我的一个好朋友

A Good Friend of Mine

我曾经想鉴定一下我所交过的朋友，我很快就得出这个结论：在所有朋友中，杰里是最重要并对我的生活最有影响的一个。我才10岁时,他家搬到我住的街区来。杰里当时15岁，比我大得多，但是这好像对他没有什么关系。他看来很喜欢我，我因此感到非常荣幸，天天都到他家去玩儿。我们常一块儿去散步，一走就走得很远。散步时他给我讲些从电视和无线电节目看到或听来的故事。我觉得他把故事情节改动了许多，还加上些自编的意想不到的转折，但是他总知道什么才会吸引住一个10岁孩子的敏锐的想像力。

杰里为我花了这么多时间，他对此好像从不介意。他虽然还有许多其他朋友，但总让我觉得我是他最亲密的伙伴。我现在关于花鸟的知识都是他当时传授给我的。有一次我折了腿，得在家里呆几个星期，那时他天天来我家念书给我听。他对人、对电影、甚至对食物、衣着的看法也就是我的看法。我渐渐觉得杰里对我比我父母还更重要。在我们相识的头一整年里 他从没有对我说过一句不友好的话或做过一件不友好的事，我也就像崇敬神灵一样崇敬他。

但是，一个月一个月过去了，我们的关系发生了变化。杰里几乎不再从我家经过。我每次到他家去或打电话去，他都用“我正在学习”或“我要替妈妈做事”这类借口来搪塞我。我们在街上碰见时，他仍然热情地向我笑笑，友好地向我招手，还叫一声“嗨，小家伙”，但是他很少站住和我交谈。最终我明白了，他不再真正对我感兴趣了，他的爱好已经变了。我有时看见他跟一个女孩子在一起，有几次在星期五或星期六晚上，我看见他打扮得漂漂亮亮地乘自己家的车外出。我简直不明白女孩子、聚会、舞会以及盛大的社交活动有什么了不起。

但是，有一点我是明白的，那就是他最终让我知道我们的亲密友谊关系已告结束时，我明白自己受了伤害。当然，他不是真正有意要伤害我，但是过了许久我才认识到是年龄问题导致了友谊的破裂。一个17岁的青年和一个12岁的孩子，在心态和兴趣方面有着很大的差异。我自己现在也过了16岁，能认识到这点。我当时受到的伤害已成过去，现在留下的是对我们曾经共同度过的欢乐时光的美好回忆。我想知道千百万的其他男孩女孩是否也有过类似的经历。

When I began to take stock of¹ all the friends whom I have had, I quickly came to the conclusion that Jerry was the most important and had exerted² the greatest influence upon my life. His family moved to my block when I was only 10.Jerry was 15 at the time, but the fact that he was so much older than I seemed to make no difference to him. I was highly flattered that³ he seemed to like me, and I haunted⁴ his house day after day. We took long walks together, on which he would tell me stories he had picked up from TV and radio programs. I suppose he changed the plots a lot and added twists⁵ of his own, but he knew what would appeal to the lively imagination of a 10-year-old.

Jerry never seemed to mind giving me so much of his time and, although he had many other friends, he always made me feel that I was his special crony⁶. He taught me all I still know about birds and flowers; he came over to read to me every day when I broke my leg and had to stay in the house for weeks. His ideas about people and moving pictures and even food and clothes were my ideas. I gradually came to feel that Jerry meant⁷ more to me than either my father or mother did. During that whole first year of our acquaintance⁸ he never said or did an unkind thing to me, and I began to look up to⁹ him as I would have to a god.

But as months rolled by¹⁰, a change came in our relationship. Jerry almost stopped coming by¹¹ the house, and every time I went to his or telephoned, he put me off¹² with some excuse such as “I’m studying now” or “I’ve got some jobs to do for Mom.” When we passed on the street, he’d still give me a warm smile and friendly wave with a “Hiya¹³, kid¹⁴,” but he would hardly ever stop to talk. Finally it dawned on¹⁵ me that he was no longer really interested in me and that his tastes had changed. I noticed him with a girl once in a while and several times saw him all slicked up¹⁶ going out in his family’s car on a Friday or Saturday night. I simply couldn’t understand what was so great about girls, parties, dances, and big social affairs¹⁷.

But what I could understand was my hurt when he finally made me know that our closeness as friends was at an end¹⁸. Of course he didn’t really mean to hurt me, but it was a long time before I realized that it was an age problem that caused the break. There’s a world of difference between the attitudes and interests of a teenager¹⁹ and a 12-year-old. Now that I’m over sixteen myself, I realize this, and the hurt I felt then has given way to²⁰ happy memories of the good times we once had together. I wonder if millions of other boys and girls have had a similar experience.

              注释  Notes