英语美文背诵 我最珍视的东西(下)

"What box?" Mom asked.

“什么盒子？”妈妈问。

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was, 'The thing I value most.' Jack¹ said.

“在他的桌子上面，放着一个小小的，总是上着锁的金盒子。我问过他无数次那盒子里面有什么东西。他总是告诉我说‘那是我最珍视的东西’，杰克说。

It was gone.Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remember it except for the box.

那个盒子不见了。屋子里所有的东西都如杰克所记得的，除了那个盒子。

He figured someone from the Belser's family had taken it.

他猜想肯定是贝尔瑟家谁拿了那个盒子。

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,"Jack said.

“现在我再也无法知道到底什么对他那么珍贵了”，杰克说。

"I'd better get some sleep. I have a early flight home, Mom. "

“我最好去睡会了妈妈，我明早要赶飞机。”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.

贝尔瑟先生去世两周后的一天，杰克下班回家，在邮箱里发现了一张包裹单。

'Signature² required on a package. No one at home, please stoped by the main post office within the next three days.' The note read.

单上写着：有一个包裹需要签收，但是您家里没人，请在三天之内到邮局认领。

Early the next day Jack retrieved³ the package.

第二天一大早，杰克取回了包裹。

The small box was old and looked like had been mailed a hundred years ago.

包裹看起来很旧，像是邮寄了100年。

The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. Mr. Harold Belser," it read.

包裹上的字迹很难辨认，但是寄信人地址却吸引了他的注意："哈罗德·贝尔瑟先生。

Jack took the box over his car, and rapid opened the package.

杰克拿过包裹，迅速打开。

There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

里边是个金盒子，还有一封信。看着信的内容，杰克的手颤抖了。

"Upon my death please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I value most in my life."

“在我死后，请把这个盒子转交给杰克·贝内特。这是我一生中最珍视的东西。"

A small key was tapped to the letter.

有一把小钥匙附在信上。

His heart raced as tears filled his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked⁴ the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

杰克的心跳加快，眼里噙满了泪水。他小心翼翼地打开盒子，里面是一块漂亮的金怀表。

Running his fingers slowly over the finally edged⁵ casing , he enlarged⁶ the cover.

他用手指缓缓触摸表壳的边缘，他打开了表盖。

Inside he found these words engraved⁷: "Jack, Thanks for your time! — Harold Belser." "The thing he valued most...was...my time."

里面刻着下面的文字：“杰克，感谢和你在一起的时间！哈罗德·贝尔瑟”。他最珍视的东西…是…我的时间。”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days… "Why?" Jonet， his asistant asked." I need some time to spend with my son." He said.

杰克拿着表想了一会儿，然后给办公室打了电话，把接下来两天的工作预约全部取消了。“为什么？”杰克的助理加纳特问，他说：“我需要一点儿时间陪我儿子。”

"Oh,by the way,Jonet. Thanks for your time."

“对了，加纳特，谢谢你的时间！”

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 signature   

n.签名，署名，信号

参考例句：

• Make sure that you get it down and his signature on it.你一定要把它记下来，并让他在上面签字。
• Each person's signature is unique.每个人的签名都是独一无二的。

3 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

4 unlocked   

v.开锁( unlock的过去式和过去分词 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Don't leave your desk unlocked. 请不要忘记锁好办公桌。
• On no account should you leave the door unlocked. 你无论如何也不应该不锁门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 edged   

adj.有…边的，刀口…的；锋利的；微醉的v.“edge”的过去时和过去分词

参考例句：

• the double-edged quality of life in a small town—security and boredom 小城镇生活的双重性—安全但乏味
• the movie's hard-edged realism 那部电影的逼真的现实主义

6 enlarged   

扩大( enlarge的过去式和过去分词 )； 扩展； 扩充； 放大

参考例句：

• The balloon enlarged as we pumped air into it. 那个气球充气后就变大了。
• The castle was enlarged considerably in the fifteenth century. 这个城堡在15 世纪得到了相当大的扩展。

7 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》