我的车是十二年前买的。
Wǒ de chē shì shí èr nián qián mǎi de.
I bought my car twelve years ago.
它陪着我跑了很多地方。
Tā péi zhe wǒ pǎo le hěn duō dìfang.
It went with me to a great many places.
去年冬天，它在路上忽然不动了。
Qùnián dōngtiān, tā zài lùshang hūrán bú dòng le.
Last winter, it suddenly stopped dead on the road.
修车师傅看了一圈，说是大毛病。
Xiū chē shīfu kàn le yì quān, shuō shì dà máobìng.
The mechanic walked around it once and said it was something serious.
修一次的钱，够我坐十年地铁。
Xiū yí cì de qián, gòu wǒ zuò shí nián dìtiě.
Fixing it would cost enough to pay for ten years of subway rides.
我说先不修了，把车停在楼下。
Wǒ shuō xiān bù xiū le, bǎ chē tíng zài lóu xià.
I said I would not fix it for now and parked the car downstairs.
妻子问，没有车怎么上班。
Qīzi wèn, méiyǒu chē zěnme shàngbān.
My wife asked how I would get to work without a car.
我说，先试一年，不行再说。
Wǒ shuō, xiān shì yì nián, bùxíng zàishuō.
I said, let me try one year first, and we will see.
就这样，我开始了一年不开车的日子。
Jiù zhèyàng, wǒ kāishǐ le yì nián bù kāichē de rìzi.
And so I began a year of living without driving.
头一天是个下雨的早晨。
Tóu yì tiān shì gè xià yǔ de zǎochen.
The first day was a rainy morning.
我打着伞走到车站，鞋子全湿了。
Wǒ dǎ zhe sǎn zǒu dào chēzhàn, xié zi quán shī le.
I walked to the bus stop with an umbrella, and my shoes got soaked.
车上人很多，我站了十几站。
Chē shàng rén hěn duō, wǒ zhàn le shí jǐ zhàn.
The bus was crowded, and I stood for more than ten stops.
我以前开车，从来没有站过这么久。
Wǒ yǐqián kāichē, cónglái méiyǒu zhàn guò zhème jiǔ.
Back when I drove, I had never stood for that long.
车窗外的店，我一间也没有好好看过。
Chē chuāng wài de diàn, wǒ yì jiān yě méiyǒu hǎohǎo kàn guò.
I had never really looked at the shops outside the car window.
坐在公交车上，世界忽然慢了下来。
Zuò zài gōngjiāochē shàng, shìjiè hūrán màn le xiàlái.
Sitting on the bus, the world suddenly slowed down.
我看见了街角新开的面包店。
Wǒ kànjiàn le jiē jiǎo xīn kāi de miànbāo diàn.
I saw the newly opened bakery at the corner.
早上七点，店门刚开，香味就飘到车站。
Zǎoshang qī diǎn, diàn mén gāng kāi, xiāng wèi jiù piāo dào chēzhàn.
At seven in the morning, the moment its door opened, the smell drifted all the way to the bus stop.
我看见了早点摊前排队的老人。
Wǒ kànjiàn le zǎo diǎn tān qián páiduì de lǎorén.
I saw the old people queuing at the breakfast stall.
我还看见有人把座位让给抱孩子的妈妈。
Wǒ hái kànjiàn yǒu rén bǎ zuòwèi ràng gěi bào háizi de māma.
I also saw someone give up his seat to a mother holding a child.
那位妈妈说了好几次谢谢，声音不大，全车都听见了。
Nà wèi māma shuō le hǎo jǐ cì xièxie, shēngyīn bú dà, quán chē dōu tīngjiàn le.
The mother said thank you several times, not loudly, but the whole bus heard it.
这些事，开车的时候一件也看不见。
Zhèxiē shì, kāichē de shíhou yí jiàn yě kàn bújiàn.
Behind the wheel, you never see any of these things.
开车时我只看前面的车，只看红灯。
Kāichē shí wǒ zhǐ kàn qiánmiàn de chē, zhǐ kàn hóng dēng.
When I drove, I only watched the car ahead and the red lights.
堵车的时候我按喇叭，心里全是火。
Dǔchē de shíhou wǒ àn lǎba, xīnlǐ quán shì huǒ.
In a traffic jam I would press the horn, my heart full of anger.
现在堵车，我就多看一站的风景。
Xiànzài dǔchē, wǒ jiù duō kàn yí zhàn de fēngjǐng.
Now, in a jam, I just look at one more stop's worth of scenery.
春天的时候，我开始骑自行车上班。
Chūntiān de shíhou, wǒ kāishǐ qí zìxíngchē shàngbān.
When spring came, I started riding a bicycle to work.
骑车经过桥，风从水上吹过来。
Qí chē jīngguò qiáo, fēng cóng shuǐ shàng chuī guòlái.
