作者：刘红
出版社：企业管理出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
当英语成为时尚：我与妈妈有个约会试读：
前言
亲情是什么？
亲情是一颗明星，
在漆黑的夜里，
它能给迷途的心指引方向。
亲情是什么？
亲情是一根绳子，
用它的身躯，
把心与心紧紧地连了起来。
亲情是什么？
亲情是一罐蜂蜜，
蕴含着浓浓的香味儿，
使人们的心儿如痴如醉。
亲情是什么？亲情是我们来到人世间所接触到的第一情感，是一种最深厚、最牢固的爱：它不会因时间、地点的转移而改变，也不会因意外或变故而中止；亲情是一种微妙的感觉，是内心深处不经意间的牵挂与惦记，是愿为对方付出一切的渴求。生活中经历挫折与坎坷，每当夜深人静之时，疲惫的心总在呼唤能有一个温暖的港湾，一个灵魂的栖息地。而亲情就像是一颗明星，在漆黑的夜里，给迷途的心指引前进的方向，它让生命充满了希望，充满了生生不息的力量。这份希望，这种力量都来自于疼你、爱你的亲人，来自于他们给予你的那份让你感动的亲情。
亲情之爱，带给我们无限温暖和欢乐，是一种无私而永久的付出。父母用伟大、无私的爱为孩子营造了一个温暖的港湾，生命中，父母用慈爱的双手、激励的目光搀扶着孩子渐渐长大，让他们认识了世界，懂得了人生。孩子长大后离家远行，可无论走得多久、多远，亲情这根长长的线也丢不掉、剪不断，那份爱会一路相伴。
亲情是彼此间的关爱，呵护与宽容。父母对子女的爱是无私的，子女对父母也同样有着无限温情。他们陪伴在父母身边，带来了欢声与笑语，用自己的方式表达着心中的爱与感激。
本书精选了数十篇英汉双语对照的亲情故事，记录了他们的舐犊情深，心灵交流，真诚的忏悔……让幸福、感动、感恩的情愫汇成一股甘泉滋养你的心灵。亲情之爱，如影随形；亲情之爱，让我们永远在一起。编者
The Heart-Shaped Pillow 心形枕头
Anonymous本章内容导读
她在一块红布上绣上“我爱你”三个字……
这个枕头里面倾注了她多少爱啊！我将永远珍爱它。
我不知道这个枕头是否藏有什么魔力，但我能肯定，这么多年来，这枕头给我带来了说不尽的喜悦。
Valentine's Day had arrived and like every other day of the year,I was very busy.
My romantic husband,Roy,planned a date like we had never had before.A reservation at an expensive restaurant was made.A beautifully wrapped present had been sitting on my dresser for a few days prior to the heart-filled holiday.
After a hard day at work,I hurried home,ran into the house and jumped into the shower.When my sweetheart arrived,I was dressed in my finest outfit and ready to go.He hugged me,just as the sitter1 arrived.We were both excited.
Unfortunately,the littlest member in our household wasn't so happy.
“Daddy,you were going to take me to buy Mamma a present.”Becky,my eight-year-old daughter said,as she sadly walked over to the couch and sat down beside the babysitter.
Roy looked at his watch and realized that if we were to make our reservation,we had to leave right away.He didn't even have a few minutes to take her to the corner drugstore,to buy a heart-shaped box of chocolate candy.
“I'm sorry,I was late getting home,honey，”he said.
“That's OK，”Becky replied，“I understand.”
The entire evening was bittersweet2.I couldn't help being concerned about the disappointment in Becky's eyes.I remembered how the joyful Valentine's Day glow had left her face,just before the door closed behind us.She wanted me to know how much she loved me.She didn't realize it,but I already knew it very well.
Today,I couldn't remember what was wrapped in that beautiful box,which I swooned3 over for several days,but I'll never forget the special gift,which I received when we arrived,back home.
Becky was asleep on the couch,clutching a box,which was sitting on her lap.When I kissed her cheek,she awoke.“I've got something for you,Mamma.”She said,as a giant smile covered her tiny face.
The little box was wrapped in newspaper.As I tore the paper off and opened the box,I found the sweetest Valentine gift that I had ever received.
After Roy and I left for our date,Becky got busy.She raided4 my fabric and cross-stitch box.She stitched5 the words“I Love Ya”on a piece of red fabric,cut the fabric in the shape of a heart,stitched the two pieces together,adorned6 it with lace and stuffed it with cotton.It was a heart-shaped pillow,filled with love,which I’ll cherish forever.
My wonderful Valentine gift has a special place in my bedroom today,some thirteen years later.As she was growing up into a young woman,many times I held that pillow close to my heart.I don't know if a pillow can hold magic,but this pillow has surely held a great deal of joy for me over the years.It has helped me through several sleepless nights since she left home for college.I not only cherish the gift,but the memory,as well.
I know that I am a very lucky mother,indeed,to have such a wonderful little girl,who wanted so desperately to share her heart with me.As long as I live,there will never be another Valentine's Day,which will be any more special to me.
情人节到了，跟往常一样，我的日程表依然安排得满满的。我的丈夫罗伊是个很浪漫的人，策划好了一个我们从未有过的约会。他在一家高档餐厅预订了桌位，在情人节到来的前几天，他还在我的梳妆台上留下了一份包装精美的礼品。
一天繁忙的工作过后，我匆匆赶回家，跑进屋，一头便扎进了浴室。等丈夫到家的时候，我已经穿上自己最漂亮的衣服，只等出发了。他拥抱了我，此时帮我们照看小孩的人也正好到了。我们俩都很高兴。
遗憾的是，我们家里最小的成员却不那么高兴。“爸爸，你不是要带我去给妈妈买礼物的吗？”我那8岁的女儿贝姬一边说着，一边沮丧地走向沙发，坐在了那位临时过来照顾她的女士旁边。
罗伊看了一下手表，他意识到如果我们想要按时到达我们预订的餐厅，必须立即动身。他甚至都抽不出几分钟时间带女儿去街角小店买盒鸡心形盒装巧克力糖。“对不起，宝贝，今天回家会晚点儿。”他说。“没事儿，”贝姬回答道，“我明白。”
整个晚上可以说是既甜蜜，却又有几分苦涩。我总会情不自禁地想到贝姬眼里流露出的失望。我忘不了就在我们关上房门的那一刹那，贝姬脸上那原本因情人节而散发出的兴奋的光芒一下子消失了。她想让我知道她是多么爱我。她或许并没有意识到，我心里已经很清楚了。
今天，我已记不得那个精美的盒子里装的是什么礼物了，尽管我因它兴奋了好几天，但是当晚我们回到家时收到的另一份特殊的礼物让我永生难忘。
贝姬在沙发上睡着了，但双手还紧握着一个放在她腿上的盒子。当我亲吻她的脸颊时，她醒了。“妈妈，我有样东西要送给您。”说着，小脸蛋上绽放出灿烂的笑容。
小盒子用报纸包裹着。当我把报纸撕开，打开盒子时，我看到了一份最甜美的情人节礼物，这是我从未收到过的。
在罗伊和我离开家去约会后，贝姬便忙了起来。她把我的织品和十字绣盒子都找了出来。先在一块红布上绣上“我爱你”三个字，然后把布料按照心的形状剪了下来，再把剪下来的两块布缝在一起，缀上了一圈花边，最后在里面塞满棉花。一个心形的枕头就这样做成了。这个枕头里面倾注入了她多少爱啊！我将永远珍爱它。
如今13年过去了，我那珍贵的情人节礼物依然放在卧室的一个特殊位置。女儿已经长大成人，这期间有多少次我紧紧地将这枕头贴在心窝。我不知道这个枕头是否藏有什么魔力，但我能肯定，这么多年来这枕头给我带来了说不尽的喜悦。女儿离开我进入大学时，它帮助我度过了无数个不眠之夜。我不仅珍爱这礼物，也珍爱这美好的记忆。
我知道我自己的确是位非常幸运的母亲，有这么一个值得称道的女儿，她是那么渴望与我分享她心中的爱！对我来说，有生之年，恐怕再也不会有比这更特殊的情人节了。
生词空间 New Words
1.sitter n.临时看孩子的人
2.bittersweet adj.又苦又甜的，苦乐参半的
3.swoon v.昏晕，晕倒.（本文指使兴奋、陶醉）
4.raid v.突然袭击，突击搜捕（本文指搜寻）
5.stitch v.缝，绣
6.adorn v.装饰，使生色
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）After a hard day at work,I hurried home,ran into the house and jumped into the shower.
