时间:2018-12-11 作者:英语课 分类:听美国故事练听力


英语课

  The snow kept coming down, quietly, ghostlike, covering the landdeeper and deeper. It seemed as if it would go on forever 1. It was thefirst snowfall of the year. Billy looked through the kitchen window.

He felt like diving 2 into the snow and burying 3 himself in its softness.

"Billy," his mother shouted, she was standing 4 at his side but had toraise her voice because he was not listening.

"Do you have to call me Billy?""I meant Bill," his mother answered quickly, "I forgot how closeyou're to being 5 a man. Go help pa with the fence 6."Billy started out toward 7 the fence. That was the story of his life,fixing this, fixing that. He walked slowly. The falling snow had astrange power, a power that did not seem real. It was like magic 8.

Billy wanted to keep going, wishing there was no fence to reach or tofix. And then suddenly, out across the fields he went, he did not knowwhat he was doing, he liked to help his father, but he kept thinkingthat at home he would never be more than a boy with small jobs to do.

He crossed the frozen 10 creek 11 and then walked up into the hills when hecame down into the flat lands. He began to run, racing 12 against thewhole world.

Then he saw his friend Joey standing near his father's barn 13 with apail in his hand.

"What's gotten into you?" Joey asked.

"I just feel good. That's all.""You look kind of funny," Joey said. Billy wiped his hot face withsnow. "I don't think I ever feel so good."Joey said he was going to the town hall for music and dancing. Billywent with him. The town hall was on a hill, between two long valleys 15.

As they drove 16 up, they heard music coming out of the hall. Inside thehall, the air was sweet and warm. Some of the girls smiled at Billy ina funny way. He could not tell if the smiles were friendly or not. Heturned back to the door and decided 17 to stand there for a moment andthen go, there was too much noise inside.

"You're standing right in the cold." Someone said to him. It was oneof the Joey's cousins Sheila. Sheila something or other, she lived inthe next town. Billy didn't even know her last name.

"Oh," he said, his face getting red. He moved a little.

"You're still in it." She said. Bill looked at her. She was sort 18 ofpretty with long black hair and blue-green eyes. But Billy wished shewould go away.

"It's only fresh air," he said, "go pick on somebody else.""I'm not picking on you. I'm trying to help you. That's what.""Too many things they're helping 19 when there're none." Billy said.

She studied him. "Well," she said, "that's true." Then, she smiled.

"You don't like it in here, do you?""I feel better outside," he answered. Without thinking 9 Billy said,"Look! Would you like to go out just for a few minutes?"She turned her head away then said, "I'll get my coat."Outside, they stood in the snow looking at the lighted windows of thehall. She walked quietly beside him, a stranger 20 in white coat, shoesand gloves. He could still hear the music from the hall, but it waspart of the snowfall. It seemed to be made not for dancers but forwalkers. It seemed strange and wonderful that there should be someoneso near him.

Suddenly he asked, "Did you say something?""No," she said, "did you?"He shook his head.

"What do you think about when you walk like this?" she said.

"Oh, different things. What I like to do and never can, it'sdaydreaming I guess.""Yes," she said, "I do that, too."The snow seemed to be falling faster now and the music from the hallwas gone. From far below came the sound of bells followed by a fewcoughs from an old car. Then there was just silence 22 as if the snow hadcut off all the sounds of the world. Billy looked at her white coatand hat beside him. They belong to that world of wonder, that world ofmagic that was born with the first snowfall. He touched her hat.

"What're you doing?""I don't know," he said, "I just…", he stopped.

There was nothing real but the snow. Even the whiteness of her coatand hat seemed to come from the snow. He turned around; all signs ofthe world were gone.

"We are the only two in the world left," he said.

"Is that why you touched my hat?"He said nothing. But then in a rush of words, bravely he said, "MaybeI wanted to kiss you."She laughed. "I wouldn't let you," she said, "I don't like kissing.""I don't either," he said.

"Oh, well, that's a good thing, because she wouldn't really be ableto.""Why not?""I'm too strong for you," she said.

"So that's what you think. You're wrong. If I really wanted to, Iguess I could do alright.""Dreamer 23!" She gave him a push and ran back toward the hall, before heknew it he was after her, he had caught her. Laughing she pushed himand down they went into the snow. He expected her to let him kiss hernow. That's what often happened in the stories he read. Why would shelaugh if her struggle 24 against him were real? But she did not let him.

