青涩的爱没有那么多的世俗色彩和功利目的。有的只是清清的情，纯纯的爱，青涩而真诚。仿佛水晶般清澈透明，而又不似钻石那么光彩夺目，值得珍藏心底，回味一生。
让我做你的声音
A Silent Love
佚名 / Anonymous
From the very beginning， the girl’s family objected strongly on her dating this guy， saying that it had got to do with family background and that the girl would have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.
Due to family’s pressure， the couple quarrelled very often. Though the girl loved the guy deeply， she always asked him， “How deep is your love for me？”
As the guy was not good with his words， this often caused the girl to be very upset. With that and the family’s pressure， the girl often vented her anger on him. As for him， he only endured it in silence.
After a couple of years， the guy finally graduated and decided to further his studies overseas. Before leaving， he proposed to the girl. “I’m not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me， I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family， I’ll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me？”
The girl agreed， and with the guy’s determination， the family finally gave in and agreed to let them get married. So before he left， they got engaged.
The girl went out to the working society， whereas the guy was overseas， continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails and phone calls. Though it was hard， both never thought of giving up.
One day， while the girl was on her way to work， she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up， she saw her parents beside her bed. She realized that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying， she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She lost her voice...
The doctors said that the impact on her brain had caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents’ comfort， but with nothing coming out from her， she broke down.
During the stay in hospital， besides silent cry... it was still just silent cry that accompanied her. Upon reaching home， everything seemed to be the same， except for the ringing tone of the phone， which pierced into her heart every time it rang. She did not wish to let the guy know， and not want to be a burden to him. She wrote a letter to him saying that she did not wish to wait any longer.
With that， she sent the ring back to him. In return， the guy sent millions and millions of reply， and countless of phone calls... All the girl could do， besides crying， was still crying...
The parents decided to move away， hoping that she could eventually forget everything and become happy.
With a new environment， the girl learned sign language， and started a new life， telling herself every day that she must forget the guy. One day， her friend came and told her that he’s back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then， there wasn’t any more news of him.
A year had passed and her friend came with an envelope containing an invitation card for the guy’s wedding. The girl was shattered. When she opened the letter she saw her name in it instead.
When she was about to ask her friend what’ s going on， she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her “I’ve spent a year’s time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I’ve not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I love you.” With that， he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.
最初，女孩的家里人强烈反对她和这个男孩约会。理由是家境不般配，要是和他一起生活，女孩将来会吃很多苦。
因为家庭的压力，两人常常吵架。尽管女孩深爱着男孩，可她总是问：“你爱我有多深？”
男孩不太会说话，常常令女孩伤心。因为这个原因，再加上家庭的压力，女孩常常对男孩发脾气。而他，只是用沉默接受这一切。
过了几年，男孩终于毕业了，他打算到国外去深造。临走之前，他向女孩求婚：“我不善于表达，然而我知道我爱你。假如你接受我，我愿意用我的余生来照顾你。至于你的家人，我会尽力说服他们接受我。你愿意嫁给我吗？”
女孩答应了，男孩凭借他的决心得到了女孩家里人的同意，他们可以结婚了。因此，在他离开前，他们订了婚。
女孩进入社会工作，而男孩则在国外继续他的学业。他们通过电子邮件和电话传递爱意，虽然这样很辛苦，然而他们从未想过放弃。
有一天，女孩在上班途中被一辆失控的汽车撞倒了。醒来之后，女孩看到父母都坐在床边，她意识到自己伤得厉害。看到妈妈在哭，她想安慰她，然而从她嘴里发出的只是一声叹息，她意识到她失声了……
医生解释说，是因为大脑的损伤使她不能出声。听着父母的安慰，她却说不出一个字，她伤心欲绝。
在医院的那段日子，陪伴她的除了无声的哭泣，还是无声的哭泣。出院之后，所有的事情还是老样子，除了电话铃声。每当电话一响，这个声音就会刺穿她的心。她不想让他知道这一切，不想让自己成为他的负担，因此她写了一封信，告诉他，她不想再等下去了。
她把订婚戒指连同那封信一块儿寄给了他，男孩写了无数封回信，打了无数个电话。而女孩所能做的，除了痛哭，还是痛哭……
她的父母决定搬家，想让她忘掉这一切，重新快乐起来。
在新环境下，女孩学会了手语，开始了崭新的生活，她每天都告诉自己必须忘记他。有一天，一个朋友到她的家里来，告诉她，他已经回来了，她请朋友不要把所发生的一切告诉他。从此以后，她再也没有听到他的任何消息。
一年过去了，朋友带给她一个信封，信封里是男孩的结婚喜帖。女孩的心都碎了，然而在她打开之后，看到的是自己的名字。
就在她要问朋友怎么回事的时候，她看到男孩出现在她的面前。他用手语告诉她：“我花了一年的时间来学习手语，我只是想让你知道，我没有忘记我们的诺言。让我做你的声音吧，我爱你。”说着，他将戒指重新戴到她的手上。终于，女孩露出了笑脸。
记忆填空
1. As the guy was not good with his____， this often caused the girl to be very upset.____that and the family’s pressure， the girl often vented her______ on him. As for him， he only endured it in____ .
2. The girl went out to the___ society， whereas the guy was overseas， continuing his____. They sent their love through emails and phone____. Though it was hard， both never thought of giving____ .
佳句翻译
1. 因为家庭的压力，两人常常吵架。
译________________________________
2. 出院之后，所有的事情还是老样子，除了电话铃声。每当电话一响，这个声音就会刺穿她的心。
译________________________________
3. 他将戒指重新戴到她的手上。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. With that and the family’s pressure， the girl often vented her anger on him.
vent on：迁怒
造_______________________________
2. The girl agreed， and with the guy’s determination， the family finally gave in and agreed to let them get married.
give in：屈服于；向……让步
造_______________________________
滑向永远的爱情
Roller Romance
佚名 / Anonymous
In the spring of 1980， I had been following one particular guy around school for a month. I just did not have the nerve to go up and talk to him. An embarrassing situation， from that winter， truly prevented me from approaching him.
He had been a starter for the junior varsity basketball team and I was a cheerleader， I had many opportunities to see this gorgeous guy in action. That is， if I wore my glasses. You see， I am as blind as a bat and was too vain to wear them.
As Terry sank a half court shot at the last second， this extremely near-sighted cheerleader， misidentified the hero and began cheering for the wrong guy. As the crowd started chuckling， my face turned crimson as Terry walked by me to get to the locker room. Months later， he only knew me as the dingy cheerleader who could not even get his name right when he hit a great shot！
However， my best friend attended church with Terry. Shirley decided to play matchmaker. She not only invited me to a church-sponsored skating party， but also literally pushed me in his parent’s car to ride to the skating rink. Although the skating rink was 15 miles away， very few words were spoken. As I sank down in that backseat， I just wanted to keep sinking. This had truly been a huge mistake.
After we arrived at the skating rink， things did not get any better. Each couple skate I hoped and prayed that Terry would ask me. He didn’t！ After about 3 couple skates， I decided enough was enough！ So I took turns skating with his 2 best friends. As the last call for a couple skate came over the rink’s loud speakers， Terry finally skated somewhat awkwardly and stood beside the rails with me.
“I guess you wonder why I have not asked you to couple skate？ ” were his first words to me. Trying ever so hard not to look in those big beautiful brown eyes that made me melt， I answered nonchalantly and dishonestly， “No， not really.”
This guy not only ignored my tart reply， but would also win my heart with the following reply. Casting those beautiful eyes down at his skates， he humbly remarked， “I didn’t ask because I do not skate very well. If you are not afraid that I will make you fall， would you please skate with me？” This time I did look into those eyes and did melt.
As we skated hand in hand to Always and Forever， I knew my life would never be the same. I never knew a guy that actually would admit any of his faults， let alone worry about a girl to boot！ I had first been attracted to his beauty on the outside (who wouldn’t notice those beautiful brown eyes)， but it would be his beautiful heart that made me realize how truly special he was.
I had actually found my Prince Charming.
Even though he was not riding on a handsome steed (but rented roller skates)， he made me feel like Cinderella at the ball as we skated around the rink. I clung tightly to his hand—not because I was afraid of midnight—but to help keep him from falling.
When I look at our wedding pictures， my favorite is walking down the aisle as husband and wife. Most couples walk down the aisle with the bride’s hand tucked neatly in the crook of her husband’s arm. Not us！ We walked down the aisle， after being pronounced man and wife， just like we had done 7 years before at that skating rink—hand-in-hand with the promise of helping keep the other one from falling.
Our children love to hear the story of how their dad did not know how to skate and asked me to hold his hand to help us keep from tumbling. But it had already been too late for their mother. Only after one look into those eyes， she had fallen—fallen in love with Prince Champing.
1980年春天，我在学校追随一个男孩已经整整一个月了，我只是没有勇气走到他的面前和他交谈。前一年冬天发生了那样令人尴尬的事情，我就更没有勇气接近他了。
当时，他是三年级篮球校队的首发队员，而我是拉拉队的队长，所以我有许多机会观看这个英俊的男孩打球。只是，我得戴上眼镜，要知道，我的视力很差，就像蝙蝠一样瞎，然而我太虚荣了，不愿意佩戴眼镜。
特里在最后一秒投篮命中半场球，我这个视力差到极点的拉拉队队长却把人认错了，并开始叫着另外一个家伙的名字欢呼喝彩。在场的观众都开始低声轻笑，我的脸涨得通红。这时，特里从我身旁走了过去，进了更衣室。过了几个月，他对我的了解仅仅是那个在他投了好球，却把他的名字弄错的糟糕的拉拉队队长。
然而，我最好的朋友常常和特里一起去教堂做礼拜。雪莉决定充当媒人。她不但邀请我去参加教堂组织的一个溜冰派对，而且，她将我推进了特里父母的车里，接着车便向溜冰场开去。尽管溜冰场距离这里有15英里远，然而在路上我们都没说几句话。一路上，我坐在车的后排，真想钻进座位底下去，这真是一个天大的错误。
即使是我们到达溜冰场以后，交往还是没有什么起色。每当有双人滑的时候，我都在心里盼望并祈求特里会过来邀请我。然而，事与愿违！经过了三场双人滑，我已经忍无可忍了！因此，我和他的两个最好的朋友轮流滑着。在溜冰场的喇叭响起最后一轮双人滑的通告时，特里终于动作笨拙地溜到栏杆旁，与我站在了一起。
“我猜，你正在想我为什么没有邀请你和我一起双人滑。”这是他对我说的第一句话，我竭力试着不去看他的大眼睛，那双可以将我融化的美丽的棕色眼睛。我装得很冷淡，还对他撒了谎：“不，我并没有这么想。”
他非但没把我刻薄的回答放在心上，还用下面这些话俘虏了我的心。他用他那双漂亮的眼睛盯着自己的溜冰鞋，很谦虚地说道：“我之所以没有邀请你，是因为我滑得不好。假如你不担心我会让你摔倒在地，你是否愿意和我一起滑呢？”这一回，我看着那双眼睛，真的被他融化了。
就在我们手牵手在《直到永远》的歌曲声中滑行的时候，我知道我的生活将从这一刻改变。我从未见过一个会承认自己缺点的男孩，更别说还为一个女孩担心了。最初，我仅仅是着迷于他英俊的外表（哪个人不会注意到那双漂亮的棕色眼睛呢），然而，还是他美丽的心灵让我知道他是多么特别。
最终，我找到了自己的白马王子。
纵然他并未骑着骏马（只是租来的溜冰鞋），然而，在我们绕着溜冰场滑行的时候，他让我觉得我就是舞会上的灰姑娘。我紧紧地拉着他的手——并不是因为对午夜的惧怕——而是为了帮助他，不让他摔倒。
看着我们的结婚照片，我最钟爱的一张是夫妻两人沿着教堂过道朝前走的场景。大多数情况下，都是妻子优雅地用手挽着丈夫的胳膊一起从过道走过。可我们不是这样！在宣布成为夫妻之后，我们走过过道，仿佛七年前我们在溜冰场那样——手牵着手，许下诺言不让对方摔倒。
我们的孩子们喜欢听他们的爸爸不知道怎么滑冰，让我牵着他的手以防两个人摔倒的故事。然而知道他们的爸爸不会滑冰时，对他们的妈妈来讲为时已晚。那双眼睛她只看了一眼，就已经深陷其中，坠入了与白马王子的爱河之中。
记忆填空
1. As Terry sank a half court shot at the____ second， this extremely near-sighted cheerleader， misidentified the____and began cheering for the____ guy. As the crowd started chuckling， my face turned crimson as Terry walked_____me to get to the locker room.
