新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第一冊unit6-a The Widow
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Unit 6
Section A
Pre-reading Activities
First Listening
Having ideas about a story before you read it is an important reading skill. Please listen to a very short piece of recording.
Second Listening
Now listen to the recording for the second time and try to the best of your ability to answer the following questions.
1. Why is the woman in this story in pain?
2. Where did the wife think the strange wedding guest had come from? Why did her husband not agree with her?
3. What gift did the strange wedding guest give to the new husband and wife?
The Widow
Alone now, the widow reads considerably. She used to underline favorite passages to share with her husband. Now, in a notebook, she stores quotations like this one from Elizabeth Jolley's Cabin Fever: "I experience again the deep-felt wish to be part of a married couple, to sit by the fire in winter with the man who is my husband. So intense is this wish that if I write the word husband on a piece of paper, my eyes fill with tears."
Why are these lines so painful?
We begin with a worn wedding album. In the first picture, the bride and groom are facing, with uncertain smiles, a church filled with relatives and friends. The bride did not wear glasses that day, so everything was a blur of candlelight and faces.
They walked to the back of the church and stood at the door as their guests filed past. From colleagues and old schoolmates came cheerful good wishes clothed in friendly jokes. Some relatives, however, were not pleased. One sat in a car, crying; another stood surrounded by sympathizers offering pity. Both these women—mothers of the bride and groom-would have insisted they wanted only the best for their children but they defined "the best" as staying home to help support the family.
The last person to approach the couple was a short, elderly woman who smiled as she congratulated them — not by name but as "wife" and "husband".
"I'm Aunt Esther Gubbins," she said. "I'm here to tell you you are going to live a good life and be happy. You will work hard and love each other."
Then quickly, for such a short, portly, elderly person, she disappeared.
Soon they departed, in a borrowed car. With money loaned by the groom's brother, they could afford a honeymoon at a state-park lodge. Sitting before a great oak fire, they recalled the events of the day, especially the strange message conveyed by Aunt Esther Gubbins.
"Is she your mother's sister or your father's?" asked the wife.
"Isn't she your aunt?" the husband responded. "I never saw her before."
They wondered. Had she come to the wrong church or at the wrong time, mistaking them for another couple? Or was she just an old woman who liked weddings and scanned for announcements in church bulletins?
With the passage of time and the birth of grandchildren, their mothers accepted their marriage. One made piles of clothes for the children; the other knitted hats, sweaters and gloves.
The couple's life together was very ordinary. Peculiarly, neither ever asked "Whose job is this?" or asserted "That is not my responsibility!" Both acted to fill their needs as time and opportunity allowed.
Arriving from work, he might announce, "Wife, I am home!" And she, restraining the desire to complain about her housework, would respond, "Husband, I am glad!"
Occasionally, usually around their anniversary, they would bring up the old curiosity regarding Aunt Esther Gubbins. He would insist the elderly woman did attend their wedding accidentally. But she knew "Aunt Esther" was on some heavenly mission.
Widowed now, the wife wonders what she would save from their old home if it were to catch fire: Her mother's ring? Pictures of her husband? The $47 hidden in the sugar bowl?
No, it would be the worn, fading envelope she kept for so long. She knows exactly where it can be found: under a pile of napkins.
One evening her husband had fallen asleep while reading a spy novel. She wrote a note on the envelope and left it on his book: "Husband, I have gone next door to help Mrs. Norton with her sick children."
The next morning she saw he had written below her message: "Wife, I missed you. You thought I was asleep, but I was just resting my eyes and thinking about that peculiar woman who talked to us in church a long time ago. It has always seemed to me that she was the wrong shape for a heavenly messenger. Anyway, it's time to stop wondering whether she came from heaven or a nearby town. What matters is this: whoever she was, Aunt Esther Gubbins was right."
