An Everyday Adventure

Leo Luo

不同的人对青春有不同的理解。有些人认为青春是一段转瞬即逝的宝贵时光，有些人认为青春是一种能击败时间的不老心态，还有些人则认为青春更像是一场能随时出发、不时获得新发现的探险之旅。大千世界，缤纷多彩，我们不妨跟随作者，且走且行，踏上探寻青春的路途。

国家航空航天博物馆

W hat does it mean to be young? Is it the explosive energy in one’s limbs1. limb： 肢，臂。, or perhaps the freedom from the responsibilities of society? Although most people romanticize youth as a time of life when restlessness and foolishness roared like a waterfall,sweeping those years into the annals of memory far too soon, I find such a definition too restrictive.2. annal： 记录，年鉴；restrictive：约束的，限制的。Instead of a certain period of time, youth should be considered as a certain kind of mindset, a kind of spirit. Just as the eyes of a newborn twinkle as they behold the world for the first time,the spirit of youth blazes with each discovery unveiled, each adventure undertaken.3. twinkle：（眼睛的）发亮；behold：看，看见；blaze with： 发强光，闪耀；unveil： 透露，揭露。Such a concept lasts far beyond one’s swinging4. swinging： 活跃的，时髦的。twenties, for everyday can be an adventure, and an adventure may simply be opening those doors that we pass by every day.

With the arrival of both a new year and a new semester at Georgetown University, I reflected upon my first semester at this world-renowned institution.5. Georgetown University： 乔治敦大学，是美国最古老的大学之一，位于美国首都华盛顿特区；reflect upon： 考虑，回想。My grades were pretty solid, my extracurricular activities

8. Warren Buffet： 沃伦·巴菲特，美国著名投资家，被人们称为“股神”。plentiful, almost too much. My two dance companies painted endless smiles upon my face.6. 我在两家舞蹈公司的工作给我带来了无穷的乐趣。As I cycled through all that I had accomplished during the first semester, I allowed a smug grin to creep up my cheeks.7. smug： 自鸣得意的，自以为是的；creep up：爬上。I was pretty satisfied with the way everything turned out, from attending various lectures on foreign policy to having the chance to see Warren Buffet8speak onstage.Only one aspect stuck in my mind like a thorn: I had remained cooped up in the privileged ivory towers of the university and the quaint neighbourhood as the outside world whizzed by.9. 外面的世界瞬息万变，而我仍然困在优越的大学象牙塔和大学周边的古老而有趣的环境里。coop up： 关闭，禁闭；privileged：有特权的；quaint： 古色古香的，奇特有趣的；whiz by： 飞驰，高速移动。I was a young man in the capital of the United States of America and yet had barely scratched the surface10. scratch the surface： 仅触及表面，浅尝辄止。of what this cultural metropolis had to offer. There were Smithsonian museums to get lost in, restaurants to delight in, and monuments to marvel at.11. Smithsonian： 史密森尼博物院，世界最大的博物馆体系，它所属的十六所博物馆中保管着一亿四千多万件艺术珍品和珍贵的标本。史密森尼博物院的总部设在美国首都华盛顿特区，文中提到的博物馆指位于国家广场两侧的十座博物馆和美术馆；marvel at： 对……惊叹，钦佩。If youth is defined as opening doors we never thought of opening,then my journey began by opening the gates of the National Air and Space Museum12. National Air and Space Museum： 美国国家航空航天博物馆。.

Jumping off the subway, I trekked down the National Mall,flanked on both sides by the classical architecture of various Smithsonian museums and monuments to the heroes of American history.13. 下了地铁，沿着国家广场步行，路的两旁是史密森尼博物馆古典建筑风格的各类展馆，以及纪念美国历史英雄的纪念碑。jump off： 离开； trek： 徒步；National Mall： 国家广场，位于美国首都华盛顿特区的一处开放型国家公园。Out in the distance, the Capitol building gleamed despite the iron clouds in the sky.14. The Capitol： 美国国会大厦；iron： 钢铁，这里指天空如钢铁般灰暗。I checked my phone.The map claimed that the National Air and Space Museum would be nearby on my right. Scanning my surroundings,I suddenly came face to face with an enormous rectangular building.15. scan： 仔细查看；rectangular： 长方形的。Two tinted glass walls gave spectators a peek into the wonders the museum held.16. tinted glass： 有色玻璃；peek： 一瞥，看一眼。Even though I barely distinguished the shapes of planes hanging from the ceiling, that sight was enough. I broke into a huge grin as I rushed into the building.

