作者：詹少晶
出版社：新世界出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
美丽英文袖珍馆Ⅱ：爱是最美丽的语言试读：
版权信息COPYRIGHT INFORMATION书名：美丽英文袖珍馆Ⅱ：爱是最美丽的语言作者：詹少晶排版：燕子出版社：新世界出版社出版时间：2012-10-01ISBN：9787510432132本书由北京紫云文心图书有限公司授权北京当当科文电子商务有限公司制作与发行。— · 版权所有 侵权必究 · —一开始时，很难开口说“我爱你”。可是我的眼睛、我的双手和我的心，都一直在诉说着……直到“我爱你”成为我们共度时光时最动听的语言。
At first it was hard to say “I love you.” But my eyes, my hands, and my heart kept saying it for me ... until “I love you” became the most beautiful words of all our moments together.
美丽英文
Love Is the Most Affecting Word
爱，是最美丽的语言
原来爱可以成为生活的食粮，成为白天的太阳，
成为黑夜的美梦；成为我们共度的时光中，最动听的语言。Chapter 1母爱如细流绵延
The Essence of Motherly Love
Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.
青春会逝去；爱情会枯萎；友谊的绿叶也会凋零；而一个母亲内心的希望，比它们都要长久。■ 写给所有的母亲们For Moms◎Cindy Lange-Kubick
This is for all the mothers who didn’t win Mother of the Year last year, all the runners-up and all the wannabes[1], including the mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care.
This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games on Friday night, instead of watching from cars. So that when their kids asked, “Did you see my goal?” They could say, “Of course, wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s OK, honey, Mommy’s here.”
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see, and the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.
This is for all the mothers of the victims of school shootings, and the mothers of the murderers. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
名 人 语 库
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.~Abraham Lincoln
我的所有成就和一切梦想，都应归功于我那天使般的母亲。我记得母亲的那些祷告，它们一直伴随着我，而且已经陪伴了我一生。——亚伯拉罕·林肯
这是写给所有在去年没能获得“年度母亲”的妈妈们，所有的亚军和希望超越她们的人，还包括那些太劳累而没能参加，或是太忙碌而无暇顾及的母亲们。
这是写给所有会在周五晚上到露天球场观看足球赛的母亲们，她们会坐在冰冷的看台上，而不是从汽车里面观看。这样，当她们的孩子问：“你看到我得分了吗？”她们就能回答：“当然，我怎么会错过你的比赛啊。”事实确实是这样。
这是写给所有在整晚抱紧生病的孩子的母亲们——她们擦掉那些掺着香肠的呕吐物，并温柔地说：“好了，宝贝，妈妈在这儿。”
这是写给那些生下孩子后，却永远不能见孩子一面而逝去的母亲们。也送给那些收养了这些孩子，并给了他们一个家园的母亲们。
This is for all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes, and all the mothers who don’t.
What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
Is it the ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
Is it the jolt[2] that takes you from sleep to dread, as you bound from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
Is it the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, or a baby dying?
I think so.
So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies, and for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn’t.
This is for reading “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year and then reading it again. “Just one more time.”
This is for all the mothers who mess up, who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat[3] them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2-year-old who wants ice cream before dinner.
This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
这是写给这些母亲的：她们的孩子成了学校枪击事件的受害者；她们是杀人犯的母亲；她们是幸存者的母亲；她们是坐在电视前心神不宁、满怀恐惧，孩子一放学安全回家就拥抱孩子的母亲们。
这是写给这些合伙使用汽车、会做饼干、缝制万圣节衣服的母亲们，也写给那些不做这些事情的母亲们。
怎样才算是一个好母亲？是耐心？同情？还是博大的胸怀？
是同时具有照顾孩子、做饭，并在衬衫上钉纽扣的能力？还是拥有充满挚爱的心？
是你看着儿子或女儿消失在街头，第一次走进校园时的那种失落吗？
是你从梦中惊醒，在凌晨两点从床上跳起来，走到婴儿床边，轻拍熟睡的宝贝时的那种震撼吗？
还是不论身在何处，只要听到有关校园枪击案、火灾、车祸，或者有孩子死亡的消息时，想要拥抱自己孩子的那种渴望？
我想是这样。
因此，这是写给所有的母亲们。她们抱着孩子坐下，解释关于怀孕的一切；这也是写给那些心有余而力不足的母亲们。
这是写给坚持一年中的每个晚上都要读两遍《晚安，月亮》，之后却又说“再来一遍”的母亲们。
这是写给所有心情糟糕的母亲们。她们在杂货店里责骂她们的孩子，朝死里打他们，甚至像一个想在饭前吃根冰激凌的两岁小孩一样，气得跺脚。
这是写给所有这样的母亲，她们在女儿开始上学前就教会孩子系鞋带。还有那些选择维可牢尼龙搭扣而不是鞋带的母亲。
This is for all the mothers who bite their lips—sometimes until they bleed—when their 14 year olds dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won’t stop.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring[4] are at home.
