2007年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-The Designated Celebrator

Welcome to "This I Believe". An NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life.

I believe in figuring out my own way to do things.
I believe in the power of numbers.
I believe in barbecue.
Well, I believe in friendliness².
I beliebe in mankind.
This I Believe...

For our Monday series "This I Believe", we invite you to submit statements of personal conviction. Today's is one of the more than 20,000 we've received, it's from Melinda Shoaf,a homemaker and mother of four from Memphis Tennessee. Here's our series curator, independent producer, Jay Alleson.

After last year's holiday season, Melinda Shoaf sat down to write her essay for our series. We recorded her after this year's holiday, and she told us that her belief has become all the more solid for having put it down in words the year before. Here's Melinda Shoaf with her essay for "This I Believe".

I believe that if you are the person in your family who arranged for and executed the celebration this past holiday season. Well, you're probably still tired. You may be wondering why you spent so much on presents, why you had to have your house just right, why you had friends over for drinks when you were already weary and worn out.You maybe think you are getting too old for all of this. Or you may be thinking you are too young. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably your family's designated celebrator, that is the one who sees to it, that a holiday actually happens, in the lives of your loved ones. After New Year's, I was sitting at the breakfast table in a stupor³. My husband asked if I was all right, I'm exhausted⁴, I answered, I'm totally exhausted. He looked puzzled. Why do you do this to yourself every year? I have to admit the part of what I do around the winter holiday seems almost involuntary innate⁵. It's as if I'm driven by the ancient need to mark the darkness of winter with my little bit of light. My answer to my husband's question is that I believe one of the most important things I can do while I am on this planet is honor those I love through celebrations. And the older I get, the more I believe it. When my children were small, their father lost his job. It took a decade to recover emotionally and financially. Hot water and electricity were luxuries that weren't always available. Meals were a challenge, I tried to hide it from them but I was constantly afraid of losing our home. Those celebrations were so sparse⁶, the future so uncertain, that the ground seemed to be shifting beneath us. So now celebrations mean that much more to me. This year I polished the silver, lit the candles, made sure Spriger Holly⁷ was carefully tagged above every window, I served a twelve dollar a bottle of wine instead of a seven dollar one. I bought lamb chops instead of a roast, little things, just so we’d remember this day, this night. I believe that in this world there is and always has been so much sadness and sorrow, so much uncertainty⁸. That if we did not set aside time for merriment, gifts, music and laughter with family and friends, we might just forget to celebrate altogether. We just plod⁹ along in life. I believe in the importance of celebrations. As my family's designated celebrator, I may be tired, and I may not have done all I set out to do. But I believe that this year I celebrated¹⁰ the ones I love. And I hope with all my heart that I celebrated them well.

Melinda Shoaf with her essay for this I believe, as many essayists do, Shoaf read her essay first to her children. Her daughter said " Now I understand ." To contribute your statement to our series and to see what others have written, visit our website npr.org. For this I believe. I'm Jay Alleson.

Next Monday, on morning edition, a This I Believe essay from Sacramento listener Backy Hers, her husband is serving in Iraq.

Sopport for This I Believe comes from Capella University.

This I Believe is produced for NPR by This I Believe incorporated Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit npr.org/thisibelieve.

Support for NPR Podcasts comes from Acura featuring the completely redesigned 300 horsepower MDX. More information is available at acura.com.
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Sacramento
萨克拉曼多(美国加州首府)

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

3 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

6 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

7 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 plod   

v.沉重缓慢地走，孜孜地工作

参考例句：

• He was destined to plod the path of toil.他注定要在艰辛的道路上跋涉。
• I could recognize his plod anywhere.我能在任何地方辨认出他的沉重脚步声。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。