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多功能英语阅读05 A Father's Gift

时间:2008-12-19 02:34来源:互联网 提供网友:lijie-zone   字体: [ ]
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A Father's Gift

The visitor, on that morning before Easter, was a middle-aged1, shabby-looking fellow, in white clothes with a queer waistcoat of light gray color. His small, neglected beard gave the impression that he had, perhaps, merely abandoned shaving and it has grown in his manner.

He spoke2 in a strange fluent dialect, "You posted a donation request for the marriage of poor girls in order to raise dowry money. "

"Yes, of course." I replied.

"I came here for that."

He uttered the words one by one in an articulate tone: as if he was not able to find appropriate ones. A mixed feeling of confusion and amazement3 enveloped4 me, for I could not understand him. No doubt, we had given an advertisement in a newspaper, but it was meant to raise funds. Though the advertisement had not brought sufficient response, it did not cause us any loss: the newspaper had printed it as a part of their charity services. Our orgination had recently taken up a poverty alleviation5 project, which included the marriage of poor girls as an integral compontent. We had already conducted a seminar for this purpose and its success had exceeded our expectations. In fact, we had succeded in afflicting6 the consciences of the participants and striking a responsive chord, and had received a number of promises, and anouncements of huge donations. The presence of news reporters at the occasion gave us an assurance that these promises would certainly materialize and that large sums would soon be deposited into our account.

On the next morning, we received, as promised, a cheque for two thousand dollars sent by Seth, a generous, patriotic7 entrepreneur who was also a member of the municipal council. Later on, a man from his group of companies told me that Seth Sahib did not let any of his workers miss the opportunity of earnning this good fame. He simply gave an order to deduct8 one day's salary from all his employees and thus contributed his share in our philanthropic mission. I didnot mind, as the means are no longer important when the ends are achieved.

Nawab gave us the same amount out of national grant for social development. He is a political figure who has played a role in amending9 the constitution of the commonwealth10 and who has nationalized all his belongings11, his life, his property, his family etc., in the greater national interest. So, for him, there is no essential line that differentiates12 between personal and national assets. He thinks, and feels, for both in the same extravagant13 manner. Realizing that the national grant for uplifting the poor is about to terminate as the fiscal14 year approaches its end, he decided15 to donate an amount of money to it. He himself came to our office carrying the cheque and was accompanied by a sennior correspondant of a major newspaper. They had not forgotten to bring a photographer with them! The benifit of all this to his political career, was an obvious fact so it did not cause any confusion to me, but the visitor, standing16 in front of me at that moment, perplexed17 me.

In spite of my repeated expressions of not understanding the purpose of his visit, he was completely slient: perhaps, he felt same hesitation18 in telling me something. It made me all the more uneasy and rather anxious to know what he really wanted, which was beyond my comprehension.

Finally, I broke the ice. "Gentleman, have a seat please and explain yourself."

He placed some big notes in front of me, adding. "I have some money. I have brought it for you."

I was still going through the same uncertainty19.

"But for what purpose?" I asked.

"You are raising funds for the dowry of poor girls. I have saved some amount and want to sponsor it."

Now the situation was becoming clear though my uncertainnty was natural, as I had never seen such a stranger donor20 before. Filled with an air of curiosity, I asked, "But why did you do that?"

"Is there any need to tell?" he asked.

"Yes, please."

He remained slient for a while, nodded his head in a negative way, then rose from his chair and spoke.

"No, sir, I don't think it necessary to tell. Let me go now!"

I was bewildered by his strange attitude and I spoke in a cold stubborn tone. "I am not accepting your amount if you will not tell me the truth."

He turned worried. "Is it so?"

"Yes. PLease let me know why you want to donate it. I am afraid of saying that you yourself seem to be in need of it. Please tell me clearly."

"Sir," he started saying in a coherent manner, "I am an unfortunate father of a daughter. I had been accumulating some money for her marriage and decided not to spend it on anything else but God had some other plans, as I could not see her happiness. She died when she was just sixteen after being diagnosed as being infected with a chronic21 gland22 tissue disease at nine; even homogeneous gennetic cloning couldn't help her; life is so fragile, but her death multiplied the love I had for her, and I kept on saving money from my wages in a frantic23 manner. It was already a thirteen-year-old habit, and was hardly to give up instantly. Then, I considered it to be a token of my love for her. I continued and when I saw your advertisement in the newspaper, I decided to give it to you. In this way, perhaps, my distress24 may become easier to endure and I may derive25 some peace from it." When he reached the last sentence he could not control himself, and liquid sorrow poured out of his eyes as the storm within him became wild and unrestrained.

Feeling a tear in my eyes, I rose up from my chair, placed my hand on his shoulder, and try to comfort him. Nothing is more comforting than time itself and she was quiet after a few moments. I asked his name and whereabouts merely to relieve the sadness in the atmosphere.

"No, perhaps, it is not required at all," he replied, "Please do not ask me. I am a poor carpenter and I don't what to be advertised for my love. Thank you very much. Just allow me to go, and thank you for everything."

Saying this, he rose and moved quickly towards the door. I placed my head against the back of my chair and closed my eyes and a feeling of intrinsic humanity spread within me. I saw a strange world that I could never see with open eyes: Seth and Nawab had turned into dwarfs26 in front of the humble27 carpenter. I saw him holding an invisible chain tied all those in the world who suffer. They were all so clearly tied and connected to each other that no one else, except themselves, come to help one another. A smile spread on my face with this enlightedment and I opened my eyes to see the world around me, with a revived interest in life.


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1 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
2 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
3 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
4 enveloped 8006411f03656275ea778a3c3978ff7a     
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was enveloped in a huge white towel. 她裹在一条白色大毛巾里。
  • Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 alleviation e7d3c25bc432e4cb7d6f7719d03894ec     
n. 减轻,缓和,解痛物
参考例句:
  • These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
  • The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者,减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
6 afflicting ozfzfp     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
  • Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。
7 patriotic T3Izu     
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的
参考例句:
  • His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
  • The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。
8 deduct pxfx7     
vt.扣除,减去
参考例句:
  • You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
  • On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字,我就会给你减免一个百分比。
9 amending 3b6cbbbfac3f73caf84c14007b7a5bdc     
改良,修改,修订( amend的现在分词 ); 改良,修改,修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年,一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
  • Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。
10 commonwealth XXzyp     
n.共和国,联邦,共同体
参考例句:
  • He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
  • Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。
11 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
12 differentiates e1a5ca2c9946ac040edc6427341f59db     
区分,区别,辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 ); 区别对待; 表明…间的差别,构成…间差别的特征
参考例句:
  • This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
  • Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。
13 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的
参考例句:
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
14 fiscal agbzf     
adj.财政的,会计的,国库的,国库岁入的
参考例句:
  • The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
  • The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。
15 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
16 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
17 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
18 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
19 uncertainty NlFwK     
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。
20 donor dstxI     
n.捐献者;赠送人;(组织、器官等的)供体
参考例句:
  • In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下,接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
  • The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。
21 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的
参考例句:
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
22 gland qeGzu     
n.腺体,(机)密封压盖,填料盖
参考例句:
  • This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
  • Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。
23 frantic Jfyzr     
adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的
参考例句:
  • I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
  • He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。
24 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
25 derive hmLzH     
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自
参考例句:
  • We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
  • We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
26 dwarfs a9ddd2c1a88a74fc7bd6a9a0d16c2817     
n.侏儒,矮子(dwarf的复数形式)vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句
27 humble ddjzU     
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低
参考例句:
  • In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
  • Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
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