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品茗经典-Unit 12 Springtime on the Menu 菜单上的春天

时间:2010-08-16 08:29来源:互联网 提供网友:linlin1983   字体: [ ]
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  Unit 12 Spring Time on the Menu
By O. Henry
It was a day in March. (Never, never begin a story this way when you write one. No opening could possibly be worse. There is no imagination in it. it is flat and dry. But we can allow it here because the following paragraph which should have started the story is too wild and impossible to be thrown into the face of the reader without preparation.)
Sarah was crying over the menu....(To explain this, you may guess that oysters2 were not listed, or that she had ordered onions, or that she had just come from the cinema. But all your guesses are wrong. And you will please let the story continue.)
The gentleman who said that the world was an oyster1 which he would open with his sword became more famous than he deserved3. It is not difficult to open an oyster with a sword. But did you ever notice anyone try to open it with a typewriter?
Sarah had managed to open the world a little with her typewriter. That was her work--- typing. She did copy typing and worked long not in an office. The greatest success of Sarah's battle with the world was the arrangement that she made with Schulenburg's Home Restaurant. The restaurant was next door to the old red brick4 building in which she had a room. One evening, after dining at the Shuldonburg Sarah took the menu away with her. It was written in almost unreadable handwriting, neither English nor German. And it was so difficult to understand that if you were not careful you began with the sweet and end in the soup at the day of the week. The next day, Sarah showed Schulenburg a beautifully type-written menu with the food listed in right and proper places from the beginning to the words at the bottom, not responsible for codes5 and umbrellas. Shouldonburg was very pleased. Before Sarah left him, he had made an agreement with her. She would provide type-written menus for the 21 tables in the restaurant. A new one for each day's dinner, and new ones for breakfast and lunch as often as there are changes in the food or as neatness made necessary. In return for this, Schulenburg would send three meals a day to Sarah's room and send her also each afternoon a list in pencil of the foods that were planned for Schulenburg's customers on the next day. Both were satisfied with the agreement. Those who ate at Schulenburg's now know what the food they were eating was called even if its nature sometimes confused them. And Sarah had food during a cold winter which was the main thing for her.
When the spring month arrived, it was not spring. Spring comes when it comes. The frozen6 sonws of January still lay hard outside. Men and streets with their musical instruments still played "In the Good Old Summertime" with expression and determination with which they had played it in December. The city was still in the power of winter.
One afternoon, Sarah was shaking with cold in her bedroom. She had no work to do except type Schulenburg's menu. Sarah sat in her rocking chair and looked out of the window. The month was a spring month and kept crying to her:"Spring time is here Sarah, spring time is here I tell you. You've got a neat figure year Sarah and a nice spring figure year. Why do you look out of the window so sadly?" Sarah's room was at the back of the house. Looking out of the window, she could see the windowless brick wall of the box factory in the next street. But she thought of grassy7 walks and trees and bushes and roses. In the summer of last year, Sarah had gone into the country and fallen in love with a farmer. (In writing a story, never go backwards8 like this. It is bad art and destroys interest. Let it go forwards)
Sarah stayed two weeks at Sunnybrook Farm. There she learned9 to love old farmer Franklin's son Walter. Farmers have been loved and married in last time. But young Walter was a modern farmer. He even had telephone in the building where he milked the cows. It was all a grassy walk that Walter had won her. And together they had sat and he had put dandelions in her hair. He has praised the effect of the yellow flowers against her brown hair. And she had left the flowers there and walked back to the house swinging her hat in her hands. They planned to marry in the spring. "At the first science of spring." Walter said. And Sarah came back to the city to hit the typewriter keys. A knock on the door drove away Sarah's dreams of the happy day. A waiter had brought the rough pencil list of the home restaurant's next-day's food written in old Schulenburgs' pointed10 handwriting. Sarah sat down at her typewriter and slipped the card beneath the roller. She was a quick worker. Generally, in an hour and a half, the twenty-one cards were typed and ready. Today, there are more changes on the menu that usual. The soup were lighter11. There were changes in the meat dish. The spirit of Spring filled the whole list. Sarah's fingers danced over the typewriter like little flies above summer stream. Down through the courses she worked giving the name of each dish its proper position according to its length with watchful12 eye. Just above the sweets came the list of vegetables.
And then, Sarah was crying over the menu. Tears from the depth of the hopelessness rose in her heart and filled her eyes. Down went here head on the little typewriter stand. For she had received no letter from Walter in two weeks and the next thing on the menu was dandelions. Dandelions with some kind of egg, but never mind the egg. Dandelions with whose golden flowers Walter had decorated the hair of his queen of love and future wife. Dandelions, the messages of spring, reminder13 of her happiest days. But what a magical thing spring is! Into the great cold city of stone and iron, a message had to be sent. There was none to bring it except the little messenger14 of the fields with its green tough coat---the dandelion, the lion's tooth as the French called him. "When it is in flower, he would help with love making, twisted in my lady's nut-brown hair. When young, before it has flowers, he goes into the boiling pot."
