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美国故事 SENEWS-2008-0209-FEATURE

时间:2008-04-09 03:05:54

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This is the VOA Special English program American Stories.

Our story today is called ''All the Years of Her Life''. It was written by Morley Callaghan, here is Shep O'Neal to tell you the story.

The drug store was beginning to close for the night. Young Alfred Higgins who worked in the store was putting on his coat, getting ready to go home. On his way out, he passed Mr. Sam Carr, the little gray hair man who owned the store. Mr. Carr looked up at Alfred as he passed and said in a very soft voice, ''Just a moment, Alfred, one moment before you go.''

Mr. Carr spoke1 so quietly that he worried Alfred. ''What is it, Mr. Carr?''

''Maybe you'd be good enough to take a few things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go.'' Said Mr. Carr.

''What things? What are you talking about?''

''You've got a compact2 and a lipstick4 and at least two tubes5 of toothpaste in your pockets, Alfred.''

''What do you mean?'' Alfred answered. ''Do you think I am crazy?'' His face got red.

Mr. Carr kept looking at Alfred, coldly. Alfred did not know what to say and tried to keep his eyes from meeting the eyes of his boss. After a few moments, he put his hand into his pockets and took out the things he had stolen.

''Petty6 thieving, eh, Alfred?'' said Mr. Carr. ''And maybe you'd be good enough to tell me how long this has been going on.''

''This is the first time I ever took anything.''

Mr. Carr was quick to answer, ''So now you think you tell me a lie? What kind of a fool do I look like, hah? I don't know what goes on in my own store, eh? I/ tell you, you have been doing this for a long time.'' Mr. Carr had a strange smile on his face. ''I don’t like to call the police,'' he said, ''but maybe I should call your father and let him know I'm going to have to put you in jail7.''

''My father is not home, he is a printer, he works8 nights.''

''Who is at home?''Mr. Carr asked.

''My mother, I think.''

Mr. Carr started to go to the phone. Alfred's fears made him raise his voice. He wanted to show he was afraid of nobody. He acted this way every time he got into trouble. This had happened many times since he left school. At such times, he always spoke in a loud voice as he did tonight.

"Just a minute!" He said to Mr. Carr. "You don't have to get anybody else into this, you don't have to tell her." Alfred tried to sound big, but deep down he was like a child. He hoped that someone at home would come quickly to save him. But Mr. Carr was already talking to his mother, he told her to come to the store in a hurry.

Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger. Maybe she would be crying and would push him away when he tried to explain to her. She would made him feel so small. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called in a policeman.

Alfred and Mr. Carr waited but said nothing, at last they heard someone at the closed door. Mr. Carr opened it and said, "Come in, Mrs. Higgins." His face was hard and serious. Alfred's mother came in with a friendly smile on her face and put out her hand to Mr. Carr and said politely, "I am Mrs. Higgins, Alfred's mother."

Mr. Carr was surprised at the way she came in. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. "Is Alfred in trouble?" Mrs. Higgins asked.

"He is, he has been taking things from the store, little things like toothpaste and lipsticks9, things he can easily sell."

Mrs. Higgins looked at her son and said sadly,"Is it so, Alfred?"

"Yes".

"Why have you been doing it?" she asked.

"I've been spending money, I believe."

"On what?"

"Going around with the boys, I guess." said Alfred.

Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr's arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. She said, "If you will just listen to me before doing anything." Her voice was cool and she turned her head away as if she had said too much already. Then she looked again at Mr.Carr with a pleasant smile and asked, "What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?"

"I was going to get a cop10. That is what I should do, call a police."

She answered, "Yes, I think so, it's not for me to say because he is my son. Yet I sometimes think a little good advice is the best thing for a boy at certain times in his life."

Mrs. Higgins looks like a different woman to her son Alfred. There she was with a gentle smile saying, "I wonder if you don't think it would be better just to let him come home with me. He looks like a big fellow, doesn't he? Yet it takes some of them a long time to get any sense into their heads."

Mr. Carr had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously11, shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for a mercy12 for he son, but no, she was most calm and pleasant and was making Mr. Carr feel guilty13.

After a time, Mr. Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying. "Of course," he said, " I don't want to be cruel. I'll tell you what I'll do. Tell your son not to come back here again, and let it go at that, how is that?" And he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.

"I will never forget your kindness. Sorry we had to meet this way," said Mr. Carr. "But I'm glad I got in touch with you, just wanted to do the right thing, that is all.

"It's better to meet like this than never, isn't it?" She said.

Suddenly they held hand as if they liked each other, as if they had known14 each other for a long time.

