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Now, the VOA Special English program American Stories.

Today, we tell a story by Patricia Collinge. Collinge was an American writer and actor. She was famous for her work in plays, movies and television. In the following story, Collinge writes about an American husband and wife enjoying a visit to Rome. The husband also learned1 something about his wife. Here is Shirley Griffith with the story Ciao.

Soon after they left the shop on the Vatican Garden in Rome, Mrs. Angle2 opened the box and showed her husband the costly3 stone she had bought.

"I love them, I just love them!" She said. She dropped the stones back into the box as she and her husband began walking across the street. Halfway4 across, her husband pulled her out of the way of a passing automobile5.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked.

"I just thought of the words I said to the shop owner. I told him I loved him. I wanted to say I love the stones, but I used the wrong word. I should have said it pleases me. Do you think he understood?"

To Mr. Angle it was not important if the shop man understood or not. What was important was his own wish that she would stop trying to speak Italian when it wasn't necessary. On their last trip into the hills, her use of Italian had helped. But they were in Rome now. Almost everyone here talked English, or at least understood it.

They sat in front of the hotel and rested their tired feet. Mrs. Angle looked around at the flowers changing their color with the light of the setting6 sun.

''Bello, molto bello! (Beautiful,very beautiful)'', she said.

Mr. Angle breathed deeply7 and asked the waiter to bring them each a drink. ''Check, please!'' He shouted.

Mrs. Angle, still in sort of a dream at the beauty around them, said, ''You should have said 'Il conto'. In England, it's bill; la addition, in France; il conto, in Rome.''

''Check, please!'' Mr. Angle said again and almost at once it was in his hand. ''It's just as easy to say conto as check. Conto is what you say, not what I say.''

The elevator boy opened the door for them and she said, "Settimo piano, per favore.''(Seventh storey8, please.) And the boy answered, "Seventh floor, OK?'' And no one said another word.

Not until Mr. Angle opened the door of their room, he let his wife enter first, and then said, "Do you want to eat in the hotel or go out? ''

"Whatever you want to do. " His wife answered.

"Well, I would like to go back to the place that has the fountain9 and serves ravioli. ''

"There are many fountains10 in Rome", she said, "and there are places near them that serve ravioli. You see, you won't even say an Italian name, you could mean anywhere. No one would know where you meant. ''

"Well, you know, "He answered, "Do you want to go there?''

"Yes.'' She held one of her black dresses up to the light, and placed a pink flower on one shoulder of the dress. "Italian is so easy, conto, that's all you have to say.''

Mr. Angle took his shirt off and reached for a clean one. He looked at her: "What do you want me to do? Go around, telling shop owners that I love them? ''

"That is not fair, just because I made a mistake and told you. Now you think everything I say is wrong. ''

"No," he answered, "but I do not think it is always right like this ciao thing that you say. "

"What ciao thing? ''

"You say it all the time. Every time you see a child you rush up to it and say 'Ciao'. "

"Oh, you mean ciao, that's what I said ciao. I asked the waiter what it means11 and he told me it's something Italian people say to greet other Italians. I know it is, it's like Hi or Hello there. "

Mr. Angle shook his hand, "It's more than that. It's something Italian say to other Italians when they know them very well. But you say it to people you don't know. Only to children.But why to them? You do not rush up to strange children at home and say Hi to them. "

The telephone rang and Mrs. Engle answered, saying " Pronto (hello)''. The person on the other end thought she could speak Italian and began talking in Italian. The talk ended with both sides talking English.

"That's what I mean." he said, "It's making them believe you can talk Italian."

"I really think they know I can't speak too much Italian."

"Then, why do you do it?'' he asked.

Mrs. Angle touched the pink flower which she had placed on her dress. ''I like to communicate. I like to reach out my hand and my mind. When I talk to children, I do it for their mothers and fathers. They are so proud of their children. So even if I say the wrong things, they know I'm trying to understand them and perhaps they will try to understand me. It's being friendly and it's fun."

"I'm not criticizing12 you. But can't you be friendly in English?"

Mrs. Angle stepped into her dress. "Do you mean I sound foolish?"

"Not you especially. Anyone."

"I see what you mean."

"Well, really?"

They entered the elevator. He saw that the pink flower was gone from her dress. And she just smiled at the elevator boy when he said "Good Evening". And even when they got down to the street, she was silent13. Usually she told the car driver where to take them in Italian. But now she waited for her husband to tell him.

At the eating place it was the same. She smiled at the waiter but said nothing. And when Mr. Angle showed her the menu, she just said, "I'll have a casserole added14 sparrowgrass. The ravioli first, of course.'' The waiter left after smiling and talking in Italian to her, but she just smiled at him. She looked around the room, not saying anything.

"Was she angry?" Mr. Angle wondered. Was she treating him with one of her silent periods? No, he knew all her silences. This one was different.

When their drinks came, her eyes met his calmly. There was no bitterness15 in them, no anger. Perhaps she was tired, but she didn't look tired. The waiter understood English, so she talked English and that was that. Or was it? No, something was wrong, and he had to find out what. He began talking to test her feelings.

"This is a good place. I'm happy we came back to Rome."

"Yes, it is very nice." she answered.

Um, something was wrong. Nice was a word she never used in Rome. It wasn't the word for Rome anyway. You might say Rome is noisy, perhaps colorful, even romantic16, but never just nice.

