刚考完试，一时“无所事事”，也顿觉“寂寞难耐”，还真不晓得该做些什么才好。
昨晚到 PurpleIce 同学的博客转了一下，发现她把报章上的一段英文报道给翻译成汉文，忽然萌起“凑热闹”的念头，也尝试把同样一段文字也给翻译了，藉此练习一下。
若译文与原文有差错，敬请指正。
A Reason to Celebrate
Leonard Thomas
原文
Perhaps, they chased that sense of achievement. Maybe they wanted to prove Singapore women can as well, after Messrs Khoo Swee Chiow and Edwin Siew flew the first Singapore flag on the ice-capped peak o Everest in 1998.
Quite possibly, they just wanted to know the limits of their endurance. Or maybe it was simply for the view, which I’ve heard can be breathtaking. When the women return home, many well-wishers will greet them, along with reporters and television cameras. Photographers will chase them, all six will field questions at press conferences, in studios and in schools. Maybe, I shouldn’t bother with why. Because these women are also a unique breed.
There is an aura about swimming superstar Phelps, basketball icon Jordan continues to carry it wherever he goes. This group of Singapore women adventurers deserve their own special cloak, a sense of mystery only a little over 4,000 people will understand.
I’ll just do with celebrating an extraordinary team of Singaporean women, who have all pushed themselves to the limit.
Passage extracted from Today, Women Just like the two Mikes, May 21 2009, page 52.
《一个值得欢庆的理由》
李奥纳德·托马斯
译文
或许，她们所追求的就是那一份成就感。又或许，她们只要证明当邱瑞昭和萧王卓1998年首次把新加坡国旗插在冰封的珠穆朗玛峰顶端后，我国女性巾帼不让须眉，亦同样了得。
或许，她们只不过想考验自己的耐力极限。要不，便只不过是想一睹那种听说令人看了惊心动魄的壮丽美景。我猜想，当这群豪杰女将在返国时，除了会引来媒体记者和摄影师们的包围外，肯定也会受到众多民众的热烈迎接和祝福。届时，不论是在摄影棚内或校间举行的记者发布会，她们六位肯定将会被打破砂锅问到底。对此，我理应不需置疑，原因她们都是独特的女性。
正如游泳巨星迈克·菲尔普斯和篮球偶像迈克·佐丹那样，无论他们到哪里，其气质总是形影相随。这群新加坡女冒险家，当然值得采访，而她们的神秘感，又岂止仅限于那数以万计的人可以明白。
而我所能做到的，也不过就为这一群挑战自我极限的非凡新加坡女性欢呼。
节选自今日报《犹如双迈的女性》2009年5月21日，第52页
（北雁试译）
（首译于2009年5月28日，6月28日重修）
