Mine has been a life of much shame（ 遗憾的事）. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being. I was born（承担） in a village in the northeast, and it wasn't until I was quite big that I saw my first train. I climbed up and down the station bridge, quite unaware（不知道的） that its function was to permit（允许） people to cross from one track to another. I was convinced that the bridge had been provided to lend an exotic（异国情调的） touch and to make the station premises（引出） a place of pleasant diversity（差异）, like some foreign playground. I remained under this delusion for quite a long time, and it was for me a very refined amusement indeed, to climb up and down the bridge.

  I was convinced that it was one of the most elegant（ 文雅的） services provided by the railways. When later I discovered that the bridge was nothing more than a utilitarian（功利的） device, I lost all interest in it. Again, when as a child I saw photographs of subway trains in picture books, it never occurred to me that they had been invented out of practical necessity（需要）. I could only suppose that riding underground instead of on the surface must be a novel and delightful pastime（消遣）. I have been sickly ever since I was a child, and have frequently been confined（限制） to bed. How often as I lay there I used to think what uninspired decorations（装饰） sheets and pillowcases（枕头套（等于pillow slip）） make.