一天繁忙的工作过后，我匆匆赶回家，跑进屋，一头便扎进了浴室。
2）“I've got something for you,Mamma，”she said,as a giant smile covered her tiny face.“妈妈，我有样东西要送给您。”说着，小脸蛋上绽放出灿烂的笑容。
心灵感悟：
小小的心形枕头对母亲来讲就是有着无限的魔力，其中包含的女儿的爱足以帮助母亲度过无数个不眠之夜；即使女儿不在身边也能感受到那份体贴与情谊。
Grandfather's Clock 祖父的大钟
By Kathy Fasiq本章内容导读
钥匙点燃了钟的生命。嘀答……嘀答……
钟的生机、活力和鸣响声从餐厅中散发开来，回荡在整间屋子里，然后注入了我的心里。
随着钟摆的摆动，我的祖父又一次活在了这里。
In the dining room of my grandfather's house stood a massive grandfather clock.Meals in that dining room were a time for four generations to become one.The table was always spread with food from wonderful family recipes1 all containing love as the main ingredient.And always that grandfather clock stood like a trusted old family friend,watching over the laughter and story swapping2 and gentle kidding that were a part of our lives.
As a child,the old clock fascinated me.I watched and listened to it during meals.I marveled at how at different times of the day,that clock would chime three times,six times or more,with a wonderful resonant3 sound that echoed throughout the house.I found the clock comforting and familiar Year after year,the clock chimed,a part of my memories,a part of my heart.
Even more wonderful to me was my grandfather's ritual.He meticulously4 wound that clock with a special key each day.That key was magic to me.It kept our family's magnificent clock ticking and chiming,a part of every holiday and every tradition,as solid as the wood from which it was made.I remember watching as my grand-father took the key from his pocket and opened the hidden door in the massive old clock.He inserted5 the key and wound—not too much,never overwind,he’d tell me solemnly.Nor too little.He never let that clock wind down and stop.When we grandkids got a little older,he showed us how to open the door to the grandfather clock and let us each take a turn winding the key.I remember the first time I did,I trembled with anticipation.To be part of this family ritual was sacred.
After my beloved grandfather died,it was several days after the funeral before I remembered the clock！
“Mama！The clock！We've let it wind down.”
The tears flowed freely when I entered the dining room.The clock stood forlornly6 quiet.As quiet as the funeral parlor had been.Hushed7.The clock even seemed smaller.Not quite as magnificent without my grandfather's special touch.I couldn't bear to look at it.
Sometime later,years later,my grandmother gave me the clock and the key.The old house was quiet.No bowls clanging,no laughter over the dinner table,no ticking or chiming of the clock—all was still.The hands on the clock were frozen,a reminder of time slipping away,stopped at the precise moment when my grandfather had ceased winding it.I took the key in my shaking hand and opened the clock door.All of a sudden,I was a child again,watching my grandfather with his silver-white hair and twinkling8 blue eyes.He was there,winking at me,at the secret of the clock’s magic,at the key that held so much power.I stood,lost in the moment for a long time.Then slowly,reverently9，I inserted the key and wound the clock.It sprang to life.Tick-tock……tick-tock……life and chimes were breathed into the dining room,into the house and into my heart.In the movement of the hands of the clock,my grandfather lived again.凯西·凡希
在我祖父家的餐厅里，摆着一座大型的落地大摆钟。每天一起在餐厅用餐的时候就是我们四世同堂其乐融融的美好时光。餐桌上摆放的食物，都是特别精致的家庭菜肴，每一道菜都包含着家庭的爱。而那座落地大摆钟总是站在那里，像一个忠诚的家族朋友，在一旁看着我们欢笑、交流人生故事和友善地开玩笑。这已经成为我们生活的一部分了。
小时候的我对这个老式摆钟非常着迷。我吃饭的时候都会看着它，倾听钟摆摆动的声音。我感到很好奇，为什么每天不同的时间，钟就会鸣响，敲三下，六下，或者更多，而且还发出一种奇妙的、洪亮的声音，在整个房间里回荡。这座钟使我感到相当舒服、很亲近。一年又一年的过去了，钟响不断，它已经成了我记忆中的一部分，成为我心中的一丝牵挂。
但对我来说，更奇妙的是祖父的一成不变的习惯。他每天都用一把特殊的钥匙小心翼翼地给钟上发条。我认为那把钥匙一定是有魔力的。它使得我们家的那座大钟滴滴答答地走动并且报时，成为我们家每个假期和每个传统节日的一部分，就像造成这钟的木头那样坚固不变。我还记得，看着祖父从他的口袋里掏出钥匙，打开这座大钟上的暗门。他插入钥匙，然后开始上发条——“不要将发条上得太紧，但也不能上太松了。”他曾经严肃地告诉我，他从来没有让钟停止工作过。随着我们这些孙儿辈慢慢长大，祖父开始教我们如何打开老钟上的暗门，而且让我们每个孩子轮流给钟上发条。我记得我第一次转的时候，由于期待地太久而有些颤抖。成为这个家庭典礼的一部分是神圣的。
在我深爱的祖父去世之后，我在葬礼过后几天才忽然记起了那座钟！“妈妈！那个钟！我们没给它上发条。”
当我踏进餐厅的时候，眼泪情不自禁地流淌下来。那座钟静静地站在那里，显得很是孤独凄凉。就如同殡仪馆里面那样的寂静。甚至连那座钟都看起来愈发小了。没有了祖父特别的照料，钟也没以前显得那么宏伟了。我忍不住将眼睛移开了。
过了一段时间，几年之后，我的祖母把钟和钥匙给了我。那座老房子里变得寂静无声。没有了碗与碗碰撞的叮当声，没有了餐桌旁大家的欢笑声，没有了钟摆的嘀答声和钟的报时声——一切都是静止的。那座钟的钟摆，一动不动的在那里，使我想起了匆匆溜走的时光，钟的指针准确地停留在祖父停止给它上发条的时间。我把钥匙拿在有些颤抖的手中，打开了钟上的暗门。突然之间，我感到自己又回到了孩提时代，看着我的祖父，他银白的头发和那闪亮的蓝色眸子。他就在那儿，对我眨着眼睛，向我讲述着那座钟的魔法秘密，交给我那把拥有无限力量的钥匙。我站在那里，久久地沉思。然后，我慢慢地、虔诚地将钥匙插入钟里去，转动了发条。钥匙点燃了钟的生命。嘀答……嘀答……钟的生机、活力和鸣响声从餐厅中弥散开来，回荡在整间屋子里，然后注入了我的心里。随着钟摆的摆动，我的祖父又一次活在了这里。
生词空间 New Words
1.recipe n.烹饪法，食谱；方法，秘诀，诀窍
2.swap v.交换
3.resonant adj.洪亮的
4.meticulous adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的
5.insert v.插入，嵌入
6.forlornly adv.孤独凄凉地
7.hushed adj .安静的
8.twinkle v.闪烁，闪耀；闪闪发光
9.reverently adv.尊敬地
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）I marveled at how at different times of the day,that clock would chime three times,six times or more,with a wonderful resonant sound that echoed throughout the house.
我感到很好奇，为什么每天不同的时间，钟就会鸣响，敲三下，六下，或者更多，而且还发出一种奇妙的、洪亮的声音，在整个房间里回荡。
2）The tears flowed freely when I entered the dining room.The clock stood forlornly quiet.As quiet as the funeral parlor had been.Hushed.
当我踏进餐厅的时候，眼泪情不自禁地流淌下来。那座钟静静地站在那里，显得很是孤独凄凉。就如同殡仪馆里面那样的寂静。
心灵感悟：
钟摆滴滴答答带走的是时间，可留给我们的是那些无法抹去的美好记忆。祖父的大钟，已成为我心中的一丝牵挂。
Mom's Cookies 妈妈的小甜饼
Anonymous本章内容导读
尽管这些话在我听来觉得很苍白无力，然而母亲却坐了起来。
她擦了擦眼睛，满是泪痕的脸上绽开了一丝微笑。
我也不好意思地笑了，然后她就把我揽在了怀里。
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-old had bordered on1 insurrection by the time the much-anticipated“party Friday”had arrived.