As they ate, Mrs. Angle agreed with everything he said, but she was too quiet. Something had left her. It was as if someone had turned some of the lights off in the room. You could still see everything, but not so clearly.

He looked out of the window onto the street. Rome, rich in history, the warm night, the happy voices, the shouting voices, voices of mothers and fathers, of children, and even of visitors such as he and his wife, visitors who never really saw or understood all there is to see and understand. Then he knew what Mrs. Angle had been trying to do. She had been trying to understand, trying to get a little closer to the city and its people. She had been reaching her hand and her mind out to them. Now she sat across from him as she minded anywhere. New York City, Boston or Podunk. But this was Rome. He had closed the door to her happiness--her ideas of Rome. He had crushed17 her. That was the right word, crushed. And this was the last thing in the world he wanted to do to Mrs. Angle.

He breathed deeply and said in a voice louder than he wanted to. "Conto, il conto!'' He felt Mrs. Angle's eyes look at him as he paid the waiter for the food and gave him extra money for himself.

Out on the street, they walked near a mother holding a little girl. Mrs. Angle moved closer to the mother and said, "Bella, bellissima(Beautiful, very beautiful)!" The woman lifted the little girl higher for Mrs. Angle to see. Mrs. Angle laughed and made a special wave, "Ciao, ciao!" She looked at her husband and he saw her eyes were filled with happiness again.

Mr. Angle felt a strange lump18 in his throat and then he waved to the child in his own way. "Ciao!" He said. And he felt his wife's arm as she moved closer to him and slipped19 it through his.

You have just heard the story "Ciao" by Patricia Collinge. It was adapted by the Special English staff. Your storyteller was Shirley Griffith. This is Bob Doughty20. Please listen next week for another program of American stories in VOA Special English.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 angle nVPz0     
n.角,角度,立场,观点
参考例句:
  • The high jumper took off at a bad angle.跳高运动员的起跳角度不好。
  • The old house leans to the right at a dangerous angle.那所老宅向右斜得很危险。
3 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。
4 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
5 automobile rP1yv     
n.汽车,机动车
参考例句:
  • He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
  • The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
6 setting 7i5zmt     
n.背景
参考例句:
  • The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
  • Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。
7 deeply Ru7zyZ     
adv.深刻地,在深处,深沉地
参考例句:
  • I do feel deeply the strength of the collective.我确实深深地感到了集体的力量。
  • We're deeply honoured that you should agree to join us.您能同意加入我们,我们感到很荣幸。
8 storey utiwy     
n.楼层;楼的一层
参考例句:
  • There's a nine-storey apartment building next to the bank.银行旁边有一座九层高的宿舍大楼。
  • Tom's sister says he is weak in the upper storey.汤姆的妹妹说他脑子笨。
9 fountain lfRzw     
n.喷泉,源泉,储水容器,泉水;v.使像喷泉一样流
参考例句:
  • At the centre of the park there is a fountain.公园正中有一个喷泉。
  • Ancient Greece was a fountain of wisdom and philosophy.古希腊是智慧和哲学的发源地。
10 fountains 1825036c05462007255c6081088d30d0     
n.喷水( fountain的名词复数 );喷泉;来源;人工喷泉
参考例句:
  • 'I go through no streets and past no fountains. “我不从街上走,也不从泉水过。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
  • The fountains in the park play on Sundays. 公园里的喷泉星期天才喷水。 来自辞典例句
11 means 9oXzBX     
n.方法,手段,折中点,物质财富
参考例句:
  • That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
  • We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。
12 criticizing c7d68a4f610512583437df2c52ef54ac     
v.评论,批评( criticize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He committed the cardinal sin of criticizing his teammates. 他犯了指责队友的大错。
  • She's always criticizing her husband for being sloppy. 她总是指责她的丈夫做事马虎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 silent eEVz8     
adj.安静的,不吵闹的,沉默的,无言的;n.(复数)默剧
参考例句:
  • Immediately on his beginning to speak,everyone was silent.他一讲话,大家顿时安静下来。
  • The boys looked at the conjuror in silent wonder. 孩子们目瞪口呆地看着那魔术师。
14 added mzJzm0     
adj.更多的,附加的,额外的
参考例句:
  • They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
  • The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。
15 bitterness PxXzyr     
n.苦味;痛苦;悲痛;酷烈
参考例句:
  • She was full of hatred and bitterness. 她满腔仇恨和辛酸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her cup of bitterness was full. 她历尽了苦难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 romantic jXPx0     
adj.浪漫的,风流的,传奇性的,夸大的,想象的,浪漫派的
参考例句:
  • She thinks it will be romantic to be an actress.她认为当个女演员会很浪漫。
  • Her husband is very romantic.她丈夫非常浪漫。
17 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。
18 lump 7RIz9     
n.块状,瘤,很多;v.使...成块状,混在一起,忍耐
参考例句:
  • I thanked him with a lump in my throat.我哽咽着向他道谢。
  • If you don't like it,you may lump it.你不喜欢,也得容忍一下。
19 slipped 4c5c6d788245d18d7f659f5aeaa435f3     
adj.打滑,打滑的v.滑( slip的过去式和过去分词 );滑脱;下降;(健康状况等)变差
参考例句:
  • She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤,摔得鼻青脸肿。
  • The climber slipped and dropped to his death. 攀登者一失足掉下去摔死了。
20 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。

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