克裏斯蒂娜·朗德奎斯特/Kristine Lundquist
In 1949 my parents made the big move from Rockford, Illinois, to Southern California,along with three very tiny children and all their household possessions.My mother had carefully wrapped and packed many precious family heirlooms, including four cartons of her mother’s hand-painted dinner china.Grandmother had painted this lovely set herself, choosing a forget-me-not pattern.
Unfortunately, something happened during the move.One box of the china didn’t make it.It never arrived at our new house.So my mother had only three-quarters of the set—she had plates of different sizes and some serving pieces, but missing were the cups and saucers and the bowls.Often at family gatherings or when we would all sit down for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, my mother would say something about the missing china and how she wished it had survived the trip.
When my mother died in 1983, I inherited Grandmother’s china.I, too, used the set on many special occasions, and I, too, wondered what had happened to the missing box.
I love to prowl antique shops and flea markets, hunting for treasures.It’s great fun to walk up and down the aisles early in the morning, watching as the vendors spread their wares on the ground.
I hadn’t been to a flea market in over a year when, one Sunday in 1993, I got the itch to go.So I crawled out of bed at 5 A.M.and drove an hour in the predawn darkness to the giant Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena.I walked up and down the outdoor aisles, and after a couple of hours I was thinking about leaving.I rounded the last corner and took a few steps down the row when I noticed some china strewn on the macadam.I saw that it was hand-painted china...with forget-me-nots! I raced over to look at it more closely and gingerly picked up a cup and saucer...forget-me-nots! Exactly like Grandmother’s china, with the same delicate strokes and the same thin gold bands around the rims.I looked at the rest of the items—there were the cups! The saucers! The bowls! It was Grandmother’s china!
The dealer had noticed my excitement, and when she came over I told her the story of the missing box.She said the china had come from an estate sale in Pasadena—the next town over from Arcadia, where we had lived when I was a child.When she was going through the contents of the estate, she had found an old unopened carton stored in the garden shed, and the china was in it.She queshoned the heirs about the china and they said that they knew nothing about it, that the box had been in the shed“forever.”
I left the Rose Bowl Flea Market that day laden with my amazing treasure.Even now, six years later, I am filled with wonder that“all the pieces in the universe”tumbled together to let me find the missing china.What would have happened if I had slept in? What gave me the itch to go to the Rose Bowl on that particular day? What if I hadn’t turned that last corner, choosing instead to leave and rest my aching feet?
Last week I had a dinner party for fifteen friends.We used Grandmother’s china.And at the end of the meal, I proudly served coffee in those beautiful cups and saucers that had been missing for so long.
1949年，父母帶著我們3個年幼的孩子，從伊利諾伊州的羅克福德搬到了很遠的加州南部。母親把許多珍貴的傳家之物小心翼翼地包裹起來，其中包括祖母留下來的4箱手繪瓷器餐具。祖母選用了“勿忘我”的圖案，並親手繪製在了這些瓷器上。
遺憾的是，在搬家的時候發生了一些意外，其中一箱瓷器沒能運到新家，此後也沒有再找到。因此，母親失去了那些茶杯、茶托和碗，隻剩下3箱大小不一的盤子和一些其他小餐具。在家庭聚會、感恩節或聖誕節大餐時，母親就會懷念起丟失的瓷器，並說她是多麽希望那箱瓷器能夠在搬運時平安到達。
1983年，母親去世了，我繼承了祖母的瓷器。就像母親一樣，我會在許多特別的場合拿出來使用，並一直想搞清楚，那箱丟失的瓷器到底發生了什麽事情。
我非常喜歡到古董店和跳蚤市場去搜尋寶貝。清晨，去走道裏轉轉，看著小販們把瓷器擺出來，那真是一種很大的樂趣。
我已經一年多沒去逛跳蚤市場了，1993年的星期天，我忽然想去轉轉。早上5點，我從**爬了起來，在黎明之前，摸著黑開了一個小時的車，到了位於帕薩迪納的非常大的“玫瑰碗”跳蚤市場。在市場的走道裏，我轉了幾個小時，然後打算離去，在轉過最後的一個拐角往前走了幾步後，我注意到了碎石路上擺著的幾件瓷器。那些是手繪的瓷器，畫著“勿忘我”的圖案。於是，我跑上前去，拿起一個茶杯和一個茶托，放在眼前仔細看，那真的是“勿忘我”！精致的手法，還有描繪的金邊，與祖母的瓷器一模一樣。我又看了看其他瓷器，有茶杯、茶托，還有碗！這就是祖母的瓷器呀！