2. This guy not only____my tart reply， but would also____my heart with the following reply. Casting those beautiful eyes down at his skates， he humbly remarked，“I didn’t ask because I do not_____ very well.”
佳句翻译
1. 我的视力很差，就像蝙蝠一样瞎，然而我太虚荣了，不愿意佩戴眼镜。
译________________________________
2. 大多数情况下，都是妻子优雅地用手挽着丈夫的胳膊一起从过道走过。
译________________________________
3. 然而知道他们的爸爸不会滑冰时，对他们的妈妈来讲为时已晚。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. I just did not have the nerve to go up and talk to him.
have the nerve to do：有胆量做某事
造_______________________________
2. I never knew a guy that actually would admit any of his faults， let alone worry about a girl to boot！
let alone：更不必说；听任；不打扰
造_______________________________
最后一封信
The Last Relationship
佚名 / Anonymous
I remember the first time we met； you were as cute as you could be and then we started to play fight and then you sat on me.
You started to throw popcorn while I was going down the stairs and I came back to beat you up while you laid there.
I saw you again on Valentine’s Day when I was a little shy， and didn’t know what to say.
I remember the first time I asked you to come to my house with your brother； at first you didn’t want to because of my mother， father， and brother.
When you came upstairs I was playing wit vane， I was hoping you were thinking—can I play with her？
While you were sitting on my couch changing channels on my TV， I was staring at you hoping you wouldn’t catch me.
Then we became all cool and started to play fight， you bit me and I bit you， and then we held each other a little tight.
Then I remember our first kiss； you were sitting on the chair I was in front of you and stood there.
But the moment had to last and you had to go and in my mind I was saying， “No， he can’t go！”
Then on March the 3rd you asked me to be your girl and I replied yes and we became a couple； I was hoping there would be no trouble.
I always remember on a Sunday night you surprised me and said， “I LOVE YOU.” I asked you over and over and said don’t play. I replied to you and said， “I love you too always.”
Then 2 months past， you said you wanted to leave so I said “don’t worry， just stay calm.” So later on， we were going our way， but sometimes we had our bad days.
It was about our 4th month we had planned a day so we went out， but we had a big argument and didn’t know what to say.
Then the date finally came. You called me a bitch， so I got up and walked away. I walked away and stood behind a wall then I just thought “God please don’t let this relationship fall.”
As a tear dropped from my eye， you walked by and said， “Baby I’m sorry， please don’t cry.”
So finally we went home and you kissed me and I told you to go.
You made new friends and went out and do you know I sat there pissed， mad， and a kind of blue.
So then I finally told you， you don’t need me and I don’t need you.
So you said let’s just take a break 1 month， but 2 months then I felt like it went away.
Then after a while you called me that you miss me， you love me and you want me.
We talked for a while， I was being cold then you asked me again and I explained myself and then said no.
So after that I wrote about a guy who stole my heart away as we said goodbye， and he went his way and I went mine and here I am today.
记得我们初次相识时，你好可爱。我们一起玩打仗，之后你骑到了我身上。
我准备下楼时，你就扔爆米花，你躺在地上时，我折回来痛打了你一顿。
再次遇见你是在情人节那天，我有一点儿害羞，不知道说什么好。
还记得我第一次邀请你和你弟弟来我家玩，开始你不想来，怕看到我的父母和兄弟。
你上楼时，我正在玩风信旗。那时我就希望你能这么想——我可以和她玩风信旗吗？
你坐在沙发上调电视频道时，我凝望着你，并希望你没有发现。
接着，我们静了下来，开始玩打仗。在打闹中你咬了我，我也咬了你，然后我们抱住了对方。
还记得初吻时，你在椅子上坐着，我在你面前站着。
然而，时间过得真快，你得走了，我在心里说：“不，不要走！”
后来，在3月3日那天，你请求我做你的女朋友，我答应了，于是我们成了情侣。我希望我们的爱情之路顺利平坦。
我总记得那个星期天的晚上，你着实让我吃了一惊。你对我说：“我爱你。”我问了你很多次，并要你别和我开玩笑了。最后，我还是回应了你，“我也永远爱你。”
两个月后，你说你想离开我了。我对你说不要这样，冷静一下吧。这以后，我们又在一起了，但有时会发生争执。
大约在相识四个月后，我们计划出游一天，也就在那天，我们大吵了一架，之后就无话可说了。
终于，分手的那天到了。你骂我是泼妇，我气急败坏，起身离开。我站在墙后，祈祷着：“上帝啊，别让这段感情就此结束。”
我的眼泪簌簌滑落，你走过来对我说：“亲爱的，对不起，别哭了！”
我们一起回到家，你吻了我，我请你离开。
你交了新的朋友，与她们一同游玩。你不知道我是多么气愤，还有点儿忧伤。
于是，我终于告诉你，我们不再彼此需要了。
你却说让双方冷静一下，先分开一个月。可对我来说，这一个月就如两个月一样漫长。
后来，你给我打电话，说你很想我、爱我，也很需要我。
我们聊了一会儿，我的态度始终很冷淡。你又问我是否愿意回到你身边，我说一切已经无法挽回了。
之后，我写到，我和我深爱的男孩分手了，他走他的阳关道，我过我的独木桥。现在，我仍旧过得很好。
心灵小语
在生命中的某一天，你会遇上一个人，他能让你哭，让你笑，让你品尝爱的甜蜜与苦涩。
记忆填空
1. I always____ on a Sunday night you surprised me and said， “I LOVE YOU.”I asked you over and____ and said don’t____ . I replied to you and said，“I love you_____ always.”
2. Then the date finally____. You called me a bitch， so I got up and walked____. I walked away and stood behind a wall then I_______thought“God please don’t let this relationship_____ .”
3. So after that I wrote about a guy who_____my heart away as we said_____， and he went his way and I went______and here I am today.
佳句翻译
1. 再次遇见你是在情人节那天，我有一点儿害羞，不知道说什么好。
译________________________________
2. 你坐在沙发上调电视频道时，我凝望着你，并希望你没有发现。
译________________________________
3. 这以后，我们又在一起了，但有时会发生争执。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. ...I came back to beat you up while you laid there.
beat up：暴打；痛打
造_______________________________
2. ...you walked by and said， “Baby I’m sorry， please don’t cry.”
walk by：在……旁边走过；走过……
造_______________________________
逝去的爱
First Love
约翰？沃尔特斯 / John Walters
I remember the way the light touched her hair. She turned her head， and our eyes met， a momentary awareness in that raucous 5th-grade classroom. I felt as though I’d been struck a blow under the heart. Thus began my first love affair.
Her name was Rachel， and I mooned my way through grade and high school， stricken at the mere sight of her， tongue-tied in her presence. Does anyone， anymore， linger in the shadows of evening， drawn by the pale light of a window—her window—like some hapless summer insect？
I would catch sight of her， walking down an aisle of trees to or from school， and I’d become paralyzed. She always seemed so poised， so self-possessed. At home， I’d relive each encounter， writhing at the thought of my inadequacies. Even so， as we entered our teens， I sensed her affectionate tolerance for me.
“Going steady” implied a maturity we still lacked. Her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and my own Catholic scruples imposed a celibate grace that made even kissing a distant prospect， however fervently desired. I managed to hold her once at a dance—chaperoned， of course. Our embrace made her giggle， a sound so trusting that I hated myself for what I’d been thinking.
At any rate， my love for Rachel remained unrequited. We graduated from high school， she went on to college， and I joined the Army. When World War II engulfed us， I was sent overseas. For a time we corresponded， and her letters were the highlight of those grinding， endless years. Once she sent me a snapshot of herself in a bathing suit， which drove me to the wildest of fantasies. I mentioned the possibility of marriage in my next letter， and almost immediately her replies became less frequent， less personal.
The first thing I did when I returned to the States was to call on Rachel. Her mother answered the door. Rachel no longer lived there. She had married a medical student she’d met in college. “I thought she wrote to you.” her mother said.
Her“Dear John” letter finally caught up with me while I was awaiting discharge. She gently explained the impossibility of a marriage between us. Looking back on it， I must have recovered rather quickly， although for the first few months I believed I didn’t want to live. Like Rachel， I found someone else， whom I learned to love with a deep and permanent commitment that has lasted to this day.
Then， recently， after an interval of more than 40 years， I heard from Rachel again. Her husband had died. She was passing through town and had learned of my whereabouts through a mutual friend. We agreed to meet.
I felt both curious and excited. In the last few years， I hadn’t thought about her， and her sudden call one morning had taken me aback. The actual sight of her was a shock. This white-haired matron at the restaurant table was the Rachel of my dreams and desires， the supple mermaid of that snapshot？
Yet time had given us a common reference and respect. We talked as old friends， and quickly discovered we were both grandparents.
“Do you remember this？” She handed me a slip of worn paper. It was a poem I’d written her while still in school. I examined the crude meter and pallid rhymes. Watching my face， she snatched the poem from me and returned it to her purse， as though fearful I was going to destroy it.
I told her about the snapshot， how I’d carried it all through the war.