Riding across the bridge, the wind came up off the water.
我住了十年的城，头一回过桥不着急。
Wǒ zhù le shí nián de chéng, tóu yì huí guò qiáo bù zháojí.
After ten years in this city, I crossed a bridge without hurrying for the first time.
以前过桥，我只想着前面的出口。
Yǐqián guò qiáo, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng zhe qiánmiàn de chūkǒu.
Before, crossing a bridge, I only thought about the exit ahead.
现在我愿意绕一点路，从桥上过，就为了那阵风。
Xiànzài wǒ yuànyì rào yì diǎn lù, cóng qiáo shàng guò, jiù wèile nà zhèn fēng.
Now I willingly take a small detour to cross the bridge, just for that wind.
夏天很热，我改坐早一班的地铁。
Xiàtiān hěn rè, wǒ gǎi zuò zǎo yì bān de dìtiě.
The summer was hot, so I switched to an earlier subway train.
地铁里凉快，还能看几页书。
Dìtiě lǐ liángkuai, hái néng kàn jǐ yè shū.
The subway was cool, and I could read a few pages.
那一年，我在地铁上读完了十一本书。
Nà yì nián, wǒ zài dìtiě shàng dú wán le shí yī běn shū.
That year, I finished eleven books on the subway.
有几本书看到好处，我坐过了站，也不觉得亏。
Yǒu jǐ běn shū kàn dào hǎochu, wǒ zuò guò le zhàn, yě bù juéde kuī.
A few books were so good that I rode past my stop, and I did not mind at all.
开车的十二年，我在车上一页书都没有读过。
Kāichē de shí èr nián, wǒ zài chē shàng yí yè shū dōu méiyǒu dú guò.
In twelve years of driving, I had not read a single page in the car.
秋天，父亲来看我，问我车呢。
Qiūtiān, fùqīn lái kàn wǒ, wèn wǒ chē ne.
In autumn my father came to visit and asked where the car was.
我说在楼下睡觉呢，他笑了半天。
Wǒ shuō zài lóu xià shuìjiào ne, tā xiào le bàntiān.
I said it was sleeping downstairs, and he laughed for a long while.
他年轻时在运输队开车，车是他的命。
Tā niánqīng shí zài yùnshū duì kāichē, chē shì tā de mìng.
In his youth he drove for a transport team, and his truck was his life.
他说，车不开，放着就坏了。
Tā shuō, chē bù kāi, fàng zhe jiù huài le.
He said a car left sitting will go bad.
我说，人不动，放着也坏了。
Wǒ shuō, rén bú dòng, fàng zhe yě huài le.
I said a person left sitting goes bad too.
我说的时候没有多想，父亲却记住了。
Wǒ shuō de shíhou méiyǒu duō xiǎng, fùqīn què jì zhù le.
I did not think much when I said it, but my father remembered it.
父亲看着我，很久没有说话。
Fùqīn kàn zhe wǒ, hěn jiǔ méiyǒu shuōhuà.
My father looked at me and did not speak for a long time.
走的时候，他说我瘦了，也精神了。
Zǒu de shíhou, tā shuō wǒ shòu le, yě jīngshen le.
As he left, he said I had lost weight and looked livelier.
冬天再来的时候，下雨的早晨还是难受。
Dōngtiān zài lái de shíhou, xià yǔ de zǎochen háishi nánshòu.
When winter returned, rainy mornings were still hard.
车站等车的人挤在棚子底下，互相让着位置。
Chēzhàn děng chē de rén jǐ zài péng zi dǐxia, hùxiāng ràng zhe wèizhì.
The people waiting squeezed under the shelter, making room for one another.
伞被风吹翻过好几次。
Sǎn bèi fēng chuī fān guò hǎo jǐ cì.
The wind turned my umbrella inside out more than once.
有一次我全身湿透，感冒了三天。
Yǒu yí cì wǒ quánshēn shī tòu, gǎnmào le sān tiān.
Once I got drenched head to toe and had a cold for three days.
妻子说，要不还是买辆车吧。
Qīzi shuō, yàobù háishi mǎi liàng chē ba.
My wife said, maybe we should just buy a car.
我说好，周末去看看。
Wǒ shuō hǎo, zhōumò qù kàn kàn.
I said all right, we would go look on the weekend.
周末到了，我们却骑车去了河边。
Zhōumò dào le, wǒmen què qí chē qù le hé biān.
When the weekend came, we rode our bikes to the river instead.
买车的事，就这样又放了一个月。
Mǎi chē de shì, jiù zhèyàng yòu fàng le yí gè yuè.
And so the car buying was put off for another month.
后来干脆不说了，谁也不提买车两个字。
Hòulái gāncuì bù shuō le, shéi yě bù tí mǎi chē liǎng gè zì.
