My most vivid recollection of that summer is the ocean. I had always lived far inland and had never had so much as a whiff of salt air; but I had read in a big book called “Our World” a description of the ocean which filled me with wonder and an intense longing to touch the mighty sea and feel it roar. So my little heart leaped high with eager excitement when I knew that my wish was at last to be realized.
大海是那年夏天我最深刻、最美好的回忆。久居内陆的我连大海的咸风都未曾嗅过，不过，我曾读过一本叫《我们的世界》的厚书，书里有一段有关大海的描写使我对海洋充满了好奇和向往，渴望能够亲手触及那茫茫的大海，感受大海的咆哮。现在这个夙愿终于就要实现了，我欣喜若狂，小小的心脏扑通扑通跳个不停。
No sooner had I been helped into my bathing-suit than I sprang out upon the warm sand and without thought of fear plunged into the cool water. I felt the great billows rock and sink. The buoyant motion of the water filled me with an exquisite, quivering joy. Suddenly my ecstasy gave place to terror; for my foot struck against a rock and the next instant there was a rush of water over my head. I thrust out my hands to grasp some support, I clutched at the water and at the seaweed which the waves tossed in my face. But all my frantic efforts were in vain. The waves seemed to be playing a game with me, and tossed me from one to another in their wild frolic. It was fearful! The good, firm earth had slipped from my feet, and everything seemed shut out from this strange, all-enveloping element — life, air, warmth and love. At last, however, the sea, as if weary of its new toy, threw me back on the shore, and in another instant I was clasped in my teacher’s arms. Oh, the comfort of the long, tender embrace! As soon as I had recovered from my panic sufficiently to say anything, I demanded: “Who put salt in the water?”
我一换好游泳衣，便迫不及待地在温暖的沙滩上奔跑起来，毫不畏惧地一头栽进清凉的海水中。我感受到大浪的涌动与退去，轻快的水波使我极度地兴奋。突然，我的脚撞上了一块礁石，随后一个浪头打在我头上。我惊骇万分，伸手想要抓住什么，可是触手所及的唯有海水和海浪打在脸上的海草。我发狂般的努力泡了汤，与此同时，海浪似乎决意与我玩恶作剧，把我抛来抛去，真是太可怕了！脚下坚实的大地离我而去，除了四面八方向我涌来的陌生海浪外，似乎世上一切都已不复存在——没有生命，没有空气，没有温暖，更没有爱。最后，大海似乎厌倦了我这个新玩具，终于又把我送回了岸边，沙利文小姐立即紧紧地把我抱在了怀里。哦，多么温暖的长时间拥抱啊！当我从惊恐中恢复过来后，第一句话就是：“是谁在水里放这么多盐？”
Just before the Perkins Institution closed for the summer, it was arranged that my teacher and I should spend our vacation at Brewster, on Cape Cod, with our dear friend, Mrs. Hopkins. I was delighted, for my mind was full of the prospective joys and of the wonderful stories I had heard about the sea.
暑假之前，珀金斯盲人学校安排我与沙利文老师以及好友霍普金斯太太结伴去科德角的布鲁斯特海滨度假。我自然是欢呼雀跃，满脑子想的都是旅途可能会如何愉快，以及各种关于大海的引人入胜的传奇。
After I had recovered from my first experience in the water, I thought it great fun to sit on a big rock in my bathing-suit and feel wave after wave dash against the rock, sending up a shower of spray which quite covered me. I felt the pebbles rattling as the waves threw their ponderous weight against the shore; the whole beach seemed racked by their terrific onset, and the air throbbed with their pulsations. The breakers would swoop back to gather themselves for a mightier leap, and I clung to the rock, tense, fascinated, as I felt the dash and roar of the rushing sea!
在从大海的第一次体验中恢复过来后，我想，最大的乐趣还是穿着泳衣坐在大礁石上，感受一波又一波撞击礁石的海浪向我迎头浇来的浪花。我感觉到浪花在猛烈地击打海岸，鹅卵石到处乱滚，狂怒的海浪似乎在摇撼着整个海滩，空气也随着海浪发出阵阵战栗。海浪激烈地撞击着礁石，刚退下随后又聚拢来，发起更猛烈的冲击。我紧紧抓住礁石，用心体会大海发起的冲击和咆哮，虽然紧张却依旧乐此不疲。
I could never stay long enough on the shore. The tang of the untainted, fresh and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought, and the shells and pebbles and the seaweed with tiny living creatures attached to it never lost their fascination for me. One day Miss Sullivan attracted my attention to a strange object which she had captured basking in the shallow water. It was a great horseshoe crab — the first one I had ever seen. I felt of him and thought it very strange that he should carry his house on his back. It suddenly occurred to me that he might make a delightful pet; so I seized him by the tail with both hands and carried him home. This feat pleased me highly, as his body was very heavy, and it took all my strength to drag him half a mile. I would not leave Miss Sullivan in peace until she had put the crab in a trough near the well where I was confident he would be secure. But next morning I went to the trough, and lo, he had disappeared! Nobody knew where he had gone, or how he had escaped. My disappointment was bitter at the time; but little by little I came to realize that it was not kind or wise to force this poor dumb creature out of his element, and after a while I felt happy in the thought that perhaps he had returned to the sea.
我在海岸上似乎永远都待不够。海洋纯净、清新的气息使我的思维变得清醒冷静。贝壳、鹅卵石、海草以及藏匿其中的微小生物永远都是那么吸引我。一天，沙利文小姐捉到了一只在浅水中晒太阳的怪家伙，它立刻吸引了我的注意。那是一只大马蹄蟹，我以前从未见过这种东西。我摸了摸这家伙，想不通它怎么会把房子背在背上呢。想到这里，我突然念头一转，心想把它带回家当宠物一定很好玩，于是我两手抓住它的尾巴，把它往家里拖。这可费了大劲头，因为蟹很重，我费了九牛二虎之力不过才拖了半英里路而已。回到家里，我缠着沙利文小姐把它放在井旁的一个水槽里。我自认为那是个安全的地方，可谁知我第二天早上到水槽边一看，马蹄蟹没了！没有人知道它跑到哪里去了，也没有人知道它是如何溜走的。一时间我又气又恼，但渐渐地我开始意识到，这倒霉的可怜鬼也不会说话，把它困在这里圈养起来，也许是既不人道也不明智的。过了一会儿，我想它大概是回到大海的家中去了吧，于是心情又愉快起来。
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