Reaching the Top of the Mountain 攀登峰顶

　　Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always stressed to me, "You should have objectives and capacity like the mountain."

　　每当太阳快要下山，蔚蓝的天空浮现出来时，我和我的父亲总会去攀登我家附近的那座大山。我们一边攀登一边聊起很多话题。父亲的经验之谈让我受益匪浅。他总是鼓励我：“你要有山一般坚定的目标和宽阔的胸怀。”

　　This has largely influenced my life. Without such mountaineering opportunities, we couldn't have had enough time to spend together because my father was very busy himself. I believe mountaineering is really beneficial. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep contemplation as well as develop my patience. I loved traversing the top of the mountains, getting away from the routine of city life, the noise and the pollution, and being able to breathe fresh air.

　　这些话对我的人生产生了深刻的影响。父亲总是很忙，要不是都喜欢爬山，我们不可能有很多时间呆在一起。我坚信爬山的确很有好处——它让我有了和父亲畅谈和沉思的时间，同时也培养了我的耐性。我爱爬山，它可以使我远离城市的嘈杂和污染，呼吸新鲜的空气。

　　One time we climbed Palgoly Mountain, one of the highest mountains in Korea. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the fresh air, the birds singing, and the beautiful dances of butterflies; but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. At that moment, I wanted to quit climbing.

　　一次我们爬Palgoly山——韩国的最高峰之一。对我来说，那简直是一个巨大的挑战，因为那时我只有10岁。开始的几个小时，我还享受着空气的清新，聆听鸟儿的欢叫，欣赏蝴蝶的翩翩起舞。但慢慢地，我的双腿酸疼起来。就在那时，我想要放弃。

　　Actually, I hated it at that moment, but my father said to me, "Spring is a season when everything comes to life again. The mountain and field where we are standing are embroidered with flowers and trees. You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it before you reach the top. You can always enjoy the scenes of many waterfalls, temples and countless peaks and valleys at the top of the mountain, but you can't see it when you are halfway up. Only there at the top, can you embrace all of those things, just like in life."

　　事实上，当时我恨透了爬山。但父亲对我说：“春天是万物复苏的季节。此刻，山峦和田野被树木和鲜花装扮。你总能在峰顶看到美丽的天空，但在抵达峰顶前，你是看不到的。在山顶你也能欣赏到很多瀑布、寺庙、无数山峰和峡谷的美景，但这一切在半山腰却看不到。只有在山顶，你才有幸福饱览这一切。生活也是这样。”

　　At that time, I was too young to understand his thoughts, but after that, I got new hope and confidence. Finally, I found myself standing at the top of the mountain. And there, I could see the whole of the sky, which was as clear as crystal.

　　那时，我还小，无法理解他的话，但这些话却使我充满了希望和信心，最终爬到了峰顶。放眼过去，整个天空如水晶般澄澈。

　　词汇注释

　　contemplation n. 沉思，打算

　　routine n. 例行公事，常规

　　embroider vt. 刺绣，装饰

　　embrace vt. 拥抱，接受

　　crystal n. 水晶