“It wouldn’t have worked out， you know.” she said.
“How can you be sure？” I countered. “Ah， colleen， it might have been grand indeed—my Irish conscience and your Jewish guilt！”
Our laughter startled people at a nearby table. During the time left to us， our glances were furtive， oblique. I think that what we saw in each other repudiated what we’d once been to ourselves， we immortals.
Before I put her into a taxi， she turned to me. “I just wanted to see you once more. To tell you something.” Her eyes met mine.“I wanted to thank you for having loved me as you did. ” We kissed， and she left.
From a store window my reflection stared back at me， an aging man， with gray hair stirred by an evening breeze. I decided to walk home. Her kiss still burned on my lips. I felt faint， and sat on a park bench. All around me the grass and trees were shining in the surreal glow of sunset. Something was being lifted out of me. Something had been completed， and the scene before me was so beautiful that I wanted to shout and dance and sing for joy.
That soon passed， as everything must， and presently I was able to stand and start for home.
我记得，当时的阳光洒落在她的发丝上。她转过头，我们四目相对，在那间吵闹的五年级教室里，我感觉到了一些东西，觉得心底遭到了一击。我的初恋就此开始了。
她叫雷切尔，我从小学到中学一直很迷恋她，看到她，我的心就怦怦地跳，有她在时，我说话就有些结巴。我就像夏日里一只不幸的小昆虫，被一扇窗前微弱的灯光吸引，在黑暗的夜晚徘徊在她的窗前。
当看到她上学或是放学回家，走在林荫小路上时，我整个人就呆住了，她看起来总是那么镇定自若。在家时，我回想着与她的每一次邂逅，一想到自己的不足之处便心生懊恼。即便如此，当我们正值青春年少时，我仍然感受到她对我深情的宽容。
我们还不够成熟，根本不可能发展稳定的恋爱关系。她自幼受正统犹太教的家庭熏陶，而我因信奉天主教心存顾忌，这使我们表现得清心寡欲，有如谦谦君子，就连亲吻都遥不可及，无论这种渴望是多么强烈。在一场舞会上，我设法拥抱了她一下——当然，有大人在场。我们的拥抱让她咯咯地笑了起来，她那纯洁干脆的笑声让我痛恨自己所想的一切。
总而言之，我对雷切尔的爱一直是单恋。中学毕业后，她考上了大学，我参了军。第二次世界大战爆发后，我被派到海外。有一段时间，我们保持着联系，她的来信成为那些难熬的漫长岁月中的一抹亮色。有一次，她给我寄了一张她的泳装照，我浮想联翩，在回信里提到是否可能结婚。她的回信几乎立即少了，也很少提及个人的事情。
我回国后做的第一件事就是去找雷切尔。她母亲开了门，说雷切尔已经不住在这里了，她与在大学里认识的一个医学院的学生结了婚。“我还以为她写信通知你了。”她的母亲说。
我最终在等待复员时收到了她的一封题为“亲爱的约翰”的信。她委婉地解释了不能和我结婚的原因。回首过去，我真的恢复得很快，尽管在开始的几个月里，我认为自己活不下去了。就像雷切尔一样，我找到了另一个人，我学会用一种深情和永恒的责任感去爱她，而这种责任感一直延续到现在。
可是，最近，在相隔40余年之后，我接到了雷切尔打来的电话，她的丈夫过世了。她经过我所在的城镇，通过我们都认识的一个朋友打听到了我的住址，我们相约见面。
我感到好奇而兴奋，在过去的几年里，我没有挂念过她，她突然在一个早晨给我打了电话，这让我很惊讶。见到她时，我又感到很震惊，这位坐在餐桌前，头发花白的女人就是我梦寐以求的雷切尔吗？就是那个照片上体态轻盈的美人鱼吗？
因为很久不见，我们互相寒暄，谈了共同关心的话题。我们就像老朋友那样聊天，很快发现我们都已经是祖父母了。
“你还记得这个吗？”她递给我一张破旧的纸条，那是我在学校时为她写的一首诗。我仔细看了这首格律粗糙、韵律苍白的诗。她望着我的脸，从我的手里把纸抢走，并装进了包里，好像很怕我会毁掉它。
我告诉她有关相片的事，告诉她我是如何带着它度过了整个战争。
“我们不可能在一起，这你是知道的。”她说。
“你为何如此确定？”我反问她，“哦，姑娘，我的爱尔兰道德感和你犹太人的责任心，那一定非常完美！”
我们的笑声惊动了旁边的人，在余下的时间里，我们都只是偷偷地看着对方。我想，我们从对方身上看到我们一直保留在心中的形象破灭了。
在我送她上出租车之前，她转向我，说：“我只是想再看你一眼，告诉你一些事情。”她的双眼凝视着我，“我想谢谢你曾经那么爱我。”我们吻了一下，她离开了。
我在商店的橱窗里看见了自己：灰白的头发在晚风中拂动。我决定步行回家，她的吻还在我的唇上燃烧，我感到有点儿晕，于是坐在公园的一张长凳上。在我身旁，花草树木正在夕阳的照耀下熠熠发光，压在我心上的某个东西消失了，某件事情圆满了。我眼前的景象是如此之美，我快乐得想要叫喊，想要唱歌跳舞。
如同一切事物一样，这一切很快就过去了，不一会儿，我起身回家了。
记忆填空
1. I would____ sight of her， walking down an aisle of trees to or from school， and I’d become paralyzed. She always____ so poised， so self-possessed. At home， I’d relive each encounter， writhing at the____of my inadequacies.
2. Then， recently， after an interval of more than 40___ ， I heard from Rachel_____. Her husband had died. She was passing through town and had______ of my whereabouts through a mutual friend.
佳句翻译
1. 有一段时间，我们保持着联系，她的来信成为那些难熬的漫长岁月中的一抹亮色。
译________________________________
2. 我想，我们从对方身上看到我们一直保留在心中的形象破灭了。
译________________________________
3. 在我身旁，花草树木正在夕阳的照耀下熠熠发光。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. At any rate， my love for Rachel remained unrequited.
at any rate：无论如何；至少
造_______________________________
2. The first thing I did when I returned to the States was to call on Rachel.
call on：访问；拜访
造_______________________________
怀旧的爱
My One and Only
佚名 / Anonymous
It was all started when I was in high school， I still remember my love one. I am not sure if it is puppy love or first love， but I know deep inside my heart that I still remember him.
At first we were bus mates， and schoolmates too. I was in 1st year high school and he was in second. We still don’t know each other before， but later on when I was sitting in front of him in the bus， he used to talk and tease me， which makes me angry with him. I used to say that I hate him but later on... I only eat my words. One day when my best friend wanted to see what I wrote in my diary， I was reading it in the bus and without noticing the guy whom I hate was sitting back of me with his buddies. He was peeping and reading the things that I wrote in the diary. I looked sharply at him and put the book down， then my friend who was in front of me that she has read what I wrote there that love is BOG， BOG， BOG in my heart. He was hearing it and suddenly without my knowledge he stood and snatched the diary from me！ Whew！ What he did was to read the book so loudly where everything was written there about love！ Goodness！ I was so shocked that I was screaming just to get it back. I couldn’t believe it， because he’s the most intelligent student in my school and he’s the representative of our school too. Then after the bus dropped me to my house there I felt that I was so flushing hotly that my cheeks were so red！ There， I realized that I had a crush on him！
Sports date came， and he was the champion for C group boys for running. Whew！ Wow！ I was really amazed when he runs， because he always came 1st in running and he runs like a wind. That day I felt more feelings for him. I used to write him always in my diary， but mostly he always went to another place because of interschool quizes.
I cried that time， because I was missing him so much， that I wished one day he would like me too. Then one day I just heard that he liked me！ My god， I nearly fainted！ Rumors spread that in the bus we always fighted for simple things like teasing， because I use to call him NUTCRACKER which made him so mad at me， and I always teased him for his pimples and about his using FACIAL cleanser which made my whole bus mates burst out laughing， and he was blushing， and then one fine day the rumors spread that we both are loving each other！ Whenever we crossed our paths we just looked at each other casually， but my heart beated fast because he looked at me so intensely which made my heart tremble. I used to be always so naughty that time. One day I decided to ask my friend to write a love letter in language of German I loved， since we both are from different nations.
My friend wrote it， and in the bus I asked him to read the letter for me. He read it and explained what was written， and I knew the last word written there was just I love you， but he told me that the last word means “I love you” which made me blush！ Oh even though I knew that he wasn’t the one who wrote it， but it seemed like he was telling it from his heart！
But not all the love story has happy ending...
One day， I heard that he liked another girl which made my heart break！ In the bus， I used to make him jealous of me by saying that I have a boyfriend. I made it， and he was jealous！ Then examination came. I was really broken-heart when I saw him waiting for a girl in the gate！ I cried， because of his caring for dating girls. 5 days before the exam came， he told me in the bus that he was going to his country！ My god！ I could not believe that he was leaving me！ The last day in the school and in the bus， I took a picture of him in my own camera！ And when he went down in the bus I told bye... and then I still could not believe that he was gone.