I had volunteered my mother happily when Miss Pace requested cookie volunteers.Mom's chocolate chips reigned2 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 forlornly 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 budge3 from my window watch post.Miss Pace did her best to coax4 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 arms.
The three o'clock bell soon jolted5 me from my thoughts and I dejectedly grabbed my book bag from my desk and shuffled6 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 rushed 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 frantically7 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 did something 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 velocity8 and volume.
I was incredulous9.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 down10，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 desperately 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 profundity11 abandoned me like a worn-out shoe.
“It's okay,Mom，”I stammered12 as I reached out and stroked her hair gently.“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 I would usually pull away,I decided that,this time,I could hold on,perhaps,just a little bit longer.
那天下午，我坐在学校教学楼二楼的窗沿上，看着一辆辆过往的汽车，心情变得更加低落。这一天我已经盼了好几个星期了。裴老师带的四年级班的年终派对就在那天举行。那个星期，裴老师还在黑板上挂了个倒计时牌。当这个让人期待已久的“派对星期五”到来的时候，我们班这些九岁大的孩子们兴奋得像炸开了锅似的。
在裴老师征召提供小甜饼的志愿者时，我很开心地推荐了我妈妈。她做的巧克力薄饼在我们那个街区是最好吃的。我知道它们肯定会在同学们中大受欢迎的。可是都两点多了，还不见她的踪影。其他同学的母亲大多都来过了，带来了她们做的饮料、饼干、薯条、蛋糕，还有核仁巧克力饼。我的母亲却还没有出现。“别着急，罗比，她很快就会来的。”当我孤独失望地盯着楼下的大街时，裴老师对我说。我看了看墙上的钟，它黑色的分针刚好指向两点半。
在我的周围，热闹的派对正进行得如火如荼，而我却不愿从窗口这个观察点挪开半步。裴老师想方设法要劝我离开，我还是呆在那里一动不动。我仍旧满怀期待，希望看到家里那辆熟悉的汽车转过街角，载着我那一定是满怀内疚的母亲，她怀里抱着一罐制作好的出名的小甜饼。
三点的钟声把我从思绪中惊醒，我沮丧地抓起课桌上的书包，拖着沉重的步子往家走。
只要步行四个街区就可以到家了，一路上我都在计划着怎么报复妈妈：我要一到家就狠狠地把门关上，她匆忙迎向我时不要和她拥抱，并发誓再也不跟她说话了。
当我回到家时，屋子里空无一人。我到冰箱上找看她有没有给我留下便条，或许她会解释下她没去的原因，可那儿什么也没有。我失望极了，愤怒不已，气得下巴直抖。生平第一次，母亲让我失望了。
我上楼去，在自己的床上趴着。这时楼下传来了她进门的声音。“罗比，”她略显焦急地叫着我，“你在哪儿呢？”
我能听到她发疯似地逐个房间找我。我仍旧一声不吭。不一会儿，她上楼了——脚步声显得越来越急促。
她走进我的房间，挨着我在床上坐了下来。我茫然地盯着枕头一动不动，当她不存在一样。“对不起，宝贝儿，”她说，“我忘了，我一忙就给忘记了——就是这样。”
我还是没动。“不能原谅她，”我告诉自己，“她让你丢脸了，她把你给忘了。要给她点惩罚。”
接下来，母亲做了一件我怎么也想不到的事。她开始笑，我感觉得到她浑身都在颤动。开始还悄无声息，接着越来越急促，声音也越来越大。
我简直不敢相信，这个时候她怎么还笑得出来？我翻过身，面朝着她，好让她看到我眼里的愤怒与失望。
但母亲根本不是在笑，她是在哭。“对不起，”她轻轻地抽泣着，“我让你失望了，我让我的宝贝儿子失望了。”
她倒在床上，开始像个小女孩一样地哭泣。我目瞪口呆。我从没看见母亲哭过，在我眼里，母亲是不会哭的。我不知道她看到我哭的时候是不是也是这个样子。
我拼命回想以前我蹭破膝盖，碰伤脚趾时她安慰我说的那些话，那种时候她总是知道该说什么。可是此刻她在哭泣，我实在是没用，竟说不出一句情深意浓的话来。“好了，妈妈，”我伸过手去轻轻抚弄她的头发，结结巴巴地说，“其实我们根本不需要那些小甜饼，那里有好多吃的东西呢。别哭了，没关系，真的。”
尽管这些话在我听来觉得很苍白无力，然而母亲却坐了起来。她擦了擦眼睛，满是泪痕的脸上绽开了一丝微笑。我也不好意思地笑了，然后她就把我揽在了怀里。
我们没再说话，只是默默地拥抱了很久很久。通常我们拥抱一会儿就会松开，但这次，我决定，也许，我会多坚持一会儿。
生词与短语 New Words and Expressions
1.border on v.接近
2.reign v.统治；占主导地位
3.budge v.妥协
4.coax v.劝诱，哄
5.jolt v.（使）震惊；震动
6.shuffle v.拖步走，
7.frantically adv.狂暴地，疯狂地
8.velocity n.速度，速率
9.incredulous v.不（轻易）相信的
10.let down使失望
11.profundity n.深奥，深刻
12.stammer v.口吃，结结巴巴地说
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）Around me,the noisy party raged on,but I wouldn't budge from my window watch post.
在我的周围，热闹的派对正进行得如火如荼，而我却不愿从窗口这个观察点挪开半步。
2）But in that moment of tearful plight,words of profundity abandoned me like a worn-out shoe.
可是此刻她在哭泣，我实在是没用，竟说不出一句情深意浓的话来。
心灵感悟：
The world,all other are false,empty,only the mother is the true,eternal,indestructible.——Indian Proverb
世界上其他的一切都是虚假的，空洞的，唯有母亲才是真实的，永恒的，不灭的。——印度谚语
A Daughter's Thanks to Her Mother 女儿对母亲的感谢
Anonymous本章内容导读
我现在才意识到还有好多话要对您讲——就像大家常说的那样——好多问题也还没有来得及问。
您曾经对我说，在这个瞬息万变的时代，我们能留给孩子最好的东西就是爱。
因为爱是永恒的，它永远都不会消失。
Dear Mum，
I haven't written many letters to you before,as we've almost always been able to just pick up the phone and have a chat,so it's hard to know how to start.
Of course,all the usual things apply1—we all miss you and hope you're all right wherever you are.
When you left us,it took a little while for it to sink in2 that I would never see you again.I guessed it was a bit like you being away on a trip or those times when we didn't find the time to even speak on the phone for a week or so.
Now I realize there are too many things left unsaid—as everyone always says—and too many questions unasked.Silly things really,like yesterday,when I was doing my washing,I wondered how you felt when you got your first automatic washing machine,I can still remember the old machine you had when I was a child.Though,I guess I know the answers to most of time the important things about you.
Dad finds life difficult without you and his loneliness is almost unbearable to me,as there's so little I can do to help him.I think in time he'll find some interests and make a new kind of life.But at the moment he seems only to look forward to the time when he can join you again.
Emily and I are feeling a little better each day,in a way,your going has brought us closer together.We seem to understand each other better at the moment and maybe eventually we'll have the sort of relationship that really close sisters enjoy.
We've both found strengths in each other over the past weeks,and these are a huge comfort.Perhaps we never needed to look for them before,because we had you to be strong for us.
I guess I'm lucky to have my own children to keep me so busy.I don't have much time to dwell on3 my sadness but sometimes I crave the peace to just have a private think about you.
For a couple of weeks after you died,my brain seemed to go crazy,searching through its memory banks for something I could keep in my heart which was special to you and me.One day it came to me—the tour we made of some special gardens.
Remember the day it poured with rain the whole time but we were determined to make the most of it.I enjoyed just being with you by myself,without the children clamoring for your attention.The gardens were beautiful despite the rain and you bought me a rose I'd admired for my own garden.
For a while after your death,I expected to feel your presence around me as Dad and Emily seemed to do with such ease.When I was out walking,I would look at the sky and wonder whether you could see me,or whether you were with me.At night I wondered whether you'd become a star,as some people believed.
