时间:2018-12-11 作者:英语课 分类:美国故事


英语课
Now, the Special English program American Stories.

Our story today is Hard Rock Maple 1. It is about two people living in New England. They seem like the hard rock maple trees often found in that area, nothing can make them move. Today's story was written by Fredric C. Heali. Here is Shep O'Neal with our story.

Old man Calvin worked in a wheat mill 2 not far from his house. Calvin's wife had died many years before. Now he lived with his son Everett. Father and son were happy living together in the old family house. They liked eating together and talking about what had happened during the day. After eating, they would sit in the living room and read.

Their life together was warm and pleasant. But one night after supper, Calvin and Everett said sharp 3 things to each other. Everett quickly walked out of the room, he said no more to his father that night.

The next morning, the old man awoke early and cooked his own breakfast. Usually he would cook for his son, too. But this morning the father went to work without even talking to his son. Everett got out of bed when he heard the door close. He made his own breakfast for the first time in many years, he was still angry with his father.

The old man came home after a long day of work at the mill. Everett returned from the store two hours later. Neither man talked to the other, they were still angry. And this night they did not even eat together.

Many days and nights passed in the same way. Father and son did not talk or even look at each other. They still lived under the same roof 4. But they acted like two strangers 5. After eating, Calvin sat in his chair and read a newspaper. Everett sat across the room in another chair, reading 7 a book.

Sometimes while reading, Everett would slowly look up toward 8 his father. He wondered what kind of a person his father really was. He knew that he was a good worker and that he was honest. But his father did not seem friendly with anyone. He seemed to have no emotions 9.

Everett could not remember ever seeing his father kiss his mother. The son wondered, "What kind of a man is he really?"

Many more days and nights passed with father and son saying nothing to each other. Days became months. But the heavy silence 10 between the two men continued. They still lived in the same old house, but they did not talk.

One Sunday morning, Everett looked out of the window and saw that the ground was covered with snow. Someone would have to clean the snow off the sidewalk 11, either him or his father. If Everett offered to clean the sidewalk, his father might think he was trying to be friendly. He did not want his father to think so. He was still angry with him. But if Everett did not do the work, his father might think that he was being 12 too cruel 13. Everett did not want him to think that, either.

While he was deciding what to do, Everett heard a noise outside. He looked out of the window again. He saw his father cleaning the snow off the sidewalk. The old man had been one step ahead 14 of his son. Father had made the decision.

More weeks passed, and father and son still did not talk to each other. Then one day, Everett saw that his chair in the living room was getting old. The seat was broken 15. It needed to be fixed 16. Everett remembered that this old maple wood chair had been in the house for many years. It had been there even before Everett was born.

"It is still a good chair," he thought to himself, "I will not throw it away. I will have it fixed." Everett called his friend Alfred on the telephone. Alfred worked in a store where he fixed old tables and chairs. Everett asked him please to come to the house to look at his old broken chair.

The old man was home when Alfred came to the house. "Hello Alfred, I've not seen you for years, not since you were a little boy."

Everett was in the kitchen while the two men were talking. He was surprised to hear his father's voice. He had not heard Calvin talk for almost five years.

Everett thought to himself, "So, my father will talk to other people." This made him angrier. "I will never talk to him now!" Everett said.

Eight more years passed, Calvin, the father and Everett, the son still had nothing to say to each other. The days and nights were still the same. The two men ate alone, then they sat in the living room and read.

Calvin was getting very old. One day, he stopped working, then he was home all the time.

One night, Everett looked at his father for the first time in weeks. Father looked tired and lonely. The old man's hair had become completely 17 white just like snow. The son felt sorry for his father.

He said to himself, "We are together even though we do not talk. I am lucky to have someone here with me. It would be terribly lonely without him. "

And then another winter came, the cold wind blew and the ground again was covered with snow. Inside the old house father lay sick. He was very old now and it did not seem he would live much longer.

Everett drove 18 his father to the hospital in town. A young doctor took him to a private 19 room. Everett waited outside in the hall.

A few minutes later, the doctor came out and said, "You can see your father now."

The doctor and Everett walked into Calvin's room. The son went in and saw the old man asleep. Calvin looked very tired. Everett sat down in a chair next to the bed and waited.

After a time, Calvin moved a little, but he did not open his eyes. Everett wondered if he would ever see his father's eyes again. Then the doctor came back. He told Everett that he knew that he and his father had said nothing to each other for 20 years.

"That is our personal business." Everett said. Then the doctor told him how sick his father was. "He might die soon," said the doctor, "you should talk to him now. It will be your last chance."

Suddenly the old man opened his eyes. He looked around the room. He looked at the young doctor and he looked at his son. He smiled weakly at Everett. And Everett smiled back at the sick old man. Then Calvin opened his mouth and tried to talk. Everett quickly put his hand over his father's mouth. He did not want to hear Calvin's voice even though this was the last chance. The old man did not try to talk anymore. His eyes closed again and he was asleep for a long time. The doctor said, "He will not awaken 20 again. He is dead."