我的興奮之情引起了賣主的注意，她走了過來，我把丟失的那箱瓷器的故事講給她聽。賣主說，她在帕薩迪納購買了一處房產，就是在那裏發現了這箱瓷器。帕薩迪納是與阿卡迪亞相鄰的一個小鎮，我小時候就住在阿卡迪亞鎮。賣主說，她在清理物品時，在花園的一個小屋裏發現了這個密封的舊箱子，裏麵就裝著這些瓷器。她向那處房產的繼承人詢問了此事，他們說那個箱子一直就在小屋裏放著，並不知道那個箱子裏裝了什麽、從何而來以及它的主人是誰。
帶著這些令人驚異的寶貝，我離開了“玫瑰碗”跳蚤市場。6年後的今天，我對此事仍然感到驚奇，覺得這就是“一切機緣的巧合”才使我找回了丟失的瓷器。如果我那天賴床睡到很晚；如果那天我沒有去“玫瑰碗”市場；如果我沒有路過那個拐角，而是離開那裏找個地方休息，那事情又會是怎樣呢？
上個星期，我邀請了15位朋友到家裏參加聚會，並把祖母的瓷器拿出來使用。用完餐，我用失去很久的茶杯和茶托為大家送上咖啡時，心中燃起了一種自豪感。
(1) tiny?a.everything that exists anywhere
(2) preciousb.someone who purchases and maintains an inventoryof goods to be sold
(3) dealer c.obviously contrived to charm
(4) universed.very small
Write
TRUE?if the statement agrees with the information
FALSEif the statement contradicts the information
_______ (1) The writer had four sisters.
_______ (2) The writer had a dinner party for fifteen friends.
1.It’s great fun to_________the aisles early in the morning, watching as thevendor s spread their wares on the ground.
清晨，去走道裏轉轉，看著小販們把瓷器擺出來，那真是一種很大的樂趣。
2.I love to prowl antique shops and flea markets,_________treasures.
我非常喜歡到古董店和跳蚤市場去搜尋寶貝。 3.The dealer had noticed my excitement, and when she_________I told her the
story of the missing box.
我的興奮之情引起了賣主的注意，她走了過來，我把丟失的那箱瓷器的故事講給她聽。
健忘的奶奶 The Ice Cream Girl
佚名/Anonymous
Eleanor didn’t know what was wrong with Grandma.She was always forgetting things, like where she put the sugar, when to pay her bills, and what time to be ready to be picked up for grocery shopping.
“What’s wrong with Grandma?”Eleanor asked.“She used to be such a neat lady.Now she looks sad and lost and doesn’t remember things.”
“Grandma’s just getting old,”Mother said.“She needs a lot of love right now, dear.”
“What’s it like to get old?”Eleanor asked.“Does everybody forget things? Will I?”“Not everyone forgets things when they get old, Eleanor.We think Grandma may have Alzheimer’s disease, and that makes her forget more.We may have to put her in a nursing home to get the proper care she needs.”
“Oh, Mom! That’s terrible! She’ll miss her own little house so much, won’t she?”
“Maybe, but there isn’t much else we can do.She’ll get good care there and make some new friends.”
Eleanor looked sorrowful.She didn’t like the idea at all.
“Can we go and see her often?”she asked.“I’ll miss talking to Grandma, even if she does forget things.”
“We can go on weekends,”Mother answered.“We can take her a present.”“Like ice cream? Grandma loves strawberry, ice cream!”Eleanor smiled.
“Strawberry ice cream it is!”Mother said.
The first time they visited Grandma in the nursing home, Eleanor wanted to cry.
“Mom, almost all of the people are in wheelchairs,”she said.
“They have to be.Otherwise they’d fall,”Mother explained.“Now when you see Grandma, smile and tell her how nice she looks.”
Grandma sat all by herself in a comer of the room they called the sun parlor.She sat looking out at the trees.
Eleanor hugged Grandma.“Look,”she said,“we brought you a present—your favorite, strawberry ice cream!”
Grandma took the Dixie cup and the spoon and began eating without saying a word.
“I’m sure she’s enjoying it, dear,”Eleanor’s mother assured her.
“But she doesn’t seem to know us.”Eleanor was disappointed.
“You have to give her time,”Mother said.“She’s in new surroundings, and she has to make an adjustment.”
But the next time they visited Grandma it was the same.She ate the ice cream and smiled at them, but she didn’t say anything.
“Grandma, do you know who I am?”Eleanor asked.
“You’re the girl who brings me the ice cream,”Grandma said.
“Yes, but I’m Eleanor, too, your granddaughter.Don’t you remember me.”She asked, throwing her arms around the old lady.
Grandma smiled faintly.
