Mr.Dohetty Builds His Dream Life原文和翻译

In America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside.

Many living in towns dream of starting up their own farm, of living off

the land. Few get round to putting their dreams into practice. This is

perhaps just as well, as the life of farmer is far from easy, as Jim Doherty

discovered when he set out to combine being a writer with running a farm.

Nevertheless, as he explains, he has no regrets and remains enthusiastic

about his decision to change his way of life.

Build His Dream Life

Jim Doherty1、

There are two things I have always want to do – write and

live on a farm. Today I’m doing both. I’m not in . white’s class

as a writer or in my neighbors’ league as a farmer, but I’m getting

by. And after years of frustration with city and suburban living, my

wife Sandy and I have finally found contentment here in the country.

2、 It’s a self-reliant sort of life. We grow nearly all of

fruits and vegetables. Our hens keep us in eggs, with several dozen

left over to sell each week. Our bees provide us with honey, and we

cut enough wood to just about make it through the heating season.

3、 It’s a satisfying life too. In the summer, we canoe on the

river, go picking in the woods, and take long bicycle rides. In the

winter, we ski and skate, we get excited about sunsets. We love the

smell of the earth warming and the sound of cattle lowing. We watch

for hawks in the sky and deer in the cornfields.

4、 But the good life can get pretty tough. There month ago when

it was 30 below, we spent two miserable days hauling firewood up the

river on a sled. There months from now, it will be 95 above and we

will be cultivating corn, weeding strawberries and killing chickens.

Recently, Sandy and I had to retile the back roof. Soon Jim, 16 and

Emily, 13, the youngest of our four children will help me makes some

long-overdue improvements on the outdoor toilet that supplements our

indoor plumbing when we are working in the outside. Later in this month,

we’ll spary the o, clean the bar, plant the garden, and clean the

hens house before the new chick arrive.

5、 In between such chores, I manage to spent 50 to 60 hours

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a week at the typewrite or doing reporting for the freelance articles

I sell to magazines and newspapers. Sandy, meanwhile, pursues her own

demanding schedule. Besides the usual household routine, she

oversees the garden and beehives, bakes bread, cans and freezes,

drives the kids to their music class, practices with them, takes organ

lessons on her own, dose research and typing for me, write an article

herself now and then, tends the flower beds, stacks a little wood and

delivers the eggs. There is, as the old saying goes, no rest for the

wicked on a place like this, and not much for the virtuous either.

6、 None of us will ever forget our first winter, we were buried

under five feet of snow from the December through March. While one

storm after another blasted huge drifts up against the house and barn,

we kept warming inside burning our own wood, eating our own apples

and loving every minute of it.

7、 When spring came, it brought two floods. First the river

overflowed, covering much of our land for weeks. Then the growing

season began, swamping us under wave after wave of produce. Our

freezer filled up with cherries, raspberries, strawberries,

asparagus, peas, beans and corn. Then our canned-goods shelves and

cupboards began to grow with preserves, tomato juice, grape juice,

plums, jams and jellies. Eventually, the basement floor disappeared

under piles of potatoes, squash and pumpkins, and the barn began to

fill with apples and pears. It was amazing.

8、 The next year, we grow even more food and managed to get

through the winter on firewood that was mostly from our own trees and

only 100 gallons of heating oil. At that point I began thinking

seriously about quitting my job and starting to freelance. The timing

was terrible. By then, Shawn and Amy, our oldest girls were attending

expensive Ivy League Schools and we had only a few thousand dollars

in the bank. Yet we kept coming back to the same question: will there

ever be a better time The answer decidedly, was no, and so – with

my employer’s blessings and half years pay in accumulated benefits

in my pocket – off I went.

9、 There have been a few anxious moments since then, but on

balance things have gone much better than we had any right to expect.

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For various stories of mine, I’ve crawled into black-bear dens for

Sports Illustrated, hitched up dogsled racing teams for Smithsonian

magazine, checked out the Lack Champlain “monster” for Science

Digest, and canoed through the Boundary waters wilderness area of

Minnesota for Destinations.