But as time passes,I think I'm closer to find the truth.You're with me every time I comfort one of the children or try to find the right words to gently chastise4 them.I listen for your words of wisdom and they come from within me because your greatest gift to me was teaching me how to be a good mother to my own children.
And although you're no longer here with us,I know in times of sadness or pain the children feel their mothers' arms around them just as I sense that I feel your arms around me,too.In years to come I hope your gift to me will be passed to my own children's children.And I know it's your voice telling me in these changing times the best thing we can give our children is love,because love is eternal and love doesn't die.So long for now,and thank you from all of us.
Happy Mother's Day,Mum.Love，Carol
亲爱的妈妈：
以前我很少给您写信，因为我们总能够在电话上聊上一会，如今真要给您写，倒不知如何下笔了。
当然，我可以用那些书信的套话——我们都非常想念您，并希望您永远万事如意。
您离开我们以后，我用了好长一段时间来调整自己的心情，我知道再也见不到您了，那情形就好像您要离开我们去旅行，或者像我们一周多没有通过电话了一样。
我现在才意识到还有好多话要对您讲——就像大家常说的那样——好多问题也还没有来得及问。其实都是一些愚蠢的问题，就像昨天，我在洗衣服的时候就特别想知道您拥有第一台自动洗衣机时的感受。我还小的时候您用的那台旧洗衣机仍旧清晰在目。事实上，有关您的许多事情，我大多都清楚。
没有您在身边，爸爸的日子很难捱，他的孤独与寂寞几乎让我都无法忍受，因为对此我也无能为力。我想，他迟早会重新燃起生命的热情，开启新的生活。但是目前，他似乎只是在期待着与您再团聚的那一天。
时日推移，我和埃米莉的关系慢慢好些了，从某种意义上说，您的离去让我们变得更密切，似乎彼此更了解对方，或许我们姐妹间的关系最终会真正亲密起来的。
在过去的几个星期里，我们俩相互鼓励，相互安慰。以前，或许是有您给了我们精神力量，我们就无须从对方身上寻求。
我想，幸好我有了自己的孩子，我才可以如此忙碌，而不至于有太多时间沉湎于悲伤。但是有时候，我也渴望能有片刻的安宁，让我独自静静地思念您。
在您去世后的几周里，我的脑子里一片混乱，在记忆深处不断地搜寻那些对自己和您都很特殊的事。一天，我突然想到那次我们在一些花园的特殊旅行。
记得那天，倾盆大雨下个不停，但我们还是决定好好玩玩。我喜欢单独与您呆在一起，没有孩子们的吵闹声来分散您的注意力。雨中的花园依然很漂亮，您买了一朵玫瑰送给我，我非常喜欢，真希望把它种在自家的花园里。
您去世后不久，我真希望能像爸爸和埃米莉那样，轻松地感受到您就在我的身边。当我出去散步时，常常会仰望蓝天，不知道您是否能看见我，或者与我同在。晚上，我就想，您会不会像某些人信仰的那样，变成一颗星星。
但是，随着时间的流逝，我认为差不多找到了那种真实的感觉。就在我安慰或者试着找些恰当的话语来责备一个孩子时，我觉得您与我同在，您充满智慧的语言便会从我内心深处传来。因为这是您留给我最珍贵的礼物，教导我如何才能成为自己孩子的好妈妈。
虽然您已不再和我们一起生活了，但我知道悲伤和痛苦时，孩子们仍能感受到母亲怀抱的温暖，就像我能感觉到您拥抱着我一样。在未来的日子里，我希望将您留给我的礼物传给自己的子孙。您曾经对我说，在这个瞬息万变的时代，我们能留给孩子最好的东西就是爱，因为爱是永恒的，它永远都不会消失。就此停笔吧，再见，我们衷心感谢的妈妈。
母亲节快乐，妈妈！爱您的卡罗尔
生词与短语 New Words and Expressions
1.apply v.适用
2.sink in v.被理解，被理会
3.dwell on v.老是想着，详述
4.chastise v.责骂，严惩
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
I don't have much time to dwell on my sadness but sometimes I crave the peace to just have a private think about you.
我不至于有太多时间沉湎于悲伤。但是有时候，我也渴望能有片刻的安宁，让我独自静静地思念您。
心灵感悟：
How the world's mother is similar to！Their heart has always been the same；every mother has a very innocent child's point.—Whitman
全世界的母亲多么的相像啊！她们的心始终一样。每一位母亲都有一颗极为纯真的赤子之心。——惠特曼
Obama's Letter to His Daughters 奥巴马给女儿的信
本章内容导读
我很快就发现，我在你们生命中看到的快乐，就是我自己生命中最大的快乐。
而我也同时体会到，如果我不能够确保你们俩此生可以拥有追求幸福和自我实现的一切机会，那么我自己的生命也就没有多大价值了。
Dear Malia and Sasha，
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail,going to picnics parades1 and state fairs,eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have.But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom,and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy,it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart.I know how much I've missed these past two years,and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man,I thought life was all about me—about how I'd make my way in the world,become successful,and get the things I want.But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief2 and those smiles that never failed to fill my heart and light up my day.And suddenly,all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore.I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours.And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment3 in yours.In the end,girls,that's why I ran for President：because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them,inspire them,and instill4 in them a sense of wonder about the world around them.I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren’t rich.And I want them to get good jobs：jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care,jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.
I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer.And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region,gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do,I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason,that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully,and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe.And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age,reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.It's a charge we pass on to our children,coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.
I hope both of you will take up that work,righting the wrongs5 that you see and working to give others the chances you've had.
Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation.But because you have an obligation to yourself.Because it is only when you hitch6 your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach,and to grow into compassionate,committed women who will help build that world.And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have.That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you.I love you more than you can ever know.And I am grateful every day for your patience,poise,grace,and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.Love，Dad
亲爱的马莉亚和萨莎：
我知道这两年来你们俩随我一路竞选都有过不少开心的时刻，去野餐、去游行、参加州博览会，还吃了好多种我和你妈妈本不该让你们吃的垃圾食品。然而，我也知道，对你们俩和妈妈来讲，那些日子有时候并不是那么惬意。新来的小狗虽然让你们很是兴奋，但仍无法弥补我们不在一起的所有时光。我知道这两年我错过的东西太多了，现在，我要再向你们说一说为什么我会决定带领我们一家踏上这趟旅程。
当我还年轻的时候，我认为生活的一切就该绕着我转：我如何在这个世界上得心应手，成功立业，得到我想要的东西。后来，你们俩出现在了我的世界中，带来的一个个好奇的问题以及你们的淘气和微笑，总能填充我的心灵，照亮我的每一天。突然之间，我为自己所谱写的伟大计划便显得不再那么重要了。我很快就发现，我在你们生命中看到的快乐，就是我自己生命中最大的快乐。而我也同时体会到，如果我不能够确保你们俩此生可以拥有追求幸福和自我实现的一切机会，那么我自己的生命也就没有多大价值了。总而言之，我的女儿们，这就是我要竞选总统的原因：我想让你们俩和这个国家的每一个孩子，都能拥有我想要给你们的东西。
我想让所有的孩子都可以去能够发掘他们潜能的学校就读，这些学校能挑战他们的能力，激励他们，并灌输给他们对所处的这个世界的好奇心。我想要他们有上大学的机会，哪怕他们的父母并不富有。而且我想要他们能找到好的工作：薪酬高还附带健康保险金的工作，让他们有时间来陪孩子，并且退休时仍具有尊严的工作。
我希望大家向发现的极限挑战，让你们在有生之年能够看见优化了我们生活、使我们的星球更干净、更安全的新科技和新发明。我也希望大家向自己的人际界限挑战，跨越那些让我们看不到对方长处的种族、地域、性别和宗教的樊篱。
有时候，为了保卫我们的国家，我们不得不把一些青年男女派到战场或是其他危险的地方去，然而当我们这么做的时候，我要确保师出有名，我们竭尽全力以和平方式化解与他人的争执，也想尽了一切办法来保障男女战士的安全。我想让每个孩子都明白，这些勇敢无畏的美国人在战场上捍卫的福祉不是平白得到的：在享有作为这个国家公民的伟大特权之际，大任重责也随之而来。
这正是我和你们现在一般大时，你们外婆想要教给我的功课，她把独立宣言的开头几行读给我听，告诉我有一些男女志士为了争取平等，挺身而出游行抗议。因为他们相信，两个世纪以前，白纸黑字记录下来的这些句子，不应当只是空话。在她的帮助下，我了解到，美国之所以伟大，不是因为它完美，而是因为我们可以一直不断努力让它变得更美好，而让它更美好的这一未竟事业，就落在我们每个人的身上。这是我们交予下一代孩子们的责任，新一代的出现，就会使美国更接近我们的理想。
我希望你们俩都愿接下这个任务，看到不对的事情要想办法改正，努力去帮助别人，让他们也能获得你们有过的机会。这并不是只因为国家给了我们一家这么多，你们才应当有所回馈，虽然你们的确有这个义务，而是因为你们对自己也负有义务。因为，唯有在把你的马车套在更强大的东西上时，你才会意识到自己真正的潜能有多大。
这些都是我想要让你们得到的东西：在一个梦想不受限制、凡事都能成就的世界中成长，长成拥有慈悲之心、坚持理想、能够帮忙打造这样一个世界的女性。我想要每个孩子都拥有和你们一样的机会，去学习、梦想、成长、发展。这就是我带领我们一家展开这次大冒险的原因。
我深以你俩为荣，你们永远不会明白我有多爱你们。在我们准备一同在白宫开始新生活之际，我没有一天不为你们的忍耐、沉稳、明理和幽默而心存感激。爱你们的老爸
生词空间 New Words
1.parade n.游行，检阅
2.mischief n.恶作剧，胡闹；淘气；
3.fulfillment n.履行，实现，完成
4.instill v.逐渐灌输
5.wrong n.错误；冤屈
6.hitch v.系住，套住
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region,gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
我也希望大家向自己的人际界限挑战，跨越那些让我们看不到对方长处的种族、地域、性别和宗教的藩篱。
2）She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better.
