书名：The Piano 《钢琴之恋》
作者：Rosemary Border 罗斯玛丽·博德
简介：
音乐是从哪儿来的？是可以学会的吗？还是说，它仅仅是被赐予的才能，没有人知道它来自哪里？
这个故事里的小男孩在学校成绩不好，无论是语文还是数学他都不擅长。他喜欢和其他孩子一起唱歌，但是唱得并不出色。他第一次找工作就碰了壁。他是个好孩子，但没有什么特殊的才能。
然而有一天，他发现了一架钢琴。他还发现自己会弹钢琴。所以，或许我们可以说，不是他发现了音乐，而是音乐找到了他。
Chapter 5 The Village School乡村学校
The next morning the boys got up at six o’clock. They took some sandwiches and a bottle of cold tea, and they began to cut the long grass in Mr Wood’s biggest field.
第二天一早，小伙子们6点钟就起床了。他们带上一些三明治和一瓶凉茶，然后就开始割草。在伍德先生那片最宽阔的田地里，草已经长得很高了。
The field was near a quiet road. At the side of the road was a small school. It stood in a garden. There were flowers and vegetables and a few fruit trees. But no children were there. The school was empty. It was summer and the children were on holiday.
这片田地旁边有一条僻静的大路，路边有一所很小的学校，周围有一片花圃。花圃里种了花草、蔬菜和几颗果树。但学校里空荡荡的，一个孩子也没有。时值夏日，孩子们都放假了。
The sun shone down angrily. The boys were hot and thirsty. At eleven o’clock Tony went for a drink, but the bottle was empty.
阳光毒辣辣地照射下来，男孩子们晒得又热又渴。到11点钟的时候，托尼去喝茶，但是瓶子已经空了。
‘I want a drink of water,’ he said to Pip and John. He took the empty bottle and went into the school garden. There was a tap there and he turned it. No water came out. He went to the door of the school. He pushed — and it opened.
“我想要喝水。”他对皮普和约翰说。他拿上空瓶子，来到学校的花圃，那儿有个水龙头。他拧开水龙头，但没有水。他走到学校门口，推了推门，门开了。
There was a little kitchen. Tony turned on the tap. He took a long drink and filled his bottle. Then he decided to look around the little school. It did not take him long. There was one classroom. The desks and chairs were very small, because it was a school for young children. Tony went back into the kitchen. ‘It’s July,’ he thought. ‘Everyone is on holiday. School doesn’t start again until September. I can put the piano here. No one will come here. I’ve got six weeks. And in six weeks perhaps I can find a home for my piano.
’学校里有一间狭小的厨房。托尼打开水龙头，可劲儿灌了一气，又把瓶子装满。然后他决定在这所小学校里转转。没一会儿他就转完了一圈。这里只有一间教室，而且因为这是所小孩子的学校，所以桌子和椅子都很矮小。托尼回到厨房，“这会儿是7月份，”他琢磨着，“所有人都放假了，学校要到9月份才会开学。我可以把钢琴放到这儿，没有人会来。我有六个星期的时间，在这段时间里，我或许可以给我的钢琴找好地方。”
He went back to the field.
他回到田地里。
‘You were away a long time,’ said Pip. ‘Did you have a drink, or a holiday?’ They all laughed.
“你去了好一会儿啊，”皮普说道，“你是去喝水了，还是放假玩去了？”他们都笑了起来。
‘Listen,’ said Tony. ‘The school door is open. The school’s empty. I’m going to put my piano in the classroom.’
“听我说，”托尼说道，“学校的门开着，里面一个人也没有。我决定把我的钢琴放到教室里。”
‘Don’t be stupid!’ said John. ‘What will the teacher say?’
“别傻了！”约翰说道，“老师会说什么呀？”
‘He won’t say anything! He’s on holiday,’ said Tony. ‘You’re on holiday too, aren’t you? When do you go back to school?’
“他什么也不会说的！他放假回家了。”托尼回答道，“你也放假了，对不对？你什么时候回学校上课？”
‘September the ninth,’ said John.
“9月9号。”约翰答道。
‘That’s right!’ said Tony. ‘Listen — the door’s open. The key’s in the door. I’m not going to steal anything. I’m just going to keep the piano in the classroom for a week or two... Can you help me? We’ll put the piano on the lorry, and we’ll take it to the school.’
“这就对了！”托尼说道，“听我说——门是开的，钥匙就插在门上。我不会偷任何东西，我只是想把我的钢琴放在那儿，只不过一两周的时间……你们能帮我吗？我们可以把钢琴放在卡车上，然后开车把它运到学校来。”
‘When?’ asked Pip.
“什么时候呢？”皮普问道。
‘Tonight.’ said Tony.
“今天晚上。”托尼答道。
The three boys worked very hard. They cleaned out the building. They cleaned the windows too. Then they put the piano on Mr Wood’s lorry.
三个男孩子干得很起劲。他们把房子清理干净，把窗户也擦了。然后，他们将钢琴搬到伍德先生的卡车上。
‘What time are we going?’ asked Pip.
“我们几点出发？”皮普问道。
‘Eight o’clock,’ answered Tony.
“8点。”托尼答道。
Linda gave the boys their supper that night. Mrs Wood was at a meeting in the village.
