今天的这段对话，在讨论林语堂，
聊一聊林语堂在哈佛大学上学的经历
来听今天的讲解:
A: Oh, it’s you, John, you just freaked me out.
哦，是你呀，约翰，吓坏我了。
B: Sorry. Are you reading a thriller?
对不起，你在看惊险小说吗？
A: No, I never read or watch a thriller. I’m chicken hearted. I’ll be scared to death.
不是，我从来不看惊险小说。我胆子很小，会被吓死的。
B: Why were you so frightened? What are you reading?
那你为什么吓一跳呀？你在看什么？
A: Moment in Peking.
《京华烟云》。
B: I’ve never heard of it.
我从来没听说过。
A: It’s no surprise that you don’t know, The novel mainly tells a story of a family which went through the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938. But you may have heard about the author, Lin Yutang.
这不奇怪。这本小说主要说的是1900 ~ 1938年一个中国家庭经历的动乱。但是你可能听说过这本书的作者，林语堂。
B: I’m afraid I don’t know him.
恐怕我不知道。
A: He’s a famous Chinese writer. I thought you knew him because he was in a sense Harvard alumnus.
他是著名的中国作家。我以为你知道他，因为在某种意义上他是哈佛毕业的。
B: Han，I’m not Mr. Know-It-All, but I’d like to learn and know as much as possible. Tell me something about him.
韩，我不是万能先生。但我喜欢学习更多的东西。跟我说说他的事。
A: I guess perhaps you’re most interested in his life at Harvard.
我猜你对他在哈佛的生活更感兴趣。
B: Yes. You can read my mind now.
是的。你都知道我在想什么。
A: Lin had many ups and downs in his life. He met with many challenges and obstacles. His life at Harvard was no exception.
林语堂的一生经历了很多起伏，遇到了很多挑战和障碍。在哈佛的生活也不例外。
B: I like this kind of people. Usually they are men of backbone.
我喜欢这种人。通常他们更有毅力和骨气。
A: He only received a half-scholarship. Worse still，even the half-scholarship was cancelled one year later.
他只获得一半的奖学金。更糟的是，一年后就连半数奖学金也被取消了。
B: Why? Didn’t he deserve the scholarship?
为什么？他不应该得吗？
A: On the contrary, he got all A’s. No one knows why. Anyway, he became even poorer. He said he even had no money to buy a ticket for the Games.
相反，他的成绩全部是A。没人知道为什么。不管怎样，他变得更穷了。他说甚至没有钱买票去看哈佛一耶鲁橄榄球赛。
B: That poor? What did he do in his spare time?
那么穷？他业余时间做什么？
A: He loved reading. For him, Harvard was Widener Library and Widener Library was Harvard. When he was in the Library, he felt he was like a monkey in a jungle.
他喜爱读书。对他来说，哈佛是威德纳图书馆，威德纳图书馆就是哈佛。当他在图书馆的时候，感觉就像是一只在丛林里的猴子。
B: Why?
为什么？
A: A monkey in a jungle is free to search for any nuts and fruits. The jungle offers the monkey a feast of nuts and fruits.
丛林里的猴子可以免费获得任何坚果和水果。丛材给猴子提供丰富的坚果和水果。
B: Oh, I see. When he was in the Library, he could find any book he’d like to read. The Library was just like the jungle and offered him a feast of books.
哦，我明白了。当他在图书馆的时候，能够找到任何他想要的书。图书馆就像丛林，给他提供丰富的书籍。
A: You’re smart. He indulged himself in reading in the Library. As long as there，s no class，he would go to the Library. Even when his wife was having an operation, he was studying Anglo-Saxon grammar.
你太聪明了。他沉浸在图书馆里读书。只要一没有课，他就会去图书馆。甚至他妻子做手术时，他还在研究盘格鲁撒克逊语法。
B: That’s a little impersonal.
那有点没有人情味了。
A: He thought appendectomy was not a big operation. It only turned out that his wife was subjected to infection. She needed another operation.
他觉得阑尾切除术只是一个小手术。结果是他的妻子受到了感染，需要再次手术。
B: Disaster comes one after another in succession. That’s adding insult to injury.
灾难总是接二连三发生。真是雪上加霜呀。
A: So, they only had one tin of oatmeal for a week.
所以，他们一周只靠一罐燕麦粥维持生活。
B:If I were him, I would go back to China.
如果我是他的话，我会回中国去。
A: Life is hard. Sometimes, we have to bow down to others. Lin borrowed some money from his brother-in-law.
生活是艰难的。有时我们必须向他人所低头。林语堂向他的姐夫借了些钱。
B: Did they feel ashamed?
他们觉得羞愧吗？
A: No, at least his wife believed that he showed the utmost fortitude to go through such a difficult period.
没有，至少他妻子认为他表现出了最大的毅力来渡过这个难关。
B: Was this amount of money enough to sustain life?
他借的钱能维持生活吗？
A: No. So he had to leave Harvard early and go to France and Germany where the cost of living was not so high.
不能。所以他不得不提前离开哈佛去了法国和德国，那里生活成本没有那么高。
B: Sometimes life is really hard for an oversea student. Han, if you have any problem, you can turn to me. You can count on me.
有时对海外学生来说生活确实很艰难。韩，如果你有任何困难就踉我说。你可以信得过我。
A: Oh, John，thank you. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend. You’ve helped me a lot.
