紧急按钮

Jill Burns 景一

The horns sudden blare1 shot me so high out of my seat that I hit my head on the visor2， causing a stream of giggling from the back seat. Instead of being frightened， my grandkids， two-year-old Carson and four-year-old Maddy， shrieked3 happily along with each horrendous4 beep.

突然響起的喇叭声吓得我从座位上跳了起来，头撞到了遮阳板上，引起后座上一阵咯咯的笑声。我的两个外孙，两岁的卡森和四岁的玛迪，并不害怕，而是随着每一声可怕的喇叭声高兴地尖叫起来。

Unfamiliar with modern automobiles， I had no idea that a car fob5 had a “panic button” or that my daughter （who had safely locked us in the car） had unknowingly hit it when shed entered the building.

我对现代汽车不熟悉，不知道汽车钥匙圈上有一个“紧急按钮”，也不知道是不是我女儿在进入大楼时无意中摁到了它（她把我们安全地锁在车里）。

Of all the places to get trapped in a honking6 car， this was the worst！My daughter had parked in front of the courthouse on Main Street during the busiest part of the day.

在被困在喇叭叫个不停的车里的所有地点中，这里是最糟糕的！我的女儿在一天中最繁忙的时刻，把车停在了法院门口的大街上。

Shoppers and business people scurried7 by on their lunch breaks， but still found time to stare at us. Most couldnt help shooting me a disapproving8 look. After all， Im sure they thought that， as the “adult”， I should have done something to stop the noise.

购物者和商业人士在午休时间匆匆走过，但仍然有时间盯着我们看。大多数人都忍不住朝我投来不满的目光。毕竟，我相信他们认为，作为“成年人”，我应该做些什么来阻止噪音。

I was so embarrassed that I ducked on the floor so that no one could see me. Once down， I sat up again， afraid that a well-meaning citizen might decide that my daughter had abandoned9 her children and would call the police. My actions caused an extra-loud explosion10 from my grandchildren， who thought I was playing hide-and-seek with them and the people who glared at us.

我尴尬得身体往下缩，这样就没人能看见我了。我一缩下去又坐了起来，生怕某位好心的市民会认定我女儿抛弃了她的孩子，并报警。我的行为让我的外孙们爆发出特别大的声音，他们以为我在和他们以及瞪着我们的人玩捉迷藏。

Even though the children swore that they hadnt touched anything， I fiddled11 with buttons and knobs on the dashboard， trying to silence the noise. The more I tried， the harder the children howled. They thought I was a riot12.

尽管孩子们发誓他们什么也没碰，我还是摆弄着仪表盘上的按钮和旋钮，试图让噪音停下来。我越是摸索，孩子们嚎叫得越大声。他们以为我在瞎胡闹。

Turning around in my seat， I watched my grandkids. Their bodies shaking uncontrollably， cackling13 so hard that they could barely breathe. Suddenly， it hit me—I was the grandma， and these were my grandkids—not my children. Who cared if my daughters car irritated14 everyone on the street or if I looked irresponsible and crazy？ The kids were having the time of their lives， and I wanted in on it. After all， it isnt every day that were locked together in a car making a spectacle15 of ourselves.

我在座位上转过身来，看着我的孙辈们，他们的身体无法控制地颤抖，咯咯地笑得几乎喘不过气来。突然，我想到了——我是外婆，他们是我的外孙，不是我的子女。谁会在乎我女儿的车是不是惹恼了街上的每个人，或者我看起来不负责任，又疯疯癫癫？孩子们玩得很开心，我也想参与其中。毕竟，我们并不是每天都能被锁在一辆车里自娱自乐。

Once I realized the humor of our situation， I laughed so hard the tears ran down my cheeks. We started waving at everyone who passed by， causing the children to squeal16 with delight. And even though we still got plenty of disapproving looks， people also smiled at us and waved back.

当我意识到我们的幽默处境时，我笑得眼泪都流出来了。我们开始向路过的每一个人挥手，这让孩子们高兴得尖叫起来。即使仍然有很多人流露出不满的表情，但人们也朝我们微笑并挥手回应。

Thankfully， my grandchildren have always had a magical way of bringing out the wonderful， youthful parts of me that I thought Id lost forever. At that moment， I didnt have to act my age， be responsible， or solve our dilemma17. They had a mother who would soon end the madness. But for now， we were the stars of the show， having a ball， and it felt fantastic！

謝天谢地，我的外孙们总是用一种神奇的方式，让我把身上那些我认为已经永远失去的美好、年轻的部分展现出来。在那一刻，我不必做出与年龄相符的举动，不必承担责任，也不必解决我们的困境。他们有一个母亲，很快就会结束这种愚蠢的行为。但现在，我们是表演的明星，正玩得高兴，感觉棒极了！

（英语原文选自：www.chickensoup.com）