This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children’s graves.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.
This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they’d be just fine once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse and hour later asking them to please pick them up, right away.
This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation, and mature mothers learning to let go.
This is for working mothers and stay-at-home mothers, single mothers and married mothers, mothers with money, and mothers without.
This is for you all. So hang in there!
这是写给这些母亲们，她们看见自己14岁的孩子把头发染成绿色，会气得把嘴唇咬出血。当孩子不停哭喊的时候，她们会绝望地把自己锁在浴室里。
这是写给这些母亲，她们上班的时候，头发上有唾液，上衣上有奶渍，包里有小孩尿布。
这是写给这样的母亲，她们教儿子做饭，教女儿跳投篮球。
这是写给这样的母亲，当她们在拥挤的人群里听到一个很小的声音叫“妈妈”，就会马上转过头来，即使她们知道孩子在家里。
这是写给那些在孩子的墓前放上风车和泰迪熊的母亲们。
这是写给那些母亲，她们的孩子误入歧途，她们又不能找到合适的话来教导他们。
这是写给这样的母亲们，她们把胃痛的儿子送到学校，而且还对孩子保证说一到学校就会好，结果却从学校护士那里接到电话，一小时后又要求她们立刻接回孩子。
这是写给年轻母亲的。她们忙于给孩子换尿布，几乎被剥夺了所有的睡眠时间。而成熟的母亲学着放任他们。
这是写给所有工作的母亲与全职妈妈，单身的母亲与已婚的母亲，有钱的母亲与没钱的母亲的。
就这些，到此止笔！■ 是谁给了我耳朵Who Gave Me the Ears◎Paul Hawkins
“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked.
When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
He blurted out the tragedy. “A boy, a big boy ... called me a freak.”
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
“But you might mingle with other young people.” his mother reproved him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
The boy’s father had a session with the family physician ... “Could nothing be done?”
名 人 语 库
My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.~George Washington
我的母亲是我见过的最漂亮的女人。我所有的一切都归功于我的母亲。我一生中所有的成就都归功于我从她那儿得到的德、智、体的教育。——乔治·华盛顿“我可以看看我的宝宝吗？”初为人母的她开心地问道。
当裹在襁褓里的婴儿被放到她的臂弯里时，她掀开折叠着的布，看到他的小脸时，她不禁倒吸了一口气。医生迅速地转过身，透过医院的高层窗户向外看去。婴儿生下来就没有耳朵。
时间证明，婴儿的听力毫无问题。这只是有损他的相貌。一天，当他匆匆从学校跑回家，扑向母亲的怀抱时，她叹了口气，意识到他的生活注定会遭受一连串的打击。
他脱口诉说自己所遭受的不幸：“一个男孩，一个大个子男孩……他叫我怪胎。”
他长大了，俊朗的长相弥补了他的不幸。他颇受同学欢迎，要不是有缺陷，很可能就当了班长。他对文学和音乐很有天赋和潜质。
“I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured.” the doctor decided. Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret.”
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.”
“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know ... not yet.”
