第五單元
如何歡慶節(jié)日
課文A
亞歷克斯·黑利二戰(zhàn)時在海岸警衛(wèi)隊服役。出海在外，時逢一個倍感孤寂的日子——感恩節(jié)——他開始認真思考這一節(jié)日的意義，對許多美國人而言，這個節(jié)日已成為大吃大喝、沒完沒了地看橄欖球比賽的日子。黑利決定寫三封不同尋常的信，以此來紀念感恩節(jié)的真正意義。
寫三封感謝信
亞歷山大·黑利
那是在二戰(zhàn)期間的1943年，我是個年輕的美國海岸警衛(wèi)隊隊員。我們的船，美國軍艦軍市一號已出海多日。多數(shù)船艙裝著成千上萬箱罐裝或風干的食品。其余的船艙裝著不少五百磅重的炸彈，都小心翼翼地放在有軟墊的架子上。我們的目的地是南太平洋圖拉吉島上一個規(guī)模很大的基地。
我是軍市一號上的一個廚師，跟岸上的人‘樣，那個感恩節(jié)的上午，我們忙著在準備一道以烤火雞為主的傳統(tǒng)菜肴。
當廚師的都知道，要烹制一頓大餐，擺上桌，再刷洗、收拾干凈，是件辛苦的事。不過，等到太陽快下山時，我們總算全都收拾停當了。
我想先去后甲板透透氣。我信步走去，一邊深深呼吸著空氣，一邊慢慢地踱著步，頭上仍戴著那頂白色的廚師帽。
我開始思索起感恩節(jié)這個節(jié)日來，想著清教徒前輩移民、印第安人、·野火雞、南瓜、玉米棒等等。
可我腦子里似乎還在搜索著別的什么一某種我能夠賦予這一節(jié)日以個人意義的方式。大概過了半個小時左右我才意識到，問題的關鍵也許在于把Thanksgiving這個詞前后顛倒一下——那樣廣來至少文字好懂了：Giving thanks。
表達謝意——就如在祈禱時感謝上帝那樣，我暗想。對啊，是這樣，當然是這樣。
可我腦子里仍一直盤桓著這事。
過了片刻，如同晨曦初現(xiàn)，一個更清晰的念頭終于涌現(xiàn)腦際——要感謝他人，那些賜我多恩惠，我根本無以回報的人們。令我深感不安的實際情形是，我向來對他們所做的一之泰然，認為是理所應當。我一次也沒想過要對他們中的任何一位真心誠意地說一句簡單的謝謝。
至少有七個人對我有過不同尋常、影響深遠的幫助。令人萬分難受的是，我意識到，他們中有一半已經(jīng)謝世了——因此他們永遠也無法接受我的謝意了。我越想越感至懂愧。最后我想到了仍然健在的三位，幾分鐘后，我就回到了自己的艙房。
我坐在攤著信紙的桌旁，回想著佃門各自為我所做的一切，試圖用真摯的文字表達我對他們的由衷的感激之情：父親西蒙·A·黑利，阿肯色州派恩布拉大那所古老韻農(nóng)業(yè)機械師范學院的教授；住在田納西州小鎮(zhèn)亨寧老家的外祖母辛西婭·帕爾默；以及我的初中校長，退休后住在亨寧以北6英里處的里普利的洛紐爾·納爾遜牧師；
我的信是這樣開頭的廣出海在外度過的這個感恩節(jié)，令我回想起您為我做了那么多事，但我卻從來沒有對您說過自己多么想感謝您——”我簡短回憶了他們每位為我所做的具體事例。
例如，我父親的最不同尋常之處在于，從我童年時代起，他就讓我深深意識到要熱愛書籍、熱愛閱讀。事實上，這一愛好漸漸變成一種家庭習慣，晚飯后大家圍在餐桌旁互相考查近日所讀的書以及新學的單詞。我對書籍的熱愛從未減弱，日后還引導我自己撰文著書。多少次，當我看到如今的孩子們?nèi)绱顺撩杂陔娮用襟w時，我不由深感悲哀，他們很少，或者根本不了解書中所能發(fā)現(xiàn)的神奇世界。
我跟納爾遜牧師提及他如何每天清晨和集合在一起的學生做禱告，以此開始小鎮(zhèn)初中的一天。我告訴他，我后來所做的任何有意義的事，都至少部分地是受了他那些學校晨禱的影響。
在給外祖母的信中，我談到了她用了種種方式教我講真話，教我與人分享，教我寬恕、體諒他人。我感謝她多年來讓我吃她燒的美味菜肴，離開她后我從來沒吃過那么可口的菜肴。最后，我感謝她，因為她在我的生命中撒下美妙的遐想。
睡覺前，我這三封信都送進了船上的郵袋。我們抵達圖拉吉島后都寄了出去。
我們卸了貨，又裝了其它物品，隨后我們按熟悉的常規(guī)，再次出海。一天又一天，一星期又一星期，我個人的經(jīng)歷漸漸淡忘。我們在海上航行時，有時會與郵船會合，郵船會帶給我們家信，當然，這是我們視為最緊要的事情。
每當船上的喇叭響起廣大伙聽好!郵件點名!”200名左右的水手就會沖上甲板，圍聚在那兩個站在寶貴的鼓鼓囊囊的灰色郵袋旁的水手周圍。兩人輪流取出一把把信件，大