Catch of a Lifetime 一生的收获

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He was 11 and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family’s cabin.

他11岁那时，只要一有机会，就会到码头上他家的小屋里钓鱼。

On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening.

鲈鱼季节开放的前一天晚上，他和父亲在傍晚时分开始垂钓。

Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting.

他系上鱼饵，练习如何抛线。

When his peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end.

当鱼杆向下弯的时候，他知道线的另一端一定钓到了一条大鱼。

His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.

父亲看着他技巧纯熟地在码头边沿和鱼周旋，眼神充满赞赏。

Finally, he lifted the exhausted fish from the water.

最后他小心翼翼地将筋疲力尽的鱼提出水面。

It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.

这是他所见过的最大的一条，但，是一条鲈鱼。

The father lit a match and looked at his watch.

父亲点燃一根火柴，看了看表。

It was 10 P.M.—two hours before the season opened.

十点了--离开禁还有两个小时。

He looked at the fish, then at the boy .

他看了看鱼，又看了看男孩。

“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said .

“你得把它放回去，孩子，”他说道。

“Dad!” cried the boy.

“爸爸！”男孩叫道。

“There will be other fish,” said his father.

“还有其他的鱼嘛，”父亲说道。

“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.　

“但没这么大，”男孩叫道。

He looked around the lake.

他环视了一遍湖。

No others were anywhere around in the moonlight.

月光下附近没有其他的渔民或船只。

He looked again at his father.

他又看了看他父亲。

Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father’s voice that the decision was not negotiable.

从父亲不可动摇的语气中，他知道这个决定没有商量余地，即使没有人看到他们，更无从得知他们何时钓到了鱼。

He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.

他慢慢地将鱼钩从大鲈鱼的唇上取下，然后蹲下将鱼放回水中。

The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.

男孩想，他可能再也看不到这么大的鱼了。

That was 34 years ago.

那是34年前的事了。

Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City.

现在，男孩是纽约的一个成功的建筑师。

He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.他带着自己的儿女仍然在同一个码头上钓鱼。

And he was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago.

他猜得没错。自那次以后，他再也没有见过那么大的鱼了。

But he does see that same fish—again and again—every time he comes up against a question of ethics.

但每次他面临道德难题而举棋不定的时候，他的眼前总是浮现出那条鱼。

For, as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.

因为，他父亲曾告诉他，道德是简单的对和错的问题，但要付诸行动却很难。

Do we do right when no one is looking?

在没人瞧见的时候，我们是否能做正确的事？

Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time?

为了将图纸及时送到，我们是不是也会抄近路？

Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we know we aren’t supposed to have?

或者根据我们本不应该知道的信息来交易股票。

We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth.

在我们还小的时候，如果有人要我们把鱼放回去，我们会这样做，因为我们还在学习真理。

The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory.

正确的决定在我们的记忆里变得深刻而清晰。