Everett moved from his chair and got his hat and coat. He walked to the door and then turned to the bed. He wanted to look at his father for the last time. The doctor said with anger 6, "He wanted to say something to you before he died. Why did you stop him?"

Everett answered, "It was my father who first made the decision that we should not talk! He was the one who felt we had nothing further 21 to say to each other. I did not want to hear him say he was sorry. I did not want him to ever think he was wrong."

Then Everett walked out of the hospital. He drove home very slowly. When he entered the old white house, everything seemed strange. He said to himself, "This will be a lonely house now."

You have just heard the American story "Hard Rock Maple". It was written by Fredric C. Heali. It was published 22 in Yankee Magazine in June,1966. Your narrator 23 was Shep O'Neal. The Voice of America invites you to listen next week at the same time for another American story in Special English. This is Susan Clark.


1 maple
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
2 mill
n.磨坊,碾磨机;制造厂,工厂;vt.磨,碾
  • The rice mill was wrecked by the enemy bombing.碾米厂遭到了敌机的轰炸。
  • The farmer took his grain to the mill.这个农民把谷子送到磨房。
3 sharp
adj.刺耳的,锋利的,急剧的;adv.[时刻]正,准;夏普(财富500强公司之一,总部所在地日本,主要经营电子电气)
  • This knife isn't sharp.这把餐刀不锋利。
  • Dogs have sharp sense of smell.狗有敏锐的嗅觉。
4 roof
n.屋顶;v.给...覆以屋顶,覆盖
  • A cat is on the roof.一只小猫在屋顶上。
  • Move back! The roof is falling!往后退,屋顶要塌了!
5 strangers
陌生人( stranger的名词复数 ); 外地人,初到者
  • The local people are very hospitable to strangers. 当地人对外来客人十分友好热情。
  • He was a paradox—a loner who loved to chat to strangers. 他真是个矛盾人物,生性孤僻却又喜欢和陌生人闲聊。
6 anger
n.生气,怒,愤怒;vt.使发怒;vi. 发怒
  • I won't see him until his anger has cooled down.等他怒气消了,我再去看他。
  • His eyes flash with anger.他眼中冒出怒火。
7 reading
n.阅读,知识,读物,表演,对法律条文的解释;adj.阅读的
  • Children learn reading and writing at school.孩子们在学校学习阅读和写作。
  • He finds pleasure in reading.他从阅读中得到乐趣。
8 toward
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
  • 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。
9 emotions
n.情感,感情,激情( emotion的名词复数 )
  • He lost control of his emotions. 他情绪失去了控制。
  • Her emotions see-sawed from anger to fear. 她一会儿气,一会儿怕,情绪变来变去。
10 silence
n.沉默,无声,静寂,湮没,无声息;vt.使缄默;int.安静!
  • She raised a hand for silence.她举手示意大家安静。
  • They drove home in silence.他们默不作声地开车回家。
11 sidewalk
n.人行道;(=pavement)(英)
  • I happened to meet him on the sidewalk.我碰巧在人行道上碰到他。
  • I found a wallet on the sidewalk.我在人行道上发现一个钱包。
12 being
n.存在;生存;生命存在,生命,人, 本质;art.在,有,是
  • Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗?
  • What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么?
13 cruel
adj.残酷的,残忍的;痛苦的,引起痛苦的
  • Tigers are cruel by nature.老虎生性残忍。
  • The cruel man abandoned his wife and child.那个狠心的男人舍弃了妻小。
14 ahead
adv.在前,向前,提前,在前面
  • We have to go ahead to find a garage.我们得到前边找个修车厂。
  • Youth looks ahead and age backward.青年人向前看,老年人向后看。
15 broken
adj.坏掉的,患病的,被制服的,断掉的;vbl.break的过去分词
  • He is mending a broken cup.他在修补破杯子。
  • Something was broken in my engine.我的发动机里有个东西损坏了。
16 fixed
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
17 completely
adv.完全地,十分地,全然
  • She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
  • I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。
18 drove
vbl.驾驶,drive的过去式;n.畜群
  • He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
  • They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。
19 private
adj.私人的,私有的,个人的
  • She never spoke about her private life.她从未谈论她的私生活。
  • He was being followed by a private detective.他正被私家侦探跟踪。
20 awaken
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起
  • Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
  • Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。
21 further
adv.(在时间或空间上)距离更大地;更远地
  • Have you had any further news?你有进一步的消息吗?
  • We will help you further.我们会进一步帮助你的。
22 published
v.出版( publish的过去式和过去分词 );(在互联网上)发表;公布;在报刊)发表
  • The findings of the commission will be published today. 委员会的调查结果将于今天公布。
  • His diary was not published during his lifetime. 他的日记在他生前未曾发表过。
23 narrator
n.讲述者;解说员;旁白者
  • He listens and waits for the narrator to explain more.他听著,等待讲的人进一步解释。
  • The story's narrator is an actress in her late thirties.故事的叙述者是位年近四十的女演员。