英语美文：祖父的蜜蜂 Grandpa's bee

 　　A long time before I was born, my Grandma and grandpa moved into the house on Beechwood Avenue. They had a young family-of 4 little girls .The little girls Slept in the attic¹ in a big feather bed.It was cold there on winter night. Grandma put hot bricks underd the covers at the foot of the bed to keep the little girls warm.

　　During the Great Depression,work was Hard to find,so Grandpa did whatever jobs he could.He dug ditches during the week and on Weekend he and Grandma dug a garden to grow some of their own food.

　　The house on Beechwood Avenue had a big Front yard with shade trees and fruite trees.In the middle of the yard was a water pump where the four little girls pumped water for cooking, cleaning and watering the garden.On one side of the yard,Grandma and Grandpa planted tomatoes,beans,squash²,cucumbers,peppers and strawberries to feed their growing family. They planted Roses geraniums lilacs and irises³ on the other Side of the yard,around the statue of the Blessed Mother.

　　Eveqbody worked to keep the garden growing.All summer long,the family ate food from the garden and enjoyed the beautiful flowers.Grandma put up strawberry jam,tomatoes,beans,peppers,pears and peaches in canning jam.They were good to eat through the long winter.

　　The family grew up, and before too many years had passed,the grandchildren came to visit. Grandma and Grandpa still planted their garden every spring.Everyone still enjoyed the good food from the garden and always took some home.

　　Grandchilden grow up,and grandparents grow older.It became harder for Grandma and Grandpa to keep up the garden. So they made it a little smaller.There was still plenty to eat from the garden and lovely flowers to enjoy.

　　Then one sunmmer when Grandpa was eighty-nine years old, all he could do was watch from his lawn chair as the vegetables grew and the roses bloomed.Summer slowly faded,and Grandpa died before it was time to bring in the harvest.

　　It was a lonely Winter for Grandma. She sat near the window,looking out at the yard and wondering if she could plant the garden in the spring.It would be hard to care for it by herself. When spring came,she planted only a little garden.

　　One sunny day in the early summer, Grandma heard a commotion⁴ in the front yard and looked out the window to see a frightening sight a gigantic⁵ swarm⁶ of bees filled the air between two tall trees. There was thousands of bees in the air,so many that the swarm reached the tree-tops!The buzzingsound was tremendous.Grandma watched as the bees made their way into a hole up in one of the trees.Before long,everyone of those bees had disappeard into its new home.

　　Grandma wondered what in the world she Could do.Should she hair someone to get rid of bees?That would cost more than she could afford.She decided⁸ to wait and think it over.

　　During the next few days,the bees were busy mading their own business.Grandma could always see a few bees buzzing⁷ in and out around the opening high in the tree.Before long,she decided the bees won't bother anyone,so she went about her business and didn't give them any other thought.

　　That summer,Grandma's little garden grew and grew.The neighborns would stop to admire the huge crop of vegetables and puzzle over their own gardens weren't doing well.No matter,because Grandma had enough give some away.Of course,everyone who came to visit was treated to a meal of good things from the garden.

　　One day,Grandma's brother Frank visited from Arizona.As Granndma made Frank a delicious lunch of squash pan cakes and home made apple sauce,she told him the story about the swam of bees.

　　Frank said，"in Arizona, the famers often hired beekeepers to set up beehives near their fields.The bees pollinated the crops and helped them to grow."

　　That was when Grandma realized that her bees had helped with her garden all summer..

　　"So that's why my little garden had such a big crop!"she exclaimed.

　　From that Time on,Grandma always believed that since Grandpa couldn't be there to help her that summer,he had sent the bees to take his place and make Grandma's little garden grow and grow…

1 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

2 squash   

n.壁球，摺皱不堪，拥挤嘈杂的人群，浓缩果汁，美国南瓜；vt.压扁，压制；vi.变扁，压榨

参考例句：

• He is drinking lemon squash.他正在喝柠檬露。
• She sprained her ankle playing squash.她在打软式墙网球时扭伤了脚踝。

3 irises   

n.虹( iris的名词复数 )；虹膜；虹彩；鸢尾（花）

参考例句：

• The cottage gardens blaze with irises, lilies and peonies. 村舍花园万紫千红，鸢尾、百合花和牡丹竞相争艳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The irises were of flecked grey. 虹膜呈斑驳的灰色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

5 gigantic   

adj.巨大的，巨人似的

参考例句：

• He has a gigantic appetite and eats gigantic meals.他有很大的食量，能吃很多的食物。
• The earth may be thought of as a gigantic magnet.整个地球可以想像为一块硕大无朋的磁石。

6 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

7 buzzing   

adj.嗡嗡响的v.发出嗡嗡声( buzz的现在分词 )；（发出）充满兴奋的谈话声[闲话，谣言]；忙乱，急行；用蜂鸣器（发信号）

参考例句：

• The computer made a buzzing noise that she found off-putting. 计算机发出的嗡嗡声让她心烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Bees are humming [buzzing] around from flower to flower. 蜜蜂在花丛中嗡嗡地飞来飞去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。