Later we simply stopped mentioning it; nobody said the words buy a car.
一年下来，我认真算了算钱。
Yì nián xiàlái, wǒ rènzhēn suànle suàn qián.
Over that year I carefully did the sums.
油钱没有了，停车费没有了，罚款也没有了。
Yóu qián méiyǒu le, tíngchē fèi méiyǒu le, fákuǎn yě méiyǒu le.
No more money for fuel, no more parking fees, no more fines.
坐地铁的钱，不到从前的三分之一。
Zuò dìtiě de qián, bú dào cóngqián de sān fēn zhī yī.
The subway cost me less than a third of what I used to spend.
我的血压下来了，体重也下来了。
Wǒ de xuèyā xiàlái le, tǐzhòng yě xiàlái le.
My blood pressure came down, and so did my weight.
更重要的是，我认识了很多原来不认识的路。
Gèng zhòngyào de shì, wǒ rènshi le hěn duō yuánlái bú rènshi de lù.
More importantly, I came to know many streets I had never known.
我知道哪条街的花开得最早。
Wǒ zhīdào nǎ tiáo jiē de huā kāi de zuì zǎo.
I knew which street's flowers opened earliest.
我知道哪个市场的鱼最新鲜。
Wǒ zhīdào nǎge shìchǎng de yú zuì xīnxiān.
I knew which market had the freshest fish.
我知道从公司走回家，只要五十分钟。
Wǒ zhīdào cóng gōngsī zǒu huí jiā, zhǐyào wǔ shífēn zhōng.
I knew walking home from the office took only fifty minutes.
这条路上有三座桥，两座天桥，一个小花园。
Zhè tiáo lùshang yǒu sān zuò qiáo, liǎng zuò tiānqiáo, yí gè xiǎo huāyuán.
On that road there are three bridges, two footbridges, and a small garden.
一年到了，楼下的旧车盖满了灰。
Yì nián dào le, lóu xià de jiù chē gài mǎn le huī.
When the year was up, the old car downstairs was covered in dust.
我把它卖了，价钱低得可怜。
Wǒ bǎ tā mài le, jiàqián dī de kělián.
I sold it, for a pitifully low price.
签字的时候，我摸了摸方向盘，像跟老朋友告别。
Qiānzì de shíhou, wǒ mō le mō fāngxiàngpán, xiàng gēn lǎo péngyou gàobié.
When I signed the papers, I touched the steering wheel as if saying goodbye to an old friend.
收车的人问我，新车买了吗。
Shōu chē de rén wèn wǒ, xīn chē mǎi le ma.
The man who took the car asked whether I had bought a new one.
我说不买了，他像看怪人一样看我。
Wǒ shuō bù mǎi le, tā xiàng kàn guài rén yíyàng kàn wǒ.
I said I was not buying one, and he looked at me like I was a strange creature.
现在我还是每天走到车站。
Xiànzài wǒ háishi měi tiān zǒu dào chēzhàn.
Now I still walk to the bus stop every day.
走路的二十分钟，是我一天里最清醒的二十分钟。
Zǒulù de èr shífēn zhōng, shì wǒ yì tiān lǐ zuì qīngxǐng de èr shífēn zhōng.
Those twenty minutes of walking are the clearest twenty minutes of my day.
早点摊的师傅认识我，会多给我一些粥。
Zǎo diǎn tān de shīfu rènshi wǒ, huì duō gěi wǒ yìxiē zhōu.
The cook at the breakfast stall knows me and gives me extra porridge.
公交车的司机也认识我，朝我点点头。
Gōngjiāochē de sījī yě rènshi wǒ, cháo wǒ diǎn diǎntóu.
The bus driver knows me too and nods to me.
有一天下大雨，他特意把车往路边多靠了一米。
Yǒu yì tiānxià dà yǔ, tā tèyì bǎ chē wǎng lùbiān duō kào le yì mǐ.
One day of heavy rain, he deliberately pulled the bus a meter closer to the curb.
门口还挂着那把旧车钥匙。
Ménkǒu hái guà zhe nà bǎ jiù chē yàoshi.
The old car key still hangs by the door.
我每次出门看见它，就想起那十二年。
Wǒ měi cì chūmén kànjiàn tā, jiù xiǎng qǐ nà shí èr nián.
Every time I see it on my way out, I remember those twelve years.
想起那些按喇叭的早晨，也想起后来那些走路的早晨。
Xiǎng qǐ nàxiē àn lǎba de zǎochen, yě xiǎng qǐ hòulái nàxiē zǒulù de zǎochen.
I remember those mornings of honking, and also the later mornings of walking.
然后我把门关上，走路去坐车。
Ránhòu wǒ bǎ mén guān shàng, zǒulù qù zuò chē.
Then I close the door and walk off to catch my bus.
HearMandarin