时间:2018-12-01 作者:英语课 分类:自考英语综合二上册 课文+单词


英语课

  [00:00.00]Lesson Ten

[00:02.90]Text

[00:05.46]The Washwoman

[00:08.41]I. B . Singer

[00:11.36]Our home had little contact with Gentiles.

[00:16.04]But there were the Gentile washwomen who came to the house to fetch our laundry

[00:23.30]My story is about one of these.

[00:27.35]She was a small woman,old and wrinkled.

[00:33.49]When she started washing for us,she was already past seventy.

[00:39.94]Most Jewish women of her age were sickly, weak, broken in body.

[00:47.10]But this washwoman,small and thin as she was,

[00:53.05]possessed a strengththat came from generations of peasant ancestors.

[00:58.93]Mother would count out to her a bag of laundry

[01:04.08]that had accumulated over several weeks.

[01:08.15]She would lift the heavy bag, load it on her narrow shoulders,

[01:14.11]and carry it the long way home.

[01:18.55]It must have been a walk of an hour and a half.

[01:23.23]She would bring the laundry back about two weeks later.

[01:27.88]My mother had never been so pleased with any washwoman.

[01:33.13]Every piece of laundry was as clean as polished silver.

[01:38.19]Every piece was neatly 1 ironed.Yet she charged no more than the others.

[01:45.46]She was a real find.

[01:48.70]Mother always had her money ready

[01:52.46]because it was too far for the old woman to come a second time.

[01:57.63]Washing clothes was not easy in those days

[02:01.99]The old woman had no tap where she lived,

[02:06.25]but had to bring in the water from a pump.

[02:10.32]For the clothes and bedclothes to come out so clean,

[02:15.08]they had to be scrubbed thoroughly 2 in a washtub,

[02:19.73]rinsed with washing soda,soaked,boiled in an enormous pot,starched,then ironed

[02:28.58]Every piece was handled ten times or more.

[02:33.44]And the drying!It had to be hung in the attic 3.

[02:38.41]She could have begged at the church door or entered a home for the poor and aged 4

[02:45.38]But there was in her a certain pride

[02:49.33]and love of labor 5 with which many Gentiles have been blessed.

[02:56.09]The old woman did not want to become a burden, and so bore her burden.

[03:02.62]The woman had a son who was rich.

[03:06.38]I no longer remember what sort of business he had.

[03:10.75]He was ashamed of his mother, the washwoman,and never came to see her.

[03:16.99]Nor did he ever give her any money. The old woman told this without bitterness

[03:24.93]One day the son was married.It seemed that he had made a good match.

[03:30.81]The wedding took place in a church.

[03:34.47]The son had not invited the old mother to his wedding,

[03:39.22]but she went to the churchand

[03:42.69]waited at the steps to see her son lead the "young lady" to the altar...

[03:48.44]The story of the faithless son left a deep impression on my mother.

[03:54.81]She talked about it for weeks and months.

[04:04.38]Mother would argue,"Does it pay to make sacrifices for children?

[04:10.91]The mother uses up her last strength,

[04:14.67]and he does not even know the meaning of loyalty 6.

[04:19.32]"That winter was a harsh one. The streets were icy.

[04:23.97]No matter how much we heated our stove,the windows were covered with frost.

[04:30.81]The newspapers reported that people were dying of the cold Coal became dear.

[04:38.75]The winter had become so severe that parents stopped sending children to school

[04:45.52]On one such day the washwoman, now nearly eighty years old, came to our house

[04:53.88]A good deal of laundry had accumulated during the past weeks.

[04:59.02]Mother gave her a pot of tea to warm herself as well as some bread.

[05:06.00]The old woman sat on a kitchen chair trembling and shaking,

[05:12.45]and warmed her hands against the teapot.

[05:16.89]Her fingers were rough from work,and perhaps from arthritis 7, too.

[05:23.66]Her fingernails were strangely white.

[05:27.73]These hands spoke 8 of the stubbornness of mankind,of the will to work

[05:35.10]not only as one's strength permitsbut beyond the limits of one's power.

[05:42.54]The bag was big,bigger than usual.

[05:46.93]When the woman placed it on her shoulders,it covered her completely.


  [05:52.57]At first she stayed,as though she were about to fall under the load.

[05:59.52]But an inner stubbornness seemed to call out: No, you may not fall.

[06:06.97]A donkey may permit himself to fall under his burden,

[06:11.51]but not a human being,the best of creation.

[06:16.24]She disappeared, and mother sighed and prayed for her.

[06:21.91]More than two months passed.

[06:25.36]The frost had gone,and then a new frost had come, a new wave of cold.

[06:33.12]One evening, while Mother was sitting near the oil lamp mending a shirt,

[06:39.49]the door opened and a small puff 9 of steam,

[06:44.64]followed by a gigantic bag, entered the room.

[06:49.31]I ran toward the old woman and helped her unload her bag.