To tell you we both are in the same bus， same school， we both are born on the same year. That was HAMLET！ By Shakespeare I was the dancer， and he’s Hamlet. I can never forget my one， my only one. He dreamed about me so many times！ He even include the poem A KISS IN THE RAIN in his dream and we both composed a poem for each other， I composed a poem for him “ONLY YOU”， and he composed a poem for me “SHE’S MINE”. I still can’t forget the happy unforgettable moments once we shared！ Oh， nostalgia—
一切都是从我的高中时代开始的，如今，我仍然惦念着我爱过的他。我不知道那是一种不成熟的爱，还是我的初恋，然而我明白，在我的心底，我依然无法将他忘怀。
最初，我们只是路友兼同学而已。我是高中一年级，他是二年级。在此之前，我们互不相识，然而，后来在公交车上，我坐在他的前面，他常常和我说话，并不断取笑我，这让我很生气。我经常说我恨他，可是后来……我背叛了自己的誓言。有一天，我最好的朋友想看看我日记本里写了些什么，我在公交车上将我写的内容读了出来，但是我没有注意到我憎恨的那个男孩和他的一群同伴就坐在我身后。他偷看了我写在日记本里的内容，那时，我急忙把本子放下，狠狠地盯着他。正在这个时候，坐在我前面的好友告诉我她读了我写的东西，说我在心里将爱情比喻为“沼泽”。听到这里，他站起来猛地将我的日记本抢走了。天哪！他大声地读着我写的内容，而日记里所写的全部是有关爱情的！上帝啊！我立刻尖叫着把我的日记本抢了回来。我实在难以置信，因为他是我们学校最聪明的学生，也是学校的学生代表。停车后，我匆忙赶回家，我的脸颊害羞得直发热，通红通红的！那一刻，我知道我有点儿喜欢他了。
体育竞赛的日子来临了，他赢得了C组男生的第一名！哦，天哪！我为他奔跑的速度而惊叹，因为他常常夺得赛跑冠军，他跑得像风一样快。那天，我又对他多了一些感觉，我常常会把他写进我的日记里。然而大多数情况下他都不在学校，因为他要经常参加一些校际竞赛。
一次，因为实在太思念他，我竟然哭了起来。我多么盼望有一天他也会喜欢我。一天，当我听到有人说他喜欢我时，上帝呀，我几乎要晕过去了。人们都说我们会为了一点小事，如互相嘲笑而大费周张。因为我经常叫他“坚果钳”，这一称号让他很气愤。我经常嘲笑他由于脸上有粉刺而使用洗面奶，全车的人听完之后哈哈大笑，他羞红了脸。一天，有谣言说我们都喜欢彼此！无论何时，我们在穿过街头时，也只是偶尔看看对方。然而我的心在他的热烈注视下怦怦直跳，我的心在颤抖。
那个时候，我非常调皮。一天，我决定请我的朋友用我所喜欢的德语写一封情书，因为我和他来自不同的国度。
朋友写好之后，我拿着这封情书让他在车上念给我听。他一边读，一边为我解释所写的内容，我知道情书的最后写的是“我爱你”。就在他读到最后，告诉我它的意思是“我爱你”时，我的脸颊红了。尽管我知道这并不是他写的，然而这似乎就是他的心声。
但是，并不是所有的爱情故事都有一个完美的结局。
有一天，我听别人说，他喜欢上了另一个女孩，我的心都要碎了。在公交车上，我曾故意说我已经交了一个男友，有意让他嫉妒，果不其然，他真的很是嫉妒。考试来临，我看到他正在门口等待一个女孩，我的心真的碎了。我哭了，因为他开始关注别的女孩了。在考试来临的前五天，他在车上告诉我他要回国了，天哪，我简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。最后一天，在校园里、在车上，我用自己的相机为他拍了照片。他下了车，我向他挥手告别……我无法相信，他离我而去了。
我想告诉你们的是，我们曾乘坐同一班汽车，在同一所学校学习，生于同一年。这一切简直就是莎士比亚笔下的《哈姆雷特》，我就是那个舞女，而他就是哈姆雷特。我永远不会忘记他——我的挚爱。他经常会梦到我，在梦里，他甚至还写了一首诗——《雨中吻》。我们都给彼此写着情诗，我为他写下一首诗，叫《只有你》，而他则为我写了《她是我的》。我仍然无法忘怀我们一起走过的那些开心的、让人难以忘怀的时光！唉，怀旧之情啊！……
心灵小语
总有一种叫“怀念”的东西刺痛心灵，穿透整个身体和灵魂；总有一种痛，痛得哭不出来，痛到无法呼吸；总是在以为要忘记的时候，又发现赤裸裸的想念。
记忆填空
1. We still don’t know each other____， but later on when I was sitting in front of him in the bus， he____ to talk and tease me， which makes me_____with him. I used to say that I hate him but_____on... I only eat my_____.
2. I was so_____that I was screaming just to get it____. I couldn’t believe it， because he’s the most intelligent student in my_____and he’s the representative of our school too.Then after the bus____me to my house there I felt that I was so flushing hotly that my cheeks were so_____！
佳句翻译
1. 尽管我知道这并不是他写的，然而这似乎就是他的心声。
译________________________________
2. 但是，并不是所有的爱情故事都有一个完美的结局。
译________________________________
3. 我永远不会忘记他——我的挚爱。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. I used to say that I hate him but later on... I only eat my words.
eat words：收回前言；食言；承认错误
造_______________________________
2. I realized that I had a crush on him！
have a crush on：迷恋……
造_______________________________
纸上的爱情
Caught by Her Smile
安贝？普赖斯 / Amber Price
Well like most authors I am one who do not believe in love at first sight until I experienced it myself.
It all started like this， I was with a few friends at McDonalds， after my lecture from school， we were chatting and laughing at some stupid stories that one of my friends told.
Just then， a group of girls came and took their seats， there was this girl， quite outstanding for that striking red top she was wearing and she had this sweet smile.
Then， while they were at the counter， ordering their food， I noticed something， they all had a disability， and they could not talk. But， this was not considered a disability to me， I walked up to them， and ask for her number， well， she was surprised.
But， she eventually gave me her address and her name is Elaine， she did not have a phone at home and there was no possibility to talk to her.
After a few days， I sent her a letter， asking her out on a date the following Saturday. Whether she agreed to the date or was it rejected， I could not tell for I did not know！
We were supposed to meet at the Lido cinema to catch a movie； I waited for around 5 minutes then， she appeared. She was wearing that same smile that caught me.
In the cinema， we saw the show “Ice Age.” In order to communicate， I needed to get a pen and paper.
I asked her about how she felt about me. She told me she was very happy， but at the same time， she was worried as she could not define whether my love was out of sympathy or was it from my heart.
From that moment， I have been asking myself the question， until a month later after my exams， I finally made up my mind， I was really in love with her， not for her disability that I sympathize， not for that she is pretty， but for the fact that I love her... I went to her home， which made her quite surprised， I pulled her out of her home and ran to the park in front of her block of flats. I looked at her and wrote to her how I felt， she looked at me with those big black eyes， those that could take your soul away if you were staring at them for a long time.
She took the pen and wrote this sentence， “I love you too， but now that I am assured that you love me for what I am and not out of sympathy， I feel that I will not regret the decision.”
Now， we have been together for 2 years and although we have not planned to get married， I have never once quarrel with her， not even on paper and I never will...
像大多数作家一样，我也不相信一见钟情，直到我亲身体验了它的魅力。
事情是这样的，在学校讲完课后，我和几个朋友坐在麦当劳里面。一个朋友给我们讲了些笑话，我们一边谈论，一边开怀大笑。
就在这时，几个女孩进来了，她们找位子坐了下来。其中一个，穿着鲜红色上衣，脸上洋溢着甜美的微笑，在众人当中，她显得格外与众不同、引人注目。
然后，她们到柜台前点食物时，我才发现她们都有缺陷——不能说话。但我并不认为这是残疾。我走过去，问她的电话号码，她当然惊讶不已。
虽然她家里没有电话——因为她不能说话，所以没那个必要——但她最终告诉了我地址，还有她的名字——伊莱恩。
几天后，我寄了一封信给她，提出下周六与她约会，我也不知道她会不会接受我的邀请。
我约她在利多影院见面，一起去看电影，我在那儿等了五分钟后，她来了，脸上依旧洋溢着那令我沉醉的甜美的笑容。
电影院放映的是《冰河世纪》，为了方便交流，我需要用到纸和笔。
我问她对我的感觉，她告诉我她很开心，同时又很担心，因为她不知道我对她的爱是出于同情还是发自内心。
从那一刻起，我不断地问自己这个问题，直到一个月后的考试结束了，我才明白，我是真的爱上了她。不是对她残疾的同情，也不是因她的美貌而爱慕，而是我真的爱她……我去了她的家里，这令她很吃惊，我拉着她，跑到她家门前的一个公园里。我看着她，写下自己当时的感受。她又大又黑的眼睛直直地看着我，摄人心魄。
她拿起笔，写下了这句话，“我也爱你，现在我明白，你爱我，不是出于同情，我不会后悔这个决定。”
现在，我们在一起已经有两年了，尽管还没打算结婚，但我从未跟她吵过架，即使在纸上也没有，而我也绝不会那样做……
心灵小语
身高不是距离，年龄不是问题。虽然有些人对这两句话仍然持观望的态度，觉得那都是问题，都是可以让两个曾发誓相爱一生的人，产生矛盾的原因。但是，真的，只有真心相爱的人才知道，爱是没有条件的，不会因为谁的身体有缺陷就抛弃对方。
记忆填空
1. Just then， a group of girls came and took their____， there was this girl， quite outstanding for that striking red top she was_____and she had this sweet_____.
2. Then，___ they were at the counter， ordering their food， I noticed something， they all had a disability， and they could not____. But， this was not considered a disability to me， I walked up to them， and ask for her_____， well， she was surprised.
佳句翻译
1. 像大多数作家一样，我也不相信一见钟情，直到我亲身体验了它的魅力。
译________________________________
2. 我是真的爱上了她，不是对她残疾的同情，也不是因她的美貌而爱慕，而是我真的爱她。
译________________________________
3. 她又大又黑的眼睛直直地看着我，摄人心魄。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. Well like most authors I am one who do not believe in love at first sight until I experienced it myself.
at first sight：乍一看；初看之下
造_______________________________
2. Just then， a group of girls came and took their seats...
a group of：一群
造_______________________________
苹果皮
Apple Skin
佚名 / Anonymous
“Tell her you got this especially for her，” John said to me as he drove， pointing to the basket of fruit wrapped in clear acetate sitting on the back seat. “Remember when you get in， you have to bow to her. Not a half bow but the full bow， the traditional Korean way， with your hands on your forehead.” I shifted in the passenger seat uncomfortably. “Then， she’s probably going to ask you questions about your ancestry， where you went to school， your goals...”
I was meeting John’s mother for the first time this afternoon and he was fervently coaching me on how to make a good impression. “While she’s talking， offer to cut her a piece of fruit from the basket. Cut the fruit in front of her so she can see how well you cut. Get an apple and make sure you peel the skin really thin so that she knows you don’t waste food. And make sure you cut it in even slices and lay it down facing the same direction so she knows you can present food in an appetizing manner...” John continued to lecture as I stared blankly out the window.
I had just started dating John， a Korean international student who had been in the States for about 3 years now. I was born in Korea， but I moved to the United States when I was 5 years old. I know how to speak， read， and write Korean and I thought I had learned enough from my family and watched enough TV programmes to know about Korean customs. I guess I was wrong.You see， John and I had our differences. He didn’t speak perfect English， but I figured it was okay because I didn’t speak perfect Korean either.
But little problems between our differing cultures surfaced as we continued to date. When we went out to eat， I noticed he’d have trouble reading the menus. When he registered for a class， he scheduled it with my free time so that he had someone to talk for him， like a translator. I accepted the fact that he couldn’t speak perfect English， but what was really frustrating was that he wasn’t willing to try. It may have been his male pride， but I think he was more embarrassed about the puzzled looks people would give him when he talked.
There would be times when he wouldn’t talk single word for hours. It was hard for him to blend in with my Asian-American friends. Once， I and my friends were reminiscing about the 80’s， things like Michael Jackson， Madonna， teased hair and those awful UMEN cardigans. But while we were laughing away， talking about old times， John just sat there uncomfortably with half a grin on his face. I tried to include him in on our conversations by explaining what we were talking about， but by the look on his face I could tell I wasn’t very successful.
