【答案解析】Little children look forward to the arrival of lunar New Year, adults to that of spring. When I was a child, I couldn"t understand what the elders hoped for. But New Year"s Day was always the greatest red-letter day of all the year, for it meant the nicest food as well as a lot of fun, which was really fascinating. As soon as the festival was over, another one was my dream and I wished time flew as fast as possible.
Days spent in expectation come and go really very fast. Very soon I finished primary school, went to junior and senior middle school, and finally to college; with ever greater desire for more varied things: for graduation with honors, for an ideal job, for a successful career, for more earnings to share my parents" burden, for a satisfactory wife... Climbing the upward steps of hope, I had become a fully grown man before I was aware of it, a busy breadwinner with a family on my hands. [解析] 细娃盼过年，大人盼开春。
“细娃”是一种方言的说法，指“小孩”。原句中前后两个“盼”，译文中将第二个省略。且两个盼都是“盼望……的到来”，因此“到来”也只在第一句中出现，后面同样使用省略的方法。
Little children look forward to the arrival of lunar New Year, adults to that of spring.
儿时，对于大人的盼是不能理解的，但过年，对我来说，可是一年的大盼头了。过年，不但好玩，且有肉吃。那气氛是迷人的。
每个人都有对于自己来说特别的、值得纪念的日子，这个特殊的日子在英语中叫“red-letter day”。这种说法最早起源于中世纪。那时，教会的日历上会把宗教节日和假日等印成红色。后来这个短语的意思逐渐扩大为任何“值得纪念的或者喜庆的日子”。过年对于作者而言就是这样一个特殊的日子，因此，“大盼头”译为了“red-letter day”。当然，我们也可以说“a special day”或者“a day to remember”，但是用“red-letter day”更加地道。这三句话中的后两句很明显是对前一句的解释，翻译时可将三句合为一句，用表示原因的“for”连接。
When I was a child, I couldn"t understand what the elders hoped for. But New Year"s Day was always the greatest red-letter day of all the year, for it meant the nicest food as well as a lot of fun, which was really fascinating.
年一过，又盼日子快些流，好流来又一个春节。
这里，参考译文将“年”译为了“festival”，因为过年就是过春节(Spring Festival)。“时间流逝”用的是“flow”。
As soon as the festival was over, another one was my dream and I wished time flew as fast as possible.
在盼中，日子真的流得飞快，转眼上了小学，继而上初中，然后高中，最后上大学，盼的欲望更加强烈，盼的内容也越渐丰富了：盼有好成绩毕业，盼有一份好工作，盼事业有成，盼挣钱替父母分忧，盼有一个好爱人……
上句中的“时光流逝”用的是“flow”，这里为了体现用词的多样化，可译为“Days come and go”。“上小学、初中、高中和大学”这部分是对“时间飞快”的进一步说明，参考译文将这部分断句译为独立的句子。“盼的欲望更加强烈，盼的内容也越渐丰富了”中对盼的修饰“强烈和丰富”其实是融合的，也就是盼望更多的内容，同时这种期望的感情又更加强烈，翻译时可将其合并为“with ever greater desire for more varied things”。
Days spent in expectation come and go really very fast. Very soon I finished primary school, went to junior and senior middle school, and finally to college; with ever greater desire for more varied things: for graduation with honors, for an ideal job, for a successful career, for more earnings to share my parents" burden, for a satisfactory wife...
不知不觉中，天天踩着盼的石阶而上，自己竟成了一个大男人，一个挣钱养家糊口的忙碌的人了。
“养家糊口的人”英语表达为“breadwinner”。这句话的结构分析如下：首先，主句为“成了一个大男人”，因此，主谓结构为“I had become a grown man”；后面的“一个挣钱养家糊口的忙碌的人”是“一个大男人”的同位语，可放在最后。参考译文将“不知不觉中”和“天天踩着盼的石阶而上”分别译为状语从句，“天天踩着盼的石阶而上”为整句话的状语，而“不知不觉中”则是对“自己成为一个大男人”这一领悟的修饰，因此可放在主句中，译为“before I was aware of it”。
Climbing the upward steps of hope, I had become a fully grown man before I was aware of it, a busy breadwinner with a family on my hands.