精美英文欣赏:一条美丽的裙子

A Beautiful Dress

一条美丽的裙子

My neighbor's eight-year-old daughter used to stay in the countryside, her native place.

我邻居八岁的女儿之前住在乡下，她的老家。

Recently her parents brought her to town to live with them.

最近被带到城里来和爸妈一起生活。

Wild and uneducated, she would swear or use dirty words when she was displeased¹.

她是个没有受过教育的野孩子，她不开心的时候，就会诅咒或者说脏话。

Sometimes she went so far as to roll on the ground, to the shock of all people around.

有时候甚至在地上打滚，周围的人对此都很吃惊。

Her parents tried to tame² her by beating and kicking, only to result in more violent outbursts.

她的父母试图通过打和踢驯服她，但是这样做只能导致更多的暴力事件。

Finally they became thoroughly³ disappointed with her.

最后他们对自己的女儿彻底失望了。

One day their next-door neighbor, a retired⁴ woman teacher,

一天，他们的隔壁邻居，一个退休的女教师，

gave the girl a snow-white dress, which was very beautiful.

给那个女孩一条非常漂亮雪白的裙子。

It immediately caught the girl's eyes and made them shine brightly.

这立刻吸引了女孩的眼睛，她的眼里满是闪烁的光芒。

The girl put on the dress and became quite another person.

女孩穿上裙子，简直成了另外一个人。

She no longer abused⁵ or hit others, even less rolled on the floor.

她不再辱骂或者打别人，也很少在地上打滚。

She knew running wild was beneath her in such a beautiful dress.

她知道疯子似的乱跑配不上这条美丽的裙子。

Since then the girl had been gentle, neat, and lovely.

从那以后，女孩变得文雅，整洁，可爱。

The story set me thinking a lot.

这个故事让我想了很多。

Perhaps everyone has a beautiful dress hidden somewhere in his or her heart.

也许每个人心里都藏着一条美丽的裙子，

Only some people are not aware of it, forget it or abandon it.

只是有些人不在意，忘记了或者是丢弃了这些美好。

Beauty is a power force or weapon—that's something unrealized by many of us.

美是一种强大的力量和武器——很多人都没有意识到它。

It can arouse⁶ fine qualities that humans are born with but have so far hidden somewhere.

美能够唤起人与生俱来的优良品质，但是它也隐藏在别处。

It has a soul-shaking influence that is indeed unmatched.

它确实具有震撼心灵，无与伦比的影响力。

1 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

2 tame   

adj.驯服的，柔顺的，乏味的；v.驯养，使...驯服

参考例句：

• His job is to tame lions.他的工作是驯狮。
• He is so tame that he agrees with everybody.他很随和，总是顺从他人的意见。

3 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 abused   

v.妄用( abuse的过去式和过去分词 )；虐待；辱骂

参考例句：

• All the children had been physically and emotionally abused. 所有这些儿童的身心都受到了摧残。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This rule was brought into being because the old law was abused. 由于旧的法律遭到滥用，这条规则便应运而生。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 arouse   

vt.唤醒，叫醒；唤起，激起

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight with enemies.我们必须唤起他们同敌人斗争。
• He fell into a sound sleep, don't arouse him.他睡熟了，别唤醒他。