读点好英文:The DaffodiI PrincipIe 水仙定律
The DaffodiI PrincipIe 水仙定律
·Jaroldeen Edwards·
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say，“Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.”I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
“I will come next Tuesday.”I promised, a little reIuctantIy, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy.Still, I had promised, and so I drove there.When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said，“Forget the daffodils, Carolyn！The road is invisibIe in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch！”
My daughter smiled calmly and said，“We drive in this all the time, Mother.”
“Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home！”I assured her.
“I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car.”
“How far will we have to drive?”
“Just a few blocks，”Carolyn said，“I'll drive. I'm used to this.”
After several minutes, I had to ask，“Where are we going?This isn't the way to the garage！”“We're going to my garage the long way，”Carolyn smiled，“by way of the daffodils.”
“Carolyn，”I said sternIy，“please turn around.”
“It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read，“Daffodil Garden”.
We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.Before me lay the most glorious sight.It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes.The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow.Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.There were five acres of flowers.
“But who has done this?”I asked Carolyn.
“It's just one woman.”Carolyn answered.“She lives on the property. That's her home.”Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.We walked up to the house.On the patio, we saw a poster.“Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking”was the headIine.
The first answer was a simple one.“50，000 bulbs.”it read.
The second answer was，“one bulb at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and a very little brain”.
The third answer was，“Began in 1958”.
There it was. The Daffodil Principle.For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time often just one baby-step at a time-and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.We can change the world.
“It makes me sad in a way.”I admitted to Carolyn.“What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it‘one bulb at a time'through all those years?Just think what I might have been able to achieve！”
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way.“Start tomorrow.”she said.
贾洛德·爱德华思
好几次了，我女儿打电话来说：“妈妈，你务必得在那些水仙花凋谢之前来看看它们。”我是想去，可从拉古娜到箭头湖要开两小时的车。
“那我下周二去吧。”在她第三次打来电话时，我极不情愿地答应道。到了那个周二，清晨很冷又下着雨，不过既然答应了，我还是开车去了。等我终于到了卡罗琳家，拥抱问候过我的外孙们，说：“卡罗琳，别想那水仙了！天阴又有雾，路都看不清。这世上除了你和这些孩子，没有什么能让我为想去看他们再开一步车了！”
女儿平静地笑着说：“妈妈，我们一直都在这种天气里开车的呀！”
“那反正你甭想让我再开车上路了，除非天晴了，否则我就直接开车回家！”我重申道。
“我本来指望你能开车捎我去修车厂取我的车呢！”
“我们得开多远啊？”
“就几条街，”卡罗琳说，“我来开，反正我习惯了这种天气。”
过了几分钟，我不得不问：“我们这是去哪儿啊？这不是去修车厂的路啊！”卡罗琳笑了：“我们要去的那个修车厂很远，要经过水仙花。”
“卡罗琳，”我严厉地说，“请你掉头回去。”
“没事的，妈妈，我保证，如果你错过了这次经历，你将永远不会原谅自己的。”
大概过了二十分钟，我们转到了一条碎石小路上，我看到一个小教堂。在教堂的稍远一侧，我看见一个手写的牌子，上面写着“水仙花园”。
我们走下车，一人领着一个孩子。我跟着卡罗琳顺小道而行，转到小道的一角，我抬头一看，惊住了。在我面前的是极为壮观的景象，看上去仿佛有人把一大缸金子倾倒下来，覆盖了峰顶和山坡。那些花栽种成宏伟的旋涡图案——宽宽窄窄的条纹有很多颜色，有深橘、白、柠檬黄、橙红、番红和乳黄。不同色系的花种植为一组，这样看上去每组都用自己独特的色调一圈圈地在自己的河流中流淌。那儿有五亩花。
“这是谁种的呢？”我问卡罗琳。
“就一个女人，”卡罗琳回答，“她就以这片花为生。那是她的家。”卡罗琳指着一座整修得很好的A字形房子，在一片壮丽的景象当中，这房子看起来小而朴素。我们走到房子跟前，在院子里，我看到一张海报，标题是“答案——我知道你要问的这些问题”。
第一个答案很简单，写着：“五万株。”
第二个答案是：“一次种一株，一个女人，两只手，两只脚，不需多动脑。”
第三个答案是：“开始于1958年。”
这就是“水仙定律”。对于我，那一刻是一次改变生活的经历。我在琢磨这个我从未谋面的女人，她，在三十五年前，开始——一次种一株——给她自己带来了美的景象和花满山顶的快乐。
就这样一次种一株，年复一年，这个不知名的女人永远地改变了她所居住的世界，她创造了无法形容的壮丽、美好和感动。
在这个水仙花园中得出的定律是值得庆祝的最伟大的定律之一。那就是，懂得向我们的目标迈进，只求一步一个脚印——通常一次就一小步——懂得去热爱正在做的事，懂得利用时间的积累。当我们把时间的碎片叠加，再加上每天的一点儿努力，我们会发现我们也能成就辉煌。我们也能改变这个世界。
“这让我在某种意义上有点儿丧气。”我跟卡罗琳说，“如果我三十五年前有一个宏伟的目标，然后也像这样，‘一次种一株’地做下去，这些年我会有什么成就呢？想想我到底能做成什么！”
女儿直截了当地总结了这一天的收获，她说：“从明天开始。”
核心单词
reIuctantIy[ri'lʌktəntli]adv.不情愿地；勉强地
invisibIe[in'vizəbl]adj.看不见的；无形的
sternIy['stə：nli]adv.严格地；严厉地
majestic[mə'dʒestik]adj.雄伟的；威严的
headIine['hedlain]n.（报纸等的）标题；大标题
obscure[əb'skjuə]adj.黑暗的；朦胧的；晦涩的
increment['inkrimənt]n.增加；增额
实用句型
She had created something of ineffabIe magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
她创造了无法形容的壮丽、美好和感动。
①过去完成时：had+P.P.（动词的过去分词）。
②ineffable说不出的，类似带有否定前缀的词还有imbalance不均衡状态；illegal非法的；irresponsible不负责任的等。
翻译练习
1.他昨晚到十二点才睡觉。（not until）
2.我们在大雨中离去。（in the midst of）
3.所有这些都说明了同样的结论。（point to）