One night John came over to my house to pick me up for dinner. My brother’s friend Chris was over and they were talking in the living room. Chris said to my brother jokingly， “Man... You’re so bad...” John overheard and replied in his most perfect English， trying to be protective of my brother， “No， he isn’t bad， he’s actually a good boy. And he is definitely not a playboy.” My brother and Chris stared at John in disbelief. Chris was so shocked that he apologized to my brother for offending him. As for John， I knew he felt proud for sticking up for my brother. I know he meant well， but he just didn’t understand the language.
There were little things that I eventually became accustomed to. For instance， John and I always had to watch TV with the caption turned on and I had to be careful not to use any slang that he wasn’t familiar with. I had to speak slower. I always had to explain why we did certain things here， versus how they did them in Korea. I had to constantly recap the stories of the movies we just saw. But the toughest obstacle was trying to describe our feelings or thoughts to each other， trying to learn about our different worlds with our limited vocabularies.
Don’t get me wrong. I had a great time learning and experiencing new things with him. We were exposed to different worlds and we taught each other how to cope， accept， and learn in different perspectives. In fact， many couples I know have had successful intercultural relationships. But my relationship made me realize how little cultural differences can make a big difference.
I found that I had a lot more to learn and get accustomed to than I expected. I suppose a successful intercultural relationship depends on how accepting one is to the other’s differences and how well a person can adapt to new ideas， thoughts， and lifestyles. Anyway， these relationships can be challenging. As you may have guessed， I’m not with John any more. Meeting his Mom went fine， but I have a feeling I cut the apple skin too thick.
约翰一边开着车，一边指了指车后座上包好的果篮说：“你要对她说，这是特地为她买的。”“你一定要记住，进门时向她鞠躬。要把手放在额头上，用韩国传统的全鞠躬方式，而不是半鞠躬。”我产生了一种不自在的感觉，在座椅上移动了一下身体。“然后，她可能会问你的家族情况、你所读的学校、你以后的目标……”
今天下午，我第一次去拜访约翰的母亲，为了让我给他的母亲留下一个好印象，他正在热心地教我怎么做。“当她说话的时候，你主动从果篮里拿一个苹果削给她吃。为了能够让她看见你削苹果的水平，你要在她的面前削。从果篮中拿出一个苹果，并且一定要把皮削得很薄，这样她就会知道你不浪费粮食。然后，你一定要把苹果切成厚薄均匀的片，并且要顺着同一个方向放在盘中，这样她就会知道你是一个注重食物美观的人。”我漠然地看着窗外，约翰继续念叨。
约翰是一个韩国留学生，他来美国三年了，我与他才刚刚开始约会。我在韩国出生，然而五岁时就移民到了美国。我会说、读、写韩语，对于韩国文化，我自认为通过家庭的熏陶和看电视节目，已经了解了足够多的东西。不过，看到我与约翰之间的差异，我觉得自己错了。约翰的英语说得不是很熟练，但是我认为还算可以，因为我的韩语说得也不地道。
但是，随着我们约会的次数越来越多，我们之间逐渐暴露出了一些因文化差异而产生的小问题。我们一块儿出去吃饭的时候，我发现他很难看懂菜单。为了在上课的时候我能像翻译一样帮他讲解，他注册的课程还专门与我的上课时间错开来。我愿意接受他英语不好的事实，然而，他根本不愿意尝试着去说，这才是最让我感到失望的。这或许是男人的自尊心在作怪，不过，我认为，他是害怕自己跟别人讲话时，看到别人困惑的样子。
有时候，他好几个小时一句话也不愿意说，他很难与我的亚裔朋友相处。一次，我和朋友们回忆起20世纪80年代的岁月，比如迈克尔？杰克逊、麦当娜，奇异的发型和那些不好看的优盟牌开襟羊毛衫。然而，当我们放声大笑、追忆往昔时，约翰一脸似笑非笑的样子，不自在地坐在那里。我向他解释我们谈话的内容，努力让他加入我们，然而，从他脸上的表情可以看出，我并不成功。
一天晚上，约翰到我家接我一起去吃晚餐。我哥哥的朋友克里斯也过来了，他们正在客厅里聊天。克里斯跟我哥哥开玩笑地说：“你这个家伙……你真是太龌龊了……”
约翰无意中听到了，他试图为我哥哥辩解，便用他说得最好的英语句子解释道：“不，他一点儿都不龌龊，事实上他是个好男孩，一定不是个轻浮的男孩。”我哥哥和克里斯都盯着约翰看，他们简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。克里斯被吓了一跳，赶忙为刚才那个玩笑向我哥哥道歉。我知道，约翰一定为维护了我哥哥的尊严而感到自豪。我知道他是出于好意，然而，他就是语言不通。
对于生活上的一些小事情，我终于习惯了。比如，我与约翰看电视的时候总是得打开字幕，我讲话的时候尽量避免使用他不会的俚语，我要放慢语速；我总是要向他解释，为什么和韩国不一样，在这里要这样做事情；我还要不断地把刚刚看过的电影的故事情节讲给他听。然而，相互交流彼此的感情和想法才是我们之间最大的障碍，我们只能用有限的词汇了解彼此不同的世界。
不要误解我的意思，与他一起学习和体验新事物的那段日子，我觉得非常快乐。我们接触到了不同的世界，我们教会彼此如何从不同的角度处理、接受和学习事物。事实上，很多跨文化婚姻中的夫妇生活得都很幸福。然而，我们的爱情让我意识到，即使很细微的文化差异，也会让我们产生很大的分歧。
我发现，要学习和适应的事情远远超过了我的想象。我认为，如何接受彼此的差异，如何适应新观念、新思想和新的生活方式，决定着一段跨文化的恋情是否能够成功。不管怎样，这种跨文化的恋情颇具挑战性。现在，我与约翰已经分手了，这或许与你猜想的结局一样。那次拜访表现还不错，可我觉得自己把苹果皮削得太厚了。
记忆填空
1. I was born in___ ， but I moved to the United States when I was 5 years old. I know how to， read____， and write Korean and I thought I had learned____ from my family and watched enough TV programmes to know about Korean_____ .
2. I had to constantly recap the stories of the____ we just saw. But the toughest obstacle was trying to describe our___ or thoughts to each other， trying to learn about our____ worlds with our_____vocabularies.
佳句翻译
1. 我漠然地看着窗外，约翰继续念叨。
译________________________________
2. 我们接触到了不同的世界，我们教会彼此如何从不同的角度处理、接受和学习事物。
译________________________________
3. 然而，我们的爱情让我意识到，即使很细微的文化差异，也会让我们产生很大的分歧。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. It was hard for him to blend in with my Asian-American friends.
blend in：混合；加入
造_______________________________
2. There were little things that I eventually became accustomed to.
become accustomed to：习惯于；对……觉得习以为常
造_______________________________
如意郎君
Mr. Right
佚名 / Anonymous
When I was younger， I used to dream of finding Mr. Right.
After each heartbreak， I would wonder how long it would take me to find him. I didn’t realize it then， but each relationship taught me a lesson and brought me one step closer to true love. It went something like this：_
Tony and I walked down Bloomingdale Avenue holding hands. His friend was with us and suggested we kiss goodbye. I said okay. Tony’s eyes became the size of golf balls， “I can’t believe you said that！” (And not because he was not looking forward to the kiss.) So with one quick peck on his lips， I headed for home. When I dumped him a few weeks later， I thought he was going to hate me for life. He tattled on me to the teacher each chance he got， making me cry and look like a baby in gym class. Tony taught me that boys can be jerks， even bigger ones if you break their heart.
In the 7th grade， I had a crush on Billy. His hair was longer than mine， and he was missing a few front teeth， but each time he smiled at me， I melted. With a locker right next to mine， he would pick on me everyday， but I never quite got the hint that there was no future for us. What did Billy teach me？ He taught me that no matter how much you drool over a guy， it won’t make him drool back.
In the 10th grade， I fell for a guy who had previously shown interest in my sister. How stupid is that？ He came over to my house a few times， hardly talking to me at all as he sat there in my family room. We would write to each other notes in school， the scent of his cologne lingering on each letter. Not long after， my sister began to like him too. He was the one and only guy we fought over. What he taught me was invaluable—no guy is worth 2 sisters fighting.
My first“real” kiss happened with an out-of-town boyfriend， whom I didn’t see very often. When I realized I didn' t like him quite as much as he liked me， I dumped him over the phone (what a heartbreaker I was！) and cried because I felt so bad. I learned form that relationship that if one like the other more， it will never work.
After all these lessons， I had doubts that I would ever find Mr. Right.
But a year later， I was reacquainted with a man whose smile and kind words always flattered me back in high school. When we saw one another at a graduation party on a rainy， warm night in July， I felt my heart skip a beat. Somehow， I knew he was the one. We instantly found ourselves comfortable with each other and my doubts were put to rest.
I’ll never forget the day when we were sitting in my driveway in his truck， saying our goodbyes after spending the day together. Doug put his hand on my cheek and in a serious tone， said，“Someday， I’m going to marry you.” I had no doubt that he was right. Today I share his last name and I couldn’t be happier.
When I think back to Tony， Billy， and the rest of the boys， I smile. If I was able to go back and change a thing， I wouldn’t. Each relationship was an essential part of my life， there to teach me a thing or two about love. It also taught me that it’s okay to be picky about the people you date. Finding Mr. Right takes patience.
And I’m the proof that good things come to those who wait.