In a short time, Sarah force back her tears. The cards must be typed. But still, in a fade golden light from her dandelion dream, she fingered the typewriter keys absently for a little while her mind and heart on the country walk with her young farmer. But soon she come back to the stone streets of Manhattan and the typewriter begun to jump. At six o'clock, the waiter brought her dinner, and carried away the menus. While Sarah ate, she put the dish of dandelion sadly to one side, just as its bright flower had been changed into a dark, unimportant15 vegetable, so her summer hopes had died.
At 7:30, the two people from the next room began to quarrel; he gas light went a little lower; someone started to unload16 coal; cats could be heard from the back fences. By these signs, Sarah knew that it was the time for her to read. She got her book settled, her feet on the trunk, and began. The front door bell rang, the lady down stairs answered it, Sarah stopped reading and listened. (Oh yes, you would just as she did). And then a strong voice was heard at the hall below.
And Sarah jumped for the door leaving the book on the floor. (You have guessed it, She reached at the top of the stairs, just as her farmer came rushing up, and held her tightly17 in his arms. )
"Why haven't you written, oh why?" Cried Sarah.
"New York is a rather large town," said Walter Franklin, "I came in a week ago to your old address, I have found that you've had gone away on the Thursday, the police and I had hunted for you ever since."
"I wrote you," Said Sarah with feeling.
"Never got it."
"Then how did you find me?"
The young farmer smiled a spring smile, "I went into the home restaurant next door this evening," said he, "I don't care who knows it, I'd like a dish of some kind of greens at this time of the year. I ran my eyes down that nice type-written menu looking for something like that. When i got to the vegetables, I knocked my chair over, and shouted for the owner. He told me where you lived."
"why?"
"I know that capital double U above the line that your typewriter makes anywhere in the world." Said Franklin. The young man pulled a menu from his pocket, and pointed to a line. Sarah recognized the first card she had typed that afternoon. there was still a mark at the upper right hand corner where a tear had fallen, but over the spot, where one should have read the name of a certain plant, the memory of their golden flowers had caused her fingers to strike strange keys. Between two vegetables listed on the menu was the description: Dearest Walter with heart boiled egg.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 oyster w44z6     
n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人
参考例句:
  • I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
  • I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
2 oysters 713202a391facaf27aab568d95bdc68f     
牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
  • She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。
3 deserved 3ec8820eb4ea03e30f2c029028c1060b     
adj.应得的,当然的v.应受,应得,值得( deserve的过去式和过去分词 );应受报答;应得报酬;应得赔偿
参考例句:
  • Some of you deserved to succeed and others only scraped through. 你们当中有些人成功是理所当然,而有些人只是勉强及格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Don't glare at me like that, you deserved the scolding. 不要那么瞪着我,你本该受到训斥的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 brick 3sQzu     
n.砖;vt.用砖砌,用砖堵住
参考例句:
  • She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
  • I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。
5 codes 76034a9f5bef30b9dee701711d30bed6     
n.[计算机]编码( code的名词复数 );代号;密码;法典
参考例句:
  • A generation ago genetic codes were certainly unknown. 遗传密码在上一代确实很少有人知道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So, sometimes, authors adopt Flasm to write low level p-codes to add efficiency. 所以,设计者采用Flasm来编写低级的p-codes以提高效率。 来自互联网
6 frozen 2sVz6q     
adj.冻结的,冰冻的
参考例句:
  • He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上,他被冻死了。
  • The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。
7 grassy DfBxH     
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。
8 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
9 learned m1oxn     
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
10 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
11 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
12 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
13 reminder WkzzTb     
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。
14 messenger DCzxM     
n.报信者,先驱
参考例句:
  • By the time the messenger reached him,the damage had been done.送信人赶到他那儿时,损失已经造成了。
  • I'll order a special messenger to deliver the document.我会派专人把文件送去。
15 unimportant OfHz34     
adj.不重要的,无意义的
参考例句:
  • Let's not quarrel about such unimportant matters.我们不要为这些小事争吵了。
  • Money seems unimportant when sets beside the joys of family life.与天伦之乐相比,金钱显得微不足道。
16 unload kj7wx     
vt.卸下,卸货,摆脱...之负担,(大量)倾销;vi.卸下货物,摆脱负担,退出(弹药,胶片等)
参考例句:
  • They want to unload the stocks on the market.他们想把股票在市场上抛售掉。
  • She began to unload her troubles on her mother.她开始把她的烦恼告诉母亲。
17 tightly ZgbzD7     
adv.紧紧地,坚固地,牢固地
参考例句:
  • My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时,孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
  • The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起,我们几乎喘不过气来。
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