温馨夜读II PART2 3.The Giving Trees
时间：2018-12-26 作者：英语课 分类：温馨夜读II
[00:00.40]3.The Giving Trees
[00:03.88]I was a single parent of four small children.
[00:08.13]Money was always tight, but what we had, if not a lot, was always enough.
[00:13.90]My kids told me that in those days they didn’t know we were poor.
[00:18.15]It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts, we had our plans to celebrate.
[00:24.79]The big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas shopping at the mall.
[00:28.71]They talked and planned for weeks ahead of time, asking each other and their grandparents what they wanted for Christmas.
[00:35.24]I dreaded 1 it. I only saved $120 for all five of us.
[00:41.78]The big day arrived and we started out early.
[00:44.93]I gave each of the four kids a twenty dollar bill and reminded them to look for gifts about four dollars each.
[00:51.90]Then everyone scattered 2.
[00:53.87]We had two hours to shop; and then we would meet back at the “Santa’s workshop” display.
[00:59.09]Back in the car driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits,
[01:04.54]laughing and teasing 3 each other with hints and clues about what they had bought.
[01:09.55]My younger daughter, Ginger 4, who was about eight years old, was unusually quiet.
[01:15.54]I noticed she had only one small, flat bag with her after her shopping spree.
[01:21.52]I could see enough through the plastic bag to tell that she had bought candy bars — fifty-cent candy bars!
[01:29.26]I was so angry.
[01:31.54]What did you do with that twenty dollar bill I gave you?
[01:34.81]I wanted to yell 5 at her, but I didn’t say anything until we got home.
[01:39.17]I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, ready to be angry again when I asked her what she had done with the money.
[01:46.46]This is what she told me:
[01:48.97]“I was looking around, thinking of what to buy,
[01:53.54]and I stopped to read the little cards on one of the Salvation 6 Army’s ‘Giving Trees.’
[01:58.33]One of the cards was for a little girl, four years old,
[02:03.02]and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll with clothes and a hairbrush.
[02:08.37]So I took the card off the tree and bought the doll and hairbrush for her and took it to the Salvation Army booth.
[02:16.25]“I only had enough money left to buy candy bars for us,” Ginger continued.
[02:21.60]“But we have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
[02:26.09]I never felt so rich as I did that day.
- The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
- He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
- Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。
- Don't get upset—I was only teasing. 别不高兴，我只是在逗你玩。
- I didn't think you meant that seriously;I thought you were teasing. 我未想到你是当真的，我原以为你是开玩笑的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
- Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。