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大学英语精读第三册 Unit Five:The Day Mother Cried

时间:2005-04-20 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:鱼尾巴   字体: [ ]
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Text
A mother and her son learn more form a moment of defeat than they ever could from a victory. Her example of never giving up gives him courage for the rest of his life.

The Day Mother Cried

Gerald Moore
Coming home from school that dark winter's day so long ago, I was filled with anticipation1. I had a new issue of my favorite sports magazine tucked under my arm, and the house to myself. Dad was at work, my sister was away, and Mother wouldn't be home from her new job for an hour. I bounded up the steps, burst into the living room and flipped2 on a light.
I was shocked into stillness by what I saw. Mother, pulled into a tight ball with her face in her hands, sat at the far end of the couch. She was crying. I had never seen her cry.
I approached cautiously and touched her shoulder. "Mother?" I said "What's happened?"
She took a long breath and managed a weak smile. "It's nothing, really. Nothing important. Just than I'm going to lose this new job. I can't type fast enough."
"But you've only been there three days," I said. "You'll catch on." I was repeating a line she had spoken to me a hundred times when I was having trouble learning or doing something important to me.
"No." she said sadly. "I always said I could do anything I set my mind to, and I still think I can in most things. But I can't do this."
I felt helpless and out of place. At age 16 I still assumed Mother could do anything. Some years before, when we sold our ranch3 and moved to town, Mother had decided4 to open a day nursery. She had had no training, but that didn't stand in her way. She sent away for correspondence courses in child care, did the lessons and in six months formally qualified5 herself for the task. It wasn't long before she had a full enrollment6 and a waiting list. I accepted all this as a perfectly7 normal instance of Mother's ability.
But neither the nursery nor the motel my parents bought later had provided enough income to send my sister and me to college. In two years I would be ready for college. In three more my sister would want to go. Time was running out, and Mother was frantic8 for ways to save money. It was clear that Dad could do no more than he was doing already——farming 80 acres in addition to holding a fulltime job.
A few months after we'd sold the motel, Mother arrived home with a use typewriter. It skipped between certain letters and the keyboard was soft. At dinner that night I pronounced the machine a "piece of junk."
"That's all we can afford," mother said. "It's good enough to learn on." And from that day on, as soon as the table was cleared and the dishes were done, Mother would disappear into her sewing room to practice. The slow tap, tap, tap went on some nights until midnight.
It was nearly Christmas when I heard Mother got a job at the radio station. I was not the least bit surprised, or impressed. But she was ecstatic.
Monday, after her first day at work, I could see that the excitement was gone. Mother looked tired and drawn9. I responded by ignoring her.
Tuesday, Dad made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. Mother stayed in her sewing room, practicing. "Is Mother all right?" I asked Dad.
"She's having a little trouble with her typing," he said. "She needs to practice. I think she'd appreciate it if we all helped out a bit more."
"I already do a lot," I said, immediately on guard.
"I know you do," Dad said evenly. "And you may have to do more. You might just remember that she is working primarily so you can go to college."
I honestly didn't care. I wished she would just forget the whole thing.
My shock and embarrassment10 at finding Mother in tears on Wednesday was a perfect index of how little I understood the pressures on her. Sitting beside her on the couch, I began very slowly to understand.
"I guess we al have to fail sometime," Mother said quietly. I could sense her pain and the tension of holding back the strong emotions that were interrupted by my arrival. Suddenly, something inside me turned. I reached out and put my arms around her.
She broke then. She put her face against my shoulder and sobbed11. I help her close and didn't try to talk. I knew I was doing what I should, what I could, and that it was enough. In that moment, feeling Mother's back racked with emotion, I understood for the first time her vulnerability. She was still my mother, but she was something more: a person like me, capable of fear and hurt and failure. I could feel her pain as she must have felt mine on a thousand occasions when I had sought comfort in her arms.
A week later Mother took a job selling dry goods at half the salary the radio station had offered. "It's a job I can do," she said simply. But the evening practice sessions on the old green typewriter continued. I had a very different feeling now when I passed her door at night and heard her tapping away. I knew there was something more going on in there than a woman learning to type.
When I left for college two years later, Mother had an office job with better pay and more responsibility. I have to believe that in some strange way she learned as much from her moment of defeat as I did, because several years later, when I had finished school and proudly accepted a job as a newspaper reporter, she had already been a journalist with our hometown paper for six months.
The old green typewriter sits in my office now, unrepaired. It is a memento12, but what it recalls for me is not quite what if recalled for Mother. When I'm having trouble with a story and think about giving up or when I start to feel sorry for myself and think things should be easier for me, I roll a piece of paper into that cranky old machine and type, word by painful word, just the way mother did. What I remember then is not her failure, but her courage, the courage to go ahead.
It's the best memento anyone ever gave me.