当我还是个小女孩的时候，就常常梦想着，有一天能够找到自己的如意郎君。
每当经历过失恋的痛苦后，我都在想，究竟什么时候他才会来到我的身边啊。那个时候，我并没有意识到，每一次的情感经历都给我上了一课，带我向真爱又迈近了一步。事情是这样的：
托尼和我手牵着手漫步在布鲁明黛尔大街上，和我们在一起的他的朋友提议让我们吻别。我说当然可以，刹那间，托尼的两只眼睛瞪得犹如高尔夫球那么大。“我简直不能相信你竟然会答应！”（并不是因为他不想吻我）我在他的嘴唇上飞快地吻了一下，就直接向家里冲去。过了几个星期，我甩了他，我感觉他这一辈子都会恨我。果然不出我所料，从那以后，只要抓住机会他就会向老师告状，弄得我痛哭流涕，活像一个不愿上体操课的小孩。托尼用事实告诉我：男孩，即使是大男孩，如果你让他的心碎了，他也会变成个浑球。
七年级的时候，我对比利着了迷。他有着比我还要长的头发，门牙丢了几颗，然而每当他对着我笑的时候，我感觉自己都要被融化了。我们的存物箱紧挨着，他每天都会拿我开玩笑。然而我就是没有醒悟，我们之间根本没有未来。比利教给我什么呢？他用事实告诫我：不管你对一个男孩多么痴情，都无力让他用同样的痴心来对待你。
十年级的时候，我对一个先喜欢上姐姐的男孩动了心。我怎么会那么愚蠢？他来过我家几次，坐在我家的家庭活动室里，和我没说一句话。我们在学校给彼此写纸条，他身上古龙香水的味道留在了每页信纸上。没过多久，姐姐也对他动了心。他成了唯一让我们两姐妹反目成仇的男孩。他给了我非常宝贵的教训：不管什么样的男人，都没有理由让我们姐妹俩为他争风吃醋。
我“真正”的初吻给了一个外地的男朋友，我们很少见面，当我意识到我喜欢他不像他喜欢我那么强烈时，我打电话与他分手了（我太残忍了），而我也伤心地哭了。这次的感情经历让我明白：如果一个人付出的比对方多得多，那么这种恋情是不会有结果的。
经历了这些教训以后，我开始对自己能否找到如意郎君产生了怀疑。
然而一年过后，我和一个男人再次相遇，高中时候，他的迷人微笑和温馨话语就常常打动我的心。在七月一个下着雨的温暖的夜晚，我们在毕业晚会上相遇了。刹那间，我感到自己的心跳停顿了一下，不知道什么原因，我确信他就是那个我在等待的人。没过多久，我们就相处得很和谐，我心中的疑惑也随之消散。
我永远不会忘记，我们已经在一起度过了整整一天，坐在他的卡车里道别，而卡车就停在我家的车道上。道格抚摸着我的脸，认真地说道：“早晚有一天，我会娶你回家。”我相信他说的都是真的。如今，我随了他的姓，过着非常快乐的生活。
想想托尼、比利，以及其他和我恋爱过的男孩，我笑了。如果给我一次重新来过的机会，去改变些什么，我不愿意。每一次的情感经历都是我生命中不可缺少的一部分，都曾在有关爱情的问题上给我或多或少的教导。另外，它还让我学会，在和男孩的交往中，挑剔一些是可以的，而找到自己的如意郎君则需要耐心。
好事多磨，我就证明了这个道理。
心灵小语
不要因为一次缘分的结束而伤心落泪，我们应该绽放笑容，不知是谁会爱上你的笑，最好的总会在不经意间出现。本文中的女孩虽然经历了几次失败的感情，但依然对爱情抱有信心，最终找到了自己的真爱。
记忆填空
1. When I dumped him a few weeks___ ， I thought he was going to___me for life. He tattled on me to the____ each chance he got， making me cry and look like a baby in gym class. Tony taught me that boys can be jerks， even bigger ones if you____ their heart.
2. But a year later， I was reacquainted with a man____ smile and kind words always flattered me back in high school. When we saw one____at a graduation party on a rainy， warm night in July， I felt my heart skip a_____ .
佳句翻译
1. 然而我就是没有醒悟，我们之间根本没有未来。
译________________________________
2. 如今，我随了他的姓，过着非常快乐的生活。
译________________________________
3. 好事多磨，我就证明了这个道理。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. So with one quick peck on his lips， I headed for home.
head for：出发；前往；取向于
造_______________________________
2. He taught me that no matter how much you drool over a guy， it won’t make him drool back.
drool over：过分地表示兴奋（或喜爱）；对……感情过于流露
造_______________________________
琳达的情人节
Secret Admirer
佚名 / Anonymous
Linda was depressed. It was Valentine’s Day and she was all alone. Her boyfriend had dumped her 2 weeks ago. After going steady for 3 years he had suddenly called it quits. Linda hadn’t recovered yet. All of her friends were excited about Valentine’s Day. They all still had serious boyfriends. Even Linda’s sister Anna had plans.
She’d felt sorry for Linda and had invited her to come out on Valentine’s Day for supper and a movie. “No.” Linda told her. “I don’t want to be a spare wheel.”
Linda turned on the TV. As she flipped channels she could see that all of the shows were about Valentine’s Day. This made her feel even more morose. Linda decided to go for a walk. She gathered up her wallet and keys. Maybe she would go to the corner store and get a magazine to read. Linda walked downstairs to the front door of her apartment building. A delivery person with flowers was just walking up the steps to the door.
Linda opened the door to let him in. “Thanks，” he said. “What floor is apartment 401 on？” Linda stared at the delivery man. “401 is my apartment.” She said. “Then these must be for you.” said the delivery man. “Oh—I—they can’t be for me，” Linda stuttered.“There must be some kind of mistake.” The man read the card through the plastic bag. “Are you Linda？” He asked. “Yes， I am.” Linda said as she blushed. The man handed the flowers to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He said.
Linda took the flowers up to her apartment. She took off the plastic wrap and read the card.“Linda” it read.“Happy Valentine’s Day. Love from your secret admirer.” Linda was shocked. Who could have sent these flowers？ She didn’t recognize the writing. She phoned the florist’s shop. The man who answered the phone didn’t remember anything.“We’ve had so many orders today. You must understand，”the said. “Of course，” said Linda.“How were they paid for？ If they were paid for by a credit card， perhaps you could tell me the name.”“They were paid for by cash.” The man told her. “Sorry.” Linda stared_at the flowers. They were beautiful.
In the entire 3 years that Linda had been with her boyfriend he had never bought her flowers. Why would he now he’d dumped her？ Was it a man she didn’t know？ Was it someone who was interested in her but was too shy to tell her？ What if it was a creepy guy？ Someone she didn’t like？ The phone rang. It was her sister Anna. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” She said to Linda. “How are you doing？” “I don’t know，” Linda replied. “I got flowers. They’re from a secret admirer. I have no clue who they’re from. The florist doesn’t remember. I don’t know if I should be happy or worried.” Anna was quiet for a minute.“It was me，” she said. “I’m your secret admirer.” “Really？” Linda said. “Are you mad？” Anna asked. “Not at all！” said Linda. Anna was relieved.“You’re my big sister Linda. You’re the only sister I have and I love you. And I wanted you to have a good Valentine’s Day.”“Anna， thank you.” Linda said. “This is the best Valentine’s Day present I’ve ever received.”
琳达感到沮丧极了，情人节快到了，而她却是孤孤单单一个人。两个星期之前，男朋友甩了她。三年以来，他们的感情一直很好。他突然提出要结束他们之间的关系，琳达还没有从失恋中恢复过来。她身边的每个朋友都在热切期待情人节的到来，她们也都有正在认真交往的男友，就连妹妹安娜也有了情人节的安排。
安娜为琳达感到伤心，于是她邀请琳达在情人节那天共进晚餐，然后再看场电影。“不，我不去，”琳达告诉她，“我才不想当电灯泡呢。”
琳达打开电视机，转到的每个台播的都是有关情人节的节目，这使她更加郁闷。琳达打算出去走一走，她拿起皮包和钥匙，想去街边的小店买本杂志看看。琳达刚下楼梯走到她所住的公寓前门的时候，一个手捧鲜花的快递员正好走上台阶来到门口。
琳达打开门，让他进来。“谢谢，”他说，“请问401号单元在哪层楼上？”琳达看着那个快递员，说道：“我住的单元就是401号。”“那么，这些花肯定是送给你的。”快递员说。“嗯……我……不会是我的。”琳达结结巴巴地说，“肯定是你搞错了。”快递员看了看塑料袋里的卡片，问道：“你是不是琳达呀？”“是的，我就是琳达。”琳达满脸通红地说。快递员将花交给她，说道：“情人节快乐。”
琳达捧着花回到了房间，她把塑料包装袋取了下来，只见上面写着：“琳达，情人节快乐。你的暗恋者。”琳达很吃惊，是谁送这些花给她的呢？她辨认不出这是谁的笔迹。她给花店打电话，但是接电话的人也记不清了。“今天买花的人太多了，你应该也了解。”他说。“那是自然，”琳达说，“那么，这些花是怎么付款的？假如是刷卡的话，没准儿你能够告诉我他的名字。”“这些花是用现金支付的，”接电话的人告诉她，“不好意思。”琳达看着这些花，简直太漂亮了。
在与前任男友交往的整整三年之中，他从没有给她送过花，又怎么会在分手之后送花给她呢？难道是她不认识的某一个男人？或者是一个对她痴迷却因害羞不敢告诉她的人？假如是一个让人恐惧的家伙，又该怎么办？或者是她不喜欢的某个人？正在这个时候，电话铃响了，是安娜。“情人节快乐！”她对琳达说，“今天过得怎么样？”“我不知道，”琳达说，“我收到一束花，署名却是我的暗恋者，我不知道是谁送的，花店的人也不记得，我不知道该高兴还是忧虑。”安娜有一会儿没有说话。“是我，”她说，“我就是所谓的暗恋你的人。”“你说的是真的吗？”琳达说。“你不会生气吧？”安娜问她。“一点儿都不会！”琳达说。安娜这才放下心来：“你是我的姐姐，琳达。你是我唯一的姐姐。我爱你，我想让你有个快乐的情人节。”“安娜，谢谢你。”琳达说，“这是我收到的最好的情人节礼物。”
心灵小语
即使在情人节的时候没有收到来自情人的礼物，那也没什么——只要我们心里有爱，就能处处感受到被爱的温暖。
记忆填空
1. Linda decided to go for a____. She gathered up her wallet and keys. Maybe she would go to the corner store and get a magazine to____. Linda walked downstairs to the front______of her apartment building.
2. Linda took the flowers_____to her apartment. She took____the plastic wrap and read the card.“Linda”it read.“Happy Valentine’s Day. Love from your secret____ .”Linda was shocked.____could have sent these flowers？ She didn’t recognize the_____.
佳句翻译
1. 突然之间，他提出要结束他们之间的关系，琳达还没有从失恋中恢复过来。
译________________________________
2. 安娜为琳达感到伤心，于是她邀请琳达在情人节那天共进晚餐，然后再看场电影。
译________________________________
3. 她给花店打电话，但是接电话的人也记不清了。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. She gathered up her wallet and keys.
gather up：收集；拾起
造_______________________________
2. How were they paid for？
pay for：为……而付钱
造_______________________________
好运斑马裙
Well Dressed
玛丽？安？佩奇？皮尔斯 / Mary Ann Pecci Pearce
One Sunday morning in June 1959 my mother walked into my room. “Surprise！” she said， proudly holding up a yellow dress with black and white stripes. “I made it just for you. What do you think？”
I bit my tongue. How could I tell Mom it was the most hideous dress I had ever seen？ The too-intense colors， the gaudy rhinestone buttons， the shiny patent leather belt， the hopelessly out-of-style billowy skirt.
“It’s perfect for church，” my mother continued blithely.“I wish somone had made a dress like this for me.”
Too bad you can’t wear it， I thought. But I knew Mom had spent a lot of time on the dress. Only the world’s most ungrateful daughter would refuse. Reluctantly I put it on.
All through church I prayed， Lord， let me get out of here without anyone seeing me. Especially Dennis Pearce， the boy I had a crush on. He was one of the cutest guys at Neptune High. Although we were in some of the same classes， Dennis had never taken any notice of me.