The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come. One of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” his father whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?”“但你可能会和其他年轻人一样。”母亲责备地说，却从心底觉得很欣慰。
男孩的父亲与家庭医生商量：“难道真的无法补救吗？”“我认为可以移植一双外耳——如果能够找到的话。”医生做了决定，于是他们开始寻求愿意为这个年轻人做出牺牲的人。
两年过去了。一天，父亲对儿子说：“孩子，你要住院了。我和你妈妈找到愿意为你捐献耳朵的人了。但这要求保密。”
手术获得了巨大的成功，一个新人诞生了。他的潜力转化为巨大的才能，他在中学和大学都取得了一连串的成功。
后来，他结婚了，进入外交行业工作。一天，他问父亲：“是谁给了我耳朵？谁给了我那么多？我做多少都无法报答他/她。”“我也这样认为，”父亲说，“但是协议上说你不能知道……还没到时候。”
多年以来，他们一直保守着秘密，但这天终于来了，这也是儿子度过的最黑暗的日子。他和父亲站在母亲的棺木前。慢慢地，轻柔地，父亲伸出一只手，掀开母亲那浓密的红褐色头发——母亲竟然没有耳朵！“你母亲说过她很开心从来不用理发，”父亲轻柔地低声说，“但没人觉得母亲没以前美丽，是吧？”■ 一件连衣裙The Dress◎Anonymous
“Do you like my dress?” she asked of a passing stranger. “My mommy made it just for me.” She said with a tear in her eye.
“Well, I think it’s very pretty, so tell me, little one, why are you crying?”
With a quiver in her voice the little girl answered. “After Mommy made me this dress, she had to go away.”
“Well, now,” said the lady, “with a little girl like you waiting for her, I’m sure she’ll be right back.”
“No Ma’am, you don’t understand,” said the child through her tears, “my daddy said she’s up in heaven now with Grandfather.”
Finally the woman realized what the child meant, and why she was crying. Kneeling down she gently cradled the child in her arms and together they cried for the mommy that was gone.
Then suddenly the little girl did something that the woman thought was a bit strange. She stopped crying, stepped back from the woman and began to sing. She sang so softly that it was almost a whisper. It was the sweetest sound the woman had ever heard, almost like the song of a very small bird.
名 人 语 库
She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness ... The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way.~Andrew Jackson
她轻柔得像一只斑鸠；她勇敢得像一头母狮……毕竟，对母亲的记忆和她的教诲，是我人生起步的唯一资本，并奠定了我的人生之路。——安德鲁·杰克逊“你喜欢我的连衣裙吗？”她问一位正走过她身边的陌生人。“我妈妈专门给我做的。”她说道，脸上带着泪珠。“嗯，我认为你的裙子很漂亮。告诉我，小家伙，你为什么哭呢？”
她的声音有些颤抖，回答道：“妈妈给我做完这条裙子后，就不得不离开了。”“哦，是这样，”陌生的女士说，“有你这样一个小姑娘等着她，我肯定她很快就会回来的。”“不，女士，您不明白，”女孩透过泪水说，“我爸爸说她现在和我爷爷在天堂里。”
女士终于明白孩子的意思了，也明白她为什么哭泣。她屈膝跪下，温柔地把女孩搂在怀里，一起为女孩离去的妈妈哭泣。
After the child stopped singing she explained to the lady, “My mommy used to sing that song to me before she went away, and she made me promise to sing it whenever I started crying and it would make me stop.”
“See,” she exclaimed, “it did, and now my eyes are dry!”
As the woman turned to go, the little girl grabbed her sleeve, “Ma’am, can you stay just a minute? I want to show you something.”
“Of course,” she answered, “what do you want me to see?”
Pointing to a spot on her dress, she said, “Right here is where my mommy kissed my dress, and here,” pointing to another spot, “here is another kiss, and here, and here. Mommy said that she put all those kisses on my dress so that I would have her kisses for every booboo that made me cry.”
Then the lady realized that she wasn’t just looking at a dress, no, she was looking at a mother ... who knew that she was going away and would not be there to kiss away the hurts that she knew her daughter would get.
So she took all the love she had for her beautiful little girl and put them into this dress that her child now so proudly wore.
She no longer saw a little girl in a simple dress. She saw a child wrapped ... in her mother’s love.
