2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-The Christmas Tree Under the Porch

Now that DVD we discussed about the filmmaker when his father involved the same technique that we will hear in this next part of the program, we have been listening to StoryCorps as across the country loved ones talk with each other. Sometimes people tell the most important stories to the ones who know them best.

Marie DeSantis recently talked with her grandson about Christmas in 1944. It was during World War II. DeSantis was 18 living with her family in Staten Island, New York, and she recalls¹ how their holiday changed with news from the war in Europe.

My brother Joe was at the service, of course, he was fighting in Germany. A telegram² came saying that he was missing³ in action, and so I was afraid to tell my parents and I ran to get my three sisters who were at church, and I said "You have to come home, mom and papa need you". We were so upset, my sister, instead of getting into car, she ran home, ran all the way home alongside⁴ the car. It was the worst news you could get, it was getting closer to Christmas and my mother says we won't be able to have a Christmas tree this year because Joey is not here, we don't know if he's alive, we don't know anything, so we're gonna not have a Christmas tree, and then Christmas eve, a letter came from Joey: I'm in a hospital, I'm alright, I will come home soon, and by now you must be putting up the Christmas tree and my mother says oh look, what happened, he's telling us to decorate the tree, and my brother John, he says: "Mom, guess what? Last night when I came home from work, I got a Christmas tree and I put it under the porch⁵ because I thought maybe you would change your mind and we could have the Christmas tree, so we put it up and we decorated it. "This one is for you, Joe!" and it turned out nice.

That's Marie DeSantis in New York City, and we can tell you that Joey V did eventually come home.

StoryCorps interviews are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress⁶, and you can listen to more of them at npr.org.

I want you for Christmas. Anything that Santa would bring could never compare with you.

Major funding for StoryCorps comes from the Corporation⁷ for Public Broadcasting.

I just wrote a letter….

1 recalls   

回忆起( recall的第三人称单数 )； 使想起； 使想到； 勾起

参考例句：

• The sight recalls the days of childhood to me. 那情景使我想起了童年。
• Moreover, extensive use of voluntary recalls can undercut agency accountability. 此外，大量利用自愿撤回会削弱行政机关的责任心。

2 telegram   

n.电报；vt.用电报发送(打电报)

参考例句：

• Will you hand on this telegram to your friend?你把这份电报转交给你的朋友好吗？
• I've got your telegram.我已经收到了你的电报。

3 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

4 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

5 porch   

n.门廊，入口处，走廊，游廊

参考例句：

• There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
• The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。

6 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

7 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。