NEW WORDS

anticipation
n. expectation

anticipate
vt.

issue
n. 发行物(刊物的)一期

tuck
vt. put or push into a desired convenient position so as to hold tightly; draw together into a small space 塞(进);卷(起)

bound
vi. move along quickly by jumping or leaping movements 跳跃

flip
v. turn or move quickly or with a jerk

tight
a. drawn, fixed13 or fastened together firmly 紧的,牢的
ad. firmly, closely

couch
n. a long comfortable seat with a back and arms on which more than one person may sit; sofa 长沙发椅

approach
v. come near or nearer(to)

cautiously
ad. very carefully 细心地,谨慎地

cautious a.

type
vt. write (sth.) with a typewriter

line
n. a row of words in a poem; a row of words on a page of writing or in print (诗、文的)一行

helpless
a. unable to look after oneself or take action to help others, powerless

assume
vt. take as true without actual proof; suppose 假设,主观认为

ranch
n. a very large farm for raising horses, cattle or sheep 大牧场,大农场

nursery
n. a place where small children are temporarily cared for 托儿所

day nursery
n. a place where small children are cared for during the day

training
n. the process of training or being trained; instruction

correspondence
n. the act of exchanging letters 通信

correspondence course
n. an educational course in which instruction and work are exchanged between the teacher and student by post 函授课程

formally
ad. according to proper rules or lawful15 forms 正式地

formal a.

qualify
vt. make fit or competent for a special purpose 使具有资格

enrol(l)ment
n. the number of people who have registered themselves as members of a school, a program, etc.; registering 注册人数,注册,登记

enrol(l)
v. 注册,登记

motel
n. a roadside hotel providing overnight lodging16 for motorists 汽车旅馆

frantic
a. wildly anxious, afraid, happy, etc.

acre
n. 英亩

addition
n. the act of adding 加,加法

full-time
a. occupying all normal working hours

typewriter
n. 打字机

keyboard
n. the set of keys on a typewriter, piano, etc. 键盘

junk
n. old useless things 破烂,垃圾

tap
n. a short light blow 轻叩

midnight
n. the middle of the night 午夜

ecstatic
a. marked by a state of overwhelming emotion, esp. great joy 欣喜若狂的

drawn
a. (of the face) looking very tired or worried or tense 憔悴的;紧张的

respond
vi. act in answer to the action of another; answer

dad
n. (colloq.) father

evenly
ad. calmly, peacefully

even a.

primarily
ad. mainly; chiefly

embarrassment
n. a feeling of shyness, shame or guilt17

index
n. sign or indication 指数,指标

pressure
n. a constraining18 influence upon the mind (心理上的)压力

tension
n. (a feeling of) nervous anxiety, worry, on pressure 紧张

arrival
n. the act of arriving

rack
vt. shake violently 猛力摇动

vulnerability
n. being liable to be damaged or hurt 易受伤性;脆弱性

vulnerable a.

dry goods
(AmE) cloth, ribbons, laces, curtains and similar textile fabrics19 织物尖商品

session
n. a meeting or period of time devoted20 to a particular activity 会议;(从事某项活动的)一段时间

journalist
n. a person whose profession is writing for, editing, or publishing newspaper or magazines, a reporter 新闻工作者,记者

memento
n. sth. which reminds one of a holiday, a friend, etc. 纪念品

cranky
a. (of a machine) shaky; malfunctioning21 不稳的;有毛病的

PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS
have sth. to oneself
have sth. for one's own private use
at work
working; operating

catch on (to)
(informal) learn; understand 学会,懂得

set one's mind to (or on)
pull all one's efforts into doing (sth). 决心做

stand/be in sb's way
be in a position to delay or prevent someone from his intended actions 阻碍,妨碍

send away for
request (sth.) or order (goods) to be sent by post 函索

run out
come to an end; be used up 到期;用完,耗尽

in addition (to)
besides; as well (as)

help out
give help; help (sb.) at a time of need 帮助;帮助(某人)摆脱困境

on guard
ready to defend or protect; watchful22 警惕,提防

in tears
crying

hold back
control; make (sth.) stay in place 抑制,阻止

go on
take place or happen

go ahead
make progress; advance


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 anticipation iMTyh     
n.预期,预料,期望
参考例句:
  • We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着,期待她的到来。
  • The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安,像是感到了地震即将发生。
2 flipped 5bef9da31993fe26a832c7d4b9630147     
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
参考例句:
  • The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转,撞毁了。
  • The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。
3 ranch dAUzk     
n.大牧场,大农场
参考例句:
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
4 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。
5 qualified DCPyj     
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的
参考例句:
  • He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
  • We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。
6 enrollment itozli     
n.注册或登记的人数;登记
参考例句:
  • You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
  • I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。
7 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
8 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。
9 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
10 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
11 sobbed 4a153e2bbe39eef90bf6a4beb2dba759     
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说
参考例句:
  • She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
  • She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。
12 memento nCxx6     
n.纪念品,令人回忆的东西
参考例句:
  • The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
  • My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。
13 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
14 linen W3LyK     
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的
参考例句:
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
15 lawful ipKzCt     
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的
参考例句:
  • It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
  • We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
16 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句:
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
17 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
18 constraining cc35429b91ea67e2478332bc4d1c3be7     
强迫( constrain的现在分词 ); 强使; 限制; 约束
参考例句:
  • He was constraining his mind not to wander from the task. 他克制着不让思想在工作时开小差。
  • The most constraining resource in all of these cases is venture capital. 在所有这些情况下最受限制的资源便是投入资本。
19 fabrics 678996eb9c1fa810d3b0cecef6c792b4     
织物( fabric的名词复数 ); 布; 构造; (建筑物的)结构(如墙、地面、屋顶):质地
参考例句:
  • cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
  • The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。
20 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
21 malfunctioning 1fad45d7d841115924d97b278aea7280     
出故障
参考例句:
  • But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误,设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网
22 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
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