大學(xué)英語精讀第一冊(cè)UNIT 5. A Miserable, Merry Christmas

A miserable and merry Christmas? How could it be?

A Miserable, Merry Christmas

    Christmas was coming. I wanted a pony. To make sure that my parents understood, I declared that I wanted noting else.
    "Nothing but a pony?" my father asked.
    "Nothing," I said.
    "Not even a pair of high boots?"
    That was hard. I did want boots, but I stuck to the pony. "No, not even boots."
    "Nor candy? There ought to be something to fill your stocking with, and Santa Claus can't put a pony into a stocking,"
    That was true, and he couldn't lead a pony down the chimney either . But no. "All I want is a pony," I said. "If I can't have a pony, give me nothing, nothing."
    On Christmas Eve I hung up my stocking along with my sisters.
    The next morning my sisters and I woke up at six. Then we raced downstairs to the fireplace. And there they were, the gifts, all sorts of wonderful things, mixed-up piles of presents. Only my stocking was empty; it hung limp; not a thing in it; and under and around it -- nothing. My sisters had knelt down, each by her pile of gifts; they were crying with delight, till they looked up and saw me standing there looking so miserable. They came over to me and felt my stocking: nothing.
    I don't remember whether I cried at that moment, but my sisters did. They ran with me back to my bed, and there we all cried till I became indignant. That helped some. I got up, dressed, and driving my sisters away, I went out alone into the stable, and there, all by myself, I wept. My mother came out to me and she tried to comfort me. But I wanted no comfort. She left me and went on into the house with sharp words for my father.
    My sisters came to me, and I was rude. I ran away from them. I went around to the front of the house, sat down on the steps, and, the crying over, I ached. I was wronged, I was hurt. And my father must have been hurt, too, a little. I saw him looking out of the window. He was watching me or something for an hour or two, drawing back the curtain so little lest I catch him, but I saw his face, and I think I can see now the anxiety upon on it, the worried impatience.
    After an hour or two, I caught sight of a man riding a pony down the street, a pony and a brand-new saddle; the most beautiful saddle I ever saw, and it was a boy's saddle. And the pony! As he drew near, I saw that the pony was really a small horse, with a black mane and tail, and one white foot and a white star on his forehead. For such a horse as that I would have given anything.
    But the man came along, reading the numbers on the houses, and, as my hopes -- my impossible hopes -- rose, he looked at our door and passed by, he and the pony, and the saddle. Too much, I fell upon the steps and broke into tears. Suddenly I heard a voice.
    "Say, kid," it said, "do you know a boy named Lennie Steffens?"
    I looked up. It was the man on the pony, back again.
    "Yes," I spluttered through my tears. "That's me."
    "Well," he said, "then this is your horse. I've been looking all over for you and your house. Why don't you put your number where it can be seen?"
    "Get down," I said, running out to him. I wanted to ride.
    He went on saying something about "ought to have got here at seven o'clock, but--"
    I hardly heard, I could scarcely wait. I was so happy, so thrilled. I rode off up the street. Such a beautiful pony. And mine! After a while I turned and trotted back to the stable. There was the family, father, mother, sisters, all working for me, all happy. They had been putting in place the tools of my new business: currycomb, brush, pitchfork -- everything, and there was hay in the loft.
    But that Christmas, which my father had planned so carefully, was it the best or the worst I ever knew? He often asked me that; I never could answer as a boy. I think now that it was both. It covered the whole distance from broken-hearted misery to bursting happiness -- too fast, A grown-up could hardly have stood it.


NEW WORDS
 
    miserable          
a.  causing unhappiness; very unhappy 悲慘的
    merry              
a.  cheerful, full of lively happiness, fun, etc. 歡樂的，愉快的
    pony               
n.  a small horse 矮種馬；小馬
    boot               
n.  長(zhǎng)統(tǒng)靴              
    candy              
n.  (AmE) sweets 糖果
    sticking           
n.  長(zhǎng)（統(tǒng)）襪
    chimney            
n.  煙囪         
    eve                
n.  前夕        
    fireplace          
n.  壁爐
    mixed-up           
a.  (different things) put together　混合的，混雜的
    limp               
a.  soft; not stiff or firm　軟的；松沓的
    kneel              
v.  go down or remain on the knee(S)　跪下
    indignant          
a.  angry at sth. unfair　氣憤的；憤慨的
    stable             
n.  building for keeping and feeding animals, esp. horses　馬廄
    weep               
v.  cry　哭泣；流淚
    rude               
a.  not at all polite　粗魯?shù)?，不禮貌的
    wrong              
vt. treat unjustly　委屈
    curtain            
n.  窗簾
    lest               
conj. for fear that　唯恐，以免　
    anxiety            
n.  fear caused by uncertainty about sth.　焦慮
    impatience         
n.  inability to wait calmly　不耐煩，急躁
    patience          
n.
    brand              
n.  商標(biāo)，牌子
    brand-new          
a.  entirely new and unused　嶄新的
    saddle             
n.  馬鞍
    mane               
n.  馬鬃
    forehead           
n.  that part of the face above the eyes and below the hair 前額
    kid                
n.  child
    splutter           
v.  speak quickly and confusedly (from excitement, etc.) 語無倫次地說
    scarcely           
ad. hardly, almost not 幾乎不，簡(jiǎn)直不
    scarce            
a.
    thrill             
vt. excite greatly　使非常激動(dòng)
    trot               
vi. run or ride slowly, with short steps?。R）小跑
    currycomb          
n.  a special comb used to rub and clean a horse　馬梳
    pitchfork　　　　　
n.  干草叉
    hay                
n.  dried grass 干草
    loft               
n.  a room over a stable, where hay is kept 草料棚
    broken-hearted     
a.  filled with grief; very sad  心碎的；極其傷心的
    misery             
n.  the state of being very unhappy, poor, ill, lonely, etc. 悲慘；不幸；苦難
    happiness          
n.  the state of being happy 快樂；幸福
    grown-up           
a. & n. (of) an adult person 成人（的）


PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS

    make sure      
    ct so as to make something certain 確保；查明
    nothing but    
    nothing other than; only 除了...以外沒有什么；僅僅，只不過
    stick to       
    refuse to give up or change 堅(jiān)持，不放棄
    hang up        
    fix (sth,) at a high place so that it does not touch the ground　掛起
    or something   
    (used when the speaker is not sure) 諸如此類
    catch sight of  
    see suddenly or for a moment  看到，發(fā)現(xiàn)
    draw near       
    mover near　接近
    break into     
    suddenly start (to cry, laugh, etc.) 突然...起來
    in place         
    in the right place　在適當(dāng)?shù)奈恢?br />

PROPER NAMES

    Santa Claus 　　
　　圣誕老人
    Christmas  Eve　
　　圣誕前夜
    Lennie Steffens 　
  　倫尼.斯蒂芬斯