在她的帮助下，我了解到，美国之所以伟大，不是因为它完美，而是因为我们可以一直不断努力让它变得更美好。
3）Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
因为，唯有在把你的马车套在更强大的东西上时，你才会意识到自己真正的潜能有多大。
心灵感悟：
Ask not what your country can do for you；ask what you can do for your country.——（America）John F.Kennedy
不要问你的祖国能为你做什么；要问你能为你的祖国做什么。——（美国）约翰·F.肯尼迪
背景知识 Background Knowledge
贝拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马二世，美国第44任总统，出生于美国夏威夷州火奴鲁鲁，祖籍肯尼亚（The Republic of Kenya）。奥巴马是首位同时拥有黑、白血统，并且童年在亚洲成长的美国总统，与不同地方与不同文化背景的人共同生活过。美国现任总统奥巴马在即将上任之际，写了封感性十足的公开信给他两个尚未成年的女儿，为这两年来自己多半时间都没能陪在她们身边表达了歉意，并为自己为何选择迈向白宫之路做了一番解释。此封信发表在美国大观杂志上。
What Motherhood Really Means 母性的真谛
Anonymous本章内容导读
对她来说，自己现在如此重要的生命，将随着孩子的降生而变得不那么宝贵。
为了救自己的孩子，她时刻都愿意献出自己的生命。
但她也开始希望多活一些年头，当然不是为了实现自己的梦想，而是看着她的孩子们实现自己的梦想。
Time is running out for my friend.While we are sitting at lunch,she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of“starting a family”.What she means is that her biological clock has begun its countdown and she is being forced to consider the prospect of motherhood.
“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 neutral1.“I know，”she says.“No more sleeping on Saturdays,no more spontaneous2 vacations……”
But that is not what I mean at all.I try to decide what to tell her.I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes：that the physical wounds of childbearing heal,but that becoming a mother will leave an emotional wound so raw that she will be vulnerable3 forever.
I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking，“What if4 that had been my child?”That every plane crash,every fire,will haunt5 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 manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated6 she is,becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.That an urgent call of“Mommy”will cause her to drop her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.
I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career,she will be professionally derailed7 by motherhood.She might arrange for childcare,but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think about 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 everyday's decisions will no longer be routine.That a 5-year-old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women’s at a restaurant will become a major dilemma8.The issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the rest room.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 pounds of pregnancy,but she will never feel the same about herself.That her life,now so important,will be of less value to her once she has a child.That 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 child accomplish theirs.
I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration9 of seeing your child learn to hit a baseball.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.
My friend's quizzical 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 for me and all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this holiest of callings.
My friend's relationship with her husband will change,but not in the way she thinks.I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his son or daughter.I think she should know that she will fall in love with her husband again for reasons she now finds very unromantic.
时光飞逝，朋友已经老大不小了。我们坐在一起吃午饭的时候，她漫不经心地提到她和她的丈夫正考虑要个小孩。她这样说，自己的年龄确实不小了，所以她不得不考虑把当妈妈的事提上日程了。“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？”“这将改变你的生活。”我小心翼翼地说道，尽量保持客观，不让语气中带上个人色彩。“这我知道，”她答道，“周末再也睡不成懒觉，再也不能随心所欲地休假了……”
但我要说的绝非这些。我注视着朋友，试图整理一下自己的思路。我想让她知道那些她永远不可能在分娩课上学到的东西。我想让她知道：生孩子时留下的有形伤疤可以愈合，但是做母亲所带来的情感伤痕却会永远如新，从此之后，她会变得十分脆弱。
我想告诫她，做了母亲之后，每当她看报纸时就会情不自禁地产生联想：“如果这件事情发生在我孩子的身上将会怎样啊？”每一次飞机失事、每一场住宅引发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，她就会思索：世界上还有什么比眼睁睁地看着自己的孩子死去更悲惨的事情呢？我打量着她精修细剪的指甲和时尚前卫的套装，心里想到，不管她现在打扮得多么考究，而一旦做了母亲以后，她就会变得像护崽的熊妈妈那样原始且不修边幅。
我觉得，我应当提醒她，无论她在自己的职业上投入多少年，可一旦她成为母亲，工作就会脱离正常的轨道。当然她可以安排别人帮忙照料孩子，但说不准有一天，她去参加一个重要的商务会议时，会突然之间想起她的宝宝身上散发出的乳香。此时，她不得不竭力克制自己，才不至于为了看看她的孩子一切安然无恙而中途跑回家去。
我想让我的朋友知道，有了孩子以后，她将再也不能按照惯例做出决策。在餐厅里，她那5岁的小男孩想去男厕，而不愿进女厕将成为摆在她面前的一大难题。她将会进行一番权衡：是尊重孩子的独立和性别意识呢，还是答应让他进男厕，却要冒着被厕所里面潜在的儿童性骚扰者侵害的危险？但是，不管在办公室她是如何的果断，作为母亲，她仍会经常后悔自己当时的决定。
注视着我的这位漂亮的朋友，我想让她清楚地知道，她最终将摆脱掉怀孕时所增长的重量，但是她对自己的感觉却绝不会跟以前一样了。对她来说，自己现在如此重要的生命，将随着孩子的降生而变得不那么宝贵。为了救自己的孩子，她时刻都愿意献出自己的生命。但她也开始希望多活一些年头，当然不是为了实现自己的梦想，而是看着她的孩子们实现自己的梦想。
我想给我的朋友形容一下看到自己的孩子学会击棒球时的兴奋之情。我想让她留意观察她的小宝宝在第一次触摸狗的绒毛时的捧腹大笑。我希望她能品尝到喜悦，尽管它们真实的令人心痛。
我朋友惊奇的表情让我意识到，自己此刻已是热泪盈眶。“你永远不会后悔做这个决定的，”我最后说道。然后，我紧紧地握着朋友的手，为她，为我自己，也为所有那些为响应母亲这个最神圣职业的召唤而艰难跋涉的平凡的女性们献上了自己的祈祷。
我朋友与她丈夫的关系会有所改变，但不是她之前想象的那样。我希望她能够理解，如果他的丈夫总是能格外小心地给宝宝喂奶粉或是毫不犹豫地与他的儿子或女儿一块玩耍，她会有多么地爱他。我想我应该告诉她，她会因为那些在现在看来绝无浪漫可言的理由而再一次爱上她的丈夫。
生词与短语 New Words and Expressions
1.neutral adj.中立的，不偏不倚的
2.spontaneous adj.自发的
3.vulnerable adj.易受伤的，脆弱的
4.What if：如果……将会怎么样
5.haunt v.使苦恼；常出没于
6.sophisticated adj.高雅的，精致的
7.derail v.使脱离轨道
8.dilemma n.（进退两难的）窘境，困境
9.exhilaration n.兴奋，喜悦
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）……that the physical wounds of childbearing heal,but that becoming a mother will leave an emotional wound so raw that she will be vulnerable forever.
