全新版大学英语(第二版)综合教程2课文及翻译(15)

择而不得不迁居的人，一个连自己最小的孩子也长大成人离家而去的人，或者是写给一对突然发现已届退休年龄、第一次得从早到晚而不仅仅是夜里厮守在一起的夫妇看的。”

9 The Carters plunged with enthusiasm into such projects as laying a sidewalk and putting a hardwood floor in their unfinished loft. Rosalynn has picked up additional carpentry skills in working with one of their favorite organizations, Habitat for Humanity. This is a housing program for the homeless, helping them to build their own houses together with the help of volunteers.

卡特夫妇热情投入了诸如铺设人行道、在尚未完工的阁楼里铺硬木地板这类工程。在与两人最喜欢的一个机构“博爱居家”的共事过程中，罗莎琳学到了不少木工手艺。“博爱居家”是一项为无家可归的人创办的住房工程，帮助他们在志愿者的协助下建造自己的家园。

10 "And we both spend a good bit of time on our farm," adds Carter. "We take care of the timberlands. Sometimes we go for long walks in the woods. I may see a particular tree that I think would be suitable for four or five -- perhaps, seven or eight -- chairs or for some other piece of furniture. I usually select a tree close to home, though, since I have to carry the pieces back to the woodshop area.

“我俩都在农场上花了不少时间，”卡特说，“我们护理林地。有时我们在林子里长时间散步。我或许会看到某棵我觉得适合制作四五把——也许七把、八把——椅子或别的什么家具的树。不过，我通常挑选离家近的树，因为我得自己把木料搬回到木工场地。

11 "One of my favorite kinds of woodworking involves green wood, but there's a tremendous amount of hard labor involved in that. You have to try to handle the different rates at which the wood dries, so the joints get tight and durable. It's the kind of technical problem that appeals to me," says the former nuclear engineer.

“我最喜欢的一件木工活是用湿材制作家具，不过这活要费很大的劲。你得处理好木料干燥后引起的不同的收缩率，以保证榫头紧固不松。我喜欢的就是这样的技术难题，”这位前核工程师说。

12 Obviously, most of today's young people don't grow up routinely learning to use their hands "as naturally as breathing," as Carter did. But he thinks they still have an advantage his parents' generation lacked.

很显然，今天大多数的年轻人在成长过程中，不像卡特当年那样，在日常生活中得学会“像呼吸一样自然”地使用自己的双手。但他认为，年轻人还是拥有他们父辈所没有的优势。

13 "Back then, you'd start working at the age of 16 or 18 and work until you died or were physically incapable of working anymore. You began work at sunrise and worked until dark. But, nowadays, you work 40 hours a week, get a couple of weeks off for vacation and then retire at 55, 60 or 65. You have so much spare time to take on additional exciting things. Sometimes they can be quite useful things; sometimes