Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there - broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city.
20世紀(jì)60年代初，澳大利亞悉尼發(fā)生了一件大事。這座城市發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己的港口。然后，悉尼的特色一個(gè)接一個(gè)地被發(fā)現(xiàn)——廣闊的公園、一流的海灘和不同文化的人口。但正是港口造就了這座城市。

Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways - he for a lunch break, I to explore the city.
安德魯·雷諾茲三十出頭，是一個(gè)開(kāi)朗的小伙子，以擔(dān)任悉尼渡輪領(lǐng)航員為生。整個(gè)上午都在港口之間往返。第三次后，安德魯關(guān)掉了引擎，我們分開(kāi)。他午休，我探索這座城市。

"I'll miss these old boats," he said as we parted.
“我會(huì)想念這些舊船的，”我們分開(kāi)時(shí)他說(shuō)。

"How do you mean?" I asked.
“什么意思？”我問(wèn)。

"Oh, they're replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they're not so elegant, and they're not fun to pilot. Hut that's progress, I guess."
“哦，他們正在用雙體船代替它們。雙體船速度更快，但沒(méi)那么優(yōu)雅，領(lǐng)航起來(lái)也不好玩。但我想這就是進(jìn)步?！?/p>

Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords, and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city's official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. "Sydney is confused about itself," she said. "We can't seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It's a conflict that we aren't getting any better at resolving.”
如今，在悉尼的每個(gè)地方，改變和進(jìn)步都是口號(hào)，傳統(tǒng)越來(lái)越少。悉尼的官方歷史學(xué)家雪莉·菲茨杰拉德告訴我，20世紀(jì)70年代，悉尼在快速走向現(xiàn)代化的過(guò)程中，掃除了許多歷史遺跡，包括許多最優(yōu)秀的建筑?！跋つ釋?duì)自己感到困惑，”她說(shuō)，“我們似乎無(wú)法決定是想要一個(gè)現(xiàn)代城市還是一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)城市。這是一個(gè)我們無(wú)法更好解決的沖突?！?/p>

On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. "Many people say that we lack culture in this country," he told me. "What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We've got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It's a pretty hard combination to beat."
另一方面，年輕和古老也都有其吸引力。當(dāng)我遇到一位有思想的年輕商人安東尼時(shí)，我就考慮過(guò)這一點(diǎn)?！昂芏嗳苏f(shuō)我們國(guó)家缺乏文化，”他告訴我，“人們忘記的是，意大利人來(lái)到澳大利亞時(shí)，帶來(lái)了2000年的文化，希臘人帶來(lái)了3000年的文化，而中國(guó)人更是如此。我們建立在古老文化的基礎(chǔ)上，同時(shí)具有年輕國(guó)家的活力。這是一個(gè)非常棒的組合?！?/p>

He is right, but I can't help wishing they would keep those old ferries.
他是對(duì)的，但我仍然希望他們能保留那些舊渡輪。