突然，小姑娘又做了件让女士感到有点奇怪的事。她停止哭泣，从女士怀抱中抽出身，向后退了一步，然后开始唱歌。她唱得如此轻柔，几乎像轻声耳语。这是女士听过的最甜美的声音，简直就像一只非常小的鸟儿在吟唱。
小女孩唱完后，向女士解释道：“妈妈离去前经常给我唱这首歌，她让我答应她，我一哭就唱这支歌，这样我就不哭了。”“看，”她惊叫道，“真管用，现在我的眼睛里没有泪水了！”
女士转身要走时，小女孩抓住她的袖子：“女士，您能再留下来一小会儿吗？我想给您看一样东西。”“当然啦，”她回答，“你想要我看什么呢？”
小女孩指着裙子上的一处，说：“就在这里，妈妈亲了我的裙子，还有这里，”她指着另一处，“这里有另一个吻，还有这里，这里。妈妈说，她把所有这些吻都留在我的连衣裙上，这样我遇到什么事哭了，就会有她的亲吻。”
这时，女士意识到，在她眼前的不是一件连衣裙，不是的，她在凝视一位母亲……这位母亲知道她将要离去，无法随时守候在女儿身边，便吻去她知道女儿必然会遇到的种种伤心。
所以，她将所有对她美丽女儿的爱倾注在这件连衣裙上。现在，女儿如此骄傲地穿在身上。
她看到的不再是一个小女孩身穿一件简单的连衣裙。她看到的是一个……被妈妈的爱裹着的孩子。■ 母爱无价Cost of Love◎Anonymous
One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read:
For washing the car...........................................$5.00
For making my own bed this week...................$1.00
Going to the provision shop..............................$0.50
Playing with little sister ...................................$0.25
Taking out the rubbish......................................$1.00
Getting a good report card...............................$5.00
And for sweeping the common corridor.........$2.00
Total ...............................................................$14.75
His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote:
For 9 months I carried you, growing
inside me.....................................No Charge
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and
名 人 语 库
Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.~Oliver Wendell Holmes
青春会逝去；爱情会枯萎；友谊的绿叶也会凋零。而一个母亲内心的希望，比它们都要长久。——奥利弗·温戴尔·荷马
一天晚上，当妻子在厨房准备晚餐时，我们的小儿子拿着一张纸走向他的母亲。上面写道：
洗车…………………………5美元
本周整理我的房间…………1美元
为你去商店…………………0.5美元
照管小妹妹…………………0.25美元
外出倒垃圾…………………1美元
成绩报告单获得良好………5美元
清扫走廊……………………2美元
总计…………………………14.75美元
他母亲看着儿子满怀希望地站在那儿等着付款。我能看到她的脑海中翻腾着记忆的浪花。她拿起钢笔把儿子写过的纸翻过来，在上面写道：
你待在我的腹中，在我身体里生长9个月
prayed for you..........................No Charge
For the toys, food and clothes and wiping
your nose..................................No Charge
When you add it all up, the full cost of
my love....................................No Charge
Well, when he finished reading, he had great big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said, “Mummy, I love you.” Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the “bill”: “ALL PAID.”
……………………………………………不收取任何费用
我陪伴着你、呵护你、为你祈祷的那些
晚上……………………………………不收取任何费用
为你准备玩具、食物、衣服，为你擦鼻涕
…………………………………………不收取任何费用
你把以上所有的累加起来，我为你付出的全部
…………………………………………不收取任何费用
儿子读完母亲写的话，双眼含着豆大的泪花。他看着他的妈妈，说：“妈妈，我爱你。”然后，他拿出钢笔在他的“账单”上用大写字母写道：“全部还清。”■ 永不后悔——母爱的真谛You’ll Never Regret It—the Essence of Motherly Love◎Dale Hanson Bourke
Time is running out for my friend. While we are sitting at lunch she casually mentions she and her husband are thinking of starting a family. “We’re taking a survey.” she says, half-joking. “Do you think I should have a baby?”
“It will change your life,” I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral[5]. “I know,” she says, “no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous holidays ...”
But that’s not what I mean at all. I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be vulnerable[6] forever.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without thinking: “What if that had been my child?” That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.
名 人 语 库
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.~Theodore Hesburgh
一个父亲能为孩子做的最好的事情，就是好好爱他的妈妈。——西奥多·赫斯伯格
时光荏苒，朋友已经老大不小了。我们吃午饭时，她漫不经心地提起她和她丈夫正考虑要小孩的事。“我们正在做一项调查，”她半开玩笑地说，“你觉得我应该要个小孩吗？”“这会改变你的生活。”我小心翼翼地说道，尽量使语气保持客观。“我知道，”她答道，“周末睡不成懒觉，也不能随心所欲地休假……”
但我绝不是那个意思。我看着我的朋友，试图整理一下自己的思绪。我想让她知道她永远不可能在分娩课上学到的东西。我想告诉她：分娩的有形伤疤可以愈合，但是，做母亲的情感伤痕却永远如新，她会因此变得十分脆弱，永远都是。
我想告诫她，做了母亲后，每当她看报纸时就会情不自禁地想：“如果那件事情发生在我的孩子身上将会怎样啊？”每一次飞机失事、每一场住宅火灾都会让她提心吊胆。看到那些忍饥挨饿的孩子们的照片时，她会思索，世界上还有什么比眼睁睁地看着自己的孩子饿死更惨的事情呢？我打量着她精修细剪的指甲和时尚前卫的衣服，心里想到，不管她打扮多么考究，做了母亲后，她会变得像护崽的母熊那样原始而不修边幅。
I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed[7] by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting, and she will think her baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her child is all right.
