The Eighth Tuesday

第八个星期二

We Talk About Money

我们聊了聊金钱

I held up the newspaper so that Morrie could see it:

我举起报纸以便于莫瑞能够阅读：

I DON'T WANT MY TOMBSTONE TO READ " I NEVER OWNED A NETWORK."
我不希望我的墓碑上读起来会写着“我从未拥有过广播电视网”

Morrie laughed, then shook his head.

莫瑞笑了，然后摇了摇头。

The morning sun was coming through the window behind him, falling on the pink flowers of the hibiscus plant that sat on the sill.

清晨的阳光透过窗户照在莫瑞的身后，落在窗台上放着的木槿花盆栽粉色的花朵上。

The quote was from Ted Turner, the billionaire media mogul, founder of CNN, who had been lamenting his inability to snatch up the CBS network in a corporate megadeal.

报纸上引用的那句话来自于泰德•特纳，一个亿万巨富的传媒大亨，CNN电视台的创始人，他曾对没能够通过特大交易夺取CBS电视网络而感到万分失望。

I had brought the story to Morrie this morning because I wondered if Turner ever found himself in my old professor's position, his breath disappearing, his body turning to stone, his days being crossed off the calendar one by one —— would he really be crying over owning a network?

今天早上我把泰德的故事讲给了莫瑞，因为我想知道如果泰德发现自己处在我的老教授如今所处的情景下，呼吸能力逐渐消失，身体逐渐石化，余生一天天的从日历上被划掉——那么他还真的会因为没拥有广播电视网而哭泣吗？

" lt's all part of the same problem, Mitch," Morrie said.

“这些都是同一个问题的一部分，米契，”莫瑞说道。

" We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives. I think we should talk about that."

“我们将自身价值寄托于错误的事情上了。那就会引发幻想破灭的生活。我想我们应该聊聊这件事。”

Morrie was focused.

莫瑞开始集中精神。

There were good days and bad days now.

现在莫瑞开始时好时坏。

He was having a good day.

今天他的状态还不错。

The night before, he had been entertained by a local acappella group that had come to the house to perform, and he relayed the story excitedly, as if the Ink Spots themselves had dropped by for a visit.

前一天晚上，当地的一只阿卡贝拉人声组合来到莫瑞家表演，莫瑞感到非常开心，兴冲冲的转告这个故事给我，仿佛当年有名的墨水点乐队（30, 40年代著名的乐队）亲临拜访了似的。

Morrie's love for music was strong even before he got sick, but now it was so intense, it moved him to tears.

在生病之前，莫瑞就对音乐有着强烈的喜爱，但是现在这种喜爱因为太过激烈，反而会促使他流泪。

He would listen to opera sometimes at night, closing his eyes, riding along with the magnificent voices as they dipped and soared.

他有时会在晚上听一会儿歌剧，闭上眼睛，跟随着那宏伟声音的起落而心绪起伏。

" You should have heard this group last night, Mitch. Such a sound!"

“你也应该听一下昨晚那个组合的演唱，米契。多么棒的声音！”

Morrie had always been taken with simple pleasures, singing, laughing, dancing.

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