伊莎贝尔小姐

I don't believe in power mowers, she said, "and on Saturdays you will work inside."

“我不相信电动割草机，”她说，“星期六，你可以在屋里干活。”

Sitting in the library of a three-story Victorian home with streams of warm spring sunlight dancing among the books nestled in the floor to ceiling shelves, Miss Isabel began to explain my duties as her summer hired helper.

我坐在那间具有维多利亚时代特点的三层建筑物的藏书室里—— 那里从地板到天花板摆放着许多书，春日暖暖的阳光就跳跃其间—— 伊莎贝尔小姐开始告诉我作为她的夏季雇工要做的工作。

I pay $1.25 per hour. Tuesdays we mow; Thursday is flower garden day, and Saturdays will be general house cleaning.

“我每小时付给你1.25美元。我们星期二割草，星期四修整花园，星期六给房子大扫除。”

I really didn't hear much past the $1.25, as in 1958, I was only 14 and that was a fortune. I had come to this opportunity by way of an older neighborhood friend who had worked for Miss Isabel for the past 3 years and was leaving for Notre Dame mid summer and so had referred me.

在听到1.25美元之后，我就真的没有再听进去多少了——要知道在1958年，这对年仅14岁的我来说可是很大一笔财富呀。而我是通过一个邻居朋友才得到这个机会的。他比我年长，在过去的三年他一直为伊莎贝尔小姐工作，但这个仲夏他要去巴黎圣母院，所以就推荐了我。

Can you start next Saturday 8 a.m. sharp ? she asked.

“你下个星期六8点整能开始工作吗？”她问。

Sure! I said, "I mean, Yes, Ma'am." There was something about Miss Isabel that made you say so.

“当然！”我说，“我的意思是，是的，夫人。”伊莎贝尔小姐身上有某种东西迫使你这么回答。

Saturday arrived, and at 8 a.m. sharp I rang the doorbell. Miss Isabel opened the door. "Good morning," she said, "follow me. I had some hot tea ready, but we won't have time, now. We're running behind. "

星期六到了，早上8点整我按响了门铃。伊莎贝尔小姐打开门。“早上好，”她说，“跟我来，我准备了一些热茶，但是我们现在没有时间了。我们迟了。”

Running behind? How could we be running behind? She had said 8 and it was 8 exactly. As Miss Isabel led me down the hall to the kitchen, she imparted to me lesson one. "I have found," she said, "that when you arrive at work 15 to 20 minutes early, it allows you to settle in ." It wasn't as cold, but I felt somehow I had cheated her out of something important, and I wasn't sure what.

迟了？我们怎么会迟了呢？她说8点，而现在正好8点。当伊莎贝尔小姐领着我穿过大厅向厨房走去的时候，她给我上了第一课。“我发现，”她说，“当你提前15~20分钟来上班的话，你就会有时间适应这里。”这不是指责，但我感觉就像我曾在某个很重要的问题上欺骗了她，并且我还不确定那个问题是什么。

Miss Isabel had already laid out several white cotton rags and a bottle of furniture polish . I had observed that the old Victorian house had highly polished ebony hardwood floors. I was about to find out how they became so highly polished.

伊莎贝尔小姐已经摆出来几块白棉布和一瓶家具上光剂。我已经观察到这所维多利亚风格的老房子的乌木硬地板被打磨得非常光亮。我就要发现它们是如何变得这么光亮的了。

On hands and knees I began to minister to those boards, with which over three years of Saturdays I would form a love-hate relationship. After a while Miss Isabel suddenly asked, "What's your favorite flavor of soda pop ?"

我在地板上跪下来，开始用双手去擦那些将在以后三年多的每个星期六与我建立起一种爱恨交加关系的木地板。过了一会儿，伊莎贝尔小姐突然问，“你喜欢喝什么口味的汽水？”

Orange, I suppose, I replied, not sure what this was about.

“我想是甜橙吧。”我回答说，不知道她问这个干什么。

I'm going to Ralph Brown's market, she said, "and I'll becoming back in half an hour. Will you please come outside and swing open the garage doors?"

“我要到拉尔夫·布朗市场去，”她说，“半个小时后回来。你能到外面来帮我开一下车库门吗？”

As I opened the doors, I saw, resting comfortably in the huge three-car garage, a pristine four door sea green Plymouth, circa 1947, and even though 11 years old, looking brand new. I would soon come to learn how this automobile stayed so spotless. Miss Isabel drove away, and true to her word, returned in 30 minutes. I had gone back to finishing up the floors, so she tooted for me to come outside. "Please carry in the groceries and put them on the sideboard ," she said, and off she went to the house. As I sat the groceries on the sideboard, she instructed me to dust down the Plymouth and put it away. Here lay a problem—I couldn't drive.

当我打开车库门的时候，我看见在那个能放得下三辆汽车的大车库里正舒适地停着一辆一尘不染的海绿色四门普利茅斯车。那辆车制造于1947年左右，尽管已有11年的历史，但看上去仍然很新。很快，我就会明白这辆汽车为什么会这么一尘不染了。伊莎贝尔小姐开车走了，而且确如她所言，30分钟后就回来了。那个时候我已经回屋里继续擦地板了。所以，她回来的时候就按响喇叭喊我出来。“请把这些食品拿进屋去，放在餐具柜上。”她边说边下车向屋里走去。等我把那些食品放在餐具柜上后，她命令我把那辆普利茅斯车上的灰尘擦去，并把它开回车库。问题来了——我不会开车。

Miss Isabel,I said, "I don't know how to drive. I'm only fourteen."

“伊莎贝尔小姐，”我说，“我不会开车。我才14岁。”

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Fine,she said, "I'll pull her in and you dust her down and close the doors." Off she went with me trailing behind. For a woman in her late 60's and barely 5 feet tall, she was surprisingly quick, and I had to hustle to keep up. When I returned to the kitchen, Miss Isabel had prepared two ice cream sodas with orange soda pop. They were resting on a beautiful silver serving tray. "Bring these along to the library," she ordered.

“好吧，”她说，“我把车开进车库，你把车上的灰尘擦去，关上车门。”我跟在她身后。对于一个年近70岁、身高不足5英尺(译注：约1.52米)的女人来说，她的动作真是快得惊人，我必须紧赶慢赶才能跟得上她。当我回到厨房里的时候，伊莎贝尔小姐已经把准备好了的两杯甜橙汽水味道的冰淇淋苏打放在一个漂亮的银托盘里。“端着这些来藏书室。”她吩咐道。

As I carried the treats along behind, she casually suggested that I arrive 30 minutes early on Tuesday for my driving lesson. I was astounded. Driving lesson? I couldn't believe that I was going to get to drive. Lesson two.

我端着托盘跟在她身后，她漫不经心地建议我在星期二早上早来30分钟学开车。这让我大吃一惊。学开车？我不敢相信我就要学开车了。这是她给我上的第二课。

Miss Isabel took a seat in one of her chairs. For the first time, I took a moment to observe my employer. It was hard to believe that someone so tiny could be so impressive. I was accustomed to football and basketball coaches, big men, and even my dad was six feet four. But no one I had ever met was in such control of her surroundings.

伊莎贝尔小姐在一把椅子上坐下来。我第一次仔细地观察我的雇主。简直令人难以置信，职业 导师 伊莎 贝尔 小姐 人生 际遇 皆是 成全

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