If I went through anguish in botany and economics—for different reasons—gymnasium work was even worse.
James Thurber
I passed all the other courses that I took at my University， but I could have never pass botanybotany n.植物学. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratorylaboratory n.实验室 looking through a microscope at plant cells， and I could never see through a microscope.
如果说植物学和经济学课让我非常痛苦的话——当然痛苦的原因不同，那么体育课就更惨不忍睹了。
我的大学
詹姆斯·瑟伯
上大学时，除了植物学外，我所修的各门功课都通过。这是因为所有修植物学课程的学生每周都必须在实验室里呆上若干小时，透过显微镜观看植物细胞，而我却总是看不到什么。
I never once saw a cell through a microscope. This used to enrage my instructor. He would wander around the laboratory pleased with the progress all the students were making in drawing the involved and， so I am told， interesting structure of flower cells， until he came to me.
I would just be standing there. “I cant see anything，” I would say. He would begin patiently enough， explaining how anybody can see through a microscope， but he would always end upend up v.竖着， 结束， 死 in a furyin a fury 在狂怒中； claiming that I could too see through a microscope but just pretended that I couldnt.
“It takes away from the beauty of flowers anyway，” I used to tell him.
“We are not concerned with beauty in this course，” he would say. “We are concerned solely with what I may call the mechanics of flars.”
透过显微镜我从未看见过一个细胞，这令我的老师非常生气。他总是在实验室踱来踱去，为所有学生在画出有关的花朵细胞的结构上所取得的进步而高兴，大家告诉我那是很有意思的结构。最后他来到我面前。
我则站在那儿，往往说道：“我什么也看不见。”开始时，他总是很耐心，解释说谁都能看显微镜，但最后一般都怒不可遏。他宣称，我也能看透显微镜，只是假装不能而已。
我对他说：“无论如何，这都剥夺了花的美。”
他则说：“我们关注的不是美，而仅仅是称之为花的结构。”
“Well，” Id say. “I cant see anything.”
“Try it just once again，” hed say， and I would put my eye to the microscope and see nothing at all， except now and again a nebulousnebulous adj.星云的， 云雾状的， 模糊的， 朦胧的 milky substance—a phenomenonphenomenon n.现象 of maladjustmentmaladjustment n.失调， 不适应.
“You were supposed to see a vivid， restlessrestless adj.不安定的，得不到休息的，不平静的， clockworkclockwork n.时钟机构 of sharply defined plant cells.” “I see what looks like a lot of milk，” I would tell him.
This， he claimed， was the result of my not having adjusted the microscope properly， so he would readjustreadjust vt.重新调整，再调整 it for me， or rather， for himself. And I would look again and see milk.
“唔，”我说，“但我没看到任何东西。”
“再试一次，”他说，于是我便把眼睛放在显微镜上，但除了偶尔看见一种模糊的乳状物质之外，我还是什么也没有看到，而这些所看到的模糊物质是由于调试失当所导致的。
“你应该看到植物细胞，它们轮廓分明、生动鲜明、很像闹钟、运动不息。”“但我看到的就像牛奶，”我告诉他。
他断言这是由于我没能凋好显微镜所致，因而他亲自为我凋试，更确地说是为了他自己。而我再次看到的还是牛奶。
I finally took a deferreddefer vt.使推迟， 使延期 pass， as they called it， and waited a year and tried again. (You had to pass one of the biological sciences or you couldnt graduate.) The professor had come back from vacation brown as a berryberry n.浆果， brighteyed， and eager to explain cellstructure again to his classes.
“Well，” he said to me， cheerilycheerily adv.快活地， 兴高采烈地， when we met in the first laboratory hour the semester， “were going to see cells this time， arent we？” “Yes， sir，” I said. Students to the right of me and left of me and in front of me were seeing cell， whats more， they were quietly drawing pictures of them in their notebooks. Of course， I didnt see anything.