She fought him as if she wanted to hurt him, wanted to make him feelsmall.

"You're a child," she said, pulling away from him.

I should let her go, he thought. But he held on to her until he feltthat he could hold on forever. He wanted to hold on forever. It wasreally a simple thing to hug a girl he thought. Her hat had beenpushed off and the snow shining on her dark hair, he now felt astrange gentleness for her. As she looked angrily at him, her face redand full of fight, he told himself that it was not the right moment tokiss her. However, he tried to kiss her anyway, more in pride thananything else but he missed her mouth. He still held on as the snowlight and cool as a fresh white sheet 25 began to cover them. She wasgetting tired. She was looking at him differently now with less anger 21.

And he tried to kiss her again. This time he did not miss her mouthand met hers fully 26. Had she moved to meet him? He did not know. In hisdaydreams, success had always lifted him up. People cheered him. Butbeing able to kiss her was a different kind of success. He did notfeel lifted up, there were no cheers 27 and there was no fire in hisblood as some of his dreams made him believe there would be, insteadhe felt something else. He looked at the small hat in the snow, andthat the small wet face of one who was not strong enough. He feltsorry for her. This feeling was new to him. He wondered how such afeeling could be part of another feeling that seemed so good. Verygently, Billy kissed her a third time. Then he let her go and theystood up. He picked up her hat and put it on her head. They began towalk back toward the hall.

The music came to them again as light as the snow that had covereddown. As they walked, her hand touched his. She didn't mean to do it.

Her touch was just another part of what now seemed to be a world oflight and gentle things.

"Do you want to go back in the hall?" she asked, her voice was low.

She no longer looked so strong.

"I guess not," he answered, "are you going in?""I'd better," she answered, "I came with friends. I'll see you again,won't I? "Her question surprised him, he had not thought about seeing her again,he was still lost in a dream thinking of the day's happenings, feelingthe wonder and excitement 28 of newborn things, like the first snowfall,the first spring flowers, the first feelings of growing up becoming aman.

Billy heard her asked again, "I'll see you again, won't I?"He shook his head.

"You mean I won't?" she asked.

"I mean you will." he answered.

She smiled and went inside.

He began walking along the road toward the valley 14. The snowfall seemedto be stopping but he believed that it would last until he got home.

You have just heard the American story "Light and Gentle Things". Itwas written by William S for the New England magazine called Yankee.

Our narrator 29 was Shep O'Neal. For VOA Special English, this is SusanClark.



