一、英译汉
到了栽种球茎植物的时候了。我却是能拖则拖，因为栽种球茎得在园篱处腾出空间，而此时篱上仍开着朵朵鲜花。把一年生植物强行拔起，掐死造化恩赐的紫绛、橘黄和浅红这一片烂漫，阻断自然界的最后欢声，简直无异于谋杀。所以我要等待第一个霜降之夜，等待花瓣全部沾上一层冷冽的霜晶，蒙无知觉中自行凋零，和婉地寿终正寝。我在园中徜徉，拿不定主意，只求留住残夏的最后几天。
树叶犹盛，光鲜可人。白桦婆娑轻摇，一片片金色的叶子飘飘落地，有如一溜不绝如缕的庆典彩纸。11月行将降临，带来秋的凄风苦雨和铅灰色阴云，像浸水的抹布一样压在你的头顶。但愿眼下的好天气会持续下去，我这样想，一边注视着树木在绿油油的草地上投下的幢幢诡谲黑影，还有倦慵地甩动尾巴的牛群。一片静谧，惟有紫苑、大丽菊、向日葵和玫瑰的浓艳色彩似在撕裂四下的沉寂。
清晨时分，天气凛冽，到了夜晚，你打起了哆嗦，躺在床上双脚冰凉。但在正午时分，阳光拨开云层，将雾霭化作蒸气，在草地上升腾。蝴蝶和黄蜂开始出没，蛛网犹如丝带，挂在窗前闪出银光。树梢上和灌木丛里凝结了整整一年的辛劳，浆果、毛栗、板栗和橡实等着收获归仓。
突然，我想到如今客居阿姆斯特丹的幼女。这两天，她定会打来电话来问:“球茎植物种下了吗?”随即我会用打趣的口吻回答说，老妈正等着她来帮忙下种呢。接着母女双双陷入怀旧的情思，因为从前有段时间我们总是合作下种的，她才3岁半的那年，一个秋阳万里的午后，女儿曾怀着她那年龄特有的全部踊跃和欢乐，做过我的帮手。
生活中女儿绕膝的下午不多了，因为学校已给她留出一个名额。她带上自己的小桶和铲子，兴高采烈又无忧无虑地满园子跑，给球茎培掩泥土的同时，用尖细的嗓子一遍又一遍聒噪着“晚安，晚安”或是“睡个好觉”。她还分别发现了“贝贝种”和“娃娃种”，还有“妈妈爸爸种”，后者指的是那些亲密依偎的球茎种。两人辛苦劳作的同时，我曾留意审视孩子：真是个小不点儿，出了襁褓，挺着个圆滚滚的小肚子刚开始蹒跚学步。
在女儿童年期的每个秋季，我们履行仪式似的种下球茎植物，而每个秋季我都注意到女儿身上发生的变化。学步小儿长大成了女学生，成为一个充满进取心又坦率直面现实的人，从不把双手插在口袋里想入非非，再不靠恣意幻想而自得其乐。女学生的双腿变得修长，下颏的轮廓线变了，要上理发店剪发了。秋季再次来临时，我在心里默念：“别了，玫瑰；别了，蝴蝶；别了，女学生。”当我们使劲在泥土里掘洞，种下明春的希望时，我在倾听女儿述说她的故事。
二、汉译英
Light-hearted as he seems, a traveler is in fact under great stress. Though on vacation, he is nevertheless subject to the restraint of time. He can do whatever he likes on the trip, but he has to keep the expenditure within the limits of his pocket. Wherever he goes, he has to take with him his cumbersome hand luggage. He faces the most horrible possibility of losing his money and credentials, which will reduce himself to a pauper of unknown background. And, besides, he can never be sure of the weather.
That’s what I’m like now. I’ve traveled all the way from the southern tip ofSpainto the northern tip ofEngland, experiencing a variety of climates until I’ve become apathetic to the elements. I’m now sitting in a medieval castle turned hotel, writing an article for my readers. The day is just dawning. In Central Scotland, there lies under the gray wet clouds a wild wooded region, beyond which a green mountain stands faintly visible. In the chilly air of the early morning, I have to be dressed in a woolen sweater while sitting on a stone wall one foot on thickness. But I need, in addition, an outer garment to keep me warm in case I come down the spiral staircase—the intestines of the castle—to take a stroll along an unfrequented path down the mountain slope in search of secluded places of quiet beauty.
ByTaiwanstandards, Western Europe has practically no summer at all. Summer inTaiwanis characterized by man’s copious perspiration as well as daytime chirping of cicadas and nightly croaking of frogs while in big European cities, like Paris and London, the mid-July temperature is so moderate and comfortable that none sweat even in the sun. Hotels and cars in Western Europe are usually not air-conditioned because hot days are so few that people don’t bother about having a cooler. The cars I hired for long-distance driving inSpain,FranceandEnglandhad fans, but no air-conditioning.
The climate of Paris in summer is like that of Taipei at night. When you go out on an early morning or late evening, your woolen sweater will be hardly warm enough to keep out the nip in the air. When you walk along the Seine, where it is even chillier due to the strong wind coupled with the cold waters, you have to wear a windcheater. Then， all you need is just an unlined garment in the afternoon when it is warm, but you’ll feel like putting on more when you are under the shade of buildings or trees. That’s all for things aboveground. Now things underground. The subway of Paris is better than that of New York, London or Madrid, but it is so hot and stuffy that you feel like taking off your woolen sweater. Consequently you’ll be annoyed by having to don or doff your clothes now and then, depending on whether you’re aboveground or underground.