Words: 700
NEW WORDS
widow
n. a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again 寡婦
considerable
a. fairly large 相當(dāng)?shù)?br />
considerably
ad. much 相當(dāng)?shù)?，很?br />
underline
vt. 1. draw a line under 劃橫線
2. give added attention to, so as to show importance 強調(diào)；使突出
quotation
n. 1. a sentence drawn from literature or a piece taken from a work of art 引文；摘抄
2. the price of sth. 報價
cabin
n. a small roughly built house 小屋
▲album
n. a book for storing photos 相冊
bride
n. a woman about to be married or just married 新娘
◆groom
n. a man about to be married or just married 新郎
▲blur
n. sth. whose shape is not clearly seen 模糊的影子
vt. make difficult to see clearly 使模糊
file
vi. 1. walk one behind the other 一個接一個地走
2. make a written request for a position 提出
vt. 1. put away (papers, etc.) in order 歸檔
2. place an exhibit among the records of a court, public office or government 提出（申請等）
n. 1. a store of papers on one subject 保存的文件
2. the furniture or box for storing papers 文件夾，文件箱
3. a line of people one behind the other 縱列
colleague
n. a fellow worker 同事
mate
n. a friend or person one works or lives with 伙伴
schoolmate
n. a friend or person one studies with 同學(xué)
cheerful
a. happy 幸福的，高興的
surround
vt. be or go around on every side 包圍
sympathize (英sympathise)
vi. (with) show feeling for another 同情
sympathizer(英sympathiser)
n. a person who offers sympathy 同情者
congratulate
vt. express good luck or pleasure at someone's success 祝賀
■portly
a. over-weight; fat 胖的
disappear
vi. go out of sight 消失
depart
vi. leave; go away 離開
loan
vt. lend 借給，貸給
n. quantity of money lent 貸款
■honeymoon
n. the holiday taken by a man and woman who have just got married 蜜月
lodge
n. a small house 小屋
vi. stay somewhere and pay rent 住宿；投宿
▲oak
n. a large broad tree with hard wood and curled leaves 橡樹
recall
vt. remember 回憶，回想
convey
vt. make known; communicate; express 傳達
respond
vi. (to)answer 回答；反應(yīng)
scan
vt. look at closely, examine with care 仔細察看；掃描
▲bulletin
n. a short official report 公告
grand
a. 1. highest or very high in status 高級的，大的
2. splendid; good 好的，妙的
grandchild
n. a boy or girl who is the child of the stated person's son or daughter（外）孫子（孫女）
▲knit
v. make (clothes, etc.) by forming a network of threads with long needles 編織
glove
n. a covering with fingers for the hand 手套
peculiar
a. 1. strange; not usual 奇怪的
2. special 特別的
peculiarly
ad. 1. strangely 奇怪地
2. especially 特別地
▲assert
vt. declare forcefully 斷言；主張
responsibility
n. duty; condition or quality of being mature and willing to do one's duty 責(zé)任；責(zé)任心
restrain
vt. prevent from doing sth.; hold back 抑制
anniversary
n. a day that is an exact number of years after sth. happened 周年（紀念日）
curiosity
n. an eager desire to know 好奇
regarding
prep.concerning; about 有關(guān)
accidental
