散文:Love Is Just a Thread 爱只是一根线

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition¹ for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic² ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious³ for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper⁴. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

有时候，我真的怀疑父母之间是否有真爱。他们天天忙于赚钱，为我和弟弟支付学费。他们从未像我在书中读到，或在电视中看到的那样互诉衷肠。他们认为”我爱你”太奢侈，很难说出口。更不用说在情人节送花这样的事了。我父亲的脾气非常坏。经过一天的劳累之后，他经常会发脾气。 

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently⁵ sat down beside her and looked at her.

一天，母亲正在缝被子，我静静地坐在她旁边看着她。 

“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.

过了一会，我说：”妈妈，我想问你一个问题。” 

“What?” she replied, still doing her work.

“什么问题？”她一边继续缝着，一边回答道。 

“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

我低声地问道：”你和爸爸之间有没有爱情啊？” 

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

母亲突然停下了手中的活，满眼诧异地抬起头。她没有立即作答。然后低下头，继续缝被子。 

I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment⁶ and I didn’t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

我担心伤害了她。我非常尴尬，不知道该怎么办。不过，后来我听见母亲说： 

“Susan,” she said thoughtfully⁷, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable⁸. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is inside.”

“苏珊，看看这些线。有时候，你能看得见，但是大多数都隐藏在被子里。这些线使被子坚固耐用。如果生活就像一床被子，那么爱就是其中的线。你不可能随时随地看到它，但是它却实实在在地存在着。爱是内在的。”  

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.

我仔细地听着，却无法明白她的话，直到来年的春天。那时候，我父亲得了重病。母亲在医院里待了一个月。当他们从医院回来的时候，都显得非常苍白。就像他们都得了一场重病一样。 

After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk⁹, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious¹⁰ couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened¹¹ through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

他们回来之后，每天的清晨或黄昏，母亲都会搀扶着父亲在乡村的小路上漫步。父亲从未如此温和过。他们就像是天作之合。在小路旁边，有许多美丽的野花、绿草和树木。阳光穿过树叶的缝隙，温柔地照射在地面上。这一切形成了一幅世间最美好的画面。 

The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.

医生说父亲将在两个月后康复。但是两个月之后，他仍然无法独立行走。我们都很为他担心。 

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

有一天，我问他：“爸爸，你感觉怎么样？” 

“Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply¹².

他温和地说：“苏珊，不用为我担心。跟你说吧，我喜欢与你妈妈一块散步的感觉。我喜欢这种生活。”从他的眼神里，我看得出他对母亲的爱之深刻。 

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm..

我曾经认为爱情就是鲜花、礼物和甜蜜的亲吻。但是从那一刻起，我明白了，爱情就像是生活中被子里的一根线。爱情就在里面，使生活变得坚固而温暖。

1 tuition   

n.（某一学科的）教学，讲授，指导，学费

参考例句：

• Students can apply for individual tuition.学生可以申请个别指导。
• Is this money enough for the tuition fee?这些钱交学费够吗？

2 romantic   

adj.浪漫的，风流的，传奇性的，夸大的，想象的，浪漫派的

参考例句：

• She thinks it will be romantic to be an actress.她认为当个女演员会很浪漫。
• Her husband is very romantic.她丈夫非常浪漫。

3 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 temper   

n.恶劣的心情，心绪焦躁；性情，脾气

参考例句：

• The man lost his temper and struck out wildly.那人因发怒而大打出手。
• One day the man flew at me in a temper.一天,那个人冲着我大发脾气。

5 silently   

adv.沉默地，无声地

参考例句：

• She sat in the car,silently fuming at the traffic jam.她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• He didn't shout,he just glared at me silently.他没有喊叫，只是默默地怒视着我。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 thoughtfully   

ad.考虑周到地

参考例句：

• She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. 她若有所思地抚摩着下巴。
• The man pulled thoughtfully at his pipe before commenting on our proposal. 那人若有所思地吸了口烟，然后就我们的建议发表自己的见解。

8 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

9 dusk   

n.薄暮，黄昏，幽暗

参考例句：

• The park closes at dusk.公园在黄昏时关闭。
• At dusk bats appear in vast numbers.蝙蝠于傍晚时分大批出现。

10 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

11 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 deeply   

adv.深刻地，在深处，深沉地

参考例句：

• I do feel deeply the strength of the collective.我确实深深地感到了集体的力量。
• We're deeply honoured that you should agree to join us.您能同意加入我们，我们感到很荣幸。