Step by Step 3000 第2册 Unit1:Happy Family Life(4)

 　　Part 4. A Valentine Story.

　　Keywords. correspond, romance, first meeting, red rose, test, wisdom.

　　Vocabulary. intrigue¹, insightful, budding, lapel, provocative², tuck, plump, thrust, uphold, grip, square, salute³.

　　A. Listen to the first part of a Valentine story, then write an ending for the story.

　　John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened in his army uniform, and studied the crowed of people making their way through Grand Central Station.

　　He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

　　His interest in her had begun 13 months before in a Florida library.

　　Taking a book off the shelf, he found himself intrigued⁴, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin⁵.

　　The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

　　In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell.

　　With time and effort, he located her address, she lived in New York city.

　　He wrote her a letter, introducing himself and inviting⁶ her to correspond.

　　The next day, he was shipped overseas for service in World War Ⅱ.

　　During the next year and one month, the two grew to know each other through the mail.

　　Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart.

　　A romance was budding.

　　Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused.

　　She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

　　When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting, 7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.

　　"You will recognize me", she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel."

　　So at 7:00, he was in the station, looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.

　　I'll let Mr Blanchard tell you what happened.

　　A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim.

　　Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears.

　　Her eyes were as blue flowers.

　　Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness.

　　And in her pale green suit, she was like spring time to coming alive.

　　I started toward her, entirely⁷ forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.

　　As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.

　　"Going my way, sailor?" she murmured.

　　Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Meynell.

　　She was standing⁸ almost directly behind the girl.

　　A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat.

　　She was more than plump, her thick-ankle feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.

　　The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

　　I felt as though I was split into two, so keen was my desire to follow her.

　　And yet so deep was my longing⁹ for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld my own.

　　And there she stood, her pale plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly¹⁰ twinkle.

　　I did not hesitate.

　　My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.

　　This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love.

　　B. Now listen to the last part of the story, fill in the blankets with words you hear and make a comparison between the ending you desired and the one you heard.

　　I squared my shoulders and saluted¹¹ and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke¹² I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.

　　"I'm Lieutenant¹³ John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell.

　　I'm so glad you could meet me, may I take you to dinner?"

　　The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile.

　　"I don't know what this is about, son," she answered,

　　"But the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat, and she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,

　　I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street.

　　She said it was some kind of test." It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom.

1 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

2 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

3 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

4 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

5 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

6 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 standing   

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。

9 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

10 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

11 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spoke   

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。

13 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。