那天晚上是琳达给他们盛的晚餐。伍德太太去村子里参加集会了。
‘Boys,’ said Linda. ‘Father says you are borrowing the lorry tonight.’
“嗨，”琳达说，“爸爸说你们借了卡车，今晚要用。”
‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Pip. ‘I’m driving.’
“对，是这样，”皮普答道，“由我开车。”
‘Please, can you take me to the village? Catherine is ill.’ Catherine was Linda’s best friend. ‘I want to visit her.’
“哦，你们能把我捎到村子里去吗？凯瑟琳生病了。”凯瑟琳是琳达最好的朋友。“我想去看看她。”
‘But...’ began Tony. He looked into her kind brown eyes and he told her his story. He told her about his old school. He told her about Mrs Lark. He talked about the village school, and the open door, and the quiet, empty classroom. Linda listened. John and Pip listened too. Then Linda smiled.
“可是……”托尼开口说道。他注视着她那双温柔的褐色的眼睛，把事物的始末告诉了她。他跟她说了自己原来的学校，说到拉克夫人，还讲了村子里的学校、那扇敞开的校门和那间安安静静、空荡荡的教室。琳达听着，约翰和皮普也听着。然后，琳达笑了。
‘Thank you, Tony. Now I understand. And I want to help you.’
“谢谢你告诉我，托尼，这下子我明白了。我也想帮助你。”
The boys drove Linda to Catherine’s house.
小伙子们开着车，把琳达送到凯瑟琳家。
‘Please come back at half past nine,’ she said to Pip. She spoke loudly because Catherine’s mother was listening. Then she said, very quietly. ‘Good luck, Tony — and be careful!’
“请你们9点半过来！”她对皮普嚷道。她有意提高嗓门，因为凯瑟琳的母亲就在一旁听着。然后，她又轻轻地说：“祝你好运！托尼——小心点！”
The boys drove the lorry to the little school. Then they moved the piano. It was very heavy, but they were young and strong. They pushed it into the classroom and stood it against a wall.
孩子们开着卡车来到那间小学校，然后把钢琴搬下车。钢琴很重，但他们既年轻又有力气。他们把钢琴推到教室里，靠着墙放好。
‘It looks beautiful here,’ said Pip. He touched the keys. They made a loud, unmusical noise.
“它放在这儿真漂亮。”皮普评论道。他按了几下琴键，钢琴发出不成旋律的嘈杂响声。
‘Listen to that!’ said his brother. ‘You had piano lessons for three years, but you didn’t learn anything. Play something for us, Tony.’
“听听！”他的弟弟说道，“你上了三年钢琴课，可是什么也没有学会。给我们弹点什么吧，托尼。”
Tony sat down and began to play one of Mrs Lark’s songs. The music sang in his mind. It travelled along his arms. His fingers danced over the keys. He did not look at his hands. He did not look at the keys. His eyes were closed. He was in another world.
托尼坐下来，开始弹奏拉克夫人教他们的一首曲子。乐曲回旋在他的脑海里，通过双臂传递到他的手上。他的手指在琴键上跳跃着。他既没有看自己的双手，也没有看琴键。他闭着眼睛，进入了另外一个世界。
His friends listened. Tony was not clever. He was big and quiet and slow. But there was music in his big, strong hands.
他的朋友们静静地听着。托尼并不聪明，他个子大，话也不多，行动起来慢吞吞的。可是，他那双粗壮的大手却奏出了优美的乐曲。
That summer was a happy time for Tony. Every evening after supper he borrowed Linda’s bicycle. He cycled to the school, and he played the piano. When it was dark he cycled back to the farm again. He was afraid to turn on a light in the school. He did not want anybody to see him.
那个夏天，托尼过得很开心。每天晚上吃过晚餐，他都借琳达的自行车一直骑到学校，然后就开始弹琴。他会一直弹到天黑，然后再骑车回到农场。他不敢在学校里开灯，因为他不想被别人看到。
‘I think Tony has a girlfriend,’ said Mrs Wood to Linda. Linda just smiled.
“我想托尼是交女朋友了。”伍德太太对琳达说道。琳达只是微笑。
Tony learned to read music. Linda brought him a book of easy songs. She showed him the music. He looked at the little black notes and the five thin black lines on the pages of the book.
托尼开始学着识谱。琳达给他带来一本简单的乐谱，教他看谱子。他注视着书页上小小的黑色音符和那条细细的黑线。
‘This is easy,’ he said to Linda. ‘It’s like writing. The notes tell your fingers what to do.’
“这挺简单的，”他对琳达说道，“就像文字一样，音符告诉你手指该怎么动。”
‘That’s right,’ said Linda. She showed him the long notes and the short notes. She taught him to read the words at the top of the page.
“说对了。”琳达说道。她教他辨别长短音符，也教他如何阅读乐谱上方的注释。
“瞧！”她说道，“这是意大利文，lento的意思是‘缓慢地’”。
But Tony was not slow. He learned very fast. Linda was a good teacher. Both of them enjoyed her lessons.
但托尼可不是个反应迟缓的学生，他学得很快。琳达是个好老师。他们俩一个教，一个学，都很开心。