10、 I’m not making anywhere near as much money as I did when

I was employed full time, but now we don’t need as much either. I

generate enough income to handle our $600-a-month mortgage

payments plus the usual expenses for a family like ours. That includes

everything from music lessons and dental bills to car repairs and

college costs. When it comes to insurance, we have a poor men’s

major-medical policy. We have to pay the first 500 dollars of any

medical fees for each member of the family. It picks up 80% of the

costs beyond that. Although we are stuck with paying minor expenses,

our premium is low - Only 560 dollars a year - and we are covered

against catastrophe. Aside from that and the policy on our two cars

at $400 a year, we have no other insurance. But we are setting aside

$2000 a year in an IRA.

11、 We’ve been an able to make up the difference in income by

cutting back without appreciably lowering our standard of living. We

continue to dine out once or twice a month, but now we patronize local

restaurants instead of more expensive places in the city. We still

attend opera and ballet in Milwaukee but only a few times a year. We

eat less meat, drink cheaper wine and see fewer movies. Extravagant

Christmases are a memory, and we combine vacations with story

12、 I suspect not every who loves the country would be happy

living the way we do. It takes a couple of special qualities. One is

a tolerance for solitude. Because we are so busy and on such a tight

budget, we don’t entertain much. During the growing season there is

no time for socializing anyway. Jim and Emily are involved in school

activities, but they too spend most of their time at home.

13、 The other requirement is energy - a lot of it. The way to

make self-sufficiency work on a small scale is to resist the

temptation to buy a tractor and other expensive laborsaving devices.

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Instead, you do the work yourself. The only machinery we own (not

counting the lawn mower) is a little three-horsepower rotary

cultivator and a 16-inch chain saw.

14、 How much longer we’ll have enough energy to stay on here

is anybody’s guess - perhaps for quite a while, perhaps not. When

the time comes, we will leave with a feeling of sorrow but also with

a sense of pride at what we’ve been able to accomplish. We should

make a fire profit on the sale of the place, too. We’ve invested about

$35,000 of our own money in it, and we could just about double that

if we sold today. But this is not a good time to sell. Once economic

conditions improve, however, demand for farms like ours should be

strong again.

15、 We didn’t move here primarily to earn money though. We came

because we wanted to improve the quality of our lives. When I watch

Emily collecting eggs in the evening, fishing with Jim on the river

or enjoying an old-fashioned picnic in the orchard with the entire

family, I know we’ve found just what we were looking for.

在美国，不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感。许多居住在城镇的人梦想着自己办个农庄，梦想着靠土地为生。很少有人真去把梦想变为现实。或许，这也没什么不好，因为，正如吉姆·多尔蒂当初开始其写作和农场经营双重生涯时所体验到的那样，农耕生活远非轻松自在。但他写到，自己并不后悔，对自己做出的改变生活方式的决定仍热情不减。

多尔蒂先生创建自己的理想生活。

Jim Doherty

1、 有两件事情是我一直想做的—写作与务农。如今，我同时做着两件事情。作为作家，我和. White不属同一等级，作为农场主，我和乡邻也不是同一类人，不过我应付的还行。在城市以及郊区历经多年的怅惘失望之后，我和妻子桑迪终于在这里的乡村寻觅到心灵的满足。

2、 这是一种自力更生的生活。我们食用的果蔬几乎都是自己种提供鸡蛋，每星期还能剩余几十个出售。自己养殖的的。自家饲养的蜜蜂提供蜂蜜，我们还自己动手砍柴，足以供过冬取暖之用。

3、 这也是一种令人满足的生活。夏日里我们在河上荡舟，在林子里野餐，骑着自行车长时间漫游。冬日里我们滑雪溜冰。我们为落日的余晖而激动。我们爱闻大地回暖的气息，爱听牛群哞叫。我们守着看4