生孩子时留下的的有形伤疤可以愈合，但是做母亲所带来的情感伤痕却会永远如新，从此之后，她会变得十分脆弱。
2）……no matter how sophisticated she is,becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.
不管她现在打扮得多么考究，而一旦做了母亲以后，她就会变得像护崽的熊妈妈那样原始且不修边幅。
心灵感悟：
其实，每位母亲都曾是位美丽的天使，可一旦有了孩子之后，就将自己的羽翼锁进了箱子里永不开启。
Don't Kiss Me Goodbye 不要再和我吻别了
Anonymous本章内容导读
朋友们，现在我愿意付出任何代价，只要能换回父亲的一个吻……
让我感受到他那饱经风霜的沧桑的脸……
再闻闻他身上大海的味道……重温他拥抱着我的感觉。
我真希望那时的自己真的长大了，因为，如果我真的长大懂事了，就绝不会对父亲说：我已长大了，不要再和我吻别了。
The Board Meeting had come to an end.Bob started to stand up and jostled1 the table,spilling his coffee over his notes.“How embarrassing,I am getting so clumsy in my old age.”Everyone had a good laugh and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments.It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others.Someone said，“Come on,Frank,Tell us your most embarrassing moment.”
Frank laughed and began to tell us his childhood.“I grew up in San Pedro.My Dad was a fisherman and he loved the sea.He had his own boat,but it was hard making a living on the sea.He worked hard and would stay out2 until he caught enough to feed the family.Not just enough for our family,but also for his Mom Dad and the other kids that were still at home.”He looked at us and said，“I wish you could have met my Dad.He was a big man and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch.When you got close to him,he smelled like the ocean.He would wear his old canvas3，foul4-weather coat and his bibbed overalls.His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow.No matter how much my Mother washed them,they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”Frank’s voice dropped a bit.
“When the weather was bad he would drive me to school.He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business.That truck was older than he was.It would wheeze5 and rattle6 down the road.You could hear it coming for blocks.As he would drive toward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear.Half the time,he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch7 a cloud of smoke.He would pull right up in front and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching.Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy.It was so embarrassing for me.Here,I was twelve years old and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye！”
He paused and then went on，I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss.When we got to the school and came to a stop,he had his usual big smile.He started to lean toward me,but I put my hand up and said，'No,Dad.' It was the first time I had ever talked to him in that way,and he had this surprised look on his face.I said，'Dad,I'm too old for a goodbye kiss.I'm too old for any kind of kiss.'
My Dad looked at me for the longest time and his eyes started to tear up.I had never seen him cry.He turned and looked out the windshield.'You're right，' he said.'You are a big boy……a man.I won't kiss you anymore.'
Frank got a funny look on his face and the tears began to well up in his eyes,as he spoke.“It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back.It was a day when most of the fleet8 stayed in,but not Dad.He had a big family to feed.They found his boat adrift9 with its nets half in and half out.He must have gotten into a gale and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks.Frank spoke again.“Guys,you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek……to feel his rough old face……to smell the ocean on him……to feel his arm around my neck.I wish I had been a man then.If I had been a man,I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.”
董事会的会议结束了。鲍勃要起身时，不小心撞到了桌子，把杯中的咖啡洒在了会议记录本上。“这是多么让人尴尬的事情啊！人老了之后就会变得笨拙起来。”听他这样说，在座的所有人都笑了。不一会儿，大家都开始讲起那些令自己最尴尬的事。轮到弗兰克了，他一直安静地坐在那里听别人讲。这时，有人说道：“快点儿啊，弗兰克，给我们讲讲你最尴尬的时刻吧！”
弗兰克笑了笑，开始跟我们讲起他的童年：“我在圣萨尔瓦多长大，父亲是一个渔民，他深深爱着大海。虽说他有艘自己的渔船，可是要想以捕鱼来维持生计仍然十分艰难。父亲总是很卖力地工作，每次他都会在外面捕够足以养活一家人的鱼之后才会回来。事实上他要养活的不仅仅是我们自己的这个小家，还有爷爷奶奶以及家中的其他兄弟姐妹们。”说到这儿，弗兰克停顿了一下，看了看我们，接着说道：“真希望你们能见见我父亲。他是一个身材高大而又强壮的人，能够拥有这样的体魄是因为他每天都要拉渔网、与大海斗争。当你靠近他的时候，就会闻到大海的味道。他总是穿着那身破旧不堪的帆布衣服，散发着一股腥味。老是把雨帽拉到眉毛以下。只要是父亲穿过的衣服，不管母亲洗上多少遍，它们还是会有一种混合着大海和鱼腥的味道。”说到这儿，弗兰克的声音变得有些低沉了。“天气不好的时候，他会亲自开车送我去学校。他有一辆用来装载鱼的旧卡车，它的车龄比父亲年龄都要大。一开起来，它就喀哒喀哒地响，几个街区以外都能够听到它的声音。每当他开着这辆旧卡车送我上学时，我就会蜷缩在座位里，真希望自己能立即消失不见。一到学校，他总是来个急刹车，老卡车就会喷出一团浓浓的烟雾。这时，父亲才会停下来，一时间好像所有的人都围过来看热闹了。接着，他便会俯下身子在我的脸颊上用力亲吻一下，告诉我一定要做个乖孩子，那时候，我感觉真是尴尬极了。毕竟当时我已经十二岁了，可是爸爸还是用这样的方式与我道别。”
弗兰克停了一下，又继续说道：“我仍清楚地记得那一天，我终于鼓足勇气要对父亲说，我已经长大了，不要再以亲吻的方式与我道别了。当我们到达学校时，他停下了车，脸上带着一贯的微笑。他正要俯下身来，可我却伸出手阻止了他，并且说道：‘不要啦，爸爸，我已经长大了，不要再和我吻别了。’那是我第一次用这种口气跟父亲说话，我看得出，他很吃惊。我说：‘爸爸，我真的已经不是小孩子了，不要再和我吻别了。也不要再亲吻我了。’父亲久久地凝视着我，眼中慢慢溢出了泪水，我从未见过父亲哭。他转过头向车窗外望去。‘你说得对，’他说道，‘你现在是个大男孩儿了……是个男子汉了。我以后不会再亲你了’。”
此刻，弗兰克脸上显现出一种奇怪的表情，他说这些话的时候，眼中泪如泉涌：“不久以后，我父亲再次出海打渔，可是，这一次他却再也没有回来。那天，船队里，除了父亲的船，几乎没有船只出海。因为他还有一大家子的人要养活。后来，人们在海上发现了父亲的船，一张渔网一半搭在船上，另一半漂浮在海面上。他一定是遇到了大风，而他想尽力保住渔网和鱼钩。”
我看了看弗兰克，他是泪流满面。
弗兰克接着说道：“朋友们，现在我愿意付出任何代价，只要能换回父亲的一个吻……让我感受到他那饱经风霜的沧桑的脸……再闻闻他身上大海的味道……重温他拥抱着我的感觉。我真希望那时的自己真的长大了，因为，如果我真的长大懂事了，就决不会对父亲说：我已长大了，不要再和我吻别了。”
生词与短语 New Words and Expressions
1.jostle v.推撞，挤，争夺
2.stay out：不在家，外出，呆在户外，坚持到……结束
3.canvas n.帆布（本文指帆布衣服）
4.foul adj.难闻的
5.wheeze v.喘息；呼哧呼哧地响
6.rattle v.飞奔，碰响
7.belch v.冒火，冒烟；猛烈爆发，喷出
8.fleet n.舰队，船队
9.adrift adj.漂浮着的
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）As he would drive toward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear.
