Stoner人生中的高光时刻 - 事业线 - 章节一
费了些周折终于找到了有目录的版本😊每次写一个章节内的片段吧，今天是章节一。
Plot One：初见校园
For several minutes after the man had driven off, Stoner stood unmoving, staring at the complex of buildings. He had never before seen anything so imposing. The red brick buildings stretched upward from a broad field of green that was broken by stone walks and small patches of garden. Beneath his awe, he had a sudden sense of security and serenity he had never felt before. Though it was late, he walked for many minutes about the edges of the campus, only looking, as if he had no right to enter.
Stoner打小生长在自家农场，从有记忆开始便是从早到晚除了上学就是干农活，17岁时便因成年累月的劳作而有些驼背。土地贫瘠、畜牧瘦弱、家徒四壁，作为家中的独子，Stoner高中毕业便想着留在农庄继续帮父母打理农活。直到有天Country agent登门拜访，说服Stoner的父亲，让他送儿子去Columbia的某所农学院上大学。
出发那天是个炎热的秋日，Stoner在尘土飞扬的小路上走了将近一小时后，幸运地搭上了一辆载货的顺风车。抵达时已是傍晚，Stoner望着自己即将进入的校园发愣，一份别样的安逸宁静之感油然而生。他沿着校园走了一圈又一圈，却只是静静地望着，不敢踏入。
Plot Two: 文学启蒙
William Stoner realized that for several moments he had been holding his breath. He expelled it gently, minutely aware of his clothing moving upon his body as his breath went out of his lungs. He looked away from Sloane about the room. Light slanted from the windows and settled upon the faces of his fellow students, so that the illumination seemed to come from within them and go out against a dimness; a student blinked, and a thin shadow fell upon a cheek whose down had caught the sunlight. Stoner became aware that his fingers were unclenching their hard grip on his desk-top. He turned his hands about under his gaze, marveling at their brownness, at the intricate way the nails fit into his blunt finger-ends; he thought he could feel the blood flowing invisibly through the tiny veins and arteries, throbbing delicately and precariously from his fingertips through his body.
如果拍成电影，画面展现的应该是一组组慢镜头，配上缓慢流淌的抒情音乐，讲台上传来Sloane深情朗诵Shakespeare十四行诗的声音。阳光透过窗户斜斜落在周围同学的脸上，透出柔和的光晕。Stoner望着自己棕色的指节，感受体内血液的流淌。诗如乐，沉浸其中，身受其感，那份由文字化出的意境已悄悄在心里扎了根。Stoner没能回答老师的提问，可就在Sloane将问题抛向他，忽然打碎这份沉浸的瞬间，Stoner心中的那颗向往文学研究的种子，已悄然发芽🌱。
Plot Three: 慧眼识珠
Sloane leaned forward until his face was close; Stoner saw the lines on the long thin face soften, and he heard the dry mocking voice become gentle and unprotected.
“But don’t you know, Mr. Stoner?” Sloane asked. “Don’t you understand about yourself yet? You’re going to be a teacher.”
Suddenly Sloane seemed very distant, and the walls of the office receded. Stoner felt himself suspended in the wide air, and he heard his voice ask, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Sloane said softly.
“How can you tell? How can you be sure?”
“It’s love, Mr. Stoner,” Sloane said cheerfully. “You are in love. It’s as simple as that.”
It was as simple as that.
Sloane于Stoner而言，是领路人、伯乐和保护伞，指引着Stoner顺从本心，彻底弃农学文。一开始也没觉得Sloane有多特殊，读到后来见识了Lomax的不齿行径，愈发感受到这老头子的宽厚和善与智慧。接受Sloane提供的offer，于Stoner而言算是人生中极为重要的一个里程碑事件。如果没有他的善意安排，Stoner毕业后或许仍旧会选择回到农场，继续他勤恳劳作的一生。
“It's love, Mr. Stoner. It's as simple as that.”
简洁而深刻，这是发自内心的喜爱，再无需任何解释。
我曾经也感受过这样的启蒙时刻，坐在西区二楼的大教室里听许先生朗诵他喜爱的译本中的段落——《追忆似水年华》中普鲁斯特有关帽上羽毛的一个比喻。原本充斥着细碎噪音的教室不知何时全然静了下来。他读完了，沉默片刻，忽然自顾自笑起来，笑声中满是真诚的愉悦和对“鬼才”文笔的由衷欣赏。如果那时候，我也有勇气和魄力弃工学文多好。
活着嘛，如果永远只为顺应环境、取悦他人，却因此掩藏按捺了内心真正的喜好，多么不值！愿你以文字为径，一步步踏上自己真正期盼的远方。