At the end of the service I bolted for the door. But I had to wait on the steps while my parents chatted with their friends. Just a little while longer... Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Pearce approaching. Before I could escape， Dennis was right beside me.
I started gabbing a mile a minute， hoping if I kept it up he wouldn’t notice my horrible dress. “I’m going to college in September，” I said.
“That’s great，” Dennis replied. “I got accepted to the police academy.”
“Wow！” I said. Somehow I kept the conversation going. Soon we were walking to the parking lot together. The next thing I knew Dennis had asked me out on a date！
We courted through college， and eventually got married. Months after our wedding I asked Dennis if he remembered the day he had first asked me out.
“You bet I do，” he said. “You were always quiet in school， almost standoffish. I didn’t think you’d be much fun. But you were so animated when we talked on the church steps， I wanted to get to know you better.” Maybe that zebra-striped yellow dress wasn’t what I would have chosen， but that day it was the perfect dress for me.
1959年6月，在一个星期日的早晨，妈妈来到我的房间，自豪地举起一条带黑白条纹的黄色连衣裙说：“给你一个惊喜！这是我亲手为你量身缝制的，你觉得怎么样？”
我忍住了，没说话。过分浓烈的颜色，华而不实的莱茵石纽扣，锃亮的漆皮皮带，还有早已过时的蓬起的裙摆，然而，我怎么能对妈妈说，那是我见过的最难看的裙子呢？
妈妈继续高兴地说道：“穿着这条裙子去教堂真是太棒了，我多么希望别人也能够为我缝制一条这样的裙子呀！”
我心想，这条裙子太糟糕了，实在无法穿出去。但是，我明白，妈妈花费了很长时间才做成这条裙子，只有这个世界上最不懂得感恩的女儿才会拒绝穿上它。尽管很不情愿，我还是穿上了它。
在教堂做礼拜时，我一直祈祷：“上帝，请你保佑我在离开这里之前不被任何人看到，尤其是丹尼斯？皮尔斯。”他是内普丘恩高中最帅的男生之一，是我暗恋的男孩子。他从来没有注意到我，尽管有些课我们在同一个班级上。
礼拜一结束，我快速地逃向教堂门口。然而，我不得不站在教堂的台阶上等候，因为父母正在跟朋友聊天。我等了好一会儿……正在那时，我用眼角的余光瞥见皮尔斯一家人正向我这边走来。就在我要躲到一边的时候，丹尼斯站在了我的身旁。
我开始和他不停地聊天，只是为了他不要注意到我那条糟糕的裙子。我对他说：“九月份，我就要去大学报到了。”
丹尼斯说：“太棒了，我也已经被警察学院录取了。”
我说：“哇，太好了！”我就一直跟他聊着，一会儿就一起走到了停车场。我记得，丹尼斯在此之后就与我约会了。
我们上大学的时候一直在谈恋爱，最后终于结为夫妻。结婚几个月后，我问丹尼斯是否记得第一次向我发出约会邀请的事情。
他答道：“当然记得，在学校的时候，你不爱说话，表现得几乎有点儿冷漠。所以，我认为你是一个没什么意思的女孩子。然而，在教堂的台阶上，你跟我谈话时是那么活泼愉快，这使我不由地想更多地了解你。”或许，那条斑马纹的黄裙子并不是我想选择的。然而，那一天，它就是我最理想的选择。
心灵小语
也许，你曾讨厌看到她的身影；也许，你曾对她的关爱无动于衷；也许，你还曾对她的谆谆教诲、句句嘱托充耳不闻，更把她的简朴当做迂腐。请别再这样了，因为母亲永远是我们最好的老师，尽管她的某些做法会随着岁月的流逝而显得有些迂腐，然而母亲的关爱一如既往，就像一盏明灯，为我们指明前方的道路。
记忆填空
1. Too____ you can’t wear it， I thought.____I knew Mom had_____a lot of time on the dress. Only the world’s most ungrateful daughter would_____. Reluctantly I put it on.
2. At the_____of the service I bolted for the door. But I had to___ on the steps while my parents chatted____their friends. Just a little while longer... Then out of the____of my eye I saw the Pearce approaching. Before I could_____， Dennis was right beside me.
佳句翻译
1. 然而，我怎么能对妈妈说，那是我见过的最难看的裙子呢？
译________________________________
2. 我开始和他不停地聊天，只是为了他不要注意到我那条糟糕的裙子。
译________________________________
3. 或许，那条斑马纹的黄裙子并不是我想选择的。然而，那一天，它就是我最理想的选择。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. Reluctantly I put it on.
put on：穿上
造_______________________________
2. You bet I do...
you bet：一定；当然；的确
造_______________________________
埃玛的鸭子
Emma’s Ducks
保罗？卡勒 / Paul Karrer
The winter of 1966 hit our university in upstate New York with a ferocity unrivaled in decades. For 3 days straight， the snow swirled and billowed， burying the isolated campus. Here and there stray groups of students struggled single file against the weather， like ducklings following their mother across a road. The female students in dormitory B were confronted with the same problem plaguing the general population of the university.
“How are we going to get to the cafeteria？” asked one.
“We’re not，” answered another.“Everything out there is white. You can’t see anything.”
A gleam came into the eye of the 3rd girl. She shushed the others' whining， saying triumphantly， “Emma could do it.”
The whining turned to murmur of excitement.“Emma！”“She even manages through the city.” “We could follow her.” “You’re a genius！”
The girls whooped， yelled and clapped for joy. They bundled up and excitedly trooped down the hall to Emma’s room. They found her in the hallway and cornered her before she could even open her door.
“What’s all the excitement？” she asked， smiling.
“Can we follow you to the cafeteria？ We’re blind in this storm.”
They all laughed.
“I suppose so. I’ll go first， and you could hold on to each other’s shoulders.”
“Can we go now？” one girl begged. “I’m starving.”
Emma smiled again. “Sure， let me just get Missy ready.”
She went into her room and returned moments later with a dog on a harness. The girls lined up obediently at the front door， ready to face the cold. They each placed their hands on the shoulders of the girl in front of them.
Emma opened the door to lead them out. “I guess，” she smiled， “you could call this the blind leading the seeing.”
And with that， Emma and her seeing-eye dog， Missy， led her troop of hungry ducks to the cafeteria.
1966年，冬天以迅猛之势袭击了我们位于纽约北部的大学，这是几十年来从未见过的。接连三天，暴风雪盘旋翻腾，将整个校园困在大雪之中，阻断了与外界的联系。校园里，到处是迷了路的学生，他们排成一队与恶劣的天气抗争着，就像躲在妈妈身后的小鸭子横过马路一样。与全校师生一样，B寝室的女生们也遇到了同样的问题。
一个女生问道：“我们怎样才能到自助食堂去呢？”
另一个女生答道：“我们不要去了，外面白茫茫的一片，什么也看不见。”
第三个女生的眼睛一亮，“嘘”了一声，室内的抱怨声便停止了。然后，她兴奋地说道：“埃玛能够看得见。”
抱怨声消失了，接着是一阵兴奋的低语声。“埃玛！她甚至能够在整个大学城穿梭。”“我们可以跟着她走。”“你真是一个天才呀！”
女生们非常高兴，笑语喧哗，鼓起掌来。她们穿戴好，一群人激动地朝埃玛的房间走去。她们在楼道中发现了埃玛，在她打开寝室的门之前，这群女生就把她围了起来。
埃玛笑着问：“你们为什么都这么兴奋？”
“我们能不能跟着你去自助食堂？我们在暴风雪中什么都看不到。”
大家都笑了起来。
“我认为可以。我先走，你们排成一列搭着肩膀跟在我后面。”
一个女生恳求道：“我们现在可以出发了吗？我饿坏了。”
埃玛又笑了，说道：“没问题，我们带上密斯一起去。”
她进了寝室，过了一会儿，牵了一只狗出来。这群女生在门口乖乖地排起了一列长队，准备迎战外面的寒冷。每个人都把手放在了前面女生的肩膀上。
埃玛打开了大门，把大家领了出来。她笑着说：“我猜，你们可以把这个称做盲人给正常人引路。”
说完，埃玛和导盲犬密斯带领着这群饥饿的鸭子朝自助食堂走去。
心灵小语
狗和我们人类一样，都是地球生命的一部分，我们虽然没有相同的血缘，却有着相似的生活习性和丰富的情感，它们有的时候比人类更加敏感，人类要相信它们。
记忆填空
1. For 3 days straight， the___ swirled and billowed， burying the isolated campus. Here and____stray groups of students struggled single file against the_____， like ducklings following their mother_____ a road.
2. She went into her____and returned moments later with a____ on a harness. The girls lined____ obediently at the front door， ready to___ the cold. They each placed their hands on the____ of the girl in front of them.
佳句翻译
1. 1966年，冬天以迅猛之势袭击了我们位于纽约北部的大学，这是几十年来从未见过的。
译________________________________
2. 第三个女生的眼睛一亮。
译________________________________
3. 她们穿戴好，一群人激动地朝埃玛的房间走去。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. The fimale students in dormitory B were confronted with the same problem...
be confronted with：面临（危险、困难等）
造_______________________________
2. They bundled up and excitedly trooped down the hall to Emma’s room.
bundle up：使穿暖；把……捆扎
造_______________________________
把东西收拾干净
Learning How to Be Roommates
埃尔莎？林奇 / Elas Lyunch
I was never very neat. Later in life I learned to attribute this flaw to my creative genius， saying that my bouts of disorganization were simply the flip side of my unique gifts and talents. Yet， when I arrived at college， I hadn’t come up with any impressive reasons for my big messes. They just were—and my roommate didn’t seem to appreciate their contribution to my bright future.
I’m not sure why they stuck us together. I don’t think they could have possibly picked 2 more different people to room together. Kim was extremely organized. She labeled everything and each item she owned had its place. She even had one of those cute little pencil holders—and used it！ Mine had become a collection spot for bits and pieces of paper， odds and ends. I think one pen may have found its way into the pencil holder but I certainly didn’t put it there.
Kim and I fed off each other. She got neater and I got messier. She would complain about my dirty clothes， I would complain about Lysol headaches. She would nudge my clothing over to one side and I would lay one of my books on her uncluttered desk.
It came to a head one fateful October evening. Kim came into the room and had some kind of fit because one of my shoes had found its way (inexplicably) beneath her bed. I didn’t know what was so significant about that shoe but it infuriated her！ She picked it up， tossed it toward my side of the room and managed to knock my lamp onto the floor. The light bulb shattered， covering the layer of clothes I had been planning to fold that very night. I leapt off the bed in horror and immediately started yelling about her insensitivity and rudeness. She yelled back similar frustrations and we each ended up pushing toward the door to be the first to slam our way out of the room.
I’m sure we wouldn’t have lasted a day or two longer in that room. Probably not even a night， if it hadn’t been for the phone call she received. I was sitting on my bed， fuming. She was sitting on hers， fuming. It was later in the evening and the room was so thick with unspoken expletives that I don’t even know why we had both returned to each other’s company.
