All the Difference in The World 世界上的所有差异

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home.
每个星期天早晨,
我都会在家附近的公园里轻轻慢跑.

  There's a lake located in one corner of the park.
公园的一角有一个湖.

  Each time I jog by this lake,
 I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water's edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.
每次我跑过这个湖时,
都会看到同一个年长的女人坐在湖边,
旁边放着一个小金属笼子.

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me,
 so I stopped jogging and walked over to her.
上个星期天,
我的好奇心占了上风,
于是我停下慢跑,
走到她那儿.

  As I got closer,
 I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap.
当我靠近时,
我意识到金属笼实际上是一个小陷阱.

  There were three turtles,
 unharmed,
 slowly walking around the base of the trap.
里面有三只乌龟,
毫发无伤,
正慢慢绕着陷阱的底部爬行.

  She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.
她的膝盖上有一只乌龟,
她正用一个海绵刷小心地擦洗它.

Hello, I said.
你好, 我说.

  I see you here every Sunday morning.
我每个星期天早晨都会看到你.

  If you don't mind my nosiness,
 I'd love to know what you're doing with these turtles.  
如果你不介意我的好奇心,
我很想知道你在做这些乌龟的事情.
 
She smiled.
她笑了.

  I'm cleaning off their shells,
 she replied.
我在清洗它们的壳,
她回答道.

  Anything on a turtle's shell,
 like algae or scum,
 reduces the turtle's ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim.
乌龟壳上的任何东西,
比如藻类或污垢,
都会减少乌龟吸收热量的能力,
妨碍它们游泳的能力.

  It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.  
随着时间的推移,
它还可能腐蚀和削弱壳.

 

Wow!  That's really nice of you! I exclaimed.
哇!你真是太好了!我惊讶地说.

She went on:I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning,
 relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out.
她继续道:我每个星期天早晨花几个小时,
在这个湖边放松一下,
帮助这些小家伙.

  It's my own strange way of making a difference.  
这是我自己奇怪的改变世界的方式.
 
But don't most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells? I asked.
但是,
大多数淡水龟一生中都会有藻类和污垢附着在它们的壳上,
不是吗?我问道.

Yep, sadly, they do, she replied.
是的, 遗憾的是, 它们确实是这样的, 她回答说.

I scratched my head.
我挠了挠头.

  Well then,
 don't you think your time could be better spent?  I mean,
 I think your efforts are kind and all,
 but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world.
那你不觉得你的时间可以更好地利用吗?我的意思是,
我认为你的努力是善意的,
但是世界各地的湖泊中都有淡水龟.

  And 99% of these turtles don't have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells.
而且99%的这些龟没有像你这样善良的人来帮助它们清洗壳.

  So,
 no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?
所以,
不好意思……但你的这些局部努力究竟是如何真正改变世界的呢?
The woman giggled aloud.
那位女士咯咯笑了出来.

  She then looked down at the turtle in her lap,
 scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell,
 and said,
 Sweetie,
 if this little guy could talk,
 he'd tell you I just made all the difference in the world.  
然后她低头看着膝盖上的乌龟,
擦去壳上的最后一块藻类,
说:亲爱的,
如果这只小家伙能说话,
它会告诉你我刚刚改变了整个世界.

 

The moral: You can change the world - maybe not all at once,
 but one person,
 one animal,
 and one good deed at a time.
寓意:你可以改变世界--也许不是一次性完成,
但可以一个人, 一个动物和一个善举一次.

  Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference.
每天早晨醒来,
假装你所做的事情有改变世界的作用.

  It does.
它确实有.