My first instinct was to look up. Suspended by steel wires,full scale planes from every era of flight graced my eyes, from Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched, to SpaceShipOne, the first privately developed plane to reach outer space.17. suspend： 悬挂；grace： 使增色，使生辉；Sputnik： 斯普特尼克号（人造地球卫星）；SpaceShipOne： 太空船一号，是航天史上首次由私人投资建造的准载人航天器，由美国微软公司创办人之一保罗·艾伦赞助。I whipped out my phone and began snapping photos from every angle.18. whip out： 快速拿出；snap： 拍摄，拍照。I rushed from exhibit hall to exhibit hall, giddy with the joy of marveling at all these testaments to human ingenuity and ambition.19. giddy： 兴奋的，非常高兴的；testament to：证据，证明。With only two hours to enjoy the museum, I was a wide-eyed mouse scurrying my way through the building,weaving my way through hordes of tourists, freezing in mytracks only to pose for a picture or scan the descriptions of exhibits.20. 由于只有两小时的时间参观，我就像一只睁大眼睛的老鼠，在博物馆里快速奔走，穿梭于成群的游客之间，我不时停下来一动也不动，只为了摆姿势拍一张照片或者浏览展品的介绍。scurry： 急促地跑。My eyes would not absorb the sights fast enough. Some of my memories only exist as winged blurs.21. 我的一些记忆仅仅是那些飞快掠过的模糊影子。

史密森尼博物院一景

One sight did remain etched22. etched： 刻骨铭心的，记忆犹新的。in my memory. I had just barreled23. barrel： 快速行进，飞奔。into the exhibit hall on the United States’space program and was snapping away pictures. A familiar sight caught my eye. It was video on a huge projector screen displaying an overgrown plain against blue skies.24. projector： 投影仪，放映机；display： 显示，展示；overgrown：过大的。Jutting out from the plain was a towering structure with an unmistakable aircraft attached: the Space Shuttle Discovery.25. 平原上赫然伫立着一座高大的建筑物，很明显地，它装载着一架航天器：发现号航天飞机。 jut： 突出，伸出；towering： 高耸的，高大的；Space Shuttle Discovery： 发现号航天飞机，1984年首次飞行，负责进行各种科学研究与作为国际太空站（International Space Station）计划的支援，2011年结束了长达27年的飞行任务。I stood there entranced by the countdown sequence and the crackling voices of NASA and the astronauts in the shuttle.26. 我站在那里，飞行前的倒数、国家航空局里发出的响声，以及机舱里的宇航员令我着了迷。；entranced： 着迷的，入迷的；crackling： 爆裂声，劈啪声；NASA： 即 National Aeronautics and Space Administration， 美国国家航空航天局。Then the sparks began to fly from the shuttle’s engines. As the distinctive voice reported: “Three…two… one… we have lift-off,” a blue inferno erupted from the thrusters.27. lift-off：（航天器的）发射，升空；inferno： 大火，火海；thruster：（火箭）推进器。The entire spaceship roared as it lurched away from the docking tower28. docking tower： 对接塔。. In a searing plume of light and fire, the Discovery was a burning spear rocketing away on its final mission to space.29. searing： 灼热的；plume： 羽状物（如烟云、雪云等）；spear：矛，枪；rocket： 迅速上升，迅速移动。Although I had seen countless takeoff videos, this one struck me for some strange reason. Simply seeingthe shuttle arc over the curvature of the Earth, entering where man, nay, life even,should not have been able to go, ignited a sense of wonder.30. arc： 走弧线；curvature： 圆弧，曲度，nay： 而且，甚至。Perhaps I was finally mature enough to appreciate the intricacies and manpower it took to shoot something into space,31. intricacies： intracacy的复数形式，错综复杂的系统，纷繁难懂之处；manpower： 劳动力，体力。let alone living beings. Or perhaps today I felt a connection to the veteran spaceship. Discovery. Maybe that was the wonder of space. Despite how many missions the Discovery had logged, each one represented a new perspective, a new understanding of the final frontier of space.There was always something new to see, and that is what kept the Discovery young. And just like that space shuttle, I was also on my own adventure to make the most of my youth.

史密森尼博物院一景

The skies had already darkened by the time I left the museum. In the distance, the Capitol building shone like terrestrial32. terrestrial： 地球的，陆生的。star. I stood at a crossroads: do I return to the subway station and back to my ivory tower,or do I keep walking and see where I end up? The choice was easy. With the memory of the Discovery still resonating33. resonate： 共鸣，共振。in my spirit, I walked off into the distance, the subway station left ignored. My night had just begun. After a magnificent view of the Capitol building and a meal in a Spanish restaurant I had never visited before, I returned to Georgetown much later than planned. Today was simply an ordinary day, and yet I was the happiest I had been in a long time only because of a choice to step outside of my comfort zone. That step may be as exotic jet-setting around the world.34. exotic： 奇异的，异乎寻常的；jetsetting： 乘喷气式飞机到处旅游。But for an everyday student on a student budget,getting on a subway to who knows where may just be enough. Either accompanied by friends or alone, always take opportunities to discover adventures, because complacency easily makes one grow old long before they are truly old.35. accompany： 陪伴，陪同； complacency： 自满，沾沾自喜。