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Charles和Diana是一对渴望拥有孩子的夫妇。Diana多次流产无法怀上一男半女,他们决定找一位代孕妈妈帮他们圆拥有孩子的梦,但是要找到合适的年轻女孩作为他们的代孕妈妈不是一件容易的事。
Charles: I don’t know, Di. I’m still not convinced.
Diana: What on earth was wrong with this one?
Charles: ①I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something off about her.
Diana: ②For crying out loud Charles, this is our last resort! ③If you keep holding these potential surrogates to unreasonable standards, I’ll be over the hill by the time I get to hold a little one in my arms.
Charles: I realize that, my love. But aren’t you as anxious as I am, when it comes to trusting one of these young ladies with our family’s future?
Diana: I admit, I’ve showed pause in the past, understandably so, after suffering through all the…those difficult times.
Charles: Indeed, we have suffered through more than anyone should have to endure.
Diana: You have no idea.
Charles: They were my children too!
Diana: But they weren’t a part of you! They weren’t inside you. You planted a seed, but those seeds grew in me. They became part of me. And they all died in me; every last one...
Charles: I…
Diana: How can I be a mother, Charles,when my body is a graveyard? I’m afraid that if I lose one more child, I will lose the will to live. I will lose myself.
Charles: My dearest Diana, you are the strongest, bravest, kindest, most selfless person I’ve ever met. I know you can do it. We can do it. And we’ll know it when the right girl walks through that door.
Diana: And what if the right girl never comes? What if we are fated to be a barren, childless couple, with only ourselves to keep each other company for all 1)eternity?
Charles: I must say I’m awe struck by how eloquent you become when the weight of the world seems on your shoulders.
Diana: Is this your way of trying to butter me up before the next interview?
Charles: Far from it. Just trying to lighten the heavy load you bear. That’s all. And replace it with a tiny load, with ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes.
Diana: Now who’s 2)waxing 3)rhapsodic over surrogacy?
Charles: I swear to you that all the love in your heart will soon have a much-needed outlet.
Diana: Oh, that it were true, and not just a 4)pipe dream. But I fear it is the same 5)mirage that seems more distant with each tick of the clock; that beautiful brass ring 6)dangling just beyond our reach. Charles: Oh, my pessimistic life partner, how can we give up now? When, for all we know, the answer to all our dreams could be waiting right outside that door.
Diana: Dear Husband, I hope against hope that there exists such a person, who will help us finally bring a child into this cold, cruel world...
查尔斯:戴,我不知道,我仍然不能说服自己。
戴安娜:这一位究竟有什么问题?
查尔斯:我不能确切地指出问题的所在,但就觉得她有问题。
戴安娜:天哪,查尔斯,这是我们最后的选择了!如果你对这些候选孕母坚持不合理的标准的话,等我怀抱一个小宝宝的时候已经人老珠黄了。
查尔斯:亲爱的,我明白。但谈到把我们家庭的未来交付给这些年轻女士中的一位,你不是跟我一样担忧吗?戴安娜:我承认,我以前曾犹豫过,捱过了所有……那些艰难日子后,这是可以理解的。
查尔斯:真的,我们承受的痛苦比任何人应该承受的都要多。
戴安娜:你根本不懂。
查尔斯:他们也是我的孩子!
戴安娜:但他们不是你身体的一部分!他们不在你身体里。你是播了种,但那些种子在我身体里长大。他们成了我身体的一部分,而他们全部死在我腹中,一个都不剩……查尔斯:我……
戴安娜:查尔斯,我的身体是一座坟墓,我怎么可能成为一个母亲?如果我再失去一个孩子,我恐怕会失去活着的意志,会失去我自己。
查尔斯:我最亲爱的戴安娜,你是我遇到的最坚强、最勇敢、最善良和最无私的人。我知道你能做到的,我们都能做到。只要那个合适的女孩走过那扇门,我们就知道了。
戴安娜:如果那个合适的女孩不来怎么办?如果我们命中注定是不能生育、膝下无儿女的夫妇,只有我们俩彼此相伴到老又该怎么办?
查尔斯:我必须说你在过度操心的时候变得如此口若悬河真令我肃然起敬。
戴安娜:在下一场面试来之前你就这样极力奉承我的吗?
查尔斯:根本不是。我只是想减轻你沉重的负担,仅此而已,而且你扛的负担只是一个有着十个小手指,十个小脚趾的小家伙。
戴安娜:现在是谁变得如此赞美代孕了?
查尔斯:我向你保证你心中的所有母爱很快就能找到极需要的出口。
戴安娜:哦,希望是真的,而不只是不切实际的梦想。但我害怕随着时钟的每一声滴答,它又会是离我们愈加遥远的海市蜃楼,就像一个悬垂着的美丽铜铃,我们却难以企及。
查尔斯:哦,我悲观的妻子,我们现在怎么能放弃呢?我们都知道,我们所有梦想的答案随时可能就在那扇门外等着。
戴安娜:亲爱的丈夫,我仍抱着一线希望:真有那么一个人,她能最终帮我们把一个小孩带到这个冰冷的、残酷的世界……
Smart Sentences
① I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something off about her. 我不能确切地指出问题的所在,但就觉得她有问题。
put one’s finger on sth.: exactly identify sth. (a problem or reason)(确切地指出问题或理由等)。例如:
The teacher couldn’t quite put his finger on the reason for Jenny’s recent bad performance, but he suspected it had something to do with her parents’ divorce.
老师不太确定简妮最近表现不佳的原因,但他怀疑与她父母离婚有关。
off about sb./sth.: eccentric, strange(古怪,异常)。例如:
I always thought there was something off about that supermarket. It turned out that it was an underground casino.
我一直觉得那家超市怪怪的,原来那是一家地下赌场。
② For crying out loud Charles, this is our last resort! 天哪,查尔斯,这是我们最后的选择了!
last resort: the very last option to get out of a difficult situation or solve a problem(摆脱困境或解决问题的最后一个选择)。例如:
Moving back in to live with my parents would be my last resort if I still can’t find a job in a month.
如果我在一个月里还找不到工作,那我最后的选择就是搬回家跟父母住了。
③ If you keep holding these potential surrogates to unreasonable standards, I’ll be over the hill by the time I get to hold a little one in my arms. 如果你对这些候选孕母坚持不合理的标准的话,等我怀抱一个小宝宝的时候已经人老珠黄了。
over the hill: past one’s prime for doing sth.(过了做某事的好时机,在衰退期)。例如:Nick’s loss at the World Cup was not a coincidence. He is over the hill at his age.
尼克在世界杯的失利不是偶然的,他这个年龄已经过了自己的巅峰期。