温馨夜读II PART3 13.The Best Kind of Love

 

[00:00.52]13.The Best Kind of Love

[00:04.21]I have a friend who is falling in love.

[00:07.26]She honestly claims the sky is bluer.

[00:10.75]Mozart moves her to tears.

[00:13.26]She has lost 15 pounds and looks like a cover girl.

[00:17.17]“I’m young again!” she shouts excitedly.

[00:20.66]As my friend raves¹ on about her new love, I’ve taken a good look at my old one.

[00:26.10]My husband of almost 20 years, Scott, has gained 15 pounds.

[00:31.22]Once a marathon runner, he now runs only down hospital halls.

[00:36.12]When my friend asked me “What will make this love last?”

[00:40.47]I ran through all the obvious reasons: commitment, shared interests, unselfishness, physical attraction, communication.

[00:50.17]Yet there’s more.

[00:52.78]And there are surprises.

[00:55.50]One time I came home to find a note on the front door that led me to another note, then another, until I reached the walk-in closet.

[01:03.56]I opened the door to find Scott holding a “pot of gold” (my cooking kettle) and the “treasure” of a gift package.

[01:12.17]There is understanding. I understand why he must play basketball with the guys.

[01:17.72]And he understands why, once a year, I must get away from the house,

[01:22.84]the kids — and even him — to meet my sisters for a few days of nonstop talking and laughing.

[01:29.37]There is sharing. Not only do we share household worries and parental² burdens — we also share ideas.

[01:37.86]Scott came home from a convention³ last month and presented me with a thick historical novel.

[01:43.75]Though he prefers thrillers⁴ and science fiction, he had read the novel on the plane.

[01:49.41]He touched my heart when he explained it was because he wanted to be able to exchange ideas about the book after I’d read it.

[01:56.92]There is forgiveness. When I’m embarrassingly loud and crazy at parties, Scott forgives me.

[02:04.43]When he confessed losing some of our savings⁵ in the stock market,

[02:09.11]I gave him a hug and said, “It’s okay. It’s only money.”

[02:13.14]Finally, there is knowing.

[02:15.87]I know Scott will throw his laundry just shy of the hamper⁶ every night;

[02:20.22]he’ll be late to most appointments.

[02:22.51]He knows that I sleep with a pillow over my head;

[02:25.99]I’ll lock us out of the house on a regular basis.

[02:30.03]I guess our love lasts because it is comfortable.

[02:34.27]No, the sky is not bluer: it’s just a familiar hue⁷.

[02:38.30]We don’t feel particularly young: we’ve experienced too much that has contributed to our growth and wisdom,

[02:45.30]taking its toll⁸ on our bodies, and created our memories.

[02:48.91]As a bride, I had Scott’s wedding band engraved⁹ with Robert Browning’s line “Grow old along with me!”

[02:56.13]We’re following those instructions.

[02:58.87]“If anything is real, the heart will make it plain.”

1 raves   

n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• She raves about that singer. 她醉心地谈论那位歌手。 来自辞典例句
• His new play received raves in the paper. 他的新剧本在报纸上受到赞扬。 来自辞典例句

2 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

3 convention   

n.惯例，习俗，常规，会议，大会

参考例句：

• How many delegates have checked in at the convention?大会已有多少代表报到？
• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。

4 thrillers   

n.紧张刺激的故事( thriller的名词复数 )；戏剧；令人感到兴奋的事；（电影）惊悚片

参考例句：

• He has written seven thrillers, and clearly enjoys intellectual pursuits. 他已经写了7本惊悚小说，显然很喜欢这样的智力活动。 来自辞典例句
• Most Americans prefer to read fast-moving adventure stories that we call "thrillers". 大部分美国人喜欢看我们称之为"惊险小说"的情节多变的冒险故事。 来自辞典例句

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

7 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》