讀點(diǎn)好英文:Forgotten and Forgiven 忘記并寬容

Forgotten and Forgiven 忘記并寬容

·Anonymous·

As I sat perched in the second-floor window of our brick schoolhouse that afternoon, my heart began to sink further with each passing car. This was a day I'd looked forward to for weeks：Miss Pace's fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party.Miss Pace had kept a running countdown on the blackboard all that week, and our class of nine-year-olds had bordered on insurrection by the time the much-anticipated“party Friday”had arrived.

I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace requested cookie volunteers. Mom's chocolate chips reigned supreme on our block, and I knew they'd be a hit with my classmates.But two o'clock passed, and there was no sign of her.Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their offerings of punch and crackers, chips, cupcakes and brownies.My mother was missing in action.

“Don't worry, Robbie, she'll be along soon.”Miss Pace said as I gazed forIornIy down at the street. I looked at the wall clock just in time to see its black minute hand shift to half-past.

Around me, the noisy party raged on, but I wouldn't budge from my window watch post. Miss Pace did her best to coax me away, but I stayed out, holding out hope that the familiar family car would round the corner, carrying my rightfully embarrassed mother with a tin of her famous cookies tucked under her arm.

The three o'clock bell soon jolted me from my thoughts, and I dejectedIy grabbed my book bag from my desk and shuffled out the door for home.

On the four-block walk to our house, I plotted my revenge. I would slam the front door upon entering, refuse to return her hug when she would rush over to me, and vow never to speak to her again.

The house was empty when I arrived, and I looked for a note on the refrigerator that might explain my mother's absence, but found none. My chin quivered with a mixture of heartbreak and rage.For the first time in my life, my mother had let me down.

I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door.

“Robbie，”she called out a bit urgently，“where are you?”

I could then hear her darting frantically from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent.In a moment, she mounted the steps-the sounds of her footsteps quickening as she ascended the staircase.

When she entered my room and sat beside me on my bed, I didn't move but instead stared blankly into my pillow refusing to acknowledge her presence.

“I'm so sorry, honey，”she said，“I just forgot. I got busy and forgot, plain and simple.”

I still didn't move.“Don't forgive her，”I told myself，“She humiliated you. She forgot you.Make her pay.”

Then my mother didsomething completely unexpected. She began to laugh.I could feel her shudder as the laughter shook her.It began quietly at first and then increased in its velocity and volume.

I was increduIous. How could she laugh at a time like this?I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see the rage and disappointment in my eyes.

But my mother wasn't laughing at all. She was crying.“I'm so sorry，”she sobbed softly，“I let you down.I let my little boy down.”

She sank down on the bed and began to weep like a little girl. I was dumbstruck.I had never seen my mother cry.To my understanding, mothers weren't supposed to.I wondered if this was how I looked to her when I cried.

I desperateIy tried to recall her own soothing words from times past when I'd skinned knees or stubbed toes, times when she knew just the right thing to say. But in that moment of tearful plight, words of profundity abandoned me like a worn-out shoe.

“It's okay, Mom.”I stammered as I reached out and gently stroked her hair，“We didn't even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat.Don't cry.It's all right.Really.”

My words, as inadequate as they sounded to me, prompted my mother to sit up. She wiped her eyes, and a slight smile began to crease her tear-stained cheeks.I smiled back awkwardly, and she pulled me to her.

We didn't say another word. We just held each other in a long, silent embrace.When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

逸名

那天下午，我坐在磚石教學(xué)樓二樓的窗臺(tái)上，心情隨著每輛車子的駛過而越發(fā)低落。今天是我盼了幾個(gè)星期的日子：帕斯小姐的四年級(jí)年終舞會(huì)。帕斯小姐從周一就開始在黑板上倒計(jì)時(shí)，我們這些9歲小孩等著周五舞會(huì)的到來簡(jiǎn)直等得要造反了。

當(dāng)帕斯小姐要求家長(zhǎng)贊助餅干時(shí)，我開心地給我媽媽報(bào)了名。媽媽的巧克力餅干在我們小區(qū)聲名遠(yuǎn)揚(yáng)，我知道它們肯定會(huì)在我的同學(xué)中引起轟動(dòng)。但是已經(jīng)兩點(diǎn)多了，她的身影還是沒有出現(xiàn)。別人的媽媽來，放下她們贊助的飲料、餅干、著片、杯仔蛋糕和布朗尼蛋糕（一種巧克力蛋糕），然后就走了?？晌业膵寢寘s在活動(dòng)當(dāng)時(shí)不知去向。

當(dāng)我孤單地凝視著街道時(shí)，帕斯小姐對(duì)我說：“別擔(dān)心，羅比，她很快就來了。”我看著墻上的鐘，正好看到黑色的分針指向半點(diǎn)。

在我周圍，喧鬧的舞會(huì)開始了，但我還是不想離開窗臺(tái)。帕斯小姐使盡渾身解數(shù)想讓我從那兒走開，但我還堅(jiān)守著，期盼著那熟悉的家庭轎車出現(xiàn)在拐角，載著我那理應(yīng)感到窘迫不安的媽媽，懷里還有一罐她親手制作的著名餅干。

