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【英语语言学习】穿黑衣服的女人

时间:2016-09-20 08:11来源:互联网 提供网友:yajing   字体: [ ]
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BOB DOUGHTY1: Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.
 
(MUSIC)
 
Our story today is called “The Lady in Black.” It was written by Eleanor H. Porter. Here is Faith Lapidus with the story.
 
FAITH LAPIDUS: The house was very still. In the little room over the porch2, the Lady in Black sat alone. Near her, a child’s white dress lay across a chair. On the floor at her feet lay a tiny pair of shoes. A doll hung over a chair and a toy soldier occupied the little stand by the bed.
 
And everywhere was silence—the strange silence that comes only to a room where the clock has stopped ticking.
 
The clock stood on the shelf near the end of the bed. The Lady in Black looked at it. She remembered the wave of anger that had come over her when she had reached out her hand and silenced the clock that night three months before.
 
It had been silent ever since and it should remain silent, too. Of what possible use were the hours it would tick away now? As if anything mattered, with little Kathleen lying out there white and still under the black earth!
 
"Muvver!"
 
The Lady in Black moved restlessly and looked toward the closed door. Behind it, she knew, was a little boy with wide blue eyes who wanted her. But she wished he would not call her by that name. It only reminded her of those other little lips--silent now.
 
"Muvver!" The voice was more demanding.
 
The Lady in Black did not answer. He might go away, she thought, if she did not answer.
 
There was a short silence, and then the door opened slowly.
 
"Pe-eek!" It was a cry of joyful3 discovery, but it was followed almost immediately by silence. The unsmiling woman did not invite him to come near. The boy was unsteady at his first step. He paused, then spoke4 carefully, "I's--here."
 
It was maybe the worst thing he could have said. To the Lady in Black it was a yet more painful reminder5 of that other one who was not there. She gave a sharp cry and covered her face with her hands.
 
"Bobby, Bobby” she cried out, in a release of unreasoning sadness. "Go away! Go away! I want to be alone--alone!"
 
All the brightness6 fled from the boy's face. His eyes showed a feeling of deep hurt. He waited, but she did not move. Then, with a half-quieted cry, he left the room.
 
(MUSIC)
 
Long minutes afterward7, the Lady in Black raised her head and saw him through the window. He was in the yard with his father, playing under the apple tree.
 
Playing!
 
The Lady in Black looked at them with serious eyes, and her mouth hardened at the corners.
 
Bobby had someone to play with him, someone to love him and care for him, while out there on the hillside Kathleen was alone--all alone.
 
With a little cry the Lady in Black sprang to her feet and hurried into her own room. Her hands shook as she pinned on her hat and covered herself with her black veil8. But her step was firm as she walked downstairs and out through the hall.
 
The man under the apple tree rose hurriedly and came forward.
 
"Helen, dearest,--not again, today!" he begged. "Darling, it can't do any good!"
 
"But she's alone--all alone. You don't seem to think! No one thinks--no one knows how I feel. You don't understand. If you did, you'd come with me. You wouldn't ask me to stay--here!" choked the woman.
 
"I have been with you, dear," said the man gently. "I've been with you today, and every day, almost, since--since she left us. But it can't do any good--this continuous mourning over her grave. It only makes more sadness for you, for me, and for Bobby. Bobby is--here, you know, dear!"
 
"No, no, don't say it," cried the woman wildly. "You don't understand! You don't understand!" And she turned and hurried away, followed by the worried eyes of the man, and the sad eyes of the boy.
 
(MUSIC)
 
It was not a long walk to the burial place. The Lady in Black knew the way. Yet, she stumbled9 and reached out blindly. She fell before a little stone marked "Kathleen." Near her a gray-haired woman, with her hands full of pink and white roses, watched her sympathetically. The gray-haired woman paused and opened her lips as if she would speak. Then she turned slowly and began to arrange her flowers on a grave nearby.
 
The Lady in Black raised her head. For a time she watched in silence. Then she threw back her veil and spoke.
 
"You care, too," she said softly. "You understand. I've seen you here before, I'm sure. And was yours--a little girl?"
 
The gray-haired woman shook her head.
 
"No, dearie, it's a little boy--or he was a little boy forty years ago."
 
"Forty years--so long! How could you have lived forty years--without him?"
 
Again the little woman shook her head.
 
"One has to--sometimes, dearie, but this little boy wasn't mine."
 
"But you care. You understand. I've seen you here so often before."
 
"Yes. You see, there's no one else to care. But there was once, and I'm caring now, for her sake."
 
"For her?"
 
"His mother."
 
