紫丁香的回忆

 　　The family had just moved to Rhode Island, and the young woman was feeling a little melancholy¹ on that Sunday in May. After all, it was Mother's Day -- and 800 miles separated her from her parents in Ohio.

　　She had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy Mother's Day, and her mother had mentioned how colorful the yard was now that spring had arrived. As they talked, the younger woman could almost smell the tantalizing² aroma³ of purple lilacs hanging on the big bush outside her parents' back door.

　　Later, when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs, he popped up from his chair. “I know where we can find you all you want,” he said. “Get the kids and c'mon.”

　　So off they went, driving the country roads of northern Rhode Island on the kind of day only mid－May can produce: sparkling sunshine, unclouded azure⁴ skies and vibrant⁵ newness of the green growing all around. They went past small villages and burgeoning⁶ housing developments, past abandoned apple orchards⁷, back to where trees and brush have devoured⁸ old homesteads.

　　Where they stopped，dense thickets⁹ of cedars¹⁰ and ju nipers and birch crowded the roadway on both sides. There wasn't a lilac bush in sight.

　　“Come with me,” the man said. “Over that hill is an old cellar hole，from somebody's farm of years ago, and there are lilacs all round it. The man who owns this land said I could poke¹¹ around here anytime. I'm sure he won't mind if we pick a few lilacs.”

　　Before they got halfway¹² up the hill, the fragrance¹³ of the lilacs drifted down to them, and the kids started running. Soon, the mother began running, too, until she reached the top.

　　There，far from view of passing motorists and hidden from encroaching civilization, were the towering lilacs bushes, so laden¹⁴ with the huge, cone- shaped flower clusters that they almost bent¹⁵ double. With a smile, the young woman rushed up to the nearest bush and buried her face in the flowers, drinking in the fragrance and the memories it recalled.

　　While the man examined the cellar hole and tried to explain to the children what the house must have looked like, the woman drifted among the lilacs. Carefully, she chose a sprig here, another one there, and clipped them with her husband's pocket knife. She was in no hurry, relishing¹⁶ each blossom as a rare and delicate treasure.

　　Finally, though, they returned to their car for the trip home. While the kids chattered¹⁷ and the man drove, the woman sat smiling, surrounded by her flowers, a faraway look in her eyes.

　　When they were within three miles of home, she suddenly shouted to her husband, “Stop the car. Stop right here!”

　　The man slammed on the brakes. Before he could ask her why she wanted to stop, the woman was out of the car and hurrying up a nearby grassy¹⁸ slope with the lilacs still in her arms. At the top of the hill was a nursing home and, because it was such a beautiful spring day, the patients were outdoors strolling with relatives or sitting on the porch.

　　The young woman went to the end of the porch, where an elderly patient was sitting in her wheelchair, alone, head bowed, her back to most of the others. Across the porch railing went the flowers, in to the lap of the old woman. She lifted her head, and smiled. For a few moments, the two women chatted, both aglow¹⁹ with happiness, and then the young woman turned and ran back to her family. As the car pulled away, the woman in the wheelchair waved, and clutched the lilacs.

　　“Mom,” the kids asked, “who was that? Why did you give her our flowers? Is she somebody's mother?” The mother said she didn't know the old woman. But it was Mother's Day，and she seemed so alone，and who wouldn't be cheered by flowers? “Besides,” she added，“I have all of you, and I still have my mother, even if she is far away. That woman needed those flowers more than I did.”

　　This satisfied the kids, but not the husband. The next day he purchased half a dozen young lilacs bushes and planted them around their yard, and several times since then he has added more.

　　I was that man. The young mother was, and is, my wife. Now, every May, our own yard is redolent with lilacs. Every Mother's Day our kids gather purple bouquets²⁰. And every year I remember that smile on a lonely old woman's face, and the kindness that put the smile there.