I want my friend to know that every decision will no longer be routine. That a five-year-old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather than the women’s at a restaurant will become a major dilemma[8]. The issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the lavatory. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the added weight of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her own life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. She would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years—not to accomplish her own dreams—but to watch her children accomplish theirs.
I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to hit a ball. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it hurts.
我觉得自己应该提醒她，不管她在工作上投入了多少年，一旦做了母亲，工作就会脱离常规。她当然可以安排别人照顾孩子，但说不定哪天她要去参加一个非常重要的商务会议，却忍不住想起宝宝身上散发的甜甜乳香。她不得不拼命克制自己，才不致为了看看孩子是否安然无恙而中途跑回家。
我想让我的朋友知道，有了孩子后，每一个决定都不再是例行公事。在餐馆，5岁的儿子想进男厕而不愿进女厕，将成为摆在她眼前的一大难题。她将在两个选择之间权衡一番：尊重孩子的独立和性别意识，还是让他进男厕所，冒着被潜在的儿童性骚扰者侵害的危险。任凭她在办公室多么果断，作为母亲，她仍经常后悔自己当时的决定。
看着我这位漂亮迷人的朋友，我想让她明白，她最终会恢复到怀孕前的体重，但是她对自己的感觉已经截然不同。她现在如此看重的生命，将随着孩子的诞生而变得不那么宝贵。为了救自己的孩子，她时刻愿意献出自己的生命。但她也开始希望多活一些年头，不是为了实现自己的梦想，而是为了看着孩子们美梦成真。
我想向朋友形容自己看到孩子学会击球时的喜悦。我想让她留意孩子第一次触摸狗的绒毛时的捧腹大笑。我想让她品尝快乐，尽管这快乐是如此真实地令人心痛。
My friend’s look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. “You’ll never regret it.” I say finally. Then, squeezing my friend’s hand, I offer a prayer for her and me and all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this holiest of callings.
朋友的表情让我意识到，自己已经是热泪盈眶。“你永远不会后悔的。”最后，我说道，然后紧紧地握住朋友的手，为她、为自己，也为每一位艰难跋涉、准备响应母亲这一神圣职业的召唤的平凡女性，献上自己的祈祷。母亲的手Mother’s Hands◎Louisa Godissart McQuillen
Night after night, she came to tuck me in, even long after my childhood years. Following her longstanding custom, she’d lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead.
I don’t remember when it first started annoying me—her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt work-worn and rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, “Don’t do that anymore—your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say anything in reply. But never again did my mother close out my day with that familiar expression of her love.
Time after time, with the passing years, my thoughts returned to that night. By then I missed my mother’s hands, missed her goodnight kiss on my forehead. Sometimes the incident seemed very close, sometimes far away. But always it lurked, in the back of my mind.
Well, the years have passed, and I’m not a little girl anymore. Mom is in her mid-seventies, and those hands I once thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family. She’s been our doctor, reaching into a medicine cabinet for the remedy to calm a young girl’s stomach or soothe the boy’s scraped knee. She cooks the best fried chicken in the world ... gets stains out of blue jeans like I never could ...
名 人 语 库
In all my efforts to learn to read, my mother shared fully my ambition and sympathized with me and aided me in every way she could. If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.~Booker Washington
在我努力学习阅读的过程中，母亲一直分享着我的抱负，并充分理解我，尽她所能帮助我。如果我一生中做了什么值得人们注意的事情，那一定是我继承了她的气质。——布克·华盛顿
在我的童年时期，有很长一段时间，每个夜里，母亲总习惯来为我掖住被角，撩开我的长头发，亲吻我的额头。
不记得从何时起，我开始讨厌她用手拨开我的头发。这确实很让我恼火，因为母亲粗糙的双手让我感觉自己幼滑的肌肤在受到伤害。
试读结束[说明：试读内容隐藏了图片]