"Oh-h!" It was a tender little cry, full of quick sympathy. The eyes of the Lady in Black were on the stone marked "Kathleen."
 
"It ain't as if I didn't know how she'd feel," said the gray-haired woman. "You see, I was nurse to the boy when it happened, and for years afterward I worked in the family. So I know. I saw the whole thing from the beginning, from the very day when the little boy here met with the accident."
 
"Accident!" It was a cry of concern and sympathy from Kathleen's mother.
 
"Yes. It was a runaway10 and he didn't live two days."
 
"I know! I know!" choked the Lady in Black. Yet she was not thinking of the boy and the runaway horse accident.
 
"Things stopped then for my mistress," continued the little gray-haired woman, "and that was the beginning of the end. She had a husband and a daughter, but they didn’t seem to be important--not either of 'em. Nothin' seemed important except this little grave out here. She came and spent hours over it, bringin’ flowers and talkin' to it."
 
The Lady in Black raised her head suddenly and quickly looked into the woman's face. The woman went on speaking.
 
"The house got sadder and sadder, but she didn't seem to mind. She seemed to want it so. She shut out the sunshine and put away many of the pictures. She sat only in the boy's room. And there, everything was just as it was when he left it. She wouldn't let a thing be touched. I wondered afterward that she didn't see where it was all leadin' to, but she didn't."
 
"'Leading to'?" The voice shook.
 
"Yes. I wondered she didn't see she was losin' 'em--that husband and daughter; but she didn't see it."
 
The Lady in Black sat very still. Even the birds seemed to have stopped their singing. Then the gray-haired woman spoke:
 
"So, you see, that's why I come and put flowers here. It's for her. There's no one else now to care," she sighed, rising to her feet.
 
"But you haven't told yet--what happened," said the Lady in Black, softly.
 
"I don't know myself really. I know the man went away. He got somethin' to do travelin' so he wasn't home much. When he did come he looked sick and bad. He come less and less, and he died. But that was after she died. He's buried over there beside her and the boy. The girl--well, nobody knows where the girl is. Girls like flowers and sunshine and laughter and young people, you know, and she didn't get any of them at home. So she went--where she did get 'em, I suppose.
 
“There, and if I haven't gone and tired you all out with my talkin’!” said the little gray-haired woman regretfully.
 
"No, no. I was glad to hear it," said the Lady in Black, rising unsteadily to her feet. Her face had grown white, and her eyes showed a sudden fear. "But I must go now. Thank you." And she turned and hurried away.
 
(MUSIC)
 
The house was very still when the Lady in Black reached home. She shivered at its silence. She hurried up the stairs, almost with guilt11. In her own room she pulled at the dark veil that covered her face. She was crying now, a choking little cry with broken words running through it. She was still crying as she removed her black dress.
 
Long minutes later, the Lady--in black no longer--moved slowly down the stairway. Her eyes showed traces of tears, but her lips were bravely curved in a smile. She wore a white dress and a single white rose in her hair. Behind her, in the little room over the porch, a tiny clock ticked loudly on its shelf near the end of the bed.
 
There came a sound of running feet in the hall below, then:
 
"Muvver!--it's Muvver come back!" shouted a happy voice.
 
And with a little sobbing12 cry Bobby's mother opened her arms to her son.
 
(MUSIC)
 
BOB DOUGHTY: “The Lady in Black” was written by Eleanor H. Porter. It was adapted for Special English by Lawan Davis who was also the producer. The storyteller was Faith Lapidus. You can read and listen to other American Stories on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
2 porch ju9yM     
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。
3 joyful N3Fx0     
adj.欢乐的,令人欢欣的
参考例句:
  • She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
  • They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。
4 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
5 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。
6 brightness 6xxz6I     
n.明亮,亮度,聪颖,光泽度,灯火通明
参考例句:
  • The brightness of the paint has worn off a little.油漆的光泽有些磨损了。
  • Her eyes squinted against the brightness.亮光刺得她眯起眼睛。
7 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
8 veil VpWyC     
n.面纱,掩饰物,修女;vt.给...戴面纱或面罩;vi.带面纱或面罩
参考例句:
  • Please veil your face.请用面纱遮住脸。
  • There was a veil of mist over the mountains.山上覆盖着一层薄雾。
9 stumbled 751eb0f28b037bba254403e21733879c     
v.(不顺畅地)说( stumble的过去式和过去分词 );跌跌撞撞地走;绊脚;(说话、演奏等)出错
参考例句:
  • I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤,把脚脖子扭了。
  • The child stumbled and fell. 孩子绊了一下,摔倒了。
10 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
11 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
12 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
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