1
adv.(=for ever)永远;总是
  • Teacher is powerful in a child's eyes forever.老师在孩子们的心中永远是强者。
  • You can't depend on your parents forever.你不能永远依赖你父母。
2 diving
n.跳水,潜水v.下潜 dive的现在分词
  • The company offers scuba-diving as an add-on to the basic holiday price. 这家公司提供带水肺潜水活动,不包括在基本度假费用以内。
  • I'd love to go diving in the Aegean. 我很想到爱琴海去潜水。
3 burying
n.埋,埋葬v.埋葬( bury的现在分词 );掩埋;原谅;沉溺于
  • The old man is burying his money. 老头正在埋藏他的钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She began to sob again, burying her face in the pillow. 她把脸埋在枕头里,又开始啜泣起来。 来自辞典例句
4 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
5 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?
6 fence
n.围墙,剑术;v.用篱笆围住,练习剑术,防护;[计算机]栅栏
  • They put a fence around the garden.他们在园子的周围建起了篱笆。
  • The thief jumped himself over a fence and escaped.贼纵身跃过篱笆逃走了。
7 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。
8 magic
adj.有魔力的;n.魔法
  • He is very good at performing magic.他很会表演魔术。
  • That was a truly magic moment.那真是不可思议的一刻。
9 thinking
n.思考,思想;adj.思考的,有理性的;vbl.想,思考
  • All thinking men will protest against it.凡是有思想的人都会抗议这件事。
  • Thinking is mainly performed with words and other symbols.思想主要是用言语和其他符号来表达的。
10 frozen
adj.冻结的,冰冻的
  • He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上,他被冻死了。
  • The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。
11 creek
n.小溪,小河,小湾
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
12 racing
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
13 barn
n.谷仓,饲料仓,牲口棚
  • That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
  • The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。
14 valley
adj.流域,山谷,峡谷;n.山谷,溪谷
  • I watched the climbers come down into the valley.我注视着爬山者下到山谷里去了。
  • The house lies in a little valley behind the trees.那所房子坐落在树林后的一个山谷里。
15 valleys
n.山谷( valley的名词复数 );流域;溪谷
  • Deep-sea valleys are the counterparts of the mountain chains. 深海里的峡谷相当于陆地上的山脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • At one time they used to mine coal in these valleys. 从前他们在这些峡谷中采煤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 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。
17 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
18 sort
v.排序,挑选,分拣;n.种类,类别,性质,程度
  • She was a strange sort of person.她这个人有些古怪。
  • I don't much care for that sort of man.我不太喜欢那种人。
19 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
20 stranger
n.陌生人;外地人,异乡人
  • A stranger walked up to me and asked me the time.一个陌生人走到我跟前,问我时间。
  • It's hard for a stranger to make friends in this town.外地人在这个城里很难交朋友。
21 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。
22 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。
23 dreamer
n.做梦的人;空想家,梦想家
  • The young dreamer refused to accept the actuality.年轻的梦想家不愿接受这个事实。
  • You are nothing more than a dreamer.你不过是个梦想家而已。
24 struggle
vi.努力;挣扎;奋斗;n.竞争;努力;奋斗
  • They joined the struggle against him.他们参加了反对他的斗争。
  • After a long struggle,she gained control of the business.她经过长期的努力,在业务上已能应付自如。
25 sheet
n.床单,张,纸张,印刷品,表格,薄片;vt.盖上被单,遍布;vi.大片落下;adj.片状的
  • Can I have another sheet of paper please?我可以再要一张纸吗?
  • He looked as white as a sheet.他脸色苍白如纸。
26 fully
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
27 Cheers
int.干杯,(英口语)谢谢,再见
  • The crowd burst into cheers.人群中爆发出一片欢呼声。
  • To your health!Cheers!祝您健康!干杯!
28 excitement
n.刺激;兴奋;激动
  • His voice rose in excitement.他激动得声音提高了。
  • He opened the door and ran out in great excitement.他打开门,非常激动地跑了出去。
29 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。
学英语单词
acanthochiton
acception of persons
act according to
actvs
aetr
Akropong
ann c.
arteriae ulnaris
Asian cholera
atmosphere analyser
automatic monitoring
b-complex vitamins
barrow's
bill of lading copy
blow-run method
bricked it
brown smoke
chassepots
chewability
chirometer
civil time
clowers
Cogolin
consciousness-threshold
counterlaths
diameter ratio
differential block
doner kebabs
electronic journalism
ELEP (expansion-line end point)
employee business expenses
endomesoderm cell
euaugaptilus mixtus
factor of evaluation
finish gauge
fire extinguisher system
fordwine
globeflowers
GM_past-perfect-continuous-i-had-been-working
granoblastic texture
gross thickness
heavy-liddeds
horny-handed
hutzpah
hwyls
included angle
instantaneous frequency stability
insulating soft wire
isogermidine
Khārchok
land use mapping
lazy leucocyte syndrome
line of engagement
link (li)
Lithocarpus jenkinsii
lower end of duct
mediumfit
microscopics
microviscosity
mini-burgers
monotonic functional
morning draughtboard
nipponium
oligarchies
operatorship
Orissi
pharmacological compound
phosphatidylinositol(PI)
pole trawl
private listing
proton stream
psychorrhagia
qualified director
qualitative property
quartz watch
radio-thermoluminescence
Rhododendron jinxiuense
Sankt Gallenkirch
sarcinodes yeni
saturation patrols
scrap metals
shamshir
shyryf
specified point
Stewartia gemmata
sun-burned
super-huge turbogenerator
supply-demand relation
sylph-like
tandem milking parler
theos
thirled
trachy-pitchstone
two-way omnibus
unregimented
unvailing
valeryl phenetidine
washed down
whisenhunt
Wilkins Micawber
wintams
Zabud