最后我得了一个他们称之为延期及格的结果，我又等了一年重考。（你必须通过一门生物学类的课程，否则不予毕业。）假期过后，教授的脸被太阳晒得黝黑黝黑的，活像一个浆果。他的眼睛闪闪发亮，非常热情地向学生们再次讲解细胞的结构。
“嗨，”在开学后的第一节试验课上，他热情地对我说，“这次我们会看见细胞的，对吗”“是的，教授”，我回答道。在我的前面以及两边的同学都在看细胞，不仅如此，他们还静静地在笔记本上绘制细胞图画。当然，我什么也没有看见。
“Well try it，” the professor said to me， grimlygrimly adv.严格地， 可怕地， 冷酷地， “with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. As God is my witness， Ill arrange this glass so that you see cells through it or Ill give up teaching. In twentytwo years of botany， I —” He cut off abruptly for he was beginning to quiver all over， like Lionel Barrymore
He genuinely wished to hold onto his temper； his scenes with me had taken a great deal out of him.So we tried it with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. With only one of them did I see anything but blackness or the familiar lacteallacteal adj.乳状的 opacityopacity n.不透明性， and that time I saw， to my pleasure and amazement， a variegatedvariegated adj.杂色的， 斑驳的， 多样化的 constellationconstellation n.［天］星群， 星座， 灿烂的一群 of flecksfleck n.(皮肤的)斑点， 雀斑， 斑纹， 微粒， specks， and dots. These I hastily drew.
“我们再试一试，”教授很严厉地对我说，“用每一种大家都知道的凋试显微境的方法。老天可以作证，我一定会凋好显微境让你能看见细胞，否则，这个老师我也不当了。在过去的22年植物学授课中，我——”他突然全身颤抖、闭口不语，就像莱昂内尔·巴里莫尔一样。
他的确想控制住自己的情绪，对我发火已使他大伤元气。
于是我们尝试着用大家所知的每一种调试显微镜的方法进行调试。只有一次我没有看见漆黑一片或者那种熟悉的乳状混浊物。那一次我看见由斑斑点点组成的灿烂群星，这使我万分惊喜，于是匆匆把它们画了下来。
The instructor， noting my activity， came from an adjoining desk， a smile on his lips and his eyebrows high in hope.
He looked at my cell drawing. “Whats that？” he demanded， with a hinthint n.暗示， 提示， 线索 of squealsqueal n.长而尖的声音 in his voice. “Thats what I saw，” I said. “You didnt， you didnt， you didnt！” he screamed， losing control of his temper instantly， and he bent over and squintedsquint v.斜视 into the microscope. His head snappedsnap v.猛地吸住， 突然折断， 使劈啪地晌， 猛咬 up. “Thats your eye！” he shouted. “Youve fixed the lens so that it reflects！ Youve drawn your eye！”Another course I didnt like， but somehow managed to pass， was economics. I went to that class straight from the botany class， which didnt help me any in understanding either subject.
老师见我忙个不停，于是从旁边走过来，面带笑容，满怀希望。
“这是什么？”看了看我画的细胞，他诘问道，声音之中充满了埋怨。“这是我看到的。”我回答道。“不是，不是的，不是！”他尖叫着，情绪顿时失控，弯着腰、眯着眼睛，似乎要从显微境钻进去。突然，他抬起头，冲我喊道，“这是你的眼晴！你的镜头反射了！你画的是自己的眼晴！”
经济学我也不喜欢，但却通过了。植物学课后紧接着就是经济学课，但我对这两门课的掌握都不怎么样。
I used to get them mixed up. But not as mixed up as another student in my economics class who came there direct from a physics laboratory.
He was a tackle on the football team， named Bolenciecwcz. At that time Ohio State University had one of the best football teams in the country， and Bloenciecwcz was one of its outstanding stars.
In order to be eligibleeligible adj.符合条件的， 合格的 to play it was necessary for him to keep up in his studies， a very difficult matter， for while he was not dumberdumb adj.哑的， 无说话能力的， 不说话的， 无声音的 than an ox he was not any smarter.
Most of his professors were lenientlenient adj.宽大的， 仁慈的， 慈悲为怀的 and helped him along. None gave him more hints， in answering questions， or asked him simpler ones than the economics professor， a thin， timid man named Bassum.
这两门课常常被我搞混。但和另外一个学生比起来，我还是要好很多。他直接从物理实验室来经济学班上课。