I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what you didn’t know and you didn’t care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset. I want to think the would is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible.

我想重新回到生活简简单单的时代。那时你所知道的只有色彩、乘法表和童谣，但你不觉得缺什么—你不知道你所不了解的，所以也不会去在乎。你所知道的只是开心快乐，因为你对一切令人忧虑、沮丧的事物都浑然不觉，而这正是一种福分。我想认为世界是工整的，每个人都诚实善良；我想相信，任何事情都有可能发生。

Somewhere in our youth, we matured and learned too much. There are nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, and abused children. Lies, unhappy marriages, illness, pain, and death. A world where companies poison our water and our soil, and children kill. What happened to the time when we thought that everyone would live forever, because we didn’t grasp the concept of death? When the worst thing in the world was if someone took the jump rope from you or picked you last for kickball.

步入青年时代后，我们渐渐成熟，也知道了太多太多的事情。知道了世界上有核武器，有战争，有偏见，还有被虐待的儿童；知道了有谎言、不幸的婚姻，还有疾病、痛苦和死亡；知道了在我们的世界里， 水源受污染、土壤被毒化，连孩子也会杀人。曾几何时，我们不懂得死亡的含义，认为人可以长生不老，而世上最糟糕的事情也无非是别人拿了你的跳绳，或是踢球时最后才挑到你。那个时代哪儿去了呢？

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again. I want to return to the days when children played Hide-n-seek outside instead of being glued to a television, when video games were as harmless as Pac-Man, instead of spine-ripping, blood-splattering mind numbers like Mortal Combat, and TV still had some shows on that weren’t about sex, killing, and lies.

我想忽视生活中的错综复杂，而让自己为一点点小事就兴奋不已。我想回到旧时，那时孩子们爱在外面捉迷藏，而不是像现在一样整天目不转睛地盯着电视；那时的电子游戏也不会像今天的“致命快打”游戏一样充满暴力和血性，而是像“吃豆子”游戏一样健康无害；那时的电视上也还有些节目与性、杀戮与谎言无关。

I remember being naive and thinking everyone was happy because I was. Afternoons were spent climbing trees and fences and riding my bike. I never worried about time, bills, or where I was going to find the money to fix my car. I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew up, not worry about what I’ll do if this doesn’t work out. I want to live simply again. I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor’s bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

我记得自己曾是多么天真无邪，以为自己快乐、人人也都无忧无屡。一个个下午，我爬树、翻围栏、骑自行车。那时我不会为时间、帐单或是到哪儿弄钱修车而发愁。我过去常想，长大了要做什么，要成为什么样的人，而不会担心如果这些不能实现我该这么办。我想重新过上这种单纯的生活。我不想阻击的生活都是些什么电脑失灵、工作成堆、令人沮丧的消息、盘算如何维持生计、支付医生的帐单、听各种闲言碎语、患上可怕的几平或是失去所爱的人。

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind... and making angels in the snow.

我想重新坚信、微笑、拥抱、善言、真理、正义、和平、梦想、想像、人类…这些都拥有不凡的力量。 我相信用雪可以堆出天使般的雪人。

So, here’s my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to catch me first, ’cause, "Tag! You’re it!"

因此，我交上我的支票簿、车钥匙、信用卡和“401K计划书”，郑重声明我将不再做大人。如果就此深入探讨，就得像孩子们玩抓人游戏一样先抓住我。

注释：
“401K计划书”是美国的一种社会保障计划。
"Tag”指的是一种孩子玩的抓人游戏，"Tag! You’re it!" 是游戏中常用的口令。这句话喻笔者已回到孩童时代。

上大学后几乎就没学过英语。今天仔细读了一下，原来还是那么亲切，呵呵。这些句子不错，读着舒服。