growing up
成长
elizabeth yates/伊丽莎白·耶茨
at six she had been told she was a big girl now.she was excited about going to school.she clutched hard the hand of the grown -up that held hers as they went up the steps of the big building,through the door,and to the entrance of the classroom;then she had to let go,had to face that room full of children,some few she knew but many she had never seen before...
time went by and it was her tenth birthday that was being celebrated.even bigger was the day when she entered the teens.there were other great occasions.to be sixteen was one,and then to be twenty-one:a grown-up who could vote,a young woman who could take her own stand.each stage of growing had blended into the next effortlessly,inevitably.yes,always there would be something ahead.this was the learning that was life;and the savor,too.
长到六岁,大人就告诉她,现在是大姑娘了。她兴高采烈地上学去,大人拉住她的手,她便使劲抓住大人的那只手,一大一小走上大楼的台阶,穿过门口,来到教室的进门处;然后她就得松手,就得面对坐满小朋友的教室,她只认得几个人,可是多数面孔她以前从未看到过……时光流逝,不觉之间到了庆祝她十岁生日的时候。她长到十三岁更是隆重的一天,还有其他的大场面,过十六岁是一次,然后是过二十一岁:这时便是能够投票的成人,能够表明态度的小姐了。每个成长阶段都融人了下一个阶段,水到渠成,必然来到。当然,总会有未来的东西。学习就是生活,生活的滋味也在于学习。(未完待续)