Burned Bread 烤煳的面包

曲永华

包容是一种智慧，一种气度。金无足赤，人无完人。对他人的包容，正是建立在对他人的体谅和理解之上。蔺相如对廉颇的包容，成就了“将相和”的佳话;鲍叔牙对管仲的包容，成就了“九合诸侯，一匡天下”的壮举;李世民对魏征的包容，成就了“贞观之治”的盛世。我们要用包容之心去接纳周围的人和事，这样才能更和谐地生存与成长。请看下文中爸爸对烤煳的面包是什么态度。

When I was a little child， my mom liked to make food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night① in particular when she had made supper after a long， hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago， my mom placed a plate of eggs， sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed！ Yet all my dad did was ②reach for his biscuit， smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night， but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite！

When I got up from the table that evening， I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said： “Baby， I love burned bread.”

Later that night， I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his bread burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said， “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. Besides， a little burned bread never hurt anyone！”

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best housekeeper or cook. ③What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy， growing， and lasting relationship.

精彩译文

当我是孩子时，妈妈经常为我们做饭。我特别记得有一天晚上，她在辛苦工作了一天后，为我们做好了晚餐。

那是很久以前的一天晚上，妈妈把一盘鸡蛋、香肠和烤煳了的面包放在爸爸面前。我等着看是否有人注意到面包烤煳了。然而，爸爸全然不觉，一边伸手拿面包吃，一边向妈妈微笑并且问我今天在学校的情况。我不记得我告诉他什么，但我确实记得看着他在面包上涂抹黄油和果酱，有滋有味地一口一口吃着那烤煳的面包。

那天晚上，当我从桌上起身离开时，我记得听到妈妈为烤煳的面包向爸爸道歉。我永远不会忘记他说的话：“宝贝，我爱吃烤煳的面包。”

后来那天晚上，我去向爸爸行晚安吻，我问他是否真的喜欢吃烤煳的面包。他把我抱在怀里，说：“你妈妈辛苦地工作了一天，今天她真的很累了。而且，吃有点烤煳的面包不会伤害任何人。”

生活中充满了不完美的事和不完美的人。我不是最好的管家，也不是厨师。但是经过这么多年的生活，我了解到的是：接受彼此的缺点，选择庆祝彼此的差异，这是创建一个健康、成长和持久关系的关键之一。

难点解读

单词：

1. sausage [ˈsɔsidʒ] n. 香肠;腊肠

2. extremely [iksˈtri：mli] adv. 极端地;非常;很

3. smear [smiə] v. 涂抹;敷

4. wrap [ræp] vt. 包;缠绕

5. imperfect [ɪmˈpɜ：fɪkt] adj. 有缺点的;不完美的

短语及句子：

①in particular特別地;尤其是。例如：

I am interested in Chinese in general， and in ancient Chinese in particular.

总的来说，我对汉语感兴趣，尤其是古汉语。

②reach for 伸出……以触及。

③本句中含有What引导主语从句作整个句子的主语，that引导表语从句，而且表语从句中是动名词learning...and choosing...作主语。

What引导主语从句。例如：

What caused the accident remains unknown. 事故的起因尚不清楚。

What we need are good doctors.我们需要的是好医生。

动名词作主语。例如：

Seeing is believing.眼见为实。