3點(diǎn)的鐘聲很快將我從思緒中喚醒。我沮喪地將書包從課桌里拖出，腳步拖沓地走回家去。

走回家要經(jīng)過四個(gè)街區(qū)，我琢磨著發(fā)脾氣的辦法。我進(jìn)門時(shí)會(huì)將大門狠狠撞上，等她沖過來?yè)肀視r(shí)，不回應(yīng)她的擁抱，而且再也不和她說話。

等我到家時(shí)，家里空無(wú)一人。我想從冰箱上找到張能解釋媽媽失蹤原因的字條，但什么也沒有找到。我又氣又恨，下巴都哆嗦了起來。有生以來第一次，我的媽媽讓我失望了。

當(dāng)我聽到她從大門進(jìn)來的聲音時(shí)，我臉朝下趴在樓上自己的床上。

“羅比，”她喊著，聲音中帶著些焦急，“你在哪兒？”

接下來我聽見她瘋了似的從一個(gè)房間沖到另一個(gè)房間，看我在哪里。我不出聲。接下來，是她上樓的聲音。她的腳步聲越來越快。

當(dāng)她進(jìn)入我的房間，坐在床邊時(shí)，我一動(dòng)也不動(dòng)，眼睛直勾勾地盯著枕頭，無(wú)視她的存在。

“真抱歉，孩子，”她說，“我忘了。我一忙起來就忘了，就是這樣?！?/p>

我仍然一動(dòng)不動(dòng)?！安荒茉徦?，”我告訴自己，“她讓你丟臉了。她忘了你。罰她?！?/p>

接下來我媽媽做了一件完全出乎我意料的事。她笑了。我能感覺到她的身子在顫抖，起初她的笑是無(wú)聲的，漸漸地，動(dòng)作幅度和音量越來越大。

我疑惑了。這個(gè)時(shí)候她怎么笑得出來？我轉(zhuǎn)過來看著她，準(zhǔn)備讓她看清楚我眼中的怒氣和失望。

可是媽媽并不是在笑，她是在哭?！罢鎸?duì)不起，”她輕輕地啜泣著，“我讓你失望了，我讓我的小寶貝失望了?！?/p>

她伏在床上，像個(gè)孩子似的哭了起來。我嚇呆了。我從來沒見過媽媽哭。在我的概念里，媽媽從來都是不哭的人。我不知道當(dāng)我哭的時(shí)候，她是不是也是這么想的。

我拼命回想過去當(dāng)我蹭破了膝蓋或撞傷了腳趾時(shí)她對(duì)我說過的那些撫慰的話，那時(shí)候她總是會(huì)說出最恰當(dāng)?shù)脑挕５敲鎸?duì)這個(gè)淚水漣漣的場(chǎng)面，那些深邃的話語(yǔ)，就像被丟掉的舊鞋那樣棄我而去了。

“沒關(guān)系，媽媽，”我邊支支吾吾地說，邊伸手輕撫她的頭發(fā)，“我們其實(shí)不需要那些餅干。有好多好多吃的。別哭了。沒關(guān)系，真的?！?/p>

我的話在我自己聽來是那么干巴巴的，卻讓我的媽媽坐了起來。她擦擦眼睛，一抹微笑從她淚痕斑斑的臉上浮現(xiàn)。我也傻傻地沖她笑著，她一把將我拉到了懷里。

我們沒有再說一句話，只是靜靜地、長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地?fù)肀е．?dāng)?shù)搅税磻T例我會(huì)松開的時(shí)候，我決定，這次，我可以就這樣抱著媽媽，也許，再久一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。

Practising&Exercise　實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升篇

核心單詞

reign[rein]v.統(tǒng)治；支配

forIornIy[f?'l?：nli]adv.可憐地；孤苦伶仃地

dejectedIy[di'd?ektidli]adv.沮喪地，灰心地

revenge[ri'vend?]n./v.替……報(bào)仇；報(bào)復(fù)

increduIous[in'kredjul?s]adj.不相信的；懷疑的

desperateIy['desp?ritli]adv.絕望地；拼命地

embrace[im'breis]n./v.擁抱；包括，包含

實(shí)用句型

I couId then hear her darting franticaIIy from room to room, wondering where I couId be.

接下來我聽見她瘋了似的從一個(gè)房間沖到另一個(gè)房間，看我在哪里。①現(xiàn)在分詞wondering在句中做狀語(yǔ)。

②frantically狂暴地，瘋子似的。這個(gè)詞是由frantic加表方式、程度的副詞后綴ally構(gòu)成的。類似的詞還有conditionally有條件地，systematically有系統(tǒng)地。

翻譯練習(xí)

1.我們期待著她的來訪。（look forward to）

2.開始我們用手工工具，后來才有了機(jī)器。（at first）

3.這些新法令本應(yīng)該起到防止犯罪的作用。（be supposed to）