WAITING FOR WAITERS

(相关资料图)

By Lissa Rovetch Art by Deborah Melmon

父亲节那天，塔克斯、英迪一家人尝试了一家新餐馆。他们点了那里的招牌特色菜，服务员说上菜很快，但是他们等了很久菜都没有来。塔克斯和英迪开始有了一些怨言，这时候爸爸并没有附和，而是教导孩子们等待是双向的，开始是服务员等我们点菜，现在我们也要等等他们。英文中“wait on sb”有两层含义，除了指服务员招待客人用餐外，也有等待某人的意思。父亲用双关语巧妙地告诉孩子“恕己之心恕人”。生活中难免遇到不尽如人意的事，懂得换位思考，用宽容之心待人，这是成长路上的重要一课。

Tex, Indi, and their family were trying a new restaurant on Father’s Day.

“Welcome!” said a friendly man. “I’m James, your waiter. Today’s specials are stuffed peppers, seaweed salad, and spicy shrimp pasta.”

“Thanks,” Dad smiled. “Everything on the menu looks so good. It’s going to be hard to choose!”

“It’s a special day,” said Mom. “Let’s order all three specials.”

“Those things sound fancy,” said Tex. “Could I please have plain noodles?”

“Me too,” said Indi.

“Sure,” said James. “I’ll be back with your order shortly!”

But a short wait turned into a long wait. The twins and Dad passed the time by playing I spy.

“My tummy is growling,” said Tex. “When is our food coming?”

“I don’t spy our waiter,” said Indi. “Why are they called waiters when we’re doing the waiting?”

“Good question,” said Dad, smiling. “It’s because they are waiting on us. But right now, we’re waiting on our waiter.”

Everyone took in a deep breath and smiled when the food arrived.

“Your pasta smells yummy!” said Tex. “Could I try a bite?”

“Of course,” said Dad.

“Me too!” said Indi.

“Yum,” said Indi. “That was definitely worth the wait!”

译文

父亲节那天，塔克斯、英迪一家尝试了一个新餐馆。

“欢迎！”一位友善的男士说，“我是詹姆斯，你们的服务员。今天的特色菜有青椒酿肉、海藻沙拉和香辣鲜虾意面。”

“谢谢，”爸爸笑着说，“菜单上的所有菜看起来都不错，这选起来可有点难。”

“今天是个特别的日子，”妈妈说，“这三个特色菜，我们都点。”

“这些菜听起来很新奇，”塔克斯说，“我能吃个素面吗？”

“我也要。”英迪附和道。

“当然可以，”詹姆斯说，“我很快就会给你们上菜！”

但短暂的等待变成了漫长的等待。双胞胎和爸爸玩起了“我来猜”游戏打发时间。

“我的肚子都咕咕叫了，”塔克斯说，“我们的食物什么时候端上来？”

“我没看见我们的服务员，”英迪说，“为什么他们被称为服务员，而我们在这里等服务？”

“问得好，”爸爸笑着说，“因为点菜时他们一直等我们。但现在，我们要等一等他们。”

当菜上来时，每个人都深吸一口气，笑了起来。

“你的意大利面闻起来很香！”塔克斯说，“我能尝一口吗？”

“当然。”爸爸说。

“我也要！”英迪说。

“好吃，”英迪说，“这绝对值得等待！”

本文刊登在《英语沙龙》（少儿）

2023年6月刊

原标题：《等候服务员》

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