英语美文：留声机情结

 　I couldn’t believe what I had just heard! Hands 1)cupped around his mouth so his words wouldn’t travel to the ears of eavesdroppers, and 2)flipping his head from shoulder to shoulder to ensure no one would be privy¹ to his 3)divulgence, David repeated his whispered announcement: “I have $500 saved.” 

　　This wouldn’t be such a shock if it weren’t for the fact that David is a 4)mentally challenged adult. Where on earth did he get that kind of money? He pulled me aside and answered my unspoken question, so excited that his words tumbled 5)pell-mell off his lips, faster and faster until I could barely keep up with his stream of consciousness. Eventually I got the gist² of his monologue³. 

　　When he was a little boy he had made weekly trips with his mother to a local department store. He was 6)mesmerized by the window displays and eagerly stood with his nose pressed against the glass until his breath clouded his view. Then came the display which would change his and many other lives 30 years later. It was a 7)Victor Five Victrola, the kind that needed to be wound by hand before placing the needle on the record, the machine which 8)bore the symbol of a black and white dog, ear 9)cocked to its side. Not missing a beat, he 10)expounded on a history lesson about 11)Columbia Records and their music machines, information 12)gleaned from his trips to the library. There was nothing he didn’t know about that golden age of music. 

　　His mother died, and he eventually was able to live independently, supervised by an agency. It was through the agency that he obtained work, cleaning toilets of public facilities five nights a week. Every week he 13)squirreled away his paycheck, never forgetting the Victrola. He was on a mission to find and buy a 14)phonograph like the one he had once admired through plate glass. 

　　Visibly exhausted⁴ from revealing his secret, David paused long enough to pull out a 15)tattered 16)Polaroid photo from his back pocket. He lovingly waved it in front of my eyes and proclaimed, “There it is! Victor Five!” He had found the object of his desire exhibited at a museum and had been faithfully visiting it every chance he could get. The colored piece of paper was a constant reminder⁵ of his goal. 

　　I 17)tucked away his confession⁶ into the back of my mind, only to dust it off when I wandered into one of my favorite antique shops a few months later. In the back of the shop, tacked⁷ in the corner of a bulletin board over the owner’s desk, was a Polaroid picture just like the one David had shown me. I hastily inquired as to why it was there and unknowingly opened the door to a personal witnessing of the triumph of the human spirit. 

　　David had gone to every antique shop in the city and had left a picture of his beloved Victrola with each of the shopkeepers. If any one of them was to come across a Victor Five he wanted to buy it. Rain or shine, the owner at Century Antiques counted on David to stop at his 18)Waterbury store at least twice a month to check on the success of his quest. He hadn’t put any effort into looking because he honestly didn’t think David had the money for such an expensive piece. After all, David was, well, not “like us.” Didn’t he know that it was next to impossible to find that particular antique? But, being a kindhearted soul, the dealer⁸ had 19)taken a liking⁹ to David and posted his Polaroid. 

　I commanded him to take the mission seriously. If David was short of the required amount for the purchase, I knew it wouldn’t be 

　　impossible to find enough people to 20)chip in to make up the difference. There was a core group of people in our church who were fond of him and would dig into their pockets to help him reach his goal. 

　　It took some time, but the antique shop came through with 21)flying colors. For months, the owner’s son, Chip, had made phone call after phone call in the tri-state area and eventually 22)struck it rich. A Victor Five had been found! He personally drove to the source, brought the machine back to his shop, and called me with the news. “I can’t believe it. It’s a miracle that I found one in such beautiful shape, or that I found one at all!” The cost to David? Not a 23)nickel more than what it had cost the dealer. 

　　The profit for the dealer? The pure joy of seeing David when he 24)flung open the door to the shop, stopping speechless in front of the phonograph, clapping his hands together in prayer, and looking up to heaven and saying, “Thank you, thank you for my Victor Five.” 

　　So, if you drive down the street past David’s apartment, you will most probably hear music. 

　　David will be playing his Victrola, and the world will be a little nicer. 

1 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

2 gist   

n.要旨；梗概

参考例句：

• Can you give me the gist of this report?你能告诉我这个报告的要点吗？
• He is quick in grasping the gist of a book.他敏于了解书的要点。

3 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

7 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。