上。

“Pick?out?your?favorite?star,”?Dad?said.

“挑一個你最喜歡的星星吧，” 父親說。

“I?like?that?one!”?I?said.

“我喜歡那個！” 我說。

Dad?grinned,?“that's?Venus”,?he?said.?He?explained?to?me?that?planets?glowed?because?reflected?light?was?constant?and?stars?twinkled?because?their?light?pulsed.

父親笑了?！澳鞘墙鹦恰保f。他向我解釋行星發(fā)光是因為反射光持續(xù)不斷，星星閃爍是因為光的脈沖。

“I?like?it?anyway,”?I?said.

“不管怎樣，我都喜歡它?！?我說。

“What?the?hell,”?Dad?said.?“It's?Christmas.?You?can?have?a?planet?if?you?want.”

“管他呢，” 父親說?！敖裉焓鞘フQ節(jié)。如果你想，你可以擁有一顆自己的星星。”

And?he?gave?me?Venus.

所以他把金星給了我。

Venus?didn't?have?any?moons?or?satellites?or?even?a?magnetic?field,?but?it?did?have?an?atmosphere?sort?of?similar?to?Earth's,?except?it?was?super?hot?—?about?500?degrees?or?more.

金星沒有衛(wèi)星，甚至沒有磁場，但是它有和地球相似的大氣層，只是它非常熱，大約500度，甚至更高。

“So,”?Dad?said,?“when?the?sun?starts?to?burn?out?and?the?Earth?turns?cold,?everyone?might?want?to?move?to?Venus?to?get?warm.?And?they'll?have?to?get?permission?from?your?descendants?first."

“所以，” 父親說，“當太陽燃燒殆盡，地球變冷的時候，每個人都會想搬到金星去取暖。那么他們都不得不首先征得你們后代的許可?！?/p>

We?laughed?about?all?the?kids?who?believed?in?the?Santa?myth?and?got?nothing?for?Christmas?but?a?bunch?of?cheap?plastic?toys.

我們嘲笑那些相信圣誕傳說的孩子們，他們在圣誕節(jié)除了一堆廉價的塑料玩具之外，什么都沒有得到。

“Years?from?now,?when?all?the?junk?they?got?is?broken?and?long?forgotten,”?Dad?said,?“you'll?still?have?your?stars.”

“在今后的歲月里，當他們所有的玩具都變得破舊并被長久遺忘時，” 父親說：“你們依然擁有屬于你們的星星。”