鹰飞过上空，看玉米田间鹿群嬉跃。

4、 但是如此美妙的生活有时会变得相当艰苦。就在3个月前，气温降到华氏零下30度，我们辛苦劳作了整整两天，用一个雪橇沿着河边托运木材。再过3个月，气温会升到95度，我们就要给玉米松土，在草莓地除草，还要宰杀家禽。前一阵子，我和桑迪不得不翻修后屋顶。过些时候，四个孩子中的两个小的，16岁的吉米和13岁的艾米丽，会帮着我把拖了很久没修的室外厕所修葺一下，那是专为室外干活修建的。这个月晚些时候，我们要给果树喷洒药水，要油漆谷仓，要给菜园播种，要赶在新的小鸡运到之前清扫鸡舍。

5、 在这些活计之间，我每周要抽空花五、六十个小时，不是打字撰文，就是为作为自由撰稿人投给报刊的文章进行采访。桑迪则有她自己 的工作日程。除了日常的家务，她还照管菜园和蜂蜜，烘烤面包，将食品装罐，冷藏，开车送孩子学音乐，和他们一起练习，自己还要上风琴课，为我做些研究工作，并打字，自己有时也写写文章，还要侍弄花圃，堆摞木材、运送鸡蛋。正如老话说的那样，在这种情形下，坏人不得闲—贤德之人也歇不了。

6、 我们谁也不会忘记第一年的冬天。从12月一直到3月底，我们都被深达5英尺的积雪困着。暴风雪肆虐，一场接着一场，积雪厚厚地覆盖着屋子和谷仓，而室内，我们用自己砍伐的木材取暖，吃着自家中种植的苹果，温馨快乐每一分钟。

7、 开春后，有过两次泛滥。一次是河水外溢，我们不少田地被淹了几个星期。接着一次是生长季节到了，一波接一波的农产品潮涌而来，弄得我们应接不暇。我们的冰箱里塞满了、蓝莓、、芦笋、豌豆、青豆和玉米。接着我们存放食品罐的架子上、柜橱里也开始堆满一罐罐的腌渍食品，有番茄汁、汁、李子、果酱和果冻。最后，地窖遍地是大堆大堆的土豆、西葫芦、南瓜，谷仓里也储满了苹果和梨。真是太美妙了。

8、 第二年我们种了更多的作物，差不多就靠着从自家树林砍的5

木柴以及100加仑的燃油过了冬。当时，我开始认真起了辞了职去从事自由撰稿的事来。时机选的太差。当时，两个大女儿肖恩和艾米正在费用很高的常春藤学校上学，而我们只有几千美金的银行存款。但我们一再回到一个老问题上来：真的会有更好的时机吗答案无疑是否定的。于是，带着老板的祝福，口袋里揣着作为累积津贴的半年薪水，我走了。

9、 那以后有过一些焦虑的时刻，但总的来说，情况比我们料想的要好得多。为了写那些内容各不相同的文章，我为《体育画报》爬进过黑熊洞；为《史密森期刊》替参赛的一组组狗套上过雪橇；为《科学文摘》调查过尚普兰湖水怪的真相；为《终点》明尼苏达划着小舟穿越美、加边界水域内的公共荒野保护区。

杂志在10、 我挣的钱远比不上担任全职工作时的收入，可如今我们需要的钱也没有过去的多。我挣的钱足以应付每月$600美金的房屋贷款按揭以及一家人的日常开销。那些开销包括了所有支出，如音乐课学费、牙医账单、汽车维修以及大学费用等等。至于保险，我们买了一份低收入者的主要医疗项目保险。我们需要为每一位家庭成员的任何一项医疗费用支付最初的500。医疗保险则支付超出部分的80%。虽然我们仍要支付小部分医疗费用，但我们的保险费也低—每年只要560美金—而我们给自己生大病保了险。除了这一保险项目，以及两辆6

