【汉译英】

　　我依然记得阳光洒在她头发上的样子。她转过头，我们四目相对，在五年级喧嚣的教室里，一丝奇妙的情愫掠过我的心。一刹那，我的心好像中了一击。就这样，我的初恋开始了。

　　她叫Rachel。我浑浑噩噩地读完了五年级和中学，在此期间，只要见到她我就会动心，只要有她在场，我就会说不出话来。除了我，还会有谁被她微亮的窗灯吸引，徘徊在夜幕中，像夏夜里可怜的虫子?那种如痴如狂的激情，虽非性爱，但却是那样急迫，那样难以抗拒，使我局促不安，使我的声音凝噎。如今，这一切就像那场难圆的梦。

　　一条通往家和学校的林间小道上，我常常与她邂逅，然而这却让我万分沮丧，因为她总是一副若无其事，镇定自如的样子。回到家之后，我只能独自重温和她每次相遇时的情景，而一想到自己不善言谈我就深深为之苦恼。即便这样，在我们十几岁的时候，我却能感受到她对我的柔情。要做“男女朋友”我们还缺乏那份成熟。她的犹太正教的教养和我天主教的自责心，迫使我们表现出单身者的庄重，在我们之间连接吻也变得可望而不可及，虽然我们都非常渴望!一次舞会上我终于拥抱了她——当然，有父母在场。我的拥抱使她咯咯地笑起来，那充满天真，信赖的少女的笑声让我痛恨自己当时莫名冒出来的想法。无论如何，我对Rachel的爱仍然只是单相思。后来，我们都高中毕业，她考上了大学，而我则参了军。

　　二战使我们天各一方，因为我被派往了海外。一段时间里我们只能寄鸿雁以诉衷肠。在那段艰难无望，漫漫无期的岁月里，她的书信是我最刻骨铭心的记忆。一次她寄给我一张她身着泳装的快照，这张照片使我对她的思念飙到了极点。在回复她的信中，我谈到我们结婚有没有可能，而就从那以后。她的信越来越少，越来越陌生了。回国后我迫不及待地就去她家找她。门，是她母亲给开的。后来我才知道，Rachel已经不在那住了。她早结婚了，和一个在大学里认识的学医的同学。她母亲对我说：“我以为她已经写信告诉你了。”她的绝情书终于被我收到了，那是在我等候复原的时候。她委婉地向我解释，我，和她，结婚，是不可能的。现在回想起来，虽然在开始的几个月里我想自己再也不愿意活下去了，我当时还算很快就熬过了那段苦海无边的日子。像Rachel一样，后来，我也找到了属于自己的她——一个我学会用永恒的更深沉的承诺去爱的人，直到今天，此情依旧!

　　【参考译文】

　　I remember the way the light touched her hair. She turned her head, and our eyes met, a momentary awareness in that raucous fifth grade classroom. I felt as though I' d been struck a blow under the heart Thus began my first love affair.

　　Her name was Rachel, and I mooned my way through the grade and high school, stricken at the mere sight of her, tongue-tied in her presence. Does anyone, anymore, linger in the shadows of evening, drawn by the pale light of a window--her window--like some hapless summer insect?

　　That delirious swooning, asexual but urgent and obsessive, that made me awkward and my voice crack, is like some impossible dream now.

　　I would catch sight of her, walking down an aisle of trees to or from school, and I' d become paralyzed. She always seemed so poised, so self-possessed. At home, I' d relive each encounter,

　　writhing at the thought of my inadequacies. We eventually got acquainted and socialized as we entered our adolescence, she knew I had a case on her, and I sensed her affectionate tolerance for me. "Going sready" implied a maturity we still lacked. Her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and my

　　own Catholic scruples imposed an inhibited grace that made even kissing a distant prospect, however fervently desired. I managed to hold her once at a dance-chaperoned, of course. Our embrace made her giggle, a sound so trusting that I hated myself for what I' d been thinking. At any rate,my love for Rachel remained unrequited. We graduated from high school, she went on to college,and I joined the Army.

　　When World War II engulfed us, I was sent overseas. For a time we corresponded, and her letters were the highlight of those grinding endless years. Once she sent me a snapshot of herself in a bathing suit, which drove me to the wildest of fantasies. I mentioned the possibility of marriage in my next letter, and almost immediately her replies became less frequent, less personal. Her Dear

　　John latter finally caught UD with me while I was awaiting discharge. She gently explained the impossibility of a marriage between us. Looking back on it, I must have recovered rather quickly, although for the first few months I believed I didn' t want to five. Like Rachel, I found someone else, whom I learned to love with a deep and permanent commitment that has lasted to this day.