《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit 39 愿爱地久天长

　　Unit 39
How Love Endures
It's a year I could never have imagined happening, let alone  getting through. A year since I lost the love of my life, the man I  expected to be with forever, the man whose face I still long to see  when I wake up in the morning. My husband, Rick, was the commander of  the space shuttle Columbia. Last February 1 he was supposed to come  home to our two kids and me, but instead he went to his eternal¹ home  in heaven when the shuttle broke apart in midair over east Texas.
I had admired Rick since high school. He was a year older,  popular and good-looking. For some couples, it's love at first sight.  For Rick and me, it was love at first date. This guy was special. The  evening proved it. There was none of the first-date awkwardness² -- not  even when he knocked over is water at dinner. I don't remember a think  about the movie we went to except for how right it felt to have his  arm around me. Neither of except for how right it felt to have his arm  around me. Neither of us wanted the night to end. We parked by the  lake and talked.
That's when Rick told me about his dream of being an  astronaut. He had written to NASA for a list of the requirements: a  master's degree in science, math or engineering, a good number of  hours as a pilot -- which was why he was going to the Air Force after  graduation. I was beyond impressed. We dated all through college and  got married on February 27, 1982.
Rick was chosen for US-British test pilot exchange program in  1992. We moved to the English countryside, where our marriage grew to  a deeper level with no barriers standing³ between us. Later Rick  applied⁴ a fourth time for the space program and got the call from  NASA.
In Huston, no matter how tired Rick was after a long day of  NASA training, he was 100 percent involved in family at home. There  was no sweeter music to me than the sound of our kids laughing with  their Dad.
I was anxious at Rick's first shuttle mission, as pilot of the  Discovery in 1999. The memory of the Challenger explosion was still  clear. The Discovery mission was a success so I was much at ease abut  Rick's next trip, as commander of the Columbia, even though the launch  date got put off several times. I peacefully watched the shuttle lift  off last January 16. Then tow⁵ weeks later as the Columbia entered the  earth's atmosphere it broke apart. It was like watching my whole life  break into pieces and fall from the sky.
This February 27 would have been our 21 wedding anniversary.  This last year has seemed very, very ling. Grief⁶ seems to bring time  to a halt. Yet love never stands still. Love is always going on. There  was a voice deep inside me that assured me I would be OK, the same  voice that had brought me comfort during the other hard times in my  life. I knew I would have the strength to go on, and where that  strength would come from. It was love that would save me now.

1 eternal   

adj.永久的，无休止的，永恒的，永不改变的

参考例句：

• Stop this eternal chatter!不要唠叨个不停！
• Rome has been called the Eternal City.罗马一向被称为不朽之城。

2 awkwardness   

n.笨拙；粗劣；难为情；尴尬

参考例句：

• His awkwardness made him fumble with the key. 由于尴尬不安，他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I tried to smooth over the awkwardness of this first meeting. 我试图掩饰初次会面时的不自然。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。

6 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。