双语有声阅读：给爱的人，最珍贵的礼物

Gracious¹ giving requires no special talent, nor large amounts of money.  It is compounded of the heart and head acting² together to achieve the perfect means of expressing our feelings. For, as Emerson explains, "The only gift is a portion of thyself."一份贴心的礼物并不需要非常特别，也不需要花大价钱去买。一份礼物应该包涵我们的心意，传达我们的思念。爱默生曾说过：“最好的礼物就是你自己。”

A little girl gave her mother several small boxes tied with bright ribbons.  Inside each were slips of paper on which the child had printed messages such as, "Good for two flower-bed weedings," "Good for two floor-scrubbings."  She had never read Emerson, but unconsciously she put a large part of her small self into her gift.

一个小女孩给了她妈妈几个用漂亮缎带打包好的小盒子，每个盒子里都装着小女孩打印好的纸条，上面写着比如“给花坛除草两次”、“洗两次地板”之类的字。她没有读过爱默生的那句话，但是她把自己的心意放进礼物里送给了妈妈。

A young bride received a wedding present from an older woman.  With it went a note, "Do not open until you and your husband have your first tiff³."一位年轻的新娘从一位老妇人那里收到一份结婚礼物，还有一张纸条：“在你和你丈夫第一次吵架时打开。”

When there finally came a day of misunderstanding the bride remembered the package.  In it she found a card box filled with her friend's favorite recipes--and a note, "You will catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar."  It was a wise woman indeed who gave of her experience with her gift.

后来有一天，他们发生了争吵，这是新娘想起了这份包裹，于是她找到它，发现里面装满了老妇人最喜欢的食谱，还附着一张纸条：“蜂蜜比醋能招来更多苍蝇（甜言蜜语比尖酸刻薄更得人心）。”这位智慧的老妇人把自己的生活经验当做礼物送给了新娘。

Family gifts should be the most satisfying because we know each member's wish and whim⁴.  Yet how often we make the stereotyped⁵ offerings--ties, candy, or household utensils⁶.  One man I know is planning an unusual present for his wife.  When I saw him coming out of a dancing studio, he explained:  "I got tired of hearing my wife complain about my dancing.  It's going to be a lasting⁷ birthday present for her--my dancing well."来自家人的礼物应该是最令人满意的了，因为我们知道每位家庭成员的喜好和念想。但是我们却经常送一些千篇一律的礼物——领带、糖果或是家用器皿。我曾见过一个男人为他的妻子准备了一份不同寻常的礼物，当他走出舞蹈培训班的时候，他告诉我：“我受够了我妻子对我舞技的抱怨，我精进的舞技对她来说会是一份永恒的礼物。”

An elderly lady on an Iowa farm wept with delight when her son in New York had a telephone installed in her house and followed it up with a weekly long-distance call.

一位住在爱荷华州的农场的老妇人喜极而泣，因为她在纽约的儿子在她家里装了部电话，而且在接下来每一周都打长途电话回家。

All gifts that contain a portion of self signify⁸ that someone has been really thinking of us.  One of the most useful and thoughtful travel presents a girl ever received was currency of the country to which she was going.  A friend bought her some pesos from a bank so that she would have the correct money for tips and taxi fare when she first arrived in Mexico.

所有包含了自己的心意的礼物都表示着礼物主人对我们的思念。对一位要去旅行的姑娘来说，最实用、最贴心的礼物莫过于要去的那个国家的货币了。她的一位朋友从银行兑换了一些比索给她，这样她就可以在初到墨西哥的时候有钱付小费和车费了。

Chances for heroic giving are rare, yet every day there are opportunities to give a part of yourself to someone who needs it.  It may be no more than a kind word or a letter written at the right time.  The important thing about any gift is the amount of yourself you put into it.

我们很少有机会送出华丽的礼物，但是我们每天都有机会把自己的一部分送给需要的人，也许是一句贴心的话语，也许是一封来得正好的信，但不管送什么礼物，最重要包含自己的心意。

1 gracious   

adj.亲切的，客气的，宽厚的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• She was a very gracious lady.她是一位非常和蔼可亲的女士。
• She was gracious enough to show us round her home.她彬彬有礼地领我们参观了她的家。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 tiff   

n.小争吵，生气

参考例句：

• They patched up their tiff again.他们平息了争执，又和好如初了。
• There was a new tiff between the two girls.那两个女孩之间有一场新的吵嘴。

4 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

5 stereotyped   

adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的

参考例句：

• There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子，左不过是些才子佳人，最没趣儿。
• He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物，并且与我们的祖先有着明显的（虽然可能没有科学的）联系。

6 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 signify   

vt.表示...的意思，意味，预示

参考例句：

• State ownership in itself does not signify collective control.国家所有本身并不意味集体控制。
• The striped band round a policeman's sleeve is to signify that he is on duty.警察袖子上的袖标标明他正在执勤。