a. happening by chance 意外的
accidentally
ad. by accident 意外地
mission
n. the action of sending or fact of being sent on some special work or service 使命，任務(wù)
fade
v. 1. (cause to) lose color or freshness （使）褪色
2. disappear bit by bit 逐漸消失
▲napkin
n. a piece of cloth or paper used at meals for protecting clothes and cleaning the lips and fingers 餐巾（紙）
▲spy
n. a person employed to find out secret information 密探，偵探；間諜
v. watch or search secretly 偵察
novel
n. a long written story 長篇小說
▲messenger
n. a person who brings a message 信使
nearby
a.& ad. near 附近
whoever
pron.1. no matter who 無論誰，不管誰
2. any person that; who 任何人
PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS
share with
give a part of sth. to sb. else 分享
part of
one of the pieces, sections or segments that sth. is made up of 一部分，一份
fill with
(cause to) become full of 充滿
define...as
state the meaning of sth. such as a word as being sth. 界定，定義為
mistake for
think wrongly that sb./sth. is sb./sth. else 誤當(dāng)作
fill one's need
satisfy one's need 滿足需要
bring up
mention or introduce (a subject) 提起
save from
keep sth./sb. from (danger, being destroyed, etc.); make safe from danger or being destroyed 保留；搶救；免于
PROPER NAMES
Elizabeth Jolley
伊麗莎白·喬利（人名）
Esther Gubbins
埃絲特·格賓斯（人名）
Norton
諾頓（人名）
寡婦
這位寡婦如今一個人生活，所以讀了很多書。 過去，她常常在她喜歡的段落下面劃上橫線，以便讓丈夫一道欣賞。 如今，她在筆記本里摘錄了許多東西，比如像伊麗莎白·喬利的《小屋的狂熱》中的這段文字： “我又感覺到了那為人之妻的強烈愿望，渴望著冬天里和是自己丈夫的男人一道坐在爐火邊。 這愿望如此強烈，以至若將‘丈夫’二字寫到紙上，我就會熱淚盈眶。”
為什么這幾行字如此讓人感懷？
讓我們從一本陳舊的婚禮相冊開始吧。 在第一張照片上，新娘和新郎面對著擠滿親朋好友的教堂，臉上掛著幾絲不定的微笑。 那天新娘未戴眼睛，看到的只是朦朧的燭光和模糊的臉龐。
他們走到教堂的后面，站在門口，客人們魚貫而入。 同事和同窗舊友們向她們致以令人愉快的美好祝愿，并開著友好的玩笑。 但是有些親屬卻并不高興。一個坐在車子里哭，另一個站在一群同情者當(dāng)中，聽他們說著女兒出嫁母難舍之類的話。 這兩個女人就是新娘和新郎的母親，她們本該說些希望自己的孩子生活美滿的話，可她們心中的“美滿”，卻是讓孩子們留在家里幫助維持全家生計。
最后一個走到新婚夫婦跟前的，是一位矮矮的、上了年紀的婦人。她笑著祝賀他們，不是直呼其名，而是稱他們?yōu)?“妻子”和“丈夫”。
“我是埃絲特·格賓斯阿姨，”她說，“我來這里是想告訴你們，你們的生活會美滿、幸福，只要你們勤勞、相愛。”
接著，這個又矮又胖的老太太驀地不見了。
沒過多久，新娘新郎坐上借來的汽車離開了家。拿著從新郎的哥哥那里借來的錢，他們可以在國家公園的小旅館里度蜜月了。 坐在那燃燒著橡木的旺旺爐火前，他們回想起婚禮那天發(fā)生的事情，尤其是埃絲特·格賓斯阿姨那句話的奇怪含義。
“她是你媽媽的姐妹還是你爸爸的姐妹？”妻子問。
“她不是你的姑姑么？”丈夫反問妻子。“我從未見過她。”
他們都感到迷惑不解。她是不是走錯了教堂，記錯了時間，錯把他們當(dāng)作了另一對新婚夫婦了？ 或者她本是個喜歡婚禮的老太太，常在教堂的布告欄上打聽婚禮的消息？
隨著時間的流逝，隨著孫子和外孫的出世，他們的母親都認可了他們的婚姻。 她們一個為孩子做了很多衣服，另一個用手編織了帽子、毛衣和手套。
夫妻倆的生活很平常。但很特別的一點是，他們倆都從來不問“這活該誰干？”也不說“這不是我的責(zé)任！”只要有時間、有機會，兩人都會主動去幫助對方。
丈夫下班回家會說，“老婆，我回來了。”而妻子呢，也會克制自己，從不因家務(wù)辛苦而向丈夫發(fā)牢騷，只說“我真高興，老公！”
有時候，通常是在他們的結(jié)婚紀念日，他們會重溫對埃絲特·格賓斯阿姨的好奇心。 他會說這老太太準(zhǔn)是碰巧撞上了他們的婚禮?？伤靼?，埃絲特阿姨是在執(zhí)行上帝的使命。
如今妻子已成了寡婦，可她依然在想，如果房子著了火，她該從這舊房子里搶些什么出來呢？ 是母親留給她的戒指？是丈夫的照片？還是藏在糖缸里的47美元？
都不是，要搶出來的該是那個已經(jīng)保存很久并已破舊、發(fā)黃了的信封。 她清楚地知道放在什么地方：就在一堆餐巾下面。
一天晚上，她丈夫讀偵探小說時睡著了。 她在信封上寫了一行留言，放在他的書上：“老公，我去隔壁幫諾頓太太照顧她的幾個生病的孩子了。”
第二天早晨，她看到他在她的留言下面寫道：“老婆，我想念你。你以為我睡著了，可是我只是合合眼，心里卻還在想那位很久以前在教堂對我們說了一番話的怪老太太呢。 我總覺得，她的模樣似乎不像是上帝的信使。 可不管怎么說，我們不該再去猜測她是來自上天還是來自附近的城鎮(zhèn)了。重要的是：無論這位埃絲特阿姨是誰，她的話是對的。”
