英语美文：爷爷的饭桌

   Grandpa's Table

    A frail¹ old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred², and his step faltered³.

    The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped, the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth⁴. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated⁵ with the mess.

    "We must do something about Grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."

    So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

    Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

    The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps⁶ on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up."

    The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

    That evening the husband took Grand- father's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder⁷ of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. Children are remarkably⁸ perceptive⁹. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb.

    If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child's future.

    Let's be wise builders and role models. Lord¹⁰, we ask not that you move the mountains, but that You give us the strength to climb. "Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference." "Take care of yourself, ...and those you love, ... today, ... and everyday!"

    一位年老体衰的父亲去和他儿子、儿媳妇，还有四岁的小孙子一起生活。可他双手打颤，走路不稳，眼睛视力还不好，看不清楚东西。

    一大家人在一张桌子上吃饭，可老父亲的手颤抖得厉害，又不能看清楚，吃饭很困难。豌豆从调羹滚落到地上，可当他伸手去抓的时候，杯子里的牛奶又洒在桌布上了。儿子和儿媳妇为眼前的脏乱感到非常的恼火。

    儿子说：“我们必须为老头做些什么，我已经受够了他杯子里洒出的牛奶，吃饭时发出的响声，以及把饭洒得满地都是。”

    因此，夫妻俩就在房间的角落里放了一张小桌子。于是，全家人一起进餐的时候，而只有父亲一个人在角落里吃饭。父亲每次吃饭的时候都会打破一两个碟子，因此他们就 把他的饭放在一个木头碗里。家人瞥爷爷的时候，发现有时爷爷眼里含着泪花。而且，夫妻俩同父亲之间唯一的交流就是当父亲不小心丢掉叉子或者把食物弄洒时严厉的训斥声。

    他们四岁的儿子静静地注视着眼前发生的一切。一天晚餐前，爸爸注意到他的儿子在地上玩弄一些木片，爸爸亲切地问：“你正在做什么呢？” 那个小男孩也同样语气亲切地回答到：“哦，我正在为你和妈妈做一个吃饭用的小碗，当我长大以后你们就可以用了。”

    这个四岁的小孩笑着接着做他的碗。孩子的话深深震撼了这对父母的心灵，他们相对无语，眼泪顺着他们的脸颊流了下来。虽然他们没有说一句话，但是他们知道他们必须做些什么了。

    那天晚上，儿子抓住老父亲的手，慢慢地带着他回答桌子旁。那天晚上他和家人一起共进晚餐。当叉子掉下，牛奶四溢，桌布弄脏的时候，夫妻俩不再介意。孩子们有着很强的洞察力，眼睛在看，耳朵在听，以及他们的大脑处理着他们所收取到的信息。

    如果他们耐心地看见我们为家庭每个成员所提供一个愉快的家庭氛围，他们将会在他们以后的生活中模仿这种态度。明智的父母意识到每一天所建立起来的砖石都是为了孩子的未来铺垫的。

    让我们成为那些明智的建设者和各自角色的楷模吧。天那！我们又没有要求你移动高山，但是你必须给我们攀登高山的力量。“生活是人与人之间的交往，并且那是绝对有意义的。”“今天，……每天都要照顾好你自己……和你所爱的人！”

1 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

2 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

4 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。

5 irritated   

a.恼怒的

参考例句：

• His little affectations irritated her. 他的装腔作势令她不快。
• Her genteel accent irritated me. 她那矫揉造作的腔调使我感到难受。

6 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

7 remainder   

n.余下的部分，剩下的人数

参考例句：

• They joined up with us to spend the remainder of the holiday.他们来跟我们一起共度余下的假期。
• He spent the remainder of his years in Japan.他在日本度过了余生。

8 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

9 perceptive   

adj.知觉的，有洞察力的，感知的

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• He is very perceptive and nothing can be hidden from him.他耳聪目明，什么事都很难瞒住他。

10 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！