　　一家人刚移居罗德岛。5月的那个星期天，年轻女人感到有点儿忧伤。毕竟，这一天是母亲节——而她却与俄亥俄州的父母亲遥距800英里。

　　她那天早上给母亲打去电话，祝母亲节日愉快。随后，她的母亲向她提起，因为春天已经来临，所以院子里的色彩是多么绚丽。在她们通话的当儿，年轻女人几乎可以闻到悬垂在父母亲后门外大灌木丛上的紫丁香醉人的芬芳。

　　后来，她向丈夫说起她是如何怀念那些紫丁香时，他突然从椅子上跃起。“我知道在哪儿能找到你想要的东西，”他说，“带上孩子，走吧。”

　　于是，他们就出发了，驱车行驶在罗德岛北部的乡村小路上，那种天气只有5月中旬才会有：闪亮的阳光、蔚蓝色的晴空以及生机勃勃、随处可见的绿意。他们穿过一座座小村庄和一座座拔地而起的房屋，穿过废弃的苹果园，来到了树林和灌木丛掩映的老农场。

　　他们停下车。车道两边长满了茂盛的雪松、杜松和白桦树。眼前没有一棵紫丁香。

　　“随我来，”那个男人说，“翻过那座小山，有个老地窖，几年前是一个人的农场，四周长满了紫丁香。这块地的主人说我可以随时到这儿来闲逛。我相信，要是我们采几束紫丁香，他不会介意。”

　　还没等他们到达半山腰，紫丁香的芬芳已经向他们飘了过来。于是，孩子们开始奔跑。不久，那位母亲也开始跑起来，直至到达山顶。

　　那里，远离了过往司机的视野，避开了纷扰的文明世界，高耸的丁香花丛开满了硕大的圆锥形的串串花束，几乎把花茎压成了两折。那个年轻女人微笑着冲到最近的一处花丛，把脸埋在鲜花中，啜饮着芳香，陶醉在重新唤起的记忆中。

　　在那个男人察看地窖试图向孩子们解释这座房子必定是什么样子的当儿，那个女人不由自主地走进了紫丁香花丛。她小心翼翼地从这儿摘一枝，那儿挑一束，然后用丈夫的袖珍小刀将它们剪下来。她不慌不忙，像欣赏稀有珍宝似地欣赏着每一朵花。

　　然而，他们终于还是返回了汽车，走上了回家的路。孩子们叽叽喳喳说个不停，那个男人驾着车，那个女人坐在那儿面带微笑，她周围放满了鲜花，眼睛里充满着向往。

　　当他们离家不足3英里时，她突然向丈夫大声喊道：“停车，就在这里停车！”

　　那个男人嘎地刹住车。还没等他问为什么，女人就已经下了车，匆匆走向附近的草坡，怀里仍抱着紫丁香。山顶上是一家疗养院，因为这是一个美丽的春日，所以病人正在室外和亲友溜达或坐在门廊上。

　　那 个年轻女人走到门廊的尽头，只见那里有一个上了年纪的病人正坐在轮椅里，独自一人，低着头，背对着其他人。年轻女人越过门廊栏杆，将鲜花放在了老太太的膝 间。老太太抬起头，露出了笑脸。两个女人聊了一会儿，都兴高采烈。随后，那个年轻女人转身跑回到家人的身边。当汽车开动时，坐在轮椅里的那个女人挥动着 手，手里紧紧地握着那束紫丁香花。

　　“妈妈，”孩子们问，“那人是谁呀？你为什么把我们的花送给她？她是谁的母亲呀？”他们的母亲说，她不认 识那个老太太，但今天是母亲节，她看起来是那么孤独，而鲜花会给任何人带来好心情。“再说，”她补充道，“我拥有你们，而且我还有自己的母亲，即使她离我 很远。那个女人比我更需要那些鲜花。”

　　孩子们得到了满意的答案，但她的丈夫却没有。第二天，他买了半打紫丁香幼苗，栽到了院子四周；而且从那以后，每隔一段时间，他就会增加一些。

　　我就是那个男人，那个年轻母亲是我妻子。如今，每年5月，我们自家的院子都会散发出浓烈的紫丁香的芬芳。每逢母亲节，我们的孩子都要采撷紫丁香花束。而且每年我都会记起一位孤独的老太太脸上露出的笑容，以及笑容里呈现出的那种慈祥。

1 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

2 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

4 azure   

adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的

参考例句：

• His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
• The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。

5 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

6 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

7 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

8 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

9 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

10 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

11 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

12 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

13 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

14 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

15 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。

16 relishing   

v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• He ate quietly, relishing his meal. 他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, an iron rampart," he repeated, relishing his phrase. 是的，就是铜墙铁壁，"他很欣赏自己用的这个字眼，又重复了一遍。 来自飘（部分）

17 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。

18 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

19 aglow   

adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地

参考例句：

• The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。
• The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。

20 bouquets   

n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香

参考例句：

• The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时，已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》