“Remember?Sure I remember.You’re the girl who brings me ice cream.
Suddenly Eleanor realized that Grandma would never remember her.Grandma was living in a world all her own, in a world of shadowy memories and loneliness.
“Oh, how I love you, Grandma!”she said.Just then she saw a tear roll down Grandma’s cheek.
“Love,”she said.“I remember love.”
“You see, dear, that’s all she wants,”Mother said.“Love.”
“I’ll bring her ice cream every weekend then, and hug her even if she doesn’t remember me,”Eleanor said.
After all, that was more important—to remember love rather than someone’s name.
埃莉諾不知道奶奶怎麽了，她十分健忘，她會忘記糖放在哪兒、何時付賬，連何時來接她去買日用雜貨和副食品都會忘記。
“奶奶怎麽了？”埃莉諾問媽媽。“她顯得憂傷迷茫，還總記不住事，可她以前做事總是井然有序的。”
“奶奶隻是年紀大了，”媽媽說。“她現在需要許多的愛，親愛的。”
“變老會是怎麽樣？”埃莉諾問，“每個老人都健忘嗎？我會嗎？”
“不是所有人都這樣，埃莉諾。奶奶可能是得了老年癡呆症，所以，才這麽愛忘事。我們也許該送奶奶去敬老院，在那裏，她可以得到更好的照顧。”
“噢，媽媽！那樣不好！她會非常想念她的小房子，不是嗎？”
“也許會這樣，但我們沒有別的辦法，在敬老院她會得到很好的照顧，還會交新的朋友。”
埃莉諾根本不讚成這個主意，所以很傷心。
“那我們能常去看她嗎？”她問。“即便她總忘事，我還是想和她—起聊天。”
“周末我們可以去看望她，”媽媽回答，“還可以帶一件禮物。”
“比如冰淇淋?奶奶喜歡草莓味的冰淇淋!”埃莉諾笑了。
“好吧，就是草莓味冰淇淋了!”媽媽說。
第一次去敬老院看望奶奶，埃莉諾想哭。
“媽媽，差不多所有的老人都坐在輪椅裏，”她說。
“如果不那樣，他們會摔倒的。”媽媽解釋道。“好吧，見到奶奶時，你要微笑著對她說她的氣色非常好。”
在被稱為陽光客廳的一個角落，奶奶獨自坐著，眼睛望著窗外的樹木。
埃莉諾擁抱著奶奶。“看，”她說，“我們給您帶來了您最愛吃的草莓冰淇淋!”
奶奶一語不發地拿著盛冰淇淋的紙杯和小勺吃了起來。
“我認為她吃得很開心，親愛的，”埃莉諾的媽媽以肯定的口氣說。
“可是她好像不認識我們呀。”埃莉諾有些失望地說。
“因為她現在在新環境裏，需要調整。你得給她一些時間適應，”媽媽說。
但是，第二次，看望奶奶的情形同樣如此，她仍舊不言不語吃著冰淇淋，向她們微笑，“奶奶，您知道我是誰嗎？”埃莉諾問。
“你是給我送來冰淇淋的小姑娘呀。”奶奶說。
“是的，可是我也是您的孫女埃莉諾。您不記得了嗎？”她邊問邊用胳膊抱住老人。
奶奶微笑了一下。
“記得？我當然記得。你就是那個給我送來冰淇淋的小姑娘。”
埃莉諾突然間明白奶奶大概再也不會記得她是誰了。奶奶獨自生活在一個充滿孤獨和模糊的記憶的世界裏。
“哦，我多麽愛您，奶奶。”她說。此時她看見奶奶的臉頰流下一滴淚水。
“愛，”她說。“我記得‘愛’。”
“你看，親愛的，”媽媽說，“奶奶想要的就是‘愛’”。“那麽，每周末我都要帶著冰淇淋來看她，擁抱她，即便她不認識我。”埃莉諾說。畢竟，記住愛比記住某人的名字更重要。
assure, ensure, reassure
assure表示“使……相信”。
例：I’ll assure you that I’m right.
我會讓你相信我是對的。
ensure的意思是“確保，擔保”。
例：I ensure the safety of the journey.我確保這次旅行的安全。
reassure表示“安慰；使安心”。
例：The doctor reassured the old man.
醫生叫那位老人放心。
1.Eleanor didn’t know what was_________with Grandma.She was always forgetting things, like where she put the_________, when to pay her bills, and what time to be ready to be picked up for_________shopping.
2.Not everyone forgets things when they_________, Eleanor.We think Grandma may have Alzheimer’s disease, and that makes her forget_________.We may have to put her in a nursing home to get the_________care she needs.