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美国故事 SENEWS-2007-0428-Feature

时间:2007-07-12 01:16:20

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(单词翻译)

Now the Special English program American Stories. Our story today is called "To Those Who Wait". It was written by E. M. Here is Larry West with our story.

"I have got my job back." Jeff Miller1 said to himself over and over again that morning. He had been out of work four years. Times were difficult in 1933. People called it "The great depression2". A lot of men and women had lost their jobs. But now, Jeff Miller had his job back! The first thing he wanted to do was go to the restaurant he liked best and eat a big bowl of oyster4 soup. Then he would call his wife Martha and tell her the news. After he lost his job, they had to leave their apartment in New York. She went back to Ohio to live with her sister. He stayed in the city to look for work. Yesterday, Mr. Gormanly called him, he offered Jeff his old job again. In the office that morning, Mr. Gormanly shook hands with him. He told him he could use Ted3 Philips' office. He said Ted would not be coming back to work. He had killed himself. Then Mr. Gormanly pulled some money out of his pocket, "Here," he said, giving it to Jeff, "you probably need a few things."

At 12 o'clock, Jeff Miller left his office to go to lunch. He could not stop telling himself how wonderful that oyster soup would taste. At the corner, he stopped and waited for the traffic light to change. Suddenly he heard a low voice close beside him. A man standing5 next to him was talking to himself as he watched the cars speed by. The stranger was wearing a blue coat that looked costly6, but it was very old and worn-out. He wore no hat even though the day was cold. His face seemed tired. Jeff Miller thought he recognized the tired face and the low voice. As he looked hard at the man he realized he had seen men like this one many times during the last four years. They stood on street corners and talked to themselves. They had gone insane7 because of the depression. The traffic light changed and Jeff hurried across the street. He felt a little sick to his stomach, yet he held his head high. "Well," he thought, "those days are over for me. I have my job back." Yes, the last four years had been like a bad dream. But they were over now, he had his job back, and it was not his depression anymore.

Jeff Miller walked down, trying to recapture his good feelings. As he near the restaurant he walked more slowly, he could feel a knot8 in his stomach caused by pity and fear. He did not want oyster soup anymore. He would not be able to eat for hours. The Great Depression had destroyed that man on the corner and thousands liked him. They did not care that the depression was almost over. It was not over for them. It would never be over for them. "Hey, look," Jeff told himself, "the depression had been a time with trouble and loss9 for everybody. First a man lost his job and his money; then he lost his home, and maybe even his family. Finally, he lost his self-respect and courage. But at least I kept enough pride to hide my fear," Jeff said to himself, "and yet, some people like the man in the old blue coat had lost even that. Their fear was naked10 for all the world to see." Jeff shook a little, yes, he had suffered. But no one had ever pitied him, no one had said, "Poor Jeff, the depression really destroyed him." He had never looked for food in waste cans; he had never bent11 down to pick up someone else's half-smoked cigarette on the street. He was thankful for that.

Suddenly he remembered he had not called Martha. He had planned to do it after he ate the oyster soup. He had wanted to talk to her with the rich spicy12 taste still in his mouth. Over the last four years, he had dreamed of the day he would call his wife with the good news. He would pick up the telephone and say, "Hello, Martha, come home! I have got my job back!" He had always believed those words would wash away his shame and fear. He had thought they would make him forget the depression.

Jeff turned and headed back to his office. "Come on," he said to himself, "stop thinking like this. You should feel happy." He walked into his building and got on the elevator. "48 floor!" He said, louder than necessary. A young man stood next to the elevator operator13. He was carrying a bag in one hand; in the other hand, he held a cold half-smoked cigarette. He rolled it between his fingers.

The lights in the elevator lit up the numbers of the floors as they passed. 28, 29... From the corner of his eye, Jeff watched the young man with the bag. He saw him tried to drop the cold cigarette into his coat pocket. But he missed, the cigarette fell. At the same moment, the elevator reached the young man's floor. The doors slid open. The young man stepped out and the doors closed behind him. The elevator began climbing again. 38, 39, 40... Jeff looked at the cigarette which had rolled to one side of the elevator car. He moved toward14 it. 43, 44... the knot in his stomach began to ease15. He felt a little beam16 of excitement go through him. "Yes," Jeff thought to himself, "it might take a while to forget these last four years." He could not expect to wash away all those memories in one morning. In a week or two, it would all be gone from his mind. The depression would be like a bad dream he would forget in time. He and Martha would buy new furniture; they would go to restaurants again and take holiday trips. He continued to look at the cigarette. 46, 47... as the elevator came to a stop at the 48th floor, he suddenly bent down and picked up the half-smoked cigarette. Then he turned his head quickly to the elevator operator. The man was looking at him hard. Jeff felt as if the bottom of his stomach had fallen out. "Here is your floor, Mister," the operator said. Jeff stood up slowly. His face felt hot with shame. His hand close tightly17 around the cigarette, crushing18 it. He wanted to tell the operator that he never did that sort of thing. He wanted the man to know he did not need to smoke cigarette someone else had thrown away. After all, he had his job back. As the elevator doors opened, Jeff felt as if he were in another country. In this strange land, cold and hungry men in old blue coats talked to themselves. In this land of the dead, having a job meant nothing. He suddenly realized that sometime19 during the last four years, he had learned20 to live without oyster soup; he had learned to live without joy and without pride. He had learned to pick up used cigarettes. Jeff felt the elevator operator's eyes on him. He looked into the man's face, "Funny, isn't it?" Jeff said, laughing a little, "I just got my job back today after four years!" The elevator operator smiled, "I guess you must be feeling pretty good," he said. "Yes, I am," Jeff said, he opened his hand and looked at the crushed21 cigarette, he did not feel ashamed22 anymore. He realized he was not in the land of dead men. He had been there for four years. But he was not there now. A lot of people had been to that land, and many of them have found their way back. He knew he would never be alone again. Jeff touched the operator's shoulder as he stepped out of the elevator car. "I'll be seeing you," he said. The elevator doors closed behind him and he opened the freshly painted door of his office. "I have got my job back!" Jeff Miller said to himself.

