温馨夜读II PART2 13.A Coke and a Smile

 

[00:00.62]13.A Coke and a Smile

[00:05.96]I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. 

[00:14.78]But to a five-year-old, he was a giant.

[00:18.48]“Thirsty?” Grandpa asked.

[00:20.66]“Yes,” was my reply.

[00:23.05]“How about running over to the gas station there and get yourself a bottle of Coke?”

[00:29.04]I couldn’t believe my ears. 

[00:32.26]On my family’s modest income, Coke was not a part of our budget or diet.

[00:37.16]“Okay,” I replied shyly.

[00:39.77]Grandpa reached his huge hand deep into the pocket and took out some silver coins. 

[00:45.98]He instructed me to pick out a dime¹ and then stood up.

[00:49.58]“Okay,” he said, helping² me down the stairs and to the curb, 

[00:53.06]“I’m going to stay here and I’ll tell you when it’s safe to cross. 

[00:57.75]You go over to the Coke machine, get your Coke and come back. 

[01:01.88]Wait for me to tell you when it’s safe to cross back.”

[01:05.70]My heart pounded. I clutched³ my dime tightly⁴ in my sweaty palm.

[01:11.57]Grandpa held my hand tightly. 

[01:14.41]Together we looked up the street and down. 

[01:17.35]He told me it was safe to cross. 

[01:19.74]I ran faster than I had ever run before. 

[01:23.01]Reaching the other side, I turned to find Grandpa. 

[01:25.84]There he was, standing⁵ exactly where I had left him, smiling proudly. I waved.

[01:32.04]“Go on, hurry up,” he yelled⁶.

[01:34.22]My heart pounded wildly as I heard the Coca-Cola machine motor humming. 

[01:39.34]I walked directly to the big old red-and-white dispenser. 

[01:43.15]I knew where to insert my dime. 

[01:45.44]I had seen it done before and had fantasized about this moment many times.

[01:50.56]The big old monster greedily accepted my dime. 

[01:54.69]On tiptoes I reached up and opened the heavy door and grabbed⁷ one. 

[01:58.95]The bottle was cold in my sweaty hands. 

[02:02.10]I will never forget the feeling of the cool glass on my skin. 

[02:05.70]Coke in hand, I proudly turned back to find Grandpa. 

[02:09.61]He was waiting patiently. He smiled.

[02:12.99]“Stop right there,” he yelled. One or two cars sped by me. 

[02:18.67]“Come on, now,” he said, “run.” I did. “Don’t ever do that alone,” he warned. 

[02:24.58]I held the Coke bottle tightly, fearful⁸ he would make me pour it into a cup, ruining my dream. 

[02:31.68]He didn’t. One long swallow of the cold cola cooled my sweating body. 

[02:37.15]I don’t think I ever felt so proud.

1 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 clutched   

抓住，紧紧抓住( clutch的过去式和过去分词 )； （因害怕或痛苦）突然抓住

参考例句：

• He clutched the child to him. 他紧紧地抱住小孩。
• He clutched at the rope we threw to him. 他紧紧抓住我们扔给他的绳子。

4 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

8 fearful   

adj.惧怕的，担心的；可怕的，吓人的

参考例句：

• What a fearful waste of time!简直太浪费时间了！
• They are fearful of another business depression.他们担心会再次发生商业萧条。