为你读英语美文 · 往期回顾 | 第69期

主播：严喆，John

录制地点：柏林，2015年2月

John McAuley是严喆在大连读本科时的外教。2015年，严喆前往柏林留学，当时定居香港的John到柏林游玩，在严喆的邀请下，John录制了这期节目The Daffodil Principle。这篇文章，是大学时，John推荐给严喆的。

9年过去了，随着生活阅历的的增加，再次读起这篇文章，对“水仙花法则“有了更深的感触：

Learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time—often just one baby step at a time—and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

那就是，懂得向我们的目标迈进，只求一步一个脚印——懂通常一次就一小步——懂得去热爱正在做的事，懂得利用时间的积累。当我们把时间的碎片叠加，再加上每天的一点努力，我们会发现我们也能成就辉煌。我们也能改变这个世界。

9年过去了，John 72岁，回到了纽约。他将再一次做客“为你读英语美文”，为我们带来美文，就在下期，敬请期待哦。

The Daffodil Principle

《水仙花法则》

Several times my daughter had telephoned me to say, "Dad, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over. "I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

好几次了，我女儿打电话来说： “爸爸，你务必得在那些水仙花凋谢之前来看看它们。”我是想去，可从拉古娜到箭头湖要开两个小时的车。

"I will come next Tuesday, "I promised, a little reluctantly, after her third call.

“那我下周二去吧。”在她第三次打来电话时，我极不情愿地答应道。

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I reluctantly drove there.

到了那个周二，清晨很冷又下着雨，不过既然答应了， 我还是开车去了。

When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

等我终于到了卡罗琳家，拥抱问候过我的外孙们，说:

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch! "

“卡罗琳，别想那水仙了！天阴又有雾，路都看不清。这世上除了你和这些孩子，没有什么能让我为想去看他们再开一步车了！”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, dad."

女儿平静地笑着说：“爸爸，我们一直都在这种天气里开车 的呀！”

"Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home! "I told her.

“那反正你甭想让我再开车上路了，除非天晴了，然后我就直接开车回家！”我重申道。

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

“但首先我们要去看水仙花。就几个街区而已，”卡罗琳说。“我来开。我已经习惯了。”

"Carolyn," I said, "please turn around."

“卡罗琳，”说，“请你掉头回去。”

"It’s all right, dad, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

“没事的，爸爸，我保证。如果你错过了这次经历，你永远不会原谅自己的。”

After about 20 minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, Daffodil Garden.

大概过了 20分钟，我们转到了一条碎石小路上，我看到一个小教堂。在教堂的稍远一侧，我看见一个手写的牌子，上面写着：“水仙花园”。

We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. 

我们走下车，一人领着一个孩子。我跟着卡罗琳顺小道而行， 转到小道的一角，我抬头一看，惊住了。

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were pla