英语美文：一份爱的礼物

 “我有钱啦!”鲁本一本正经地告诉店主。店主走向橱窗，取出鲁本梦寐以求的东西。鲁本一路狂奔到家，冲进前门。妈妈正在厨房擦洗灶台。“瞧，妈妈！瞧！”鲁本一边跑向她一边大叫着。他把一个小盒子放在她因劳作而变得粗糙的手上。

　　为了不损坏包装纸，她小心翼翼地把它拆开，一个蓝色天鹅绒的首饰盒映入眼帘。多拉打开盒盖，泪水顿时模糊了她的双眼。在一个小巧的心状胸针上刻着金字：母亲。

　　那是1946年的母亲节。多拉从未收到过这样的礼物；除了结婚戒指外，她没有别的饰物。哽咽无语，她把儿子一把揽入怀中，脸上洋溢着动人的光彩。

　　In 1945, a 12-year-old boy saw something in a shop window that set his heart racing¹. But the price—five dollars—was far beyond Reuben Earle's means. Five dollars would buy almost a week's groceries for his family.

　　Reuben couldn't ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made through fishing in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada. Reuben's mother, Dora, stretched like elastic² to feed and clothe their five children.

　　Nevertheless, he opened the shop's weathered door and went inside. Standing³ proud and straight in his flour-sack shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, "But I don't have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?"

　　"I'll try," the shopkeeper smiled. " Folks around here don't usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while."

　　Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the sunlight with the bay rippling⁴ in a freshening wind. There was purpose in his loping stride. He would raise the five dollars and not tell anybody.

　　Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea.

　　He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails purchased in Hessian sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of building, and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece.

　　That day he found two sacks, which he took to the rambling⁵ wooden factory and sold to the man in charge of packing nails.

　　The boy's hand tightly clutched the five-cent pieces as he ran the two kilometers home.

　　Near his house stood the ancient barn that housed the family's goats and chickens. Reuben found a rusty⁶ soda⁷ tin and dropped his coins inside. Then he climbed into the loft⁸ of the barn and hid the tin beneath a pile of sweet smelling hay.

　　It was dinner time when Reuben got home. His father sat at the big kitchen table, working on a fishing net. Dora was at the kitchen stove, ready to serve dinner as Reuben took his place at the table.

　　He looked at his mother and smiled. Sunlight from the window gilded⁹ her shoulder-length blonde hair. Slim and beautiful, she was the center of the home, the glue that held it together.

　　Her chores were never-ending. Sewing clothes for her family on the old Singer treadle machine, cooking meals and baking bread, planting and tending a vegetable garden, milking the goats and scrubbing soiled clothes on a washboard. But she was happy. Her family and their well-being¹⁰ were her highest priority.

　　Every day after chores and school, Reuben scoured¹¹ the town, collecting the hessian nail bags. On the day the two-room school closed for the summer, no student was more delighted than Reuben. Now he would have more time for his mission.

　　All summer long, despite chores at home weeding and watering the garden, cutting wood and fetching water—Reuben kept to his secret task.

　　Then all too soon the garden was harvested, the vegetables canned and stored, and the school reopened. Soon the leaves fell and the winds blew cold and gusty¹² from the bay. Reuben wandered the streets, diligently¹³ searching for his hessian treasures.

　　Often he was cold, tired and hungry, but the thought of the object in the shop window sustained him. Sometimes his mother would ask: "Reuben, where were you? We were waiting for you to have dinner."

　　"Playing, Mum. Sorry."

　　Dora would look at his face and shake her head. Boys.

　　Finally spring burst into glorious green and Reuben's spirits erupted. The time had come! He ran into the barn, climbed to the hayloft and uncovered the tin can. He poured the coins out and began to count.

　　Then he counted again. He needed 20 cents more. Could there be any sacks left any where in town? He had to find four and sell them before the day ended.

　　Reuben ran down Water Street.

　　The shadows were lengthening¹⁴ when Reuben arrived at the factory. The sack buyer was about to lock up.

　　"Mister! Please don't close up yet."

　　The man turned and saw Reuben, dirty and sweat stained.

　　"Come back tomorrow, boy."

　　"Please, Mister. I have to sell the sacks now—please."The man heard a tremor¹⁵ in Reuben's voice and could tell he was close to tears.

　　"Why do you need this money so badly?"

　　"It's a secret."

　　The man took the sacks, reached into his pocket and put four coins in Reuben's hand. Reuben murmured a thank you and ran home.

　　Then, clutching the tin can, he headed for the shop.

　　"I have the money," he solemnly told the owner.

　　The man went to the window and retrieved¹⁶ Reuben's treasure.

　　He wiped the dust off and gently wrapped it in brown paper. Then he placed the parcel in Reuben's hands.

　　Racing home, Reuben burst through the front door. His mother was scrubbing the kitchen stove. "Here, Mum! Here!" Reuben exclaimed as he ran to her side. He placed a small box in her work roughened hand.

　　She unwrapped it carefully, to save the paper. A blue-velvet jewel box appeared. Dora lifted the lid, tears beginning to blur¹⁷ her vision.

　　In gold lettering on a small, almond-shaped brooch was the word Mother.

　　It was Mother's Day, 1946.

　　Dora had never received such a gift; she had no finery except her wedding ring. Speechless, she smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms.

1 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

2 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

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 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

5 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

6 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

7 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

8 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

9 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

10 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

11 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

12 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

13 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

14 lengthening   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长

参考例句：

• The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
• The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分

15 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

16 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

17 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。