All the Difference in The World

整个世界因你而改变

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. 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.

每个星期日的早晨我都会绕着我家附近的公园轻松地慢跑。公园的一角有一片湖。每当我慢跑经过这片湖，都会看到同一个老妇人，身边放着一个金属笼子坐在湖边。

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her.

上个星期日我终于忍不住好奇，停止了慢跑，走到她身边。

As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap.

走近时我发现金属笼子其实是一个小陷阱。

There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap.

三只乌龟安然无恙，绕着陷阱底部慢悠悠地爬着。

She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.

她正认真地用海绵刷擦拭着第四只趴在她膝盖上的乌龟。

“Hello,” I said. “If you don’t mind my nosiness¹, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”

“你好啊，”我说。“如果你不介意我多管闲事的话，我很想知道你在对这些乌龟做什么呢。”

She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells ,” she replied.

“我在清洗他们的壳，”她笑着回答说。

“Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae² or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes³ its ability to swim. It can also corrode⁴ and weaken the shell over time.”

任何乌龟壳上，像海藻、泡沫浮渣这些东西，都会减弱乌龟的吸热能力并且阻碍他们游动，时间长了还会腐蚀龟壳，让龟壳变得脆弱。

She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping⁵ these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.

”她继续说道：“每个星期天早晨我都会花几个小时待在湖边，边放松自己，边帮这些小家伙摆脱困难。这就是我奇怪的制造改变的方式。”

“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked.

“但是，难道不是所有的淡水乌龟都是伴随着它们壳上的海藻和泡沫、浮渣度过一生的吗？”我问道。

“Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied.

“遗憾的是，它们的确这样。”她回答道。

“Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?”

“那么，你不觉得你在浪费时间吗？99%的乌龟都没有遇到像你这么好的人去帮他们清洗龟壳。所以，无意冒犯…但是你在这儿，通过你一个人的努力到底能带来多大改变呢？”

The woman giggled⁶ aloud.

老妇人大声咯咯笑起来。

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.

接着她看看膝盖上的乌龟，把龟壳上的最后一块海藻擦拭干净，说道：“亲爱的，如果这只小乌龟会说话的话，它一定会告诉你我刚刚改变了整个世界。”