英语美文：通往广场的路不止一条

 More Than One Way to the Square 

We were standing¹ at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small Italian town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.

“Look down, Elsa,” Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross of twisting, turning streets leading to the square.

“See, my dear,” Father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”

Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.

When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere². Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.

At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon³ soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I talked the cook into serving it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly⁴. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered⁵, “The cook must have gone mad!” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!

In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I knew where I wanted to go in life. I wanted to be a fashion designer. And on the way to my first small success I found the road blocked. What could I do? Accept the roadblock5 and fail？Or use imagination and wits⁶ to find another road to my goal？

I had come to Paris, the center of the world of fashion, with my sketches6. But none of the famous fashion designers seemed interested in buying them. Then one day I met a friend who was wearing a very beautiful sweater. It was plain in color, but it had a lovely and unusual stitch⁸.

“Did you knit⁹ that sweater?” I asked her.

“No,” she answered. “It was done by a woman here in Paris.”

“What an interesting stitch!” I continued.

My friend had an explanation. “The woman her name is Mrs. Vidian—told me she learned¹⁰ the stitch in Armenia, her native country.”

Suddenly I pictured a daring¹¹ design knitted¹² into such a sweater. Then an even more daring idea came to me. Why not open my own house of fashion? Why not design, make and sell clothes from the house of Schiaparelli! I would do it, and I would begin with a sweater.

I drew a bold¹³ black and white butterfly pattern and took it to Mrs. Vidian. She knitted it into a sweater. The result, I thought, was wonderful. Then came the test. I wore the sweater to a luncheon which people in the fashion business would attend. To my great pleasure, the sweater was noticed. In fact, the representative of a large New York store wanted 40 sweaters to be ready in two weeks. I accepted the order and walked out on a cloud of happiness.

My cloud disappeared suddenly, however, when I stood in front of Mrs. Vidian. “But it took me almost a week to knit that one sweater,” she said. “Forty sweaters in two weeks? It is not possible!”

I was crushed¹⁴ to be so close to success and then to be blocked! Sadly I walked away. All at once I stopped short. There must be another way. This stitch did take special skill. But surely there must be other Armenian women in Paris who knew how to do it.

I went back to Mrs. Vidian and explained my plan. She really didn't think it would work, but she agreed to help.

We were like detectives, Mrs. Vidian and I. We put ourselves on the trail11 of any Armenians who lived in Paris. One friend led us to another. At last we tracked down women, each of whom could knit the special stitch. Two weeks later the sweaters were finished. And the first shipment¹⁵ from the new house of Schiaparelli was on its way to the United States!

From that day a steady stream of clothes and perfumes12 flowed from the house of Schiaparelli. I found the world of fashion gay13 and exciting, full of challenge and adventure. I shall never forget one showing which was really a challenge. Once again Father's advice helped me. I was busy getting ready to show my winter fashions. Then just 13 days before the presentation the sewing girls were called out on strike. I found myself left with one tailor and woman who was in charge of the sewing room! I was as gloomy14 as my models and salesgirls. “We'll never make it,”one of them cried.

Here, I thought, is the test of all tests for Father's advice. Where is the way out this time? I wondered and worried. I was certain we would have to call off the presentation or else show the clothes unfinished. Then it dawned on15 me. Why not show the clothes unfinished?

We worked hurriedly. And, exactly 13 days later, right on time, the Schiaparelli showing took place.

What a showing it was! Some coats had no sleeves; others had only one. Many of our clothes were still in an early stage. They were only patterns made of heavy cotton cloth. But on these we pinned sketches⁷ and pieces of material. In this way we were able to show that what colors and textures¹⁶ the clothes would have when they were finished.

All in all, the showing was different. It was so different that it was a great success. Our unusual showing caught the attention of the public, and orders for the clothes poured in.

Father's wise words had guided me once again. There is more than one way to the square always.

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 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 sputtered   

v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句

6 wits   

n.风趣( wit的名词复数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智v.风趣( wit的第三人称单数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智

参考例句：

• The authorities are at their wits' end about juvenile delinquency. 当局对青少年犯罪束手无策。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You have to have your wits about you in a dangerous situation. 在危急的情况下，你得随机应变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 stitch   

n.一针，疼痛，碎布条；v.缝合

参考例句：

• He had a stitch in the side.他胁部疼痛。
• Fold the fabric and stitch the two layers together.将布料对折，然后将两层缝在一起。

9 knit   

vt.编织，密接，结合，皱眉；vi.编织，变得紧凑，愈合；n.编织

参考例句：

• She could knit up a baby's coat in an afternoon.她能在一个下午织好一件婴儿的衣服。
• Our letters enabled us to knit up our old friendship.通信使我们恢复了旧日的友谊。

10 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

11 daring   

adj.大胆的，勇敢的，敢作敢为

参考例句：

• It was a daring attempt but he carried it off.那是个大胆的尝试，而他成功了。
• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。

12 knitted   

v.（使）愈合( knit的过去式和过去分词 )；编结；（使）紧密地结合；织平针

参考例句：

• I knitted this cardigan myself. 我自己织的这件开襟毛衣。
• Our two nations are knitted together by common concerns. 共同关心的问题使我们两国团结一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 bold   

adj.果敢的，冒险的，无畏的；冒失的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• Her words were so bold that people caught their breath.她的话太大胆了，使人们都倒抽了一口气。
• The room was decorated in bold colours.房间的色调布置得鲜明醒目。

14 crushed   

a.压碎的，倒碎的

参考例句：

• The car was completely crushed under the truck. 小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。
• The box was crushed when the car ran over it. 汽车辗过箱子时把它给压碎了。

15 shipment   

n.装货，装载的货物

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment.货物已打包以备装船。
• Please advise the date of shipment as soon as possible.请尽快通知装货日期。

16 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网