英语博客：Friends From Estonia.

 

 

This past weekend was very special. We had friends to stay. What made the weekend special was that, at the beginning of their stay, we actually didn't even know them. This unusual situation started back in June. There was a knock at the door, and when I opened it I found a blonde, young man, with a shy smile, and an armful* of books. "Hello," he said in an accent that I couldn't exactly place. "My name is Mikhail. I wonder if you have five minutes for me to show you these books that I'm selling." I didn't want to buy any books, but neither was I in a hurry to do anything else, so I asked him to come in. It turns out that he is from Estonia, and has spent the Summer going from door to door, selling educational books made by a company called South Western. Mikhail was charming¹ and friendly, and immediately attracted the attention of my children, who proceeded* to crowd around him and ask all kinds of questions. Well, he showed me the benefits³ of using these books during my children's school years, and how they help to prepare them for exams, including college entrance exams. I decided⁴ to take the plunge⁵* and buy them. He told me that they couldn't be delivered until the beginning of September, and that he would personally bring them to us. Fine. Well, Summer came and went, and the last thing on my mind at the beginning of term were books. I received a reminder⁶ card from him about his return, but because baseball season is here, and we are up to our eyeballs* in practices and games, I forgot all about Mikhail and the books. Then, a few days ago, he turns up as he had promised, with our set of books and DVDs. He looked tired. He still had a car load of books to deliver, and time was running out. It was 100 degrees that day, some of his customers hadn't paid yet, and he didn't even have a place to spend the night. My husband and I agreed that they could stay with us. We have a roomy, spare lounge⁷ which the kids use as a playroom. It would be cool, comfortable, and if they got bored at night, they could always play with the kids action figures.... They quickly became part of the family, infact, we were all disappointed⁸ to see them go. We talked about our countries and cultures, about work and families. In a week, they will go to New York, as a reward¹⁰ for their hard work. They also have the chance to win a trip to another country; those who sell the most books get to go. Mikhail's friend, Olev, who stayed an extra day with us, told us that this kind of Summer work is very hard. It forces you to grow up, become industrious¹¹, to persist¹² even when you get a lot of negative responses from people, and to learn self control. These are qualities that he hopes to use in his career back in Estonia. They told us that their Summer experiences were completely¹³ varied¹⁴. "I have been bitten by dogs, and had a gun pointed⁹ at me," said Mikhail. I laughed in shock when he told me that. "But in contrast¹⁵ to that," he continued, "we've stayed with some really kind host families." I hope they experience kindness for the rest of their trip, and perhaps, one day, they can show us around their home towns in Estonia.

 

Related¹⁶ expressions:  an armful of, to proceed² to, to take the plunge, up to your eyeballs.

 

1. He walked through the door with an armful of potatoes; the harvest has been good this year.

 

2. The birds flew into the orchard¹⁷, and proceded to peck¹⁸ at the cherries.

 

3. We took the plunge and bought the house. It wasn't cheap, but we can imagine staying here for a long time.

 

4. I'm up to my eyeballs with bills; it's really too much.

1 charming   

adj.迷人的，可爱的

参考例句：

• She looked small and gentle and altogether charming.她看起来小巧文雅,十分迷人。
• She has charming manners.她具有媚人的风姿。

2 proceed   

vi.着手，继续进行；前进，行进

参考例句：

• Wrong opinions often proceed from lack of information.错误的看法往往产生于不了解情况。
• Let's proceed with our work.我们接着干吧。

3 benefits   

n.津贴费；利益( benefit的名词复数 )；（给职工的）奖金；救济金；益处

参考例句：

• economic benefits accruing to the country from tourism 旅游业为该国带来的经济效益
• The article enthused about the benefits that the new system would bring. 本文热情赞扬了新制度将带来的好处。

4 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。

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

7 lounge   

n.休闲室，休息室，长沙发；v.闲荡，闲散地度过，混日子

参考例句：

• We had coffee in the lounge.我们在客厅里喝咖啡。
• Don't lounge away your working hours.不要消磨工作时间。

8 disappointed   

adj.失望的，不满意的，不如意的

参考例句：

• He seemed disappointed when the man refused his request.当那个人拒绝了他的要求时他看起来很失望。
• He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless.他屡次失望，以致变为了绝望。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。

11 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

12 persist   

v.持续，存留；坚持不懈，执意

参考例句：

• The bad weather will persist all over the country.这种坏天气将在全国各地持续下去。
• His strength of will enabled him to persist.他的意志力使他能坚持下去。

13 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

14 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

15 contrast   

vt.使与…对比，使与…对照；vi. 与…形成对照；n.对比，对照，差异

参考例句：

• In contrast with her sister,she is very tall.与姐姐相比，她个子很高。
• Black hair is a sharp contrast to the white skin.黑发白肤形成鲜明的对照。

16 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

17 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

18 peck   

v.啄，啄食；n.啄痕，啄食，（口）轻吻；配克，（口）大量

参考例句：

• The cock gave me a peck.那只公鸡啄了我一下。
• She gave him a light peck of farewell.她给了他一个匆匆的吻道别。