【英语语言学习】爱情失而复得

JULIA ROBERTS: (As Anna Scott) And don't forget, I'm also just a girl standing¹ in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

SANAA LATHAN: (As Monica Wright) I've loved you since I was 11 and the [expletive] won't go away.

OMAR EPPS: (As Quincy McCall) We haven't talked since college. You wait two weeks before my wedding to tell me something like that.

MATTHEW MACFADYEN: (As Mr. Darcy) You have bewitched me, body and soul. And I love - I love - I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

MARTIN: That was sound from a lot of love stories you have heard before. For the record today, we bring you one you probably haven't heard.

TERRY FARLEY: He was my first love. The first boy I ever kissed, the first boy I ever held hands with. And he was hard to forget.

MARTIN: This is Terry Farley remembering her first boyfriend, a guy named Steve Downey.

FARLEY: The year was 1971. I was 14 and Steve was 16.

MARTIN: They met at a Catholic youth event in Washington, D.C.

STEVE DOWNEY: And I remember seeing this very cute young woman. In those days, she had very curly blonde hair.

FARLEY: I just happened to be sitting next to Steve in a group of kids. And we got to talking, and we just hit it off.

MARTIN: Steve got her phone number and a couple of weeks later, got the gumption² to call her up and ask her out.

DOWNEY: The great thing about going to an all-boy Catholic high school is that there were monthly dances that you could pretty much set your watch by. And these were events of high anticipation³ and high anxiety because - but I got an opportunity to actually have a date.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FARLEY: I had never been on a date before, so he was, per my father, required to come to the door and to meet my father and my family. And my family just fell in love with him.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: She did, too. They dated all through high school. A couple years later, Steve graduated and went off to college. They stayed in touch, wrote letters. Then Terry went off to school. They each thought of each other as good friends, but eventually lost touch.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: They fell in love with other people, eventually got married. They built lives. Time passed. And then in 2004, Steve's wife, Kathy, was diagnosed with cancer.

DOWNEY: She went into treatment, went into remission. And she was in remission for about a year or so, and the cancer came back. And she passed away in August of 2009, the day before my birthday.

MARTIN: After many months, Steve's friends started urging him to try dating again. He had no interest.

DOWNEY: I wasn't looking for another relationship. I was - gosh, I guess I was in my mid-50s at that time, and I just assumed that I was just moving into a different phase, one where I would be by myself. I was alone, but I was OK with that.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: Around the same time, Terry's marriage was ending. She went through a rough divorce and was learning how to live on her own again, too. Then one day in the fall of 2012, she happened upon Steve's profile on LinkedIn. She click on it, smiled when she saw his photo, but decided⁴ not to write him.

FARLEY: I was not going to be the old girlfriend that popped out of nowhere and said hey, remember me?

MARTIN: However, the algorithm had other ideas because 500 miles away, Steve Downey was looking at his LinkedIn profile.

DOWNEY: And just completely by accident, I went to the section of LinkedIn where you see a list of people who have looked at your profile. And I see this name - Teresa Farley has looked at your profile. And I thought well, that is a name I have not heard in quite a long time.

MARTIN: He wrote her a message. Nothing heavy, just hey, Terry, it's Steve, hope you're well, that kind of thing. Then he waited. Nothing. Radio silence. He thought OK, fine, she doesn't want to reconnect.

DOWNEY: And a few weeks later, she writes back with her long life story. And I open up the email and I read it, and I - in the midst of all of her explanation, she reveals that she has been divorced. And I remember reading that line and calling up my best friend saying guess what? She's single. (Laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: The emails got longer and more frequent. And then there were phone calls, but they still hadn't met in person. Finally, Terry invited Steve to spend a weekend with her. His friends and family were a little worried.

DOWNEY: I had a friend who was convinced that I was going to meet my demise⁵ at the hands of a mass murderer and insisted that the moment I got there that I was to call her, my friend, to say that I was all right.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

DOWNEY: That I was not being held hostage.

MARTIN: He was not held hostage, but he was smitten⁶ all over again.

DOWNEY: When I first saw her, I saw in that person the young person that I had known.

FARLEY: When I looked at him, I did not see the gray hair. I saw my teenage crush.

MARTIN: Steve Downey and Terry Farley got married March 21, 2015, 44 years after they first met as teenagers.

DOWNEY: The most remarkable⁷ part of all this is the fact that I had a wonderful, caring, nurturing⁸ marriage and it, you know, made me the person I am today. And now I get to do it again.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FARLEY: Things just fell into place. It was like almost a puzzle piece. He, still today, makes me feel like a teenager. And so I am just - I feel like I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: For the record today, a love story from Terry Farley and Steve Downey.

1 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。

2 gumption   

n.才干

参考例句：

• With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干，他将大有作为。
• Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑，有经营头脑的人在一年的任何时节都应该能够卖掉好书。

3 anticipation   

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。

4 decided   

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 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

6 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。