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Stand Tall 站直了 I was filled with doubts and worries until my grandfather told me to stand tall. 我一直充满疑惑和担忧，直到外公告诉我“站直了”。 It was no wonder I wasn't looking forward to entering ninth grade. High school is well known for being a battleground, where everyone seems to be going through awkward physical changes, emotional mood swings, and low self-esteem. For me, height was my trouble. 我并不盼望着升到九年级(编注：相当于中国的初三)，这一点也不奇怪。大家都知道中学如同一个战场，来到这里的每个人似乎都要经历尴尬的身体变化、情绪波动以及自我贬低。对我来说，身高是我的烦心事。 I had always felt insecure and out of place as one of the taller members of my class in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, standing a head above the other girls and stooping at the back of the line to avoid sticking out . 我在宾夕法尼亚州的巴拉辛瓦伊德上学，作为班里个头儿最高的学生之一，我总是觉得不安全、别扭。我比班里的其他女孩儿高出一个头，因此排队时我总是站到后面并且驼着背，不想太显眼。 I especially hated being around large groups of people, like during the social hour after services at my synagogue . Once the prayers were finished, I would leave as quickly as possible so I could avoid another well-meaning congregant squealing,'Ruthie!Look how tall you're getting!'Ugh. 我尤其讨厌和一大群人待在一起，比如人们在教堂做完祷告后的寒暄和交谈。祷告一做完，我总是尽快离开教堂，这样就能避开其他人善意的尖叫：“鲁丝！看你又长个儿了！”呃。 My grandfather would watch me grow increasingly uncomfortable, but he didn't laugh at my self-consciousness or try to console me. Instead, he would admonish me. 成长给我带来的不适，外公一直看在眼里，但他没笑话过我的别扭，也没试着安慰我。相反，他会训诫我。 Stand straight and tall, he'd say, as I unsuccessfully tried to shrink myself. 每当我努力想让自己变得矮一些却以失败告终时，他总是说：“挺起腰板站直了。” And each time, I would sheepishly comply . Even at age 15, I understood that his advice was about more than just feet and inches. 而每一次，我总是羞怯地按他说的做。甚至15岁时，我就明白外公的告诫不仅仅是指身高。 My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe. When German soldiers occupied his hometown, the beautiful and thriving city of Tarnow, Poland,he defied them and eventually wound up joining the Soviet army to fight for his country's freedom. 'Stand straight, stand tall,' meant something else back then. 外公是在战火纷飞的欧洲长大的。当时德国军队占领了他的家乡——波兰美丽而繁华的城市塔尔诺。外公蔑视德军，最终他加入了苏联军队，为祖国的自由而战。“挺起腰板站直了”在当时有不一样的含义。 I trusted my grandfather more than anyone else in my childhood. And whenever I was afraid of something, he would tell me stories of his life. 童年时，我对外公的信任超过了对其他任何人的信任。每当我感到害怕，外公总是给我讲他经历过的故事。 After the war, he boarded a boat for America, and on January 27,1947, he stepped onto the dock of Pier 86 in Manhattan. He was hungry and suffering from sickness. All alone in a new country, he was frightened about his future. 战争结束后，外公坐船来到了美国。1947年1月27日，他踏上了曼哈顿的86号码头。饥饿和疾病折磨着他，独处异国的外公对未来充满了恐惧。 Still, he marched head-on into the hustle and bustle of the streets of New York. Soon he met other European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way. 但他仍然硬着头皮走入了纽约繁华的大街。不久他碰到了来自欧洲的其他移民，他们每个人都试图在美国找到自己的出路。 If they could do it, why couldn't he? 'Stand straight, stand tall,' he would remind himself. 既然他们都能在美国立脚，自己为什么不能呢？“挺起腰板站直了。”外公提醒自己。 Thanks to the help of a loyal and trusting friend, my grandfather acquired a jewelry booth on Canal Street, at that time the heart of the busy diamond district in New York City. He once told me how nervous he was on that first day of work. He was not only trying to learn this tough new business, but also a new language. 多亏一位信任他的忠诚朋友提供了帮助，外公在当时纽约市繁华的钻石区中心的坚尼街上获得了一个珠宝摊。外公曾经告诉我，上班的第一天他有多么紧张。他要学习的不仅是复杂的生意经，还有新的语言。 To his surprise, the men in the neighboring booths—who could have taken advantage of him—offered their help and advice. Within months, my grandfather was commanding his spot behind the counter, selling diamonds and all kinds of cultured pearls as if he'd been doing it his whole life. 让外公感到吃惊的是，附近店铺的同行们不仅没有欺负自己是新来的，反而给自己提供帮助和建议。几个月之后，外公就在柜台后站稳了脚跟，卖着钻石和各种人工珍珠串，就好像他已经在这一行做了一辈子一样。 Stand straight. Stand tall. 挺起腰板站直了。 In later years, my grandfather would escort both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings. As he stood with each of them beneath the chuppah , he thought about their new beginnings, and of the adventures and challenges they would experience together. He also thought about the children who would one day carry on his family name. 后来，外公参加了我妈妈和姨妈的婚礼，陪同她们走过红毯。当外公陪着女儿们站在婚礼庆典的彩棚下时，他想到了她们即将开始新的生活和她们将要经历的各种挫折和挑战。他也想到了未来还会有子孙后代将家族延续。 I am so proud to be one of those children. Listening to my grandfather's remarkable experiences has changed the way I view my own life. 我为自己能成为这个家族的一员感到非常骄傲。倾听外公非同寻常的经历改变了我对自己生活的看法。 His advice to me has become much more than a challenge to improve my posture. It tells me to be proud of who I am. 外公的忠告不仅仅告诉我要纠正自己的站姿。它告诉我要为自己感到骄傲。 Stand straight, stand tall, my grandfather told me. “挺起腰板站直了。”外公这样告诉我。 And I do. 我这样做了。 |
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