汽车每年400美金的保险，我们就没有我们每年留出2000美元入个人退休金账户。

其他保险了。不过11、 我们通过节约开支但又不明显降低生活标准的方式来弥补收入差额。我们每个月仍出去一两次饭，不过现在我们光顾的是当地餐馆，而不是城里的高级饭店。我们仍去密尔沃基听歌剧看芭蕾演出，不过一年才几次。我们肉吃的少了，酒喝得便宜了，电影看得少了。铺张的圣诞节成为一种回忆，我们把完成稿约作为度假的一部分。

12、 我想，不是所有热爱乡村的人都会乐意过我们这种生活的。这种生活需要一种特殊的素质。其一是耐得住寂寞。由于我们生活如此忙碌，手头又紧，我们很少请客。在作物生长季节，根本就没工夫参加各种社交活动。吉米和艾米丽虽然参加学校的各种活动，但他俩大多数时间也待在家里。

13、 另一项要求是体力 -- 相当大的体力。小范围里实现自给自足的途径是抵制诱惑，不去购置拖拉机和其他昂贵的节省劳力的机械。相反，你要自己动手。我们仅有的机器（不包括割草机）是一台3马力的小型旋转式耕耘机以及一架16英寸的链锯。

14、 没人知道我们还能有精力在待多久 – 也许待很长一阵子，也许不是。到走的时候，我们会怆然离去，但也会为自己所做的一切深感自豪。我们把农场出售也会赚相当大一笔钱。我们自己在农场投入了约35,000美金的资金，要是现在出售的话价格差不多可以翻一倍。不过现在不是出售的好时机。但是一旦经济形势好转，对我们这种农场的需求又会增多。

15、 但我们主要不是为了赚钱而移居至此的。我们来此居住是因7

为想提高生活质量。当我看着艾米丽傍晚去收鸡蛋，跟吉米一起在河上钓鱼，或和全家人一起在果园里享用老式的野餐，我知道，我们找到了自己一直在寻求的生活方式。

1、

2、

frustrated

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4、

5、

6、

7、

8、

9、

suburban a.

contentment n.

honey n.

just about almost

canoe vi. Go or travel in a canoe n.

ski vi. Move over snow on skis

low vi.

get by be good enough but not very good

frustration n. the state or an instance of being

10、 hawk n.

11、 cornfield n.

12、 below ad. (of a temperature) lower than zero

13、 Miserable a. very unhappy or uncomfortable

14、 Haul vt. Transport, as with a truck, cart, ect.

15、 Firewood n. wood used as fuel

16、 Sled n.

17、 Above

18、 Cultivate v. to prepare and use land for growing plants

or crops

19、 Corn n. (British English) [U] any plant that is grown

for its grain, such as wheat; the grain of these plants

20、 Weed v. to take out weeds from the ground

21、 Strawberry n.

22、 Retile vt. Cover with tiles again

23、 Long-overdue a.

24、 Overdue a. being sth. That should have occurred earlier

25、 Improvement n. the act or an instance of improving or

being improved

26、 Supplement vt.

27、 Indoor a. situated or used inside a building

28、 Plumbing n. the system of pipes, etc. that supply water

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to a building or the work of a plumber

29、 Spray to cover sb. / sth. With very small drops of a

liquid that are forced out of a container or sent through the air

30、 Orchard a piece of land, normally separated from the

surrounding area, in which fruit trees are grown

31、 Paint to covera surface or object with paint

32、 Barn

33、 Plant to cover or supply a garden/yard, area of land,

etc. with plants

34、 Hen n. a female chicken, often kept for its eggs of meat

35、 Chick n. a young chicken

36、 Chore n. a task that you do regularly

37、 Typewriter n.

38、 Freelance n. a. vi.

39、 Pursue vt. Strive to gain or accomplish

40、 Demanding a. (of a piece of work) needing a lot of skill,

patience, effort, etc.

41、 Household n. all the people living together in a house

42、 Oversee vt. Watch over or supervise

43、 Beehive n.

