0350翻譯：和時間賽跑（林清玄）

0350翻譯：和時間賽跑（林清玄）

Translation: Race With Time (Lin Qingxuan)

(translated by: alexcwlin; edited by: Adam Lam)

讀小學的時候，我的外祖母去世了。

My grandmother passed away when I was going toelementary school.

外祖母生前最疼愛我。

Grandmother loved me the most when she was alive.

我無法排除自己的憂傷，

I couldn』t get over my sorrow.

每天在學校的操場上一圈一圈地跑著，跑得累倒在地上，撲在草坪上痛哭。

Every day I would run around the playground inschool one lap after another until I fell to the ground from exhaustion, and thenI would cry laying face-down on the grass lawn.

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那哀痛的日子持續了很久，

Those sorrowful days lasted a long time.

爸爸媽媽也不知道如何安慰我。

My parents did not know how to console me.

他們知道與其欺騙我說外祖母睡著了，還不如對我說實話：外祖母永遠不會回來了。

Rather than lying to me and saying that mygrandmother was asleep, they might as well tell me the truth that grandmothernever would come back.

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「什麼是永遠不會回來了呢？」我問。

「What』s never would come back?」 I asked.

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「所有時間裡的事物，都永遠不會回來了。

「All matters in time will never come back.

你的昨天過去了，

Your yesterday has passed.

它就永遠變成昨天，你再也不能回到昨天了。

It always remained as yesterday and you can neverreturn to yesterday.

爸爸以前和你一樣小，現在再也不能回到你這麼小的童年了。

Before Dad was little just like you but now I willnever be able to return to my childhood as young as you.

有一天你會長大，你也會像外祖母一樣老，

One day you will grow up and get old just likegrandmother.

有一天你度過了你的所有時間，也會像外祖母一樣永遠不能回來了。」爸爸說。

And there will be a day when you have passed allyour time and can never come back like grandmother,」 said Dad.

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爸爸等於給我說了一個謎，這個謎比「一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰」還讓我感到可怕，

It was just like Dad told me a riddle, and thisriddle made me feel more horrifying than 「one inch of time is the equivalent ofone inch of gold, and one inch of gold can hardly buy one inch of time.」

比「光陰似箭，日月如梭」更讓我有一種說不出的滋味。

Compared with the expression 「Time passes fast likean arrow; days and nights disappear quickly like moving spindle shuttles」, Ihad an indescribable feeling.

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以後，我每天放學回家，在庭院里看著太陽一寸一寸地沉進了山頭，就知道一天真的過完了。

Afterwards, every day when I came home from school,I would stand at the courtyard to watch the sun sink down behind the mountaininch by inch and then I knew the day was really over.

雖然明天還會有新的太陽，但永遠不會有今天的太陽了。

Even though there would be a new sun tomorrow, yetthere would never be today』s sun again.

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我看到鳥兒飛到天空，它們飛得多快呀。

I saw birds fly up to the sky and they were goingreally fast.

明天它們再飛過同樣的路線，也永遠不是今天了。

Tomorrow they would fly over the same route againbut that would never be today.

或許明天飛過這條路線的，不是老鳥，而是小鳥了。

Maybe tomorrow those birds that would be passingthrough this route would be small birds and not old birds.

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時間過得飛快，使我的小心眼裡不只是著急，還有悲傷。

Time passed so very fast that my heart was not onlyanxious but felt saddened.

有一天我放學回家，看到太陽快落山了，

One day after school when I was going home, I sawthe sun was about to set behind the mountain.

就下決心說：「我要比太陽更快地回家。」

In a resolution, I said, 「I』m going to get homefaster than the sun.」

我狂奔回去，

I ran fast with all my might.

站在庭院里喘氣的時候，看到太陽還露著半邊臉，

When I stood in the courtyard catching my breath, Isaw the sun was still showing half of its face.

我高興地跳起來。

I jumped up in joy.

那一天我跑贏了太陽。

That day I won a race against the sun.

以後我常做這樣的遊戲，

From that time onwards, I always played a similargame.

有時和太陽賽跑，有時和西北風比賽，

Sometimes I raced against the sun, and other timesI was in competition with northwest wind.

有時一個暑假的作業，我十天就做完了。

At times I finished schoolwork for the entiresummer in ten days.

那時我三年級，常把哥哥五年級的作業拿來做。

I was in Grade 3 at that time, and I often tookhomework of my brother in Grade 5 to do.

每一次比賽勝過時間，我就快樂得不知道怎麼形容。

Every time in winning a race against time, I wouldbe so happy that I was lost for words in describing how I feel.

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後來的二十年里，我因此受益無窮。

In the twenty years afterwards, I have been greatlybenefited because of that.

雖然我知道人永遠跑不過時間，但是可以比原來跑快一步，

Even though I know man could never win against timein a race, yet it would be one step faster than what would otherwise be initially.

如果加把勁，有時可以快好幾步。

If I try harder, sometimes I could be a few steps ahead.

那幾步雖然很小很小，用途卻很大很大。

Although those several steps are so very small, theirusefulness could be huge.

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如果將來我有什麼要教給我的孩子，我會告訴他：假若你一直和時間賽跑，你就可以成功。

If there is anything in the future I want to teachmy child, I would tell him, 「If you race against time all along in your life,you will be able to succeed.」

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