下面这篇文章，是某一个学校的考研翻译试题（属于自主命题的学校），适合高中以上水平或者考研英语二的同学练习翻译。前几天一个学生翻译给我了。大家查看，并试图找出其中的翻译错误，并讨论。

文章很好，读完令我唏嘘不止，或许是有某些相同的感触吧。

Several years ago my parents, my wife, my son and I ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is scrawled on a blackboard. After a wonderful dinner, the waiter set the check in the middle of the table. That was when it happened: my father did not reach for the bill.

几年前，我和父母妻儿一个餐馆吃饭，属于那种把菜单乱写在黑板上的小餐馆。饭足之余，服务员将账单放在了桌子中间。这时，发生了一件事情：父亲并没有伸手去拿账单。

Conversation continued. It dawned on me that I should pick up the check! After hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents and after a life-time of thinking of my father as the one with dollars，it had all changed. I reached for the bill，and my view of myself suddenly changed. I was an adult. 

谈话继续。我逐渐意识到，我应该去付账了！我曾和父母一起在餐馆吃过无数次饭，也曾一直以为父亲就是那个带着钱的人，这一切都变了。我付了帐，对自己的看法也突然改变了。我已长大成人了。

Some people mark off their life in years；I measure mine in small events. I did not become a young man at a particular age，like 13，but rather when a kid strolled into the store where I worked and called me “Mister”. He repeated it several times, looking straight at me. The realization hit like a punch: Me! I was suddenly a mister. 

一些人会把自己的生活划分不同的年龄阶段；而我则用了一些小事来衡量自己。我并没有在一个特定的年龄阶段长成一个少年，比如说十三岁吧，而是在一个小孩子溜进我工作的商店，叫我“先生”的时候。他重复了好几遍，直直地看着我。这如一记重拳击醒了我：我！我突然就成一位先生了。

There have been other milestones. The cops of my youth always seemed big，even huge，and of course they were older than I was. Then one day they were suddenly neither. In fact，some were kids. The day came when I suddenly realized that all the football players in the game I was watching were younger than I was. They were just big kids. With that milestone went the fantasy that someday, maybe, I too could be a football player. Without ever having reached the hill，I was over it.

还有另一些里程碑式的事情。在我小时候，警察看起来都很高大，甚至是威武，当然他们比当年的我要大。而有一天，我突然发现他们不再如此。事实上，其中一些警察还是孩子。有一天，我正看足球比赛，突然发现球员比我还小。他们只不过是大孩子而已。曾经我也梦想我会成为一名球星，可就在那一天，我的梦想破灭了。还没到山顶，我已经越过了那座山。

I never thought that l would fall asleep in front of the TV set as my father did. Now it's what I do best. I never thought that I would go to the beach and not swim，yet I spent all of August at the shore and never once went into the ocean. I never thought that I would appreciate opera，but now the pathos and combination of voice and orchestra appeal to me. I never thought that I would prefer to stay home at evenings，but now I find myself passing up parties.I used to think that people who watched birds were strange，but this summer I found myself watching them, and, maybe, I'll get a book on the subject.I feel a strong desire for a religious conviction that I never thought I'd want, feel close to ancestors long gone, and echo my father in arguments with my son. I still lose. 

我从没想过，我可能会像父亲那样在电视机前就能睡着了；而现在，我则可以呼呼大睡。我从没想过，我会去沙滩而不游泳；但整个八月我都在沙滩，却一次都没有下水。我从没想过，我会欣赏歌剧；但是现在，歌剧悲情的表演还有歌声与乐队的配合深深地吸引了我。我从没想过，我会在傍晚呆在家中；但是现在，我从不参加聚会。我曾经以为那些观鸟的人很奇怪；但这个夏天，我发现我自己竟然爱看鸟，或许，我还想去买本这方面的书看看。我曾经以为自己不会信仰宗教；但现在我求之若渴；我还会想起去世很久的祖先；我也会在我和我儿子的争辩中，随声附和我爸爸的观点。我仍然很失败。

One day I bought a house. One day--what a day!-- I became a father, and not too long after that I picked up the check for my own father. I thought then it was a milestone for me. One day, when I was a little older, I realized it was one for him too, another milestone. 

有一天，我买了房。有一天——多么重要的一天！——我成为了父亲，而这些事情的发生与我给我爸爸买单的时间相距并不遥远。所以，我觉得那是我人生的一个里程碑。有一天我老了，我知道，这对他来说也是一个里程碑，另一个里程碑。