[06:55.27]She was even thinner now, more bent 10.

[06:59.53]Her head shook from side to side as though she were saying no.

[07:05.48]She could not utter a clear word,

[07:09.24]but mumbled 11 something with her sunken mouth and pale lips.

[07:14.70]After the old woman had recovered somewhat she told us that she had been ill.

[07:21.65]Just what her illness was,I cannot remember.

[07:26.20]she had been so sick that called a doctor,and the doctor had sent for a priset

[07:34.24]Some had informed the son,

[07:37.77]and he had contributed money for a coffin 12 and for the funeral.

[07:42.84]But God had not yet wanted to take this soul full of pain to himself.

[07:48.69]She began to feel better ,she became well,

[07:53.44]and as soon as she was able to stand on her feet onee more,she began her washing

[08:00.91]Not just ours, but the wash of several other families, too.

[08:06.84]"I could not rest easy in my bed because of the wash,

[08:11.68]" the old woman explained."The wash would not let me die."

[08:18.52]"With the help of God you will live to be a hundred and twenty,

[08:24.14]"said my mother,as a blessing 13."God forbid!

[08:29.81] What good would such a long life be?

[08:32.89]The work becomes harder and harder...

[08:36.26]my strength is leaving me...

[08:39.60]I do not want to be a burden on anyone!

[08:43.76]" The old woman crossed herself,and raised her eyes toward heaven.

[08:49.92]Fortunately there was some money in the house

[08:54.75]and Mother counted out what she owed.

[08:58.59]Then she left, promising 14 to return in a few weeks for a new load.

[09:04.94]But she never came back.

[09:08.21]The wash she had returned was her last effort on this earth.

[09:13.95]She had been driven

[09:17.11]by an indomitable will to return the property to its rightful owners,

[09:22.86]to fulfill 15 the task she had undertaken.

[09:27.22]And now at last her body,

[09:30.98]which had long been supported only by the force of honesty and duty, had fallen

[09:38.74]Her soul passed into those spheres where all holy souls meet,

[09:43.92]regardless of the roles they played on this earth,

[09:48.07]in whatever tongue, of whatever religion.

[09:52.33]I cannot imagine paradise without this Gentile washwoman.

[09:57.58]I cannot even imagine a world where there is no reward for such effort.



1 neatly
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
2 thoroughly
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
3 attic
n.顶楼,屋顶室
  • Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
  • What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理?
4 aged
adj.年老的,陈年的
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
5 labor
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
6 loyalty
n.忠诚,忠心
  • She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
  • His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
7 arthritis
n.关节炎
  • Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
  • He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎,在医院住了三个月。
8 spoke
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
  • 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。
9 puff
n.一口(气);一阵(风);v.喷气,喘气
  • He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
  • They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。
10 bent
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
  • 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。
11 mumbled
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
12 coffin
n.棺材,灵柩
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
13 blessing
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
14 promising
adj.有希望的,有前途的
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
15 fulfill
vt.履行,实现,完成;满足,使满意
  • If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了,你就要履行你的诺言。
  • This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。
学英语单词
-rific
Abel tests
All 's well that ends well.
androgynises
anti-independence
association for computing machinery (acm)
atteveld
ball hockey
Bas-en-Basset
Berl saddles
bromatological
burkaed
call someone's bluff
capital-in-excess account
Carex peiktusani
center upset
cerium materials/devices
charlesite
cloisters
congestion window
constancies
crenimugil crenilabi
cum towel
david turner
decorrelations
DIFI
direct cycle access storage device (dasd)
discrete-time convolution property
document storage status
dysosma veitchii (hemsl. et wils. fu)
easy on the trigger
easy-to-grasp
ecological engineering
epicanthal fold
esophagectomies
eulogious
expenditure for procurement
fire hole ring
Formosa B.
Gave d'Oloron
high speed ball mill
inferior tarsal muscle
interlock control
knife file
Kogushi
latching logic
left ventriculo-aortic conduit
limit of integration
locking pushbutton
long-stem nozzle
lpci open signal
Macdowel's frenum
main scheduling routine
make your presence felt
masson disk
matching magnet
mergers-and-acquisitions
metatracheal wide type
methylglutaconyl
Mixed Mode CD
mobiliary art
monoclines
multiple storage
multiple utility
nanotexturing
neural anesthesia
oath-rite
odman
pearlins
pedatilobed
petewilliamsite
Phenazodine
pipeline conveyor
polyanionic surfactant
potassium methyl sulfate
preserved meat
primary marketing
propylmercuric bromide
punch-tape code
pusher bar
quasi-factorical design
rabbinish
rack up
RAID4
ranking form
remote control rack
resonant vibrator
Rikuzentakata
running latte
secondary peduncle
shear-plate nozzle
struma colloides cystica
suburbans
table napkin
Tensift, Oued
Tismana
transportin
unit start-up and commissioning
unshadowable
upganger
vacuum packer
vehicle currency