每日一个英文故事二十六 359晨读夜诵英语小故事

The Antique古董

My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she were seeing me for the first time.

我六岁的孙女盯着我看，就好像她是第一次见我。

"Grandpa, you are an antique（古董）," she said. "You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique."

她说：“爷爷，你是个古董。你很老，古董也很老。你就是我的古董。”

I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out a dictionary and read the definition to Jenny.

我不满意让就此打住这个话题。我拿出一本字典，把古董的定义读给珍妮听。

I explained, "An antique is not only old; it's an object existing since or belonging to earlier times …a work of art ...a piece of furniture."

我解释说：“古董不只是老，它是一件存在于或属于早期时代的物品……一件艺术品……一件家具。”

"Antiques are treasured," I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary.

“古董很珍贵，” 我一边把字典收起来，一边对珍妮说。

"They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old."

“人们必须小心对待古董，因为它们有时非常有价值。要想成为古董，这件物品至少要有100年的历史。”

"I'm only 67," I reminded Jenny.

“但我才67岁，” 我提醒珍妮。

We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me.

我们在房子里四处寻找除我之外的其他古董。

There was a desk that was handed down from one aunt to another and finally to our family.

有一张桌子从一个阿姨传给了另一个阿姨，最后传给了我们家。

"It's very old," I told Jenny. "I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."

“它的年代十分久远，” 我告诉珍妮，“我努力保持它的光泽，只要有机会，我就会把它展示出来，你可以把它当作古董。”

There was a picture on the wall purchased at a garage sale. It was dated 1867.

墙上有一幅画是在旧货出售会上买的。画上标注的日期是1867年。

"Now that's an antique," I boasted. "Over 100 years old."

“那可是件古董，” 我自豪地说，“是100多年前的东西了。”

Of course it was marked up and scratched and not in very good condition.

当然，它上面有很多印记，而且有划痕，所以保存得不是很好。

"Sometimes age does that," I told Jenny. "But the marks are good marks. They show living, being around. That's something to display with pride.

“有时候岁月就是会留下这些痕迹，” 我告诉珍妮，“但这些印记都很有意义，彰显了生活的气息。这些都值得骄傲地展现出来。

In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become." I believed this was important for my own self-worth.

事实上，有时候，一件物品越老，它就越有价值。” 我相信这对我的自我价值很重要。

Our tour of antiques continued. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story.

我们继续古董之旅。我向珍妮解释说，还有一件事就是，古董通常都有一个故事。

They'd been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place.

它们从这家住进那家，从一个家庭传至另一个家庭，游遍了各地。

They'd lasted through years and years. They could have been tossed（扔） away, or ignored, or destroyed, or lost.

它们经年累月地保存了下来。它们可能被丢弃，或被忽视，或被摧毁，或被丢弃。

But instead, they survived.

但它们最后留存了下来。

For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. "l don't have any antiques but you," she said.

一时间，珍妮看上去若有所思。她说：“除了你，我没有其它古董了。”

Then her face brightened. "Could I take you to school for show and tell?"

然后她面露喜色，“我可以带你去学校，讲讲你的故事吗？”

"Only if I fit into your backpack," I answered.

“只要你能把我装进你的背包里就行，” 我回答道。

And then Jenny's antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.

然后，珍妮的“古董”把她抱起，拥进怀中，那是个恒久的拥抱。

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