佚名/Anonymous
One rainy November morning I had about all I could take.I knew if I didn’t leave the house soon I would unleash a storm of anger on my husband, A.K.
“I’m taking you to work.”A.K.said.I struggled into my jacket, and then grabbed my satchel and lesson plans.“I’ve been driving that route for many years.I can drive it now.”
“I said I’m taking you to work.”He reached for his boots.
I looked at the stacks of newspaper, the dirty dishes still on the table.“Don’t you have enough to do? I can take care of myself.”l stalked out, not even kissing him good-bye.
“Don’t take the shortcut, Donna!”He shouted after me.
A heart attack that past spring forced my husband to leave his job.l was in the middle of my twenty-second year teaching high school seniors, while A.K.stayed home and took over the household chores.
The new arrangement was a disaster.Exhausted after a day of dealing with faculty meetings and students, all I wanted was a hot home cooked meal and a good night’s sleep.
A microwave package greeted me at the table.
One night, I was horrified to discover A.K.had turned our white sheets a suspiciously denimlike shade of blue.
“l found out how to save on water, soap and electricity.”A.K.announced triumphantly.“Just wash everything together.”
During the months that followed, his cooking somehow managed to get worse.At least I cooked us balanced meals, I wanted to say.But then I would remember the time A.K.had eaten every beet and complimented the dinner, though I discovered later how he detested the sight of beets.So I wouldn’t say anything to him.
As for as I was concerned, things couldn’t get much worse.So that rainy morning when I found a now-blue half-slip stuffed in a dresser drawer, I could only grit my teeth, l had it!
Lord, can’t you help him with just the basics of taking care of us? I stormed out of the house.
Ten minutes later, ignoring A.K.’s warning abort taking the shortcut in bad weather, I turned off the main route.
But as I rounded the corner a swirling mess gushed across my path.It can’t be that deep, I thought.But after a few feet, the car stalled.Almost 20 minutes passed, the care swayed.The chocolaty water surged.Please, God, I prayed, take care of me.
Three long blasts of horn interrupted my praying.Looking over my shoulder, A.K.!
“Donna!I’m throwing a rope,”he yelled.“Hang on to it and walk straight toward me.”
I opened the door, grabbed the rope.I slipped in the rushing water,“I can’t!”I screamed, straining at the rope.
“Yes, you can.”His voice was calm.
If it had been anybody but A.K., I don’t think I could have done it.But I trusted my husband.I didn’t exactly as he instructed, and finally fell into his arms.“Thank you,”I said, sobbing against his chest.“I’m sorry I got so angry with you.It’s just that ...”
“Sssss ...”A.K.murmured.“It’s okay now.I’ve got you.”
God had reminded me that A.K.understood a thing or how about taking care of us after all.
11月，一個雨天的早上，我已經對周圍的一切感到極度厭煩，如果不馬上離開家的話，我肯定會對丈夫艾·克發火的。
“我送你去上班吧。”艾·克說。我猛地穿上夾克，抓起包和教案說：“我已經在這條路上開了很多年了，現在也可以。”
“我說了我送你去上班。”他說著，伸手去夠他的靴子。
我看著桌上成堆的報紙和髒盤子，說道：“你閑著沒事嗎？我能照顧我自己。”說完就仰起頭走了，連一個吻和再見都沒有。
“唐娜，不要抄近道啊！”他在我身後喊道。
春天時，心髒病迫使丈夫離開了工作崗位。在一所中學教高中的我從教已有22年了，而此刻艾·克則待在家裏做家務。
新的生活簡直是一場災難。每天沒完沒了的開會和上課使我精疲力盡，我想要的隻是能回家吃頓熱乎乎的家常飯、睡個安穩覺。
然而，桌上擺的總是用微波爐熱好的速食品。
一天晚上，我驚訝地發現艾·克把潔白的床單染成了粗布般的深藍色。
“我發現怎樣省水、肥皂和電了。”艾·克興奮地宣布，“就是把所有的東西放在一起洗。”
在接下來的幾個月裏，不知道為什麽，他做的飯越來越難吃了。我很想說，至少我做的飯還能營養均衡呢！但我突然想起有一次做甜菜，他稱讚我做得好，後來才發現，他最討厭吃甜菜了，於是就沒有說他什麽。
此後，我知道事情變得越來越糟，簡直糟糕透頂。這個雨天的早上，我發現一件染成藍色的裙子被塞進抽屜裏時，我實在受不了啦！
上帝啊，在照顧人的基本常識方麵，你就不能幫幫他嗎？我氣衝衝地出了門。
我沒有理睬艾·克的勸告，十分鍾後，在這個壞天氣裏，我駛離了主幹道。
不料，拐彎時，汙水一下子湧進了我要穿過的小道。我想水應該不會很深。但沒走多遠，車子就拋錨了。大概20分鍾過去了，車子開始搖晃，汙水也開始湍急起來。上帝，請保佑我啊！
突然，三聲長長的鳴笛聲打斷了我的祈禱。我扭頭一看，是艾·克！
“唐娜！我扔給你一條繩子，”他喊著，“抓住它，向我這邊走。”
我打開車門，抓住繩子。在激流的水中，我滑倒了。“我過不去！”我喊道，並使勁拽著繩子。
“能，你能的。”他的聲音很平靜。
如果那時換成另外任何一個人，而不是艾·克，我想我根本無法做到。但我信任我的丈夫。我完全按他的指揮做，最終撲到他的懷裏。“謝謝，”我說，然後靠在他的胸膛哭了，“我很抱歉，剛才跟你發脾氣，那是……”
“噓！”艾·克低聲說，“現在好了，你沒事就好。”
上帝提醒了我，艾·克完全懂得怎樣照顧人。
1.as far as...concerned...
as far as...concerned...的意思是“就……所知”，是一個固定搭配。
例：As far as I was concerned, things couldn’t get much worse.
我知道事情變得越來越糟，簡直糟糕透頂。
2.chore
chore的意思是“零星工作”，一般指家常事務，通常用複數形式表示，household chores家務瑣事。
例：As a child one of my chores was to feed the aminals.
小時候，我的雜活之一就是喂動物。
1.A heart attack that past spring forced my husband to________.l was in the middle of my twenty-second year teaching high school________, while A.K.stayed home and took over the household________.
2.As for as I was concerned, things couldn’t get much________.So that rainy morning when I found a now-blue half-slip stuffed in a________, I could only grit my teeth, l had it!