每当他开着这辆旧卡车送我上学时，我就会蜷缩在座位里，真希望自己能立即消失不见。
2）Half the time,he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch a cloud of smoke.
一到学校，他总是来个急刹车，老卡车就会喷出一团浓浓的烟雾。
心灵感悟：
人生的旅途上，每当我们走过一段路再回过头来看的时候，总有一些往事深藏在心底，且不堪回首。我们不禁会为自己的年少无知，不谙事理感到羞愧和不安。然而，等到我们明白这一切，并开始怀念那份真挚的情意时，却再也无法挽回了。“子不嫌母丑”，不要讨厌更不要嫌弃自己的父母，用心体会他们最深的爱吧。
Mom Who Likes to Wrote Family Letters 爱写家书的母亲
Anonymous本章内容导读
每一个人来到这个世界上，都带着一个特定的目的。
信可以使人与人之间紧紧地联系在一起，这是其他任何东西都无法取代的。它能让我们哭，可以使我们笑。一封充满爱的信比任何爱抚都令人感到亲切和温暖，因为它让世界变小……
To this day I remember my mum's letters.It all started in December 1941.Every night she sat at the big table and wrote to my brother Johnny,who had been drafted1 that summer.We had not heard from him since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
I didn't understand why my mum kept writing Johnny when he never wrote back.
“Wait and see—we'll get a letter from him one day，”she claimed.Mum said that there was a direct link from the brain to the written word that was just as strong as the light God has granted2 us.She trusted that this light would find Johnny.
I didn't know if she said that to calm herself,dad or all of us down.But I did know that it helped us stick together,and one day a letter really did arrive.Johnny was alive on an island in the Pacific.
I had always been amused by the fact that mum signed her letters，“Cecilia Capuzzi”，and I teased her about that.“Why don't you just write'Mum'?”I said.
I hadn't been aware that she always thought of herself as Cecilia Capuzzi.Not as Mum.I began seeing her in a new light,this small delicate woman,who even in high-heeled shoes was barely one and a half meters tall.
She never wore make-up3 or jewelry except for a wedding ring of gold.Her hair was fine,sleek4 and black and always put up in a knot in the neck.She wouldn’t hear of getting a haircut or a perm.Her small silver-rimmed pince-nez only left her nose when she went to bed.
Whenever mum had finished a letter,she gave it to dad for him to post it.Then she put the water on to boil,and we sat down at the table and talked about the good old days when our Italian-American family had been a family of ten：mum,dad and eight children—five boys and three girls.It was hard to understand that they had all moved away from home to work,enroll in the army,or get married.All except me.
Around next spring mum had got two more sons to write to.Every evening she wrote three different letters which she gave to me and dad afterwards so we could add our greetings.
Little by little the rumour5 about mum's letters spread.One day a small woman knocked at our door.Her voice trembled as she asked：“Is it true you write letters?”
“I write to my sons.”
“And you can read too?”whispered the woman.
“Sure.”
“Read……please read them aloud to me.”
The letters were from the woman's son who was a soldier in Europe,a red-haired boy whom mum remembered having seen sitting with his brothers on the stairs in front of our house.Mum read the letters one by one and translated them from English to Italian.The woman’s eyes welled up with tears.“Now I have to write to him，”she said.But how was she going to do it.
“Make some coffee,Octavia，”mum yelled to me in the living room while she took the woman with her into the kitchen and seated her at the table.She took the fountain pen,ink and air mail notepaper and began to write.When she had finished,she read the letter aloud to the woman.
“How did you know that was exactly what I wanted to say?”
“I often sit and look at my boys' letters,just like you,without a clue about what to write.”
A few days later the woman returned with a friend,then another one and yet another one—they all had sons who fought in the war,and they all needed letters.Mum had become the correspondent in our part of town.Sometimes she would write letters all day long.
Mum always insisted that people signed their own letters and the small woman with the grey hair asked mum to teach her how to do it.“I so much want to be able to write my own name so that my son can see it.”Then mum held the woman's hand in hers and moved her hand over the paper again and again until she was able to do it without her help.
After that day,when mum had written a letter for the woman,she signed it herself and her face brightened up in a smile.
One day she came to us,and mum instantly knew what had happened.All hope had disappeared from her eyes.They stood hand in hand for a long time without saying a word.Then mum said：“We'd better go to church.There are certain things in life so great that we cannot comprehend6 them.”When mum came back home,she couldn't get the red-haired boy out of her mind.
After the war was over,mum put away the pen and paper.“It's over.”she said.But she was wrong.The women who had come to her for help in writing to their sons now came to her with letters from their relatives in Italy.They also came to ask her for her help in getting American citizenship.
On one occasion mum admitted that she had always had a secret dream of writing a novel.“Why don't you?”I asked.
“All people in this world are here with one particular purpose，”she said.“Apparently,mine is to write letters.”She tried to explain why it absorbed7 her so.
“A letter unites people like nothing else.It can make them cry,it can make them laugh.There is no caress more lovely and warm than a love letter,because it makes the world seem very small,both sender and receiver become like kings in their own kingdoms.My dear,a letter is life itself！”
Today all mum's letters are lost.But those who got them still talk about her and cherish the memory of her letters in their hearts.
至今我仍记得母亲写的那些信。事情要从1941年12月说起。母亲每天晚上都坐在厨房的大餐桌旁边，给我的哥哥约翰写信。哥哥是在那年夏天应征入伍的。自从日本袭击珍珠港以来，我们就再也没有听到过有关他的消息。
我不明白为什么母亲还要一直坚持着给约翰写信，因为他从来没有回过信。“等等看吧，总有一天，我们会收到他的回信的，”她如此断言道。母亲坚信，人的思想与文字有着息息相通的关联，这一联系如同上帝赐予我们人类的光芒那般强大。她相信这道光芒终有一天会找到约翰的。
我不知道她这样说是否只是在安慰自己、父亲还有我们这几个孩子。但我知道，因为这，我们一家人变得更为亲密了。终于有一天，我们盼来了约翰的回信。他还活着，就驻扎在太平洋的一个岛屿上。
母亲写信时，总是要这样署上名“塞西莉亚·卡普其”，每次我都要取笑她：“你为什么不直接写上‘母亲’呢？”
以前我都不曾意识到，她总是把自己当成塞西莉亚·卡普其，而不是母亲。我不禁开始以另一种眼光去审视自己的母亲，她是如此的瘦弱、矮小，即使穿上高跟鞋，也才刚刚一米五。
母亲从来不刻意打扮自己，除了那枚结婚时的金戒指之外，她基本不戴其他首饰。她有一头黑亮柔顺的头发，总是自然地盘在颈后。她从没想过要剪发或是烫卷发。她鼻梁上那副小小的银边眼镜只有在上床睡觉时才摘下来。
每当母亲写完一封信，她都会把信交给父亲，让他寄出去。接着，她就把水烧开，和我们一起坐在桌旁，追忆昔日那些美好的时光：那时我们这个意裔美国家庭人丁兴旺，共十口人，父母亲和我们八个兄弟姐妹——五男三女，快乐地生活在一起。他们都离开了家去工作，入伍参军，或是已结婚了，只剩下我自己留了下来，真是难以置信。
大约在第二年春天，母亲又开始给另外两个儿子写信。每天晚上，她都要先写好三封不同内容的信，然后给我和父亲，让我们在下面添上自己的问候。
慢慢地，妈妈写信的事就传开了。有一天，一个身材矮小的女人敲开我家的门。她的声音有些颤抖，问道：“您真的会写信吗？”“是的，我经常给我的儿子们写信。”“那您也可以读信吗？”那女人低声问。“当然可以。”
那女人打开她的包，掏出一摞航空信件。“请，请您大声读给我听吧。”
这些信都是女人的儿子寄来的，他是名士兵，现在欧洲。母亲还依稀记得他的样子：一个红头发的男孩子，以前常和他的兄弟们坐在我们家门口的楼梯上。母亲将信从英语译成了意大利语，一封接一封地读了出来。听完，那女人的眼睛里盈满了泪水。“现在我得给他回信，”她说。但是她该如何做呢？“奥塔维娅，去冲杯咖啡来。”妈妈在客厅里大声叫我，然后她就把那个女人带到厨房的桌旁坐下。她拿出钢笔，墨水和航空信笺，开始写。她写完后又大声地读给她听。“这些正是我想要说的，您是怎么知道的呢？”“我常常坐下来看我儿子的信，就像你一样，一点儿也不知道该写些什么。”
几天后，女人带来一个朋友，然后一个又一个，络绎不绝的朋友被带来……她们的儿子都在战场上奋力作战，都需要写信。妈妈已成为我们城镇的专职信使。有时，她会一整天都在写信。
母亲始终坚持让大家在各自的信件上签下自己的名字。一位花白头发的女人要母亲来教她如何签名。“我多希望能亲手写下自己的名字，让儿子可以看到我的笔迹。”于是，母亲手把手地教她在纸上写，一遍又一遍，直到她可以自己签名了。
第二天，母亲帮那个女人写好信后，就让她亲手签上名字，女人脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。
有一天她来到我们家，眼里已失去了往日的光芒，母亲立即明白发生了什么事。两个人握着手，站了很久，都没有说话。然后，母亲说：“我们还是去教堂吧。生活中总有很多深奥的事情，那是我们无法解释的。”回家后，母亲仍忘不掉那个红头发的小男孩。
战争结束以后，妈妈收起了笔和纸。“一切都结束了。”她说。但是她错了。让母亲帮忙给她们儿子写信的那些女人又来了，带着是意大利亲人的来信。她们还请母亲帮忙给自己的亲属申请美国国籍。
有一次，母亲坦言，她一直有个写本小说的秘密梦想。“那你为什么不开始写呢？”我问道。“每一个人来到这个世界上，都带着一个特定的目的，”她接着说，“显然，我的目的就是写信。”母亲试图解释下她为什么会如此沉迷于写信。“信可以使人与人之间紧紧地联系在一起，这是其他任何东西都无法取代的。它能让我们哭，可以使我们笑。一封充满爱的信比任何爱抚都令人感到亲切和温暖，因为它让世界变小，让写信人和收信人都成为自己世界的国王。亲爱的，信件就是生活本身！”
今天，虽然母亲所有的信件都已丢失了。但那些收到信的人仍然在谈论着她，并将这些与信有关的记忆珍藏在他们心底。
生词空间 New Words
1.draft v.征兵，征募
2.grant v.授予，同意，准予
3.make-up n.化妆品
4.sleek adj.光泽的
5.rumour n.传闻，谣言
6.comprehend v.理解，领会
7.absorb v.吸引……的注意
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）Mum said that there was a direct link from the brain to the written word that was just as strong as the light God has granted us.
