2014-05-01

【Aiden in English】

        Out of all years our teacher, Mr. Holloran, has worked at Montgomery ES and has never had a 5th grade play before. Unfortunately, the time has finally come for the show, A Visit to Colonial America in the 17th Century. It's in the year of 2014. What a coincidence! That's right, the very year I'm in the 5th grade.

        I'm stuck as an American poet who wrote a ton of famous poems called Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), wearing a freaking, itchy, blistering hot costume. Although I am certainly not a poet, I like his way of playing with words in his poem "A Psalm of Life". "Art is long, and Time is fleeting", which is absolutely true considering that the life is too short. "In the bivouac of life" also seems to be so wise that life is not permanent (unfortunately).

        Worst of all, I don't even have any funny lines. What's a good actor with a good voice and totally calm during the show but without sense of humor. However, it really didn't matter what lines I had. The true challenge was to survive the night without making a huge embarrassment on me, which is harder than it seems because there were a lot of strict people like Mom in the audience. Luckily, I kept my cool and breezed past my lines easily. But my part wasn't over. I had (Mom had) volunteered (forced me) to play my alto saxophone in the band/orchestra for the songs. And let me tell you this, the music melody lacked of excitement, had dull tone color or timbres and didn't bring out particular subtle rhythmic inflections on the instruments we played together. It just was so simple that it started to get boring. The only thing keeping me awake was the constant flashing of cameras. And when I mean constant, I mean constant! Mom was taking a whirlwind of pictures 24/7. So I guess I would never forget this moment. Well, Mom won't allow it anyway.

【红霞译文】

        在以往蒙哥马利小学教学生涯中，我们班主任老师豪勒阮先生从未参加过五年级学生戏剧活动。破天荒地，2014年“回顾十七世纪殖民时期的美国”舞台表演逮他个正着，无巧不成书！这一年正值我五年级。

        我扮演的角色是一位曾经写过许多著名诗歌的美国诗人亨利·沃兹沃斯·朗费罗(1807-1882)，需要穿戴怪里怪气、挠人痒痒、好生痱子的戏服。我虽然本身不是诗人，但却喜爱像《人生礼赞》中富有悟性的诗句：“智艺无穷，时光飞逝”，堪称至理名言，人生苦短呵；“人生到处扎寨安营”，可谓聪明睿智，生命无常耶(十分无奈)。

        遗憾的是，我既没有搞笑作秀的台词，又不具备优秀演员的漂亮嗓子，因此本人表现平淡，一点幽默感也谈不上。其实，我有什么样的台词并非重要，真正考验我能耐的是如何摆脱尴尬窘境。说起来容易做起来难，尤其要面对象妈妈一样善于挑剔的观众。好在我沉着应对，有板有眼地道出台词。不过，我的戏份尚不止这些，事先我(妈妈)主动(被迫)要求参加管弦乐队，吹奏中音萨克斯管。坦率地说，音乐旋律缺乏激情，再加上音色欠佳，音调单一，各种配器协调性有待提高，因此令我倍感枯燥乏味，唯一能让我保持清醒的倒是相机镁光灯闪烁不停，我这里所指的“不停”，意思就是没完没了！妈妈每天24小时／每周7天旋风式拍照，从无间断。既然如此，我想无论如何自己都会记住此番经历，对了，多亏妈妈不断鞭策，今宵难忘。

【A Psalm of Life】

--by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What the Heart of the Young Man said to the Psalmist. 

              Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 

            "Life is but an empty dream! " 

            for the soul is dead that slumbers, 

            And things are not what they seem. 

            Life is real! Life is earnest! 

            And the grave is not its goal; 

            "Dust thou art, to dust returnest, " 

            Was not spoken of the soul. 

            Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

            Is our destined end or way; 

            But to act, that each to-morrow 

            Find us farther than to-day. 

            Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

            And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

            Still, like muffled drums, are beating 

            Funeral marches to the grave. 

            In the world's broad field of battle, 

            In the bivouac of Life, 

            Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

            Be a hero in the strife! 

            Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! 

            Let the dead Past bury its dead! 

            Act, - act in the living Present! 

            Heart within, and God o'erhead! 

            Lives of great men all remind us 

            We can make our lives sublime, 

            And, departing, leave behind us 

            Footprints on the sands of time; 

            Footprints, that perhaps another, 

            Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 

            A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 

            Seeing, shall take heart again. 

            Let us, then, be up and doing, 

            With a heart for any fate; 

            Still achieving, still pursuing, 

            Learn to labor and to wait. 

【人生礼赞】

--亨利‥沃兹沃斯‥朗费罗

年轻人与诗人真诚对白

            不要在哀伤的诗句里告诉我：

            “人生不过是一场幻梦！”

            灵魂睡着了，就等于死了，

            事物的真相与外表不同。

            人生是真切的！人生是实在的！

            它的归宿决不是荒坟；

            “你本是尘土，必归于尘土，”

            这是指躯壳，不是指灵魂。

            我们命定的目标和道路

            不是享乐，也不是受苦；

            而是行动，在每个明天

            都超越今天，跨出新步。

            智艺无穷，时光飞逝；

            这颗心，纵然勇敢坚强，

            也只如鼙鼓，闷声敲动着，

            一下又一下，向坟地送丧。

            世界是一片辽阔的战场，

            人生是到处扎寨安营；

            莫学那听人驱策的哑畜！

            做一个威武善战的英雄！

            别指望将来，不管它多可爱！

            把已逝的过去永久掩埋！

            行动吧--趁着活生生的现在！

            心中有赤心，头上有真宰！

            伟人的生平启示我们：

            我们能够生活得高尚，

            而当告别人世的时候，

            留下脚印在时间的沙上；

            也许我们有一个兄弟

            航行在庄严的人生大海，

            遇险沉了船，绝望的时刻，

            会看到这脚印而振作起来。

            那么，让我们起来干吧，

            对任何命运要敢于担戴；

            不断地进取，不断地追求，

            要善于劳动，善于等待。