Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck

Horseshoes aren't just for good luck. Written by Deborah Ambrosa Illustrated by Marcy Ramsey

马蹄可不只是用来带来好运的哦。 作者：黛博拉·安布罗萨 绘者：玛西·拉姆齐

Introduction I had the best summer ever when I was nine years old. That was the summer I went to visit Graham, my great -grandmother, who lived at the seashore. I had never seen the ocean before. Dad hoped I would love visiting there as much he had when he was a kid.

引言 我九岁那年度过了有史以来最棒的夏天。 就是那个夏天，我前去探望住在海边的曾祖母格雷厄姆。 我从前从来没见过大海。 爸爸希望我能像他小时候一样，爱上在这儿游玩的日子。

Life by the Sea I did so many new things. Dad took me to the train station for my first train ride, and I took the train by myself from the city. Towns and countryside went by outside the window. Graham and her friend Jim met my train at the station. We drove out to her large old home in the little beach town where she lived. Her town was very different from the city. Most people walked or rode bicycles instead of driving cars. I even saw horse -drawn carriages.

海边生活 我尝试了好多新鲜事儿。 爸爸送我到火车站，我第一次独自坐火车从城市出发。 城镇和乡村从窗外一闪而过向后退去。 格雷厄姆和她的朋友吉姆到车站接我。 我们开车前往她在海滨小镇的宽敞老房子。 这座小镇和城市截然不同。 大多数人出门都走路或骑自行车，很少开车。 我甚至还见到了马车呢。

While Graham was making dinner, I climbed the creaky wooden stairway up to the second floor to pick which bedroom I wanted. Each bedroom had different colored wallpaper. As soon as I looked out the window in the yellow room, I knew it was the room I wanted. I could see sand, birds, blue sky, and ocean waves.

格雷厄姆做晚饭的时候，我沿着吱呀作响的木楼梯爬上二楼，想挑一间自己喜欢的卧室。 每间卧室的壁纸颜色都各不相同。 我往黄房间的窗外一望，立刻就确定这就是我想要的那间。 从这儿我能看到沙滩、飞鸟、蓝天还有海浪。

my summer home. It was much quieter here than in the city. There were no horns and no sirens, but I could hear the sound of the waves. I had to go see the ocean up close. I ran downstairs and said, I'm going out to the beach. Graham stopped me and said I needed to learn the rules of the sea before I could go to the beach alone. We left our shoes on the porch and walked down to the together. The rough sand tickled under my toes.

这儿就是我的夏日小家。 这里比城市安静太多了。 没有汽车喇叭也没有警笛，只有海浪的声音在耳边响着。 我迫不及待想要近距离看看大海。 我跑下楼说："我去海滩玩啦。" 格雷厄姆拦住我，说我得先学会海边的安全规则，才能独自去海滩。 我们把鞋子留在门廊，一起走向海滩。 粗糙的沙子蹭得我的脚丫痒痒的。

Graham showed me the long shoreline between two rock jetties. The jetties were long walls of rocks that stretched out into the ocean. Graham said the town had built them years ago to prevent the beach sand from eroding away with the tides. Graham told me to remember the rules in order to be safe. She said not to go into the water unless she or Jim were with me. She told me about currents and the undertow. They were strong flows of water that could drag me far out into the ocean. She said if I respected and followed the rules of the sea, I would learn to love the ocean. I already loved the crisp salty smell in the air. The waves rolling, rolling, rolling onto the shore lulled me to sleep that night.

格雷厄姆带我看了两座礁石防波堤之间长长的海岸线。 防波堤是延伸入大海的长长的石墙。 格雷厄姆说，多年前镇上修建它们，是为了防止海滩的沙子被潮水冲走。 格雷厄姆告诉我，要记住规则才能保证安全。 她说只有她或者吉姆陪着，我才能下水。 她给我讲了洋流和暗流。 它们是强劲的水流，能把人拖到很远的深海里。 她说只要我尊重并遵守海边的规则，就会慢慢爱上大海。 我早就爱上了空气中清冽的咸香味儿了。 海浪翻呀翻，一遍遍滚上岸滩，那天晚上我伴着浪声沉沉睡去。