曼哈顿一座摩天大楼里，一个黑人女清洁工带领一名惊慌失措的姑娘摸着黑一步步从一楼爬上了十楼，然后将她引到自己的房间里，还给了她两支蜡烛。当姑娘感激地掏出五块钱小费递给她时，她谢绝道："不用，宝贝，今天晚上每个人都应该互相帮助。"

　　——选自《纽约大停电》

　　By Gracie Gage 栀子 选注

　　Suddenly the lights went out. The constant drone of the air conditioner was replaced with absolute silence.2 I flipped the light switch on and off, but nothing happened. Then the lights began to flicker, giving the room a vague glow. This was very bizarre; the power doesn't usually go off in Manhattan.3

　　I heard a knock at the door. I peered through the peephole4, and there was my father. As I opened the door, Dad began talking although he seemed strangely out of breath5, "The power is out all along the northern east coast. People are saying that something went wrong at Niagara Falls. A power line must have failed.6"

　　I was astounded. Power line?

　　I was getting on the elevator, and the door wouldn't close. I got irritated with it and finally climbed down to the lobby — all nine stories — to find out what the matter was.7 That was just like Dad to get angry at something that didn't work.

　　All of a sudden, we heard people shouting from outside. Dad opened up the window. "Wow, look out there!" Intrigued, I opened another window and looked out. The street was packed with cars whose drivers didn't know when or where to go. Policemen filled the streets trying to mollify the pandemonium.8 Right across the road, workers, who had been trapped on the eleventh floor while building, attempted to cling to railing and climb down to safety.9 Peoples' interrogating and raucous shouts filled the hot August air.10

　　I realized my father was speaking, "We can't stay up here. With no power, there will be no emergency services. If the building caught on fire, we'd be trapped. Let's go and I'll try to call Mom." He grabbed some cash and the cell phone. I followed him in the fatiguing11 trip down the stairs to the lobby. Why couldn't we have gotten a room on the first floor?

　　I took a small couch and sat down. The stifling12 hotel lobby was full of people. Some were hoping to get a room; others had returned to the hotel because their flights had been canceled. Many attempted to contact family or friends on cell phones. I relaxed on the couch, noticing the only light in the room was from the few sunrays that managed to enter through the windows.13 Restless, Dad left to wander around Times Square. He could never sit around without being occupied.14

　　After what seemed like hours, Dad finally returned. I let him sit on the couch while I tried to cool down on the marble floor. The sun had set, and the room was dark, illuminated only by two small candles that tossed shadows upon the wall.15

　　I lay down on the floor and tried to nap. The surface was very hard, but it was nice and cool. I drifted off to sleep16 only to awaken immediately. At first this had been an exciting adventure, but now I just wished the electricity would come back on so we would be able to go back to our room. I lay there with my eyes closed, unable to sleep, listening to people nearby as they talked. I must have finally fallen asleep though, for I woke up and asked Dad what time it was.

　　"Eight. The lights are on two blocks down from us. The power should come back on pretty soon." He paused, a look of reverie17 on his face, "You know, last night I was able to see the stars over Times Square. I wonder how long it's been since somebody was able to say that."

　　All of a sudden, the chandelier18 came on. Cheers, clapping and laughter filled the room. People sighed and stretched, having spent the interminable night sitting on the floor or couch, just as I had.19

　　Dad and I got on the elevator, and I waited impatiently as it slowly made the journey to the ninth floor. Gleefully, I walked into our room ready for a long nap.

　　As it turned out, we got to see the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Ground Zero, the Empire State Building and Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.20 Somehow, though, I always felt that Dad was most impressed when the gaudy man-made lights of New York City were temporarily extinguished and the quiet splendour of God's handiwork shone through.21-

　　1. Time Square：时报广场(在美国纽约市曼哈顿区，以剧院、餐馆等集中而著称)。

　　2. 突然灯灭了。空调持续不断的嗡嗡声为死寂所取代。drone：嗡嗡声。

　　3. 这真是很奇怪，因为曼哈顿很少停电。bizarre：怪诞的，异乎寻常的。

　　4. peephole：窥孔。

　　5. out of breath：上气不接下气，喘不过气。

　　6. 有人说尼亚加拉瀑布地区出了问题，那里有一条输电线坏了。(有说因闪电击中尼亚加拉瀑布附近电厂而导致停电。)

　　7. 我走进电梯，电梯门却关不上。我对此很生气，最后走了足足九层楼梯到楼下大厅，看看发生了什么事。

　　8.mollify：使平静，抚慰；pandemonium：大混乱，喧闹。

　　9. 就在马路的对面，有一群正在施工的工人被困在了11层，他们试图把着扶手，下到安全所在。

　　10.interrogating：质问的，讯问的；raucous：喧闹的，闹腾的。

　　11. fatiguing：使人疲劳的。

　　12. stifling：气闷的，令人窒息的。

　　13. 我坐在长椅上休息，发现房间里仅有的光亮是从窗外挤进来的几缕阳光。

　　14.他一刻也没有闲下来的时候。 sit around：无所事事，坐着没事干。

　　15. illuminate：照亮，照明； toss：投，掷。

　　16. drift off (to sleep): 迷迷糊糊地睡去。

　　17.reverie：幻想，饶有兴味的回想。

　　18.chandelier：(指大厅里的)枝形吊灯。

　　19. 和我一样在地板或长椅上捱过漫漫长夜的人都舒了口气，伸伸懒腰。interminable：没完没了的，冗长不堪的。

　　20. 作者在该句中列举了几处纽约的标志性建筑，它们分别是自由女神像、斯坦顿岛、惊爆现场(又译为“归零地”，指“9·11” 世贸大楼广场被炸毁后的废墟)、帝国大厦和百老汇的歌剧魅影。

　　21. 然而，我常常觉得爸爸(对纽约市)最深刻的印象就是，当那些俗气的人造灯暂时熄灭，而上帝的“工艺品” 闪耀着恬静的光芒之时。gaudy：华丽而俗气的。

　　编辑：趴趴