每天分享一篇中英雙語閱讀，對英語口語的練習很有幫助，也是積累英語考試中寫作，翻譯素材的好資料，加油吧!

Every Day Is a Gift

每一天都是特殊的日子

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip.妹夫打開了妹妹衣柜的底層抽屜，拿出一個用紙包裝的包裹。“這個，”他說不是件普通村裙內衣，而是一件做工非常精細的內衣。”他把薄紙撕開，遞給我那件內衣。

It was exquisite, silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.它的確精致無比，絲質、全手工縫制，周圍還有一圈網狀花邊。價簽都尚未拆去，上面的數字高得驚人。

Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.“這是我們第一次去紐約時簡買的，至少已是八九年前的事了。她從沒有穿過它。她保留著它，想等一個特殊的日子再穿。”

Well, I guess this is the occasion.唉，我想現在便是那特殊的日子了。

He took the slip from me and put it on the bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me, "Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion."妹夫從我手中拿過內衣放在床上，和其他我們要帶給殯儀服務人員的衣服放在一起。他的手在那柔軟織物上徘徊了一會兒，隨即砰然關上抽屜，轉身對我說：“永遠不要把任何東西留給什么特殊日子。你活著的每一天就是一個特殊的日子。”

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the mid-western town where my sister’s family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.在葬禮上和幫妹夫、侄女處理妹妹意外死亡后的傷心后事的那幾天，我一直記著這些話。我乘飛機從位于中西部的妹妹家的小鎮上返回加州時，還在想這些話。我想著妹妹沒有去看到、去聽或去做的事。我想著她雖然做過卻沒有意識到其特殊性的事。

I’m still thinking about his words, and they’ve changed the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with ray family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not endure. I’m trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.我至今還在想著妹夫說的話，正是它們改變了我的花園里的雜草。我花更多的時間與家人朋友在一起，而少花時間在那些委員會議上。無論何時，生活應當是一種“品味”而非一種“忍受”。我在試著欣賞每一刻，并珍惜每一刻。

I’m not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom... I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I’m not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends.我不再去“珍藏”任何東西;只要有一件特別的事情，比如說當體重減了一磅時，當廚房水槽堵塞通了時，當第一朵山茶花這放時…我們就會使用精美的免器和水晶制品。如果我想穿，我就穿上我的品質優良顏色鮮亮的運動衣去市場購物。我的理論是:如果我看上去還富足的話，我可以毫不畏縮地為一袋雜貨付28.49美元。我不再為特殊的派對而珍藏我上好的香水;五金店售貨員和銀行出納員們的嗅覺，不會比派對上朋友們來得差。

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I’m not sure what my sister would’ve done had she known that she wouldn’t be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted.“有朝一日”和“終有一天”這樣的詞正從我的詞匯中淡出。如果值得去看、去聽或去做，我當即就要去看、去聽、去做。我們總是理所當然地以為自己必然有明天，不知假如妹妹知道她將沒有明日，她會做些什么。

I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize, and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I’m guessing. I’ll never know.我想她會給家人和幾位密友打電話。她可能還會給幾位昔日朋友打電話主動道歉，摒棄前嫌，重歸于好。我想她可能會外出吃頓中餐，那是她最喜歡的。我只是猜想而已。我永遠也不會知道。

It’s those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday. Angry because I hadn’t written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn’t tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.假如我知道我的時間不多了，那些沒來得及做的小事會讓我惱火。惱火是因為我一拖再拖沒能去看看“有朝一日”會去看的好友們。惱火是因為我還沒有寫出我“終有一天”要寫的信。惱火與遺憾是因為我沒能更經常地告訴我的丈夫和女兒：我是多么真切地愛他們。

I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath truly, is... a gift from God.我正努力不再拖延、保留或珍藏那些能給我們生活帶來歡笑和光彩的東西。每天清晨當我睜開雙眼，我便告訴自己每一天、每一分鐘、每一瞬間都是…上帝賜予的禮物