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A Thanksgiving Tale: Leaving the Past Behind 亲情一信牵

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Charlie Wallis heard from his father just before Thanksgiving. A simple postcard had arrived, reading, “I’m coming to see you, I’m ill.”

查理华利斯在感恩节前夕收到他爸爸的来信。一张简单的明信片上写着:「我要去看看你，我生病了。」

Charlie had no idea his father ever knew where to find him. It had been years since that last big fight, after which Charlie had thrown some clothes in a bag and bought a bus ticket to Chicago. In the lonely times since, he often thought of his mother, who had died of an “illness.” And now, when his father wrote that he was “ill,” Charlie was sure he knew exactly what he meant.

查理不晓得爸爸竟然知道他的住处。距离上次他们大吵已经好几年了。那一次，查理匆匆地收拾衣物并买了一张到芝加哥的车票。从那时候开始，查理常感到孤寂且常想起他那因为「生病」而去世的母亲。而现在，当爸爸写出「生病」这个词时，查理非常清楚他的意涵是什么。

Charlie stared out his small apartment window. Fall leaves colored the sidewalks around his building. Pat, an elderly neighbor, was struggling to carry a bag of food across the street. Charlie ran downstairs to help her.

查理从他小公寓的窗户向外看，秋天的落叶将公寓旁的人行道上了色。帕特，一位上了年纪的邻居，正使劲提着一袋食物拿过马路。查理跑下楼去帮他。

For the next few hours, Charlie chopped carrots, mashed potatoes, and stirred gravy as Pat prepared the Thanksgiving turkey for her family. Later, Charlie kept careful watch out the window as he listened to Pat tell stories about her grandchildren. The situation reminded him of another Thanksgiving, long past. He and his parents were eating in a small kitchen. They were laughing and enjoying each others’ company. Charlie found the courage to smile at his memory.

接下来的几个小时，帕特在为她的家人准备感恩节大餐，查理便帮忙把胡萝卜剁碎、捣马铃薯泥及搅拌卤汁。之后，查理边听帕特叙述她孙子的故事，边小心翼翼的往窗外望。这样的情景让他回想许久以前的一个感恩节:他和父母亲在一间小厨房里吃饭、开心的笑着、享受彼此相伴的时光。查理发现他终于有勇气笑着回忆。

Pat invited Charlie to stay and join her for Thanksgiving, but he said no. Pat nodded her head in understanding, and gave Charlie two large plates of food before hugging him good-bye. Charlie returned to his own apartment, carefully put the plates in his own oven, and turned the knob to low.

帕特邀请查理一起留下来过感恩节，但他拒绝了。帕特会心地点头，并给了查理两大盘食物和一个道别拥抱。查理回到自己的公寓，小心地把盘子放在烤箱里并且将按扭转到低温。

Vocabulary

elderly [ˋɛldɚlɪ] adj. 年长的；上了年纪的

chop [tʃɑp] v. 剁碎

mash [mæʃ] v. 把……捣成糊状

More Information

hear from 从…得到消息, 信…

have no idea 不知道

sidewalk [ˋsaɪd͵wɔk] n. 人行道

gravy [ˋgrevɪ] n. 肉汁；（作调味用的）卤

remind sb. of sth. 使某人想起某事, 提醒某人某事

company [ˋkʌmpənɪ] n. 陪伴

in understanding 表示了解; 会意

knob [nɑb] n. 球形把手

課文中英文講解

Bill Wallis pulled some cranberry sauce from the grocery store shelf. He hesitated, wondering if he was making the right choice. He could barely remember what people ate for Thanksgiving. Life was so much different since his family had gone.

比尔华利斯从杂货店架上拿了些小红莓酱。他犹豫了一下，怀疑自己是不是做了正确的决定。他几乎不记得人们感恩节都吃些什么。自从他的家庭分崩离析后，他的生活就完全不同了。

Bill returned to his car with his food. He moved slowly, still not used to the pace his illness was forcing him to take.

比尔带着食物回到车上。他还不习惯疾病逼着他所要接受的缓慢步行速度。

Soon, Bill was heading north on the interstate. Even now he didn’t know what he was going to say to his son. Every time he tried to imagine Charlie, an angry face appeared in his mind. Bill could only think of the hurtful words they’d exchanged so many years ago. Even as he pulled his car up in front of his son’s apartment, he wondered if he had made a mistake.

不久，比尔就在州际公路上往北行了。即便是到了现在，他仍然不晓的要和儿子说些什么。每一次试着想象查理时，一张愤怒的脸孔就会出现在脑海里。比尔只能想到他们多年前互相伤害的言词。甚至当他将车子停在儿子公寓前时，他仍质疑自己是不是犯了错。

Bill got out and began to gather his groceries together. Several people went past him toward his son’s building. They met an old woman at the entrance and threw their arms around her. “Happy Thanksgiving!” they cried before being pulled inside.

比尔下车收拾杂物。有几个人经过他身边朝着他儿子的公寓走去。他们在入口处遇到一位老妇并且热情地拥抱她。他们大喊「感恩节快乐!」，然后被簇拥着进屋。

Tears welled up in Bill’s eyes, and he could barely hold onto his grocery bag. But, before he could take a step, a young man appeared and took the bag from him.

泪水涌上比尔的眼眶，令他几乎拿不住杂物袋。然而，就在他可以跨出下一步前，一个年轻人出现并且替他提袋子。

“Take my arm, Dad,” said Charlie, “And come inside, It’s much warmer in there.”

「握着我的手，爸」查理说，「快进来，里面暖和多了。」

−By Trudy Barnes

Vocabulary

hesitate [ˋhɛzə͵tet] v. 踌躇；犹豫

barely [ˋbɛrlɪ] adv. 几乎没有

pace [pes] n. 步速；速度

hurtful [ˋhɝtfəl] adj. 〔感情上〕伤害人的﹐使人痛苦的

More Information

cranberry [ˋkræn͵bɛrɪ] n. 蔓越橘，小红莓

interstate [͵ɪntɚˋstet] n. 州际公路

pull up (使)停下来stop, halt

well up: 涌出come up

hold onto 紧握着

take a step 走一步

Reading Questions

1. What is the mood of the story?

A. Sad and hopeless.

B. Sad and hopeful.

C. Light and refreshing.

D. Dark and gloomy.

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Charlie is kind to his elderly neighbor.

B. Bill and Charlie haven’t spoken for years.

C. Bill is looking forward to seeing his son.

D. Charlie is happy living away from his family.

3. What is the author’s attitude toward the father and son characters?

A. She doesn’t think they deserve to be happy as they have hurt each other too much.

B. She wonders how they can be so stupid as to not see that a reunion is impossible at this time.

C. She sympathized with both of them and hopes they can overcome past problems.

D. She favors the father but thinks the son is selfish and mean.

4. In the Day Two article, why does Bill Wallis wonder “if he had made a mistake” going to visit his son?

A. He doesn’t remember how to celebrate Thanksgiving.

B. He doesn’t remember where his son lives.

C. He doesn’t think his son will be happy to see him.

D. He doesn’t think his son’s neighbors will like him.

Answer