最近看了張培基先生的英譯《背影》如痴如醉，又從網上查找了楊憲益先生的譯本，都是大家一塊膜拜。
父親說：“事已如此，不必難過，好在天無絕人之路!”
Father said, “Now that things‘ve come to such a pass, it’s no use crying. Fortunately, Heaven always leaves one a way out.”
回家變賣典質，父親還了虧空；又借了錢辦了喪事。這些日子，家中光景很是慘淡，一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閒。喪事完畢，父親要到南京謀事，我也要回到北京唸書，我們便同行。
After arriving home in Yangzhou, father paid off debts by selling or pawning things. He also borrowed money to meet the funeral expenses. Between grandma’s funeral and father’s unemployment, our family was then in reduced circumstances. After the funeral was over, father was to go to Nanjing to look for a job and I was to return to Beijing to study, so we started out together.
一半為了喪事，一半為了父親的賦閒“譯為” Between grandma’s funeral and father’s unemployment“，”between…and…”意為“半因…，半因…”
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到南京時，有朋友約去遊逛，勾留了一日；第二日上午便須渡江到浦口，下午上車北去。
I spent the first day in Nanjing strolling about with some friends at their invitation, and was ferrying across the Yangtse River to Pukou the next morning and thence taking a train for Beijing on the afternoon of the same day.
我那時真是太聰明過分，總覺得他說話不大漂亮，非得自己插嘴不可。但他終於講定了價錢
I was then such a smart aleck that I frowned upon the way father was haggling and was on the verge of chipping in a few words
唉，我現在想想，那時真是太聰明瞭！
Oh, when I come to think of it, I can see how smarty I was in those days!
我說道，“爸爸，你走吧。”他望車外看了看，說，“我買幾個橘子去。你就在此地，不要走動。”我看那邊月臺的柵欄外有幾個賣東西的等著顧客。走到那邊月臺，須穿過鐵道，須跳下去又爬上去。父親是一個胖子，走過去自然要費事些。我本來要去的，他不肯，只好讓他去。
I said, “Dad, you might leave now.” But he looked out of the window and said, “I’m going to buy you some tangerines. You just stay here. Don’t move around.” I caught sight of several vendors waiting for customers outside the railings beyond a platform. But to reach that platform would require crossing the railway track and doing some climbing up and down. That would be a strenuous job for father, who was fat. I wanted to do all that myself, but he stopped me, so I could do nothing but let him go
我看見他戴著黑布小帽，穿著黑布大馬褂，深青布棉袍，蹣跚地走到鐵道邊，慢慢探身下去，尚不大難。可是他穿過鐵道，要爬上那邊月臺，就不容易了。他用兩手攀著上面，兩腳再向上縮；他肥胖的身子向左微傾，顯出努力的樣子。這時我看見他的背影，我的淚很快地流下來了。我趕緊拭乾了淚，怕他看見，也怕別人看見。我再向外看時，他已抱了硃紅的橘子望回走了。過鐵道時，他先將橘子散放在地上，自己慢慢爬下，再抱起橘子走。到這邊時，我趕緊去攙他。他和我走到車上，將橘子一股腦兒放在我的皮大衣上。
I watched him hobble towards the railway track in his black skullcap, black cloth mandarin jacket and dark blue cotton-padded cloth long gown. He had little trouble climbing down the railway track, but it was a lot more difficult for him to climb up that platform after crossing the railway track. His hands held onto the upper part of the platform, his legs huddled up and his corpulent body tipped slightly towards the left, obviously making an enormous exertion. While I was watching him from behind, tears gushed from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away lest he or others should catch me crying. The next moment when I looked out of the window again, father was already on the way back, holding bright red tangerines in both hands. In crossing the railway track, he first put the tangerines on the ground, climbed down slowly and then picked them up again. When he came near the train, I hurried out to help him by the hand.
於是撲撲衣上的泥土，心裡很輕鬆似的，過一會說，“我走了；到那邊來信！”我望著他走出去。他走了幾步，回過頭看見我，說，“進去吧，裡邊沒人。”等他的背影混入來來往往的人裡，再找不著了，我便進來坐下，我的眼淚又來了。
and patting the dirt off his clothes, he looked somewhat relieved and said after a while, “I must be going now. Don’t forget to write me from Beijing” I gazed after his back retreating out of the carriage. After a few steps, he looked back at me and said, “Go back to your seat. Don’t leave your things alone.” I, however, did not go back to my seat until his figure was lost among crowds of people hurrying to and fro and no longer visible. My eyes were again wet with tears.
我身體平安，唯膀子疼痛厲害，舉箸提筆，諸多不便，大約大去之期不遠
“I’m all right except for a severe pain in my arm. I even have trouble using chopsticks or writing brushes. Perhaps it won’t be long now before I depart this life.
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