母亲坚信，人的思想与文字有着息息相通的关联，这一联系如同上帝赐予我们人类的光芒那般强大。
2）After that day,when mum had written a letter for the woman,she signed it herself,and her face brightened up in a smile.
第二天，母亲帮那个女人写好信后，就让她亲手签上名字，女人脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。
心灵感悟：
虽然是传统的情感表达方式，但写信、读信都能带给人快乐与遐想。多年以后，我们仍可以将其珍藏并回味当时的心境。有关这些信的记忆会永远存于心底。
The Heart Song 心灵之歌
Anonymous本章内容导读
小女孩慢慢长大后，这个男人仍然经常拥抱她，并对她说：“我爱你，小女孩！”
此时，小女孩就会把小嘴撅起来，说：“我已经不再是小女孩了。”
听完，男人笑了，说：“可在我的眼里，你一直都是我的小女孩。”
Once upon a time,there was a great man who married the woman of his dreams.With their love,they created a little girl.She was a bright and cheerful little girl and the great man loved her very much.
When she was very little,he would pick her up,hum a tune and dance with her around the room,and he would tell her，“I love you,little girl.”
When the little girl was growing up,the great man would hug her and tell her：“I love you,little girl.”The little girl would pout1 and say：“I'm not a little girl anymore.”Then the man would laugh and say：“But to me,you'll always be my little girl.”
The little girl who was not little anymore left her home and went into the world.As she learned more about herself,she learned more about the man.She saw that he was truly great and strong,for now she recognized his strengths.One of his strengths was his ability to express his love to his family.It didn't matter where she went in the world,the man would call her and say，“I love you,little girl.”
The day came when the little girl who was not little anymore received a phone call.The great man was damaged.He had a stroke2.He was aphasic3，they explained to the girl.He couldn't talk anymore and they weren't sure that he could understand the words spoken to him.He could no longer smile,laugh,walk,hug,dance or tell the little girl who was not little anymore that he loved her.
And so she went to the side of the great man.When she walked into the room and saw him,he looked small and not strong at all.He looked at her and tried to speak,but he could not.
The little girl did the only thing she could do.She climbed up on the bed next to the great man.Tears ran from both of their eyes and she drew her arms around the useless shoulders of her father.
Her head on his chest,she thought of many things.She remembered the wonderful times together and how she had always felt being protected and cherished by the great man.She felt grief for the loss she was to endure4，the words of love that had comforted her.
And then she heard from within the man,the beat of his heart.The heart where the music and the words had always lived.The heart beat on,steadily unconcerned about the damage to the rest of the body,and while she rested there,the magic happened.She heard what she needed to hear.
His heart beat out the words that his mouth could no longer say……
I love you
I love you
I love you
Little girl
Little girl
Little girl
And she was comforted.
从前有一个了不起的男人，娶到了他梦寐以求的姑娘为妻。后来他们有了一个小女孩，那是他们爱情的结晶。小姑娘聪明活泼，男人很爱她。
女孩很小的时候，男人就抱着她，哼着小曲，在房子里翩翩起舞，并告诉她说“我爱你，小女孩。”
小女孩慢慢长大后，这个男人仍然经常拥抱她，并对她说：“我爱你，小女孩！”此时，小女孩就会把小嘴撅起来，说：“我已经不再是小女孩了。”听完，男人笑了，说：“可在我的眼里，你一直都是我的小女孩。”
后来，小女孩长大了，离开家，步入了社会。渐渐地，她对自己有了进一步的了解，她也更理解她的爸爸了。她觉得爸爸的确是一个伟大坚强的人，因为现在她看到了他的力量。其中一点就是，他善于向家人表达自己的爱。无论她走到哪里，男人都会打电话给她，并对她说：“我爱你，小女孩。”
有一天，“不再是小女孩的”她接到了一个电话，电话里说她的爸爸得了中风，患了失语症。他再也不能讲话了。他们不知道他是否能够听懂别人对他说的话。他再也不能微笑、大笑、行走、拥抱、跳舞，再也不能对这个“不再是小女孩的”女儿说他爱她了。
于是，她回到了他的身边。当她走进房间，看到爸爸的时候，她顿时觉得他是那么的瘦小而虚弱。他看着她，想要说什么却说不出来。
小女孩做了她唯一可以做的事情。她爬上床，紧挨着爸爸躺下。泪水从他们的眼中夺眶而出，她伸出双臂拥住了父亲虚弱的臂膀。
她把头靠在他的胸口上，许多往事涌上了心头。她想起了和爸爸一块度过的美好时光，爸爸每时每刻都在悉心呵护与宠爱着她。再也听不到那些曾给她慰藉的爱的话语了，她该如何承受这种痛楚，她的心都碎了。
然而，她却听到了爸爸的心跳声——发自内心深处的声音。那颗曾饱藏着音乐和爱的语言的心跳动的声音。那颗心仍有节奏地跳动着，好像身体的其它病痛对它没有任何影响。她把头靠近它，奇迹出现了。她听到了她渴望听到的声音。
他的心跳唱出了他无法从口中讲出的话……
我爱你
我爱你
我爱你
小女孩
小女孩
小女孩
她的心得到了慰藉。
生词空间 New Words
1.pout v.撅着嘴；板脸，不高兴
2.stroke n.中风；划桨；击；笔划；抚摸
3.aphasic adj.得了失语症的
4.endure v.忍受，忍耐
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）She felt grief for the loss she was to endure,the words of love that had comforted her.
再也听不到那些曾给她慰藉的爱的话语了，她该如何承受这种痛楚，她的心都碎了。
2）And then she heard from within the man,the beat of his heart.The heart where the music and the words had always lived.
然而，她却听到了爸爸的心跳声——发自内心深处的声音。那颗曾饱藏着音乐和爱的语言的心跳动的声音。
试读结束[说明：试读内容隐藏了图片]