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unit1Mr.DohertyBuildsHisDreamLifeMr.DohertyBuildsHisDreamLifeJimDoherty1TherearetwothingsIhavealwayswantedtodo--writeandliveonafarm.TodayI'mdoingboth.IamnotinE.B.White'sclassasawriterorinmyneighbors'leagueasafarmer,butI'mgettingby.Andafteryearsoffrustrationwithcityandsuburbanliving,mywifeSandyandIhavefinallyfoundcontentmenthereinthecountry.多尔蒂先生创建自己的理想生活吉姆·多尔蒂有两件事是我一直想做的――写作与务农。如今我同时做着这两件事。作为作家，我和E·B·怀特不属同一等级，作为农场主，我和乡邻也不是同一类人，不过我应付得还行。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。2It'saself-reliantsortoflife.Wegrownearlyallofourfruitsandvegetables.Ourhenskeepusineggs,withseveraldozenleftovertoselleachweek.Ourbeesprovideuswithhoney,andwecutenoughwoodtojustaboutmakeitthroughtheheatingseason.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的。自家饲养的鸡提供鸡蛋，每星期还能剩余几十个出售。自家养殖的蜜蜂提供蜂蜜，我们还自己动手砍柴，足可供过冬取暖之用。3It'sasatisfyinglifetoo.Inthesummerwecanoeontheriver,gopicnickinginthewoodsandtakelongbicyclerides.Inthewinterweskiandskate.Wegetexcitedaboutsunsets.Welovethesmelloftheearthwarmingandthesoundofcattlelowing.Wewatchforhawksintheskyanddeerinthecornfields.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。我们为落日的余辉而激动。我们爱闻大地回暖的气息，爱听牛群哞叫。我们守着看鹰儿飞过上空，看玉米田间鹿群嬉跃。4Butthegoodlifecangetprettytough.Threemonthsagowhenitwas30below,wespenttwomiserabledayshaulingfirewooduptheriveronasled.Threemonthsfromnow,itwillbe95aboveandwewillbecultivatingcorn,weedingstrawberriesandkillingchickens.Recently,SandyandIhadtoretilethebackroof.SoonJim,16andEmily,13,theyoungestofourfourchildren,willhelpmemakesomelong-overdueimprovementsontheoutdoortoiletthatsupplementsourindoorplumbingwhenweareworkingoutside.Laterthismonth,we'llspraytheorchard,paintthebarn,plantthegardenandcleanthehenhousebeforethenewchicksarrive.但如此美妙的生活有时会变得相当艰苦。就在三个月前，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拖运木柴。再过三个月，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岁的埃米莉，会帮着我一起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。5Inbetweensuchchores,Imanagetospend50to60hoursaweekatthetypewriterordoingreportingforthefreelancearticlesIselltomagazinesandnewspapers.Sandy,meanwhile,pursuesherowndemandingschedule.Besidestheusualhouseholdroutine,sheoverseesthegardenandbeehives,bakesbread,cansandfreezes,drivesthekidstotheirmusiclessons,practiceswiththem,takesorganlessonsonherown,doesresearchandtypingforme,writesanarticleherselfnowandthen,tendstheflowerbeds,stacksalittlewoodanddeliverstheeggs.Thereis,astheoldsayinggoes,norestforthewickedonaplacelikethis--andnotmuchforthevirtuouseither.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。桑迪则有她自己繁忙的工作日程。除了日常的家务，她还照管菜园和蜂房，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，堆摞木柴、运送鸡蛋。正如老话说的那样，在这种情形之下，坏人不得闲――贤德之人也歇不了。6Noneofuswilleverforgetourfirstwinter.WewereburiedunderfivefeetofsnowfromDecemberthroughMarch.Whileonestormafteranotherblastedhugedriftsupagainstthehouseandbarn,wekeptwarminsideburningourownwood,eatingourownapplesandlovingeveryminuteofit.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柴烧火取暖，吃着自家种植的苹果，温馨快乐每一分钟。7Whenspringcame,itbroughttwofloods.Firsttheriveroverflowed,coveringmuchofourlandforweeks.Thenthegrowingseasonbegan,swampingusunderwaveafterwaveofproduce.Ourfreezerfilledupwithcherries,raspberries,strawberries,asparagus,peas,beansandcorn.Thenourcanned-goodsshelvesandcupboardsbegantogrowwithpreserves,tomatojuice,grapejuice,plums,jamsandjellies.Eventually,thebasementfloordisappearedunderpilesofpotatoes,squashandpumpkins,andthebarnbegantofillwithapplesandpears.Itwasamazing.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，一波又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樱桃、蓝莓、草莓、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、葡萄汁、李子、果酱和果冻。最后，地窖里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。8Thenextyearwegrewevenmorefoodandmanagedtogetthroughthewinteronfirewoodthatwasmostlyfromourowntreesandonly100gallonsofheatingoil.AtthatpointIbeganthinkingseriouslyaboutquittingmyjobandstartingtofreelance.Thetimingwasterrible.Bythen,ShawnandAmy,ouroldestgirlswereattendingexpensiveIvyLeagueschoolsandwehadonlyafewthousanddollarsinthebank.Yetwekeptcomingbacktothesamequestion:Willthereeverbeabettertime?Theanswer,decidedly,wasno,andso--withmyemployer'sblessingsandhalfayear'spayinaccumulatedbenefitsinmypocket--offIwent.第二年我们种了更多的作物，差不多就靠着从自家树林砍斫的木柴以及仅仅100加仑的燃油过了冬。其时，我开始认真考虑起辞了职去从事自由撰稿的事来。时机选得实在太差。当时，两个大的女儿肖恩和埃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。9Therehavebeenafewanxiousmomentssincethen,butonbalancethingshavegonemuchbetterthanwehadanyrighttoexpect.Forvariousstoriesofmine,I'vecrawledintoblack-beardensforSportsIllustrated,hitchedupdogsledracingteamsforSmithsonianmagazine,checkedouttheLakeChamplainmonsterforScienceDigest,andcanoedthroughtheBoundaryWaterswildernessareaofMinnesotaforDestinations.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》爬进过黑熊窝；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》杂志在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。10I'mnotmakinganywherenearasmuchmoneyasIdidwhenIwasemployedfulltime,butnowwedon'tneedasmucheither.Igenerateenoughincometohandleour$600-