英语美文：眼里有心

 　Cody started life weighing 24 ounces.

　　Due to extreme prematurity¹, our son had eye surgery to prevent blindness. As a result of the surgery, he lost peripheral² vision in his right eye. And his near sightedness would mean glasses and close monitoring by an ophthalmologist for the rest of his life.

　　Such a small price to pay, in our opinion, compared to the alternative.

　　Cody wore glasses with great pride, making it abundantly clear to his little brothers that Mommy and Daddy also wore glasses, and wasn't it a shame that they didn't have any themselves. This usually prompted a round of begging from his siblings³ that it was only fair they get glasses, too.

　　Then kindergarten happened.

　　One day, a couple of kids at recess⁴ derailed Cody's bright outlook on having glasses in his possession. One boy said, your glasses look stupid, Cody. Another kid yanked them off his face and bent⁵ them.

　　Cody was a timid, small child. Seeing tears well up in his eyes, as he recounted the event, wrung⁶ our hearts dry.

　　Just recently though, something changed his outlook.

　　It was the morning of Valentine's Day. I shut off the alarm and groped around in the dark until I found my glasses. I donned them and without turning on the light, blindly made my way to the bathroom. I flipped⁷ the bathroom switch, and there I discovered why it was extra dark in my bedroom.

　　My husband, Stephen, had placed two red heart stickers on my glasses. And plastered all over the mismatched antique mirrors above our bathroom basins were the same stickers.

　　"VALENTINE," my husband had scrawled⁸ on one mirror, "I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH!"

　　In one mirror was drawn⁹ a stick arm with a hand pointing west. And in the other mirror was the same thing pointing east. I was chuckling¹⁰ under my breath, so as not to wake the rest of the household, while staring at my reflection.

　　I penned my response in the mirror, "Thanks to you, sweetie, I've got hearts in my eyes!"

　　While dressing¹¹ Cody for school, he whispered, "Mom?"

　　"Yes, big boy?" I whispered back.

　　"You got hearts on your glasses."

　　"Yep, I sure do."

　　"You're funny, Mom," he said, his eyes sparkling. We both climbed into the cab of the pickup¹² truck, where other hearts ambushed¹³ us. Stuck to the steering¹⁴ wheel was a heart. Another one was on the rearview mirror, on my truck key, on the stick shift, and on my wallet. All compliments of my heart?happy husband.

　　I peeled the hearts from my glasses and handed them to Cody. He stuck them carefully on his own glasses and smiled the whole way to school.

　　I parked in front of his school.

　　"Get your book bag, sweetie," I said.

　　"Mom, can I wear my hearts to class?"

　　I debated it for a moment. Pulling a "stunt¹⁵" like this could go either way. But the pleading in his eyes sealed8 it for me. How could I deny him what may turn out to be a fun opportunity?

　　"I don't see why not, big boy."

　　I placed two hearts on my own glasses, and together we entered his school, hand in hand, parting the crowd in the hallway on our way to his classroom.

　　"Ha! Look at Cody Oliver! He's got hearts on his glasses!" one observer called out.

　　"Oh, look at Cody! How cute!"shouted another, pointing and giggling¹⁶.

　　Cody smiled shyly, gripping my hand for dear life.

　　When we arrived at the doorway¹⁷, classmates gathered around my little guy, while I saw him trying to shake off the biggest grin I'd ever seen on his face.

　　"That's neat! Hearts on your glasses!"

　　"Cody, can I try them on?"

　　One little girl tugged¹⁸ at my sleeve. "Mrs. Oliver?"

　　"Yes?"

　　"I wish I had glasses."

　　I knew then without a doubt that Cody's outlook was back on track.

　　Just by having hearts in his eyes.

1 prematurity   

n.早熟，过早，早开花

参考例句：

• Associated anomalies and prematurity significantly influence the mortality rate. 并发畸形与早产儿显著地影响死亡率。 来自辞典例句
• Prematurity may also result in visual impairment or blindness. 早产也可导致视力障碍或失明。 来自互联网

2 peripheral   

adj.周边的，外围的

参考例句：

• We dealt with the peripheral aspects of a cost reduction program.我们谈到了降低成本计划的一些外围问题。
• The hotel provides the clerk the service and the peripheral traveling consultation.旅舍提供票务服务和周边旅游咨询。

3 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

4 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

5 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

6 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

7 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

8 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。”

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 chuckling   

轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时，我能听见他的轻声发笑。
• He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

11 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

12 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

13 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

16 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》