44、 Bake v. to cook food in an oven without extra fat or

liquid; to be cooked in this way

45、 Organ n.

46、 Now and then

47、 Tend v. to care for sb/sth

48、 Stack to arrange objects neatly in a pile; to be

arranged in this way

49、 Wicked a. evil or bad

50、 Virtuous a. (formal) behaving in a very good and moral

way

51、 Blast v. (of air, etc.) blow up of move with great force;

destroy by using explosives

52、 Drift a large pile of sth, especially snow, made by the

wind

53、 Overflow vi. Flow or run over the top or banks

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54、 Swamp vt. Flood, overwhelm by an excess of sth.

55、 Freezer n.

56、 Cupboard n. a piece of furniture with doors and shelves

used for storing dishes, food, clothes, ect.

57、 Preserve (especially British English) a type of pickle

made by cooking vegetables with salt or vinegar

58、 Gallon n.

59、 At that point at that very moment, right then

60、 The Ivy League a group of traditional universities in

the eastern US with high traditional universities in the eastern

US with high academic standards and a high social status

61、 Decidedly ad. Definitely, undoubtedly

62、 Employer n.

63、 Blessing n.

64、 Bless vt. Invoke divine favor upon

65、 Accumulated v. to gradually get more and more of sth

over a period of time

66、 On balance with all things considered

67、 Crawled

68、 Den n. the home of a wild animal

69、 Hitch vt. Harness (a draft animal or team)

70、 Dogsled n. a sled pulled by one or more dogs

71、 Digest n. a short account of written materials or data;

vt.

72、 Boundary n. sth. That indicates of fixes a limit or

extent

73、 Wilderness n.

74、 wilderness area

75、 destination

76、 generate vt. Bring into existence, produce

77、 mortgage ( also informal home loan ) a legal agreement

by which a bank or similar organization lends you money to buy a

house, etc., and you pay the money back over a particular number

of years; the sum of money that you borrow

78、 expense n. the money that you spend on sth

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79、 dental a. of, relating to, or for the teeth

80、 insurance n.

81、 policy n.

82、 pick up (informal ) to pay for sth

83、 stuck in an unpleasant situation of place that you

cannot escape from

84、 minor lesser of smaller in amount or importance, etc.

85、 premium n.

86、 catastrophe n. a sudden event that causes many people

to suffer

87、 IRA = Individual Retirement Account

88、 Appreciably ad. To an extent that can be noticed or

considered important

89、 Lower v. make or become smaller in amount, degree, etc.

90、 Dine out eat a meal away from home ( usu. In a

restaurant )

91、 Patronize vt. Go to as a customer

92、 Attend v. to be present at an event

93、 Extravagant a. spending much more than necessary

94、 Assignments a task or piece of work that sb is given

to do, usually as part of their job or studies

95、 Solitude n. the state or quality of being alone or

remote from others

96、 Tight difficult to manage with because there is not

enough

97、 Budget n.

98、 Involve vt. Cause to take part in; include by necessity

99、 Self-sufficiency n.

100、 Scale n. a relative level or degree

101、 Resist vt. Keep from giving in to or enjoying

102、 Temptation n.

103、 Tractor n.

104、 Laborsaving a.

105、 Devices n. a piece of equipment designed to serve a

special purpose

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106、 Machinery n.

107、 Lawn mower n.

108、 Horsepower n.

109、 Rotary a. turning on an axis

110、 Cultivator n. a machine for loosening the soil and

destroying weeds

111、 Saw (often in compounds) a tool that has a long blade

with sharp points (called teeth) along one of its edges. A saw is

moved backwards and forwards by hand or driven by electricity and

is used for cutting wood or metal

112、 Sorrow a feeling of great sadness because sth very bad

has happened

113、 Profit an advantageous gain or return

114、 Invest v. commit (money or capital) in order to gain

a financial return

115、 Primarily ad. mainly

116、 Orchard n. a piece of land, normally separated from the

surrounding area, in which fruit trees are grown

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