When the phone rang she picked it up and I could tell right away it wasn’t good news. I knew Kim had a boyfriend back home and I could tell from her end of the conversation that he was breaking up with her. Though I didn’t mean for it to happen， I could feel the warm feelings of empathy rising up in my heart. Losing a boyfriend was something no girl should go through alone.
I sat up in my bed. Kim wouldn’t look at me and when she hung up the phone she quickly crawled under her covers and I could hear her quiet sobbing. What to do？ I didn’t want to just walk over(I was still a little miffed) but I didn’t want to leave her either. I smiled as I got the idea.
Slowly， I began to clear up my side of the room. I took back the book I had set on her desk and I cleaned up the socks and the shirts. I put some pencils in my pencil holder and made my bed. I straightened the dresser top (but not the drawers—I had my limits！) and swept the floor， even on her side. I got so into my work that I didn’t even notice that Kim had come out from under the covers. She was watching my every move， her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. When I was finally done I went and sat at the end of her bed. Not really saying anything but just sitting. I guess I didn’t know what to say. Her hand was warm. I thought it would be cold， probably because I always thought the organized were pretty heartless. But no. Her hand was warm as it reached over to grasp mine. I looked up into Kim’s eyes and she smiled at me. “Thanks.”
Kim and I stayed roommates for the rest of that year. We didn’t always see eye to eye， but we learned the key to living together. Giving in， cleaning up and holding on.
我向来都很邋遢，后来，我把这个缺点归咎于天性使然，并且嘴边常常挂着这样的话：杂乱是独特的天赋和才华的体现。然而，进入大学以后，我仍然没有为自己的邋遢找出很好的理由，这个习惯依旧。我的室友似乎也没觉得这个毛病对我的远大前程起了多大作用。
我不知道学校为什么会把我们安排在一间宿舍，我觉得她们再也挑不出两个比我们差异更大的人住在一块儿了。基姆是一个非常有条理的女孩，她的每件物品上都贴着标签，每件东西都放在特定的地方，她甚至还有一个可爱的小笔筒，并且在使用！我的空间却到处是碎纸片和一些零零碎碎的东西。我认为铅笔应该放进笔筒，可我从来没有那样做过。
我和基姆都从对方身上“获益匪浅”。她收拾得越来越整洁，我搞得越来越乱。她抱怨我把脏衣服丢得乱七八糟，我抱怨她在房间里使用有刺激味道的消毒水，熏得我头疼。她把我的衣服推到一边，我就把自己的一本书丢到她摆放得很整齐的书桌上。
十月份的一个晚上，矛盾终于激化了，决定性的时刻降临了。基姆走进宿舍，有点儿生气，因为我的一只鞋（不知何故）跑到了她的床下面。我不认为这事有多么严重，她却勃然大怒！她把那只鞋捡起来，朝我这边扔了过来，不偏不倚，台灯被撞到了地上，灯泡摔碎了，掉落在我当晚准备叠的衣服上。我惊恐地从床上跳了下来，当即破口大骂她冷漠、野蛮。她以同样的粗话回击我，最后，我们两个人都跑到门口，想先摔门走人。
我们不可能再同住一间宿舍了，哪怕只是一两天都不行，对此我深信不疑，如果不是她接的一个电话，我可能连一个晚上都无法坚持。夜已经很深了，我们两个人都气呼呼地坐在各自的床上，房间里弥漫着无声的诅咒。我真不明白，我们怎么又回来了，居然又待在同一间宿舍。
电话响了，基姆拿起话筒，当时我就知道那不是什么好消息。我知道，基姆在家里有一个男朋友，从她所说的话里我敢断定，男友要与她分手。尽管不希望事情发生，我心底还是升起了一股同情的暖流。无论如何，一个女孩不应该独自承受与男友分手的痛苦。
我从床上坐了起来，基姆没有看我，她把电话挂掉后，就迅速钻进了被窝。我听见她在低声哭泣，怎么办？我的气还没消，不想走过去，但也不想撇下她不管。一个好主意出现在脑海中，我开心地笑了。
慢慢地，我开始收拾我这边的屋子。我拿回了放在她书桌上的书，把袜子和衬衫都收拾起来，将一些铅笔放进了笔筒，然后把床铺好。接着，我整理了梳妆台（我坚持了自己的底线，没有整理抽屉），将包括她那边的地板都打扫干净。我干得那么专注，都没注意到基姆什么时候从被窝里爬了出来。她看着我的一举一动，眼眶中的泪水已经干了，脸上露出了难以置信的表情。收拾完以后，我就走到她的床边，坐下来，只是静静地坐着，没有说一句话，因为我不知道应该说些什么。我原以为，她的手是冰冷的，因为我认为讲条理的人都是冷酷无情的。然而，当她把手伸过来抓住我时，我感到那是温暖的。我抬头看着基姆的双眼，她微笑着对我说：“谢谢。”
在那年余下的日子中，我仍旧与基姆同住一间宿舍。尽管我们的看法并不总是一致，然而，我们懂得了同住一起的关键，那就是：让步，把东西收拾干净和忍耐。
心灵小语
多年之后，当我们回首曾经和自己接触过的人（尤其是同处一室的舍友）时，心里会有怎样的感情呢？是感动、怀念，还是仇恨？每个人都是上天的独创，都有自己的脾气秉性。所以与别人相处时，我们要努力完善自我，互相体谅，共同进步。只有这样，我们留给彼此的才能是欢乐而非泪水。
记忆填空
1. I don’t think they could have possibly_____ 2 more different people to room_____ . Kim was extremely organized. She labeled everything and each item she owned had its_____. She even had one of those cute little pencil______—and used it！
2. I got so into my____that I didn’t even notice that Kim had come out from_____the covers. She was watching my every_____， her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. When I was finally_____I went and sat at the end of her bed.
佳句翻译
1. 我的室友似乎也没觉得这个毛病对我的远大前程起了多大作用。
译________________________________
2. 我觉得她们再也挑不出两个比我们差异更大的人住在一块儿了。
译________________________________
3. 无论如何，一个女孩不应该独自承受与男友分手的痛苦。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. Mine had become a collection spot for bits and pieces of paper， odds and ends.
bits and pieces：零碎东西
造_______________________________
2. It came to a head one fateful October evening.
come to a head：到了紧急关头；成熟
造_______________________________
甘达尔山监狱的歌声
The Gift of Music
布兰顿？拉格纳 / Brandon Lagana
I had been inside the prison called Gander Hill several times already by the time I met Ray in the spring of 1993. My father worked there with a group teaching inmates to improve their communication and speaking skills. I was a senior in college， majoring in speech communications， and eventually I started my own volunteer student group at Gander Hill.
Teaching communication means getting people to tell their stories， but Ray could tell you how much he missed playing his guitar without speaking. Sometimes he moved his hands across the air as if he were playing his favorite blues scale. He always gave me a slight nod when he saw me come into the chapel for the meeting. He loved sharing his guitar stories. Although he had been an inmate at Gander Hill for over a decade， he always had a song in his head， in particular one that he said he had been writing in his mind since his arrival. He looked forward to playing again the way a child counts the days until summer vacation.
When my group formally established itself at Gander Hill， the men were allowed a night of celebration to which they could invite one or two family members. The night of the celebration was just like Christmas for them. They huddled with their loved ones， whom they had not seen or touched in several months or longer. Since his family lived in Texas， no one came to the celebration as Ray’s guest， but he waited patiently for me to arrive. As he rehearsed his song in his head， I walked into the prison with a guitar.
Ray tuned that guitar as if he were putting his life back into harmony. I have never heard a guitar tuned like that before or since. He looked at me over his shoulder and nodded a thank-you before bringing his song to life on the guitar. I watched Ray’s fingers dance across the strings as if they were himself， running free. And for those few moments， he was.
截止到1993年春天，我已经去过甘达尔山监狱好几次了。这个时候，我见到了雷。父亲带领一个小组在那里教授犯人们学习交流和说话的技巧。我是一名大四的学生，言语交际是我的主修课。后来，我在甘达尔山组织了自己的学生志愿小组。
教授怎样交际就得让他们讲述自己的故事，然而雷不用任何言语就能告诉你，他是多么想弹吉他。有时候，他的双手在空中飞舞着，就好像在弹奏着他最钟爱的布鲁斯曲调。每次他看到我走进小礼拜堂组织集会的时候，都会冲着我轻轻地点点头。他很高兴能够有人分享他的吉他故事，尽管在甘达尔山监狱已经住了十几年，可是他的头脑中经常回荡着乐曲，尤其是那首他说刚进来时就在他头脑中写好的歌。他盼望着能够再次弹奏吉他，仿佛孩子在一天天地数着，巴望着暑假快快到来一样。
当我的小组在甘达尔山正式建立时，这些犯人得到准许可以请一两个家人，和他们一起参加庆祝晚会。对他们而言，庆祝晚会仿佛就是圣诞节。他们和亲人们团聚在一起，他们有几个月，甚至更长的时间没有见面了。雷的家人住在得克萨斯州，他们没能来参加庆祝晚会，然而他耐心地等待我的到来。当他在脑海里排练着这首歌的时候，我走进了监狱，手里拿着一把吉他。
雷给吉他调准音，仿佛在把自己的生活调回到和谐有序的时刻。在此之前以及之后，我都未曾听到那样的调音。他回过身来看着我，点点头向我致谢，接着用吉他弹唱起他的歌。我看着雷的手指在琴弦上舞动，就像雷自己在自由奔跑。这一刻，雷完全是自由的。
心灵小语
大家都知道：赠人玫瑰，手留余香。谁又能真正体会其中的深意呢？当别人痛苦、绝望之时，在他人伤心、无助之时，伸出你的援助之手。对他而言，这是最有意义的帮助；对你而言，这是一种心灵的慰藉。因为生命会因美德而变得流光溢彩。
记忆填空
1.____ he had been an inmate at Gander Hill for over a decade， he always had a_____ in his head， in particular one that he said he had been writing in his mind since his____ . He looked forward to playing again the____ a child counts the days until summer_____.
2.____ his family lived in Texas， no one came to the celebration as Ray’s guest， but he waited patiently____ me to arrive. As he rehearsed his song in his_____， I walked into the prison with a_____.
佳句翻译
1. 有时候，他的双手在空中飞舞着，就好像在弹奏着他最钟爱的布鲁斯曲调。
译________________________________
2. 我是一名大四的学生，言语交际是我的主修课。
译________________________________
3. 对他们而言，庆祝晚会仿佛就是圣诞节。
译________________________________
短语应用
1. He looked forward to playing again the way a child counts the days until summer vacation.
look forward to：盼望；渴望
造_______________________________
2. He looked at me over his shoulder and nodded a thank-you before bringing his song to life on the guitar.
bring to life：使苏醒
造_______________________________
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