10-4
自說自話
小鳳阿姨
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我近十一歲時，媽媽生了老三。家裏雇傭了一個小阿姨，名叫小鳳。小鳳是由父母的好朋友介紹過來的，來自於五十裏之外的一個鄉鎮。她雖然隻有十九歲，可是個子高，大約有一米七，這在當時當地算是比較突出的了。她長得也很標致。小鳳吃住都在我家，可是我家房間有限，所以她與我同睡一張床，當然是各睡一頭。
小鳳十分勤快，家裏什麽雜事都幹：照看小弟弟、做飯、洗衣，包括從大河裏挑水回家，她從不叫累，似乎有使不完的勁。
我們住在鎮上的公社辦公大院裏，媽媽在同院的辦公室上班，爸爸在鎮上的供銷社上班。所以白天我和小鳳在家相處的時間最多，她喜歡說話，我喜歡聽。她常常一邊做事，一邊跟我講故事，她總是有講不完的故事。有時她也跟我談談人間世故，發發感慨，我總是好奇地、似懂非懂地聽著。印象最深的就是有一次她說，我們每個人身上都有一個靈魂，當我們死了後，我們的靈魂會離開我們的身體，逆向順著我們在世間留下的足跡，一步一步地收回我們的腳印。所以無論將來我們到多遠的地方，我們的靈魂還是要回訪我們的故鄉的，也會與我們曾經相處的人有接觸的。我聽了將信半疑，心裏想，這要是離家很遠很遠的，死後靈魂還得花很長的時間才能收完腳印呢。
幾個月後，小鳳漸漸長胖，肚子也大起來了。一天，我媽問她怎麽回事，她如實地說出了意外的緣由。她來我家之前就懷孕了，可是她還沒有結婚，為了逃避家鄉的耳目，她隻好離開家鄉來到我家。男方的具體情況我記不清楚了，好像是男方是已婚的或者是太老，反正是小鳳父母不同意的。總之，小鳳是不可以與男方結婚的。後來小鳳的父母來到我家，表示希望小鳳繼續留在我家，直到小孩出生。我媽說這樣影響不好，還是安排小鳳到其它地方吧。就這樣小鳳在我家總共呆了五個月時間。
小鳳走後的一段時間，我很想念她，想著她跟我講的故事，想著她漂亮的麵孔和笑容。她是我的好朋友。
不知現在小鳳在哪兒。但願她生活幸福。
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【英文翻譯練習版】
Nanny Xiaofeng
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When I was eleven years old, my mother gave birth to my little brother. We hired a nanny by the name of Xiaofeng. Xiaofeng came with recommendation from a close friend of our family. She was from a small town about 30 miles away. At the age of nineteen, she was about 5’7” tall -- a height considered extraordinary for a girl in that region. She was good looking, too. She ate and lived in my home. Due to space limitation, she shared a bed with me, on opposite ends, of course.
Xiaofeng was hard working and did all the household chores: taking care of my baby brother, cooking meals, doing laundry, and even carrying the water in buckets from the river to our home. She was always full of energy and never complained of being tired.
We lived in the township administration building complex. My mother worked in the administration office, and my father worked in the downtown co-op store. So, during the day I had a lot of interaction with Xiaofeng at home. She was very talkative, and I was a good listener. She often told me interesting stories while attending to her work. She had a lot of stories to tell. Sometimes she would tell me ideas about our lives and worldly affairs, and then she would sigh. I was curious, but I could barely understand some of her ideas. I remember one time she told me that everyone has a soul in his body, and after one dies his soul will leave his body, trace back his footsteps, and collect them all the way to his birthplace. So wherever we go someday, no matter how far away, our souls will return to visit the people we interacted with since childhood. This was too profound for me to comprehend. Jeez, I thought, what if I ended up in a really, really faraway place? I wondered how long it would take for my soul to trace back and collect all of my footsteps.
A few months passed, and Xiaofeng gained a lot of weight. Her body became fuller. One day, my mother asked her what was going on. She told a surprising story. She had already become pregnant when she first came to our home. However, she was not married. In order to avoid the public eye in her hometown, she had to get away from there. So, coming to my home as a nanny provided the opportunity. We did not know anything about the child’s father, except that he was either already married or too old for Xiaofeng, and her marriage was out of the question as far as Xiaofeng’s parents were concerned. There's absolutely no way Xiaofeng could get married with the guy. Shortly afterward Xiaofeng’s parents paid a visit to my home. They expressed their desire to have Xiaofeng continue to stay in my home till she gave birth to the child. My mother said that such an arrangement would not be appropriate and that Xiaofeng should be better taken care of somewhere else. In the end, Xiaofeng spent a total of five months in my home.
For a long time after she left, I missed Xiaofeng. I often thought of her, recalling the stories she told me and remembering her beautiful face and sweet smiles. She was my friend.
I wonder where Xiaofeng is now. I wish her happiness.
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