"Good night, sir."

"Good night, Mrs. Higgins. I'm truly sorry."

Mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. She took long steps and looked straight in front of her. After a time, Alfred said, "Thank Dod it turned out like that, never again!"

"Be quiet, don't speak to me, you have shamed me enough, have the decency15 to be quiet."

They reached home at last. Mrs. Higgins took off her coat and without even looking at him, she said to Alfred, "You are a bad luck. God forgive you. It is one thing after another, always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? go to bed."

As she went into the kitchen, she said, "Not a word about tonight to your father."

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. There was no shame in him, just pride in his mother's strength. "She was smooth!" he said to himself. He felt he must tell her how great she was. As he got to the kitchen, he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea. He was shocked by what he saw.

His mother's face, as she said, was a frightened, broken face. It was not the same cool, bright face he saw earlier in the drug store. As Mrs. Higgins lifted the tea cup, her hand shook. And some of the tea splashed16 on the table. Her lips3 moved nervously. She looked very old.

He watched his mother without making a sound. The picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth coming to an end. He saw all the troubles he brought his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

You have just heard the story ''All the Years of Her Life''. It was written by Morley Callaghan for the New Yorker magazine. Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal. The producer was Lawan Davis. This is a copyrighted17 story. All rights reserved18. Listen again next week at the same time for another American story told in Special English. This is Shirley Griffith.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
2 compact cXeyh     
adj.紧密的,简明的,紧凑的;v.使紧凑,压缩
参考例句:
  • It was a compact package.这是个捆得很紧的包裹。
  • The article is compact and well organized.文章严密,又很有章法。
3 lips f6e924595f10c1d9b68b5ae6a448f051     
abbr.logical inferences per second 每秒的逻辑推论n.嘴唇( lip的名词复数 );(容器或凹陷地方的)边缘;粗鲁无礼的话
参考例句:
  • Her lips compressed into a thin line. 她的双唇抿成了一道缝。
  • the fullness of her lips 她丰满的双唇
4 lipstick o0zxg     
n.口红,唇膏
参考例句:
  • Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红,开始往嘴唇上抹。
  • Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。
5 tubes a1534062ad2aa83f02d095a7be4dafe2     
n.管( tube的名词复数 );地铁;[军事]炮管;管状物
参考例句:
  • In semiconductor receivers transistors take the place of vacuum tubes. 在半导体收音机中晶体管代替了真空管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • These evening damps and chills play Old Harry with one's bronchial tubes. 夜晚的湿气与寒冷对支气管有害。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
6 petty 8icyh     
adj.小的,琐碎的,不重要的,心胸狭窄的
参考例句:
  • The removal of petty restrictions has made life easier.对一些琐碎规定的取消使生活更自在了。
  • It was petty of her not to accept the apology.她气量太小,连道歉也不接受。
7 jail F31xo     
n.监狱,看守所;vt.监禁,拘留
参考例句:
  • The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
  • If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西,最终会被抓进监狱的。
8 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
9 lipsticks 62f569a0cdde7ac0650839f0f9efc087     
n.口红,唇膏( lipstick的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She likes feminine things like brushes, lipsticks, scarves and jewellery. 她喜欢画笔、口红、围巾和珠宝等女性的东西。 来自时文部分
  • She had two lipsticks in her purse. 她的手提包里有两支口红。 来自辞典例句
10 cop Jvlzkp     
n.警察;vt.抓住
参考例句:
  • The cop told him to button his lip.警察叫他闭嘴。
  • The robber was overpowered by the cop.抢劫犯被警察制伏。
11 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
12 mercy Qwhy4     
n.仁慈,宽恕,怜悯
参考例句:
  • Mercy to the enemies means cruelty to the people.对敌人的仁慈就意味着对人民的残忍。
  • It is a mercy that you did not go.你幸好没有去。
13 guilty meBxq     
adj.犯罪的;有罪的;内疚的
参考例句:
  • There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
  • Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。
14 known hpKzdc     
adj.大家知道的;知名的,已知的
参考例句:
  • He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
  • He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。
15 decency Jxzxs     
n.体面,得体,合宜,正派,庄重
参考例句:
  • His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
  • Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
16 splashed 127fd523d272edcb5c979b7f84b6767c     
v.使(液体)溅起( splash的过去式和过去分词 );(指液体)溅落
参考例句:
  • Water splashed onto the floor. 水哗的一声泼洒在地板上。
  • The cowboy splashed his way across the shallow stream with his cow. 牧童牵着牛淌过浅溪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 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?
18 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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