英语美文：SHMILY 知道我有多么爱你

 　　SHMILY 知道我有多么爱你      

　　My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

　　They dragged “shmily” with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. They smeared¹ it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio² where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. “Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath.

　　At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet.

　　There was no end to the places “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled³ hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering⁴ wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows.

　　“Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.

　　It took me a long time before I was able to fully⁵ appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love — one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious⁶ little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship as based on a devotion and passionate⁷ affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience.

　　Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword⁸ puzzle and word jumble⁹. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em”. Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings¹⁰: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other.

　　But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents'life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her Every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that

　　way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

　　Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane¹¹ and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily¹² weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife.

　　Then one day, what we all dreaded¹³ finally happened. Grandma was gone.

　　“Shmily.” It was scrawled¹⁴ in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet¹⁵. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grand- mother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.

　　Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn't begin to fathom¹⁶ the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

　　shmily: See How Much I Love You.

　　我的祖父和祖母结婚已逾半个世纪，然而多少年来，他们彼此间不倦地玩着一个特殊的游戏：在一个意想不到的地方写下“shmily”这个词留待对方来发现。他们轮换着在屋前房后留下“shmily”，一经对方发现，就开始新的一轮。

　　他们用手指在糖罐和面箱里写下“shmily”，等着准备下一餐饭的对方来发现；他们在覆着霜花的玻璃上写下“shmily”；一次又一次的热水澡后，总可以看见雾气蒙罩的镜子上留下的“shmily”。

　　有时，祖母甚至会重卷一整卷卫生纸，只为了在最后一片纸上写下“shmily”。

　　没有“shmily”不可能出现的地方。仓促间涂写的“shmily”会出现在汽车坐垫上，或是一张贴在方向盘轴心的小纸条上。这一类的字条会被塞进鞋子里或是压在枕下。

　　“Shmily”会被书写在壁炉台面的薄尘上，或是勾画在炉内的灰底上。这个神秘的词，像祖父母的家具一样成了他们房间的一部分。

　　直到很久以后，我才能完全理解祖父母之间游戏的意义。年轻使我不懂得爱——那种纯洁且历久弥坚的爱。然而，我从未怀疑过祖父母之间的感情。他们彼此深爱。他们的小游戏已远非调情消遣，那是一种生活方式。他们之间的感情是基于一种深挚的爱和献身精神，不是每一个人都能体验到的。

　　祖父和祖母一有机会就彼此执手相握。他们在小厨房里错身而过时偷吻；他们说完彼此的半截句子；他们一起玩拼字和字谜游戏。祖母常忘情地对我耳语祖父有多可爱迷人，依然还是那么帅气。她骄傲地宣称自己的确懂得“如何选择”。每次餐前他们垂首祈祷时，感谢他们受到的诸多福佑：一个幸福的家庭、好运道和拥有彼此。

　　可是一片乌云遮蔽了祖父母的家：祖母的乳癌恶化了。首次发现是在10年前。跟以往一样，祖父总是跟祖母肩并肩地走过人生艰难之旅的每一步。为了安慰祖母，祖父将室内喷涂成黄色，这样在祖母病重不能出屋时，亦能感到周围的阳光。

　　面对癌症的再次侵袭，在祖父坚实的手臂和拐杖的帮扶下，他们每天清晨一起去教堂散步和默祷。但祖母日渐消瘦，终于，祖父只能独自去教堂，祈求上帝看顾他的妻子。

　　然而那一天，我们担心忧惧的事终于还是发生了，祖母去了。

　　“Shmily”写在祖母葬礼上花束的黄色缎带上。当人群散去，叔伯、姑姑和其他的家庭成员又走上前来最后一次围聚在祖母身旁。祖父步向祖母的灵柩，用颤抖的声音轻轻的唱起“知道我有多么爱你……”透过悲伤的泪，这歌声低沉轻柔地飘入耳来……

　　因悲伤而颤栗着，我永远无法忘记那一刻。因为我知道，尽管我无法体会他们爱得有多深，但我却有幸亲眼目睹了无与伦比的爱情之美。

　　我终于明白了他们特殊小游戏的意义SHMILY: See how much I love you（知道我有多么爱你）。

1 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

2 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

3 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

4 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 flirtatious   

adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的

参考例句：

• a flirtatious young woman 卖弄风情的年轻女子
• Her flirtatious manners are intended to attract. 她的轻浮举止是想引人注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

8 crossword   

n.纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

参考例句：

• He shows a great interest in crossword puzzles.他对填字游戏表现出很大兴趣。
• Don't chuck yesterday's paper out.I still haven't done the crossword.别扔了昨天的报纸，我还没做字谜游戏呢。

9 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

12 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

13 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

14 scrawled   

乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I tried to read his directions, scrawled on a piece of paper. 我尽量弄明白他草草写在一片纸上的指示。
• Tom scrawled on his slate, "Please take it -- I got more." 汤姆在他的写字板上写了几个字：“请你收下吧，我多得是哩。”

15 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

16 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。