哦，约翰，谢谢你。有你这样的朋友很幸运。你已经帮了我很多了。
聊一聊林语堂在哈佛大学上学的经历
来听今天的讲解:
A: Oh, it’s you, John, you just freaked me out.
哦，是你呀，约翰，吓坏我了。
B: Sorry. Are you reading a thriller?
对不起，你在看惊险小说吗？
A: No, I never read or watch a thriller. I’m chicken hearted. I’ll be scared to death.
不是，我从来不看惊险小说。我胆子很小，会被吓死的。
B: Why were you so frightened? What are you reading?
那你为什么吓一跳呀？你在看什么？
A: Moment in Peking.
《京华烟云》。
B: I’ve never heard of it.
我从来没听说过。
A: It’s no surprise that you don’t know, The novel mainly tells a story of a family which went through the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938. But you may have heard about the author, Lin Yutang.
这不奇怪。这本小说主要说的是1900 ~ 1938年一个中国家庭经历的动乱。但是你可能听说过这本书的作者，林语堂。
B: I’m afraid I don’t know him.
恐怕我不知道。
A: He’s a famous Chinese writer. I thought you knew him because he was in a sense Harvard alumnus.
他是著名的中国作家。我以为你知道他，因为在某种意义上他是哈佛毕业的。
B: Han，I’m not Mr. Know-It-All, but I’d like to learn and know as much as possible. Tell me something about him.
韩，我不是万能先生。但我喜欢学习更多的东西。跟我说说他的事。
A: I guess perhaps you’re most interested in his life at Harvard.
我猜你对他在哈佛的生活更感兴趣。
B: Yes. You can read my mind now.
是的。你都知道我在想什么。
A: Lin had many ups and downs in his life. He met with many challenges and obstacles. His life at Harvard was no exception.
林语堂的一生经历了很多起伏，遇到了很多挑战和障碍。在哈佛的生活也不例外。
B: I like this kind of people. Usually they are men of backbone.
我喜欢这种人。通常他们更有毅力和骨气。
A: He only received a half-scholarship. Worse still，even the half-scholarship was cancelled one year later.
他只获得一半的奖学金。更糟的是，一年后就连半数奖学金也被取消了。
B: Why? Didn’t he deserve the scholarship?
为什么？他不应该得吗？
A: On the contrary, he got all A’s. No one knows why. Anyway, he became even poorer. He said he even had no money to buy a ticket for the Games.
相反，他的成绩全部是A。没人知道为什么。不管怎样，他变得更穷了。他说甚至没有钱买票去看哈佛一耶鲁橄榄球赛。
B: That poor? What did he do in his spare time?
那么穷？他业余时间做什么？
A: He loved reading. For him, Harvard was Widener Library and Widener Library was Harvard. When he was in the Library, he felt he was like a monkey in a jungle.
他喜爱读书。对他来说，哈佛是威德纳图书馆，威德纳图书馆就是哈佛。当他在图书馆的时候，感觉就像是一只在丛林里的猴子。
B: Why?
为什么？
A: A monkey in a jungle is free to search for any nuts and fruits. The jungle offers the monkey a feast of nuts and fruits.
丛林里的猴子可以免费获得任何坚果和水果。丛材给猴子提供丰富的坚果和水果。
B: Oh, I see. When he was in the Library, he could find any book he’d like to read. The Library was just like the jungle and offered him a feast of books.
哦，我明白了。当他在图书馆的时候，能够找到任何他想要的书。图书馆就像丛林，给他提供丰富的书籍。
A: You’re smart. He indulged himself in reading in the Library. As long as there，s no class，he would go to the Library. Even when his wife was having an operation, he was studying Anglo-Saxon grammar.
你太聪明了。他沉浸在图书馆里读书。只要一没有课，他就会去图书馆。甚至他妻子做手术时，他还在研究盘格鲁撒克逊语法。
B: That’s a little impersonal.
那有点没有人情味了。
A: He thought appendectomy was not a big operation. It only turned out that his wife was subjected to infection. She needed another operation.
他觉得阑尾切除术只是一个小手术。结果是他的妻子受到了感染，需要再次手术。
B: Disaster comes one after another in succession. That’s adding insult to injury.
灾难总是接二连三发生。真是雪上加霜呀。
A: So, they only had one tin of oatmeal for a week.
所以，他们一周只靠一罐燕麦粥维持生活。
B:If I were him, I would go back to China.
如果我是他的话，我会回中国去。
A: Life is hard. Sometimes, we have to bow down to others. Lin borrowed some money from his brother-in-law.
生活是艰难的。有时我们必须向他人所低头。林语堂向他的姐夫借了些钱。
B: Did they feel ashamed?
他们觉得羞愧吗？
A: No, at least his wife believed that he showed the utmost fortitude to go through such a difficult period.
没有，至少他妻子认为他表现出了最大的毅力来渡过这个难关。
B: Was this amount of money enough to sustain life?
他借的钱能维持生活吗？
A: No. So he had to leave Harvard early and go to France and Germany where the cost of living was not so high.
不能。所以他不得不提前离开哈佛去了法国和德国，那里生活成本没有那么高。
B: Sometimes life is really hard for an oversea student. Han, if you have any problem, you can turn to me. You can count on me.
有时对海外学生来说生活确实很艰难。韩，如果你有任何困难就踉我说。你可以信得过我。
A: Oh, John，thank you. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend. You’ve helped me a lot.
哦，约翰，谢谢你。有你这样的朋友很幸运。你已经帮了我很多了。
