Flowers on the Bus 公车上的鲜花

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Flowers on the Bus 公车上的鲜花
We were a very motley crowd of people who took the bus every day 
that summer 33 years ago.

33年前的那个夏天，我们还是一群素不相识的人，每天都乘坐巴士。

During the early morning ride from the suburb, 
在从郊区开往市区的早班车里，

we sat drowsily with our collars up to our ears, 
a cheerless and taciturn bunch.

我们都昏昏欲睡地坐着，衣领直竖到耳朵。整个车厢里鸦雀无声。
One of the passengers was a small man who took the bus to the centre for senior citizens every morning.

其中一位乘客是一位头发灰白的小个子老头，每天早上，他都乘车去老年活动中心。

He walked with a stoop and a sad look on his face when he, with some difficulty, boarded the bus and sat down alone behind the driver.

他走路微微有些驼背，每次艰难地上车后，他都独自坐到司机后面，脸上总带着一副悲伤的表情。

Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver 
and smiled short-sightedly down through the bus before he sat down.

然而，在七月的一个早晨，他先对司机说了声早上好，并对车厢里的人报之以微笑，然后才坐下。

The driver nodded guardedly.

司机随意地点点头。

The rest of us were silent.

我们其他人仍保持沉默。

The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically, 
smiled and said in a loud voice: “And a very good morning to you all!”

第二天，这位老人精力充沛地上了车，微笑地大声说：诸位，早上好啊！

Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “Good morning,” in reply. 
有些人吃惊地抬起头来，低声答道：早上好。

He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.

他每天都对我们说早上好，而我们也逐渐开始点头致意并互相交谈。

One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand.

一天早上，他手里拿着一束野花，由于天气炎热，有些已经凋零。

The driver turned around smiliny and asked: “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?”

司机微笑着转过头去问：查理，是不是有女朋友了啊？

He nodded shyly and said yes.

他羞涩地点头承认了。

Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower.

从那以后，每天早上，查理都会带一支鲜花，

Some of the regular passengers began bringing him flowers for his bouquet, gently nudged him and said shyly: “Here.”

有些老乘客也开始为他带些花，轻轻地碰他一下，羞涩地说：给你的。

Everyone smiled. 
The men started to jest about it, talk to each other, and share the newspaper.

每个人都面带微笑。人们开始开玩笑，互相聊天，分享报纸。

The summer went by, and autumn was closing in,

夏天过去了，秋天快要到了。

when one morning Charlie wasn’t waiting at his usual stop.

那天早上，查理没在他通常等车的那一站等车，

When he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that, we started worrying.

并且接连几天都没有出现，我们开始有些担心了。

When we came nearer to the centre for senior citizens,

当我们的车逐渐行驶到老年活动中心时，

one of the passengers asked the driver to wait.

其中一位乘客让司机停车等一下，

Yes, the staff said, the elderly gentleman was fine,

是的，工作人员说，那位老先生身体很健康，

but he hadn’t been coming to the centre that week.

但那个星期他没有来活动中心。

One of his very close friends had died at the weekend.

上周末他的一位十分要好的朋友过世了。

How silent we were the rest of the way to work.

接下来的路上，我们一直沉默不语。

The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop.

接下来的周一，查理在车站等车。

Inside the bus was a silence akin to that in a church.

车厢像教堂一般肃静。

Even though no one had talked about it,

尽管没人说话，

all those of us, who he had made such an impression on that summer,

但我们所有人，他曾经在那个夏天留下美好回忆的这群人，

sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands.

每人手里都拿着一束鲜花，眼里噙满了泪水。