You have just heard the American story called "To Those Who Wait". It was written by E. M. Your storyteller was Larry West. "To Those Who Wait" was published by Charles Scribner's Sons. It was adapted for Special English by Donald Sanctas by permission of Harold Ober Associates23 Incorporated24. This story is copyrighted25. All rights reserved26. For VOA Special English, this is Shep O'Neal.
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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 miller ZD6xf     
n.磨坊主
参考例句:
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
2 depression 7mFzB     
n.压抑,抑制,沮丧;萧条,衰退
参考例句:
  • During a depression money circulates slowly.在商业萧条时期,货币流通滞缓。
  • He suffers from acute depression.他患有严重的忧郁症。
3 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
4 oyster w44z6     
n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人
参考例句:
  • I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
  • I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
5 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
6 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
7 insane nbVzG     
adj.蠢极的,荒唐的,精神错乱的,疯狂的
参考例句:
  • Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
  • The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。
8 knot G9vzx     
n.结,难题,一小群;vi.打结;vt. 把...打成结,系牢,捆扎
参考例句:
  • He made a knot in the rope.他在绳子上打了个结。
  • The knot has come untied.扣儿开了。
9 loss s0vxZ     
n.损失,遗失,失败,输,浪费,错过,[军]伤亡,降低
参考例句:
  • His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
  • Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损,工厂关闭了。
10 naked uFUxP     
adj.裸露的;赤裸裸的,无遮蔽的
参考例句:
  • To the east of our school,there's a naked hillside.我们学校东边有片光秃秃的山坡。
  • The children stripped off their clothes and swam naked in the river.孩子们脱得光溜溜的在河里游泳。
11 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
12 spicy zhvzrC     
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的
参考例句:
  • The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
  • Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。
13 operator aItxO     
n.(机器、设备等的)操作员;电话接线员
参考例句:
  • He is a computer operator.他是个电脑操作员。
  • The telephone operator connected us.话务员给我们接通了电话。
14 toward on6we     
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
参考例句:
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
15 ease wruxN     
n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松
参考例句:
  • His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
  • You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。
16 beam 2Wlzv     
n.横梁;光束;vi.发光,发热
参考例句:
  • The load on this beam is more than it will bear.横梁上的负荷比它能承受的要大得多。
  • I could see the beam of his flashlight waving around in the dark.我可以看到他的手电筒光在黑暗中上下舞动。
17 tightly ZgbzD7     
adv.紧紧地,坚固地,牢固地
参考例句:
  • My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时,孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
  • The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起,我们几乎喘不过气来。
18 crushing crushing     
adj. 打破得支离破碎的, 使不能在站起来, 压倒的 v. 动词crush的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • a crushing defeat in the election 在选举中的惨败
  • The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity. 偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。
19 sometime CwGw2     
adv.将来某一时候;改天
参考例句:
  • He came sometime last month.上个月某个时候他曾经来过。
  • It will happen sometime and somewhere.有朝一日这总会在什么地方发生的。
20 learned m1oxn     
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
21 crushed 8v6zDH     
a.压碎的,倒碎的
参考例句:
  • The car was completely crushed under the truck. 小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。
  • The box was crushed when the car ran over it. 汽车辗过箱子时把它给压碎了。
22 ashamed jNeyS     
adj.感到惭愧,感到害臊,因为羞耻或勉强作某事
参考例句:
  • He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
  • You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。
23 associates c9d743967e9ae79002934de22a48c742     
接合物( associate的名词复数 ); 朋友; 非正式会员
参考例句:
  • The official associates were scattered like stars. 僚属星散。
  • John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。
24 incorporated dqQz8G     
a.结合的,并为一体的
参考例句:
  • Many of your suggestions have been incorporated in the plan. 你的很多建议已纳入计划中。
  • These conditions must be expressly incorporated into the contract of employment. 这些条件都必须明确地写进雇佣合同之中。
25 copyrighted 32701401a789dc816ef17a1195e74c82     
获得…的版权( copyright的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
  • Why is it common for students to download copyrighted music? 为什麽学生下载有版权的音乐如同家常便饭?
26 reserved NSczV     
adj.预订的;矜持的;储藏着的v.保留[储备]某物( reserve的过去式)
参考例句:
  • The star has a ski slope reserved exclusively for her. 这位明星有一个专门留给她的滑雪场地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is very reserved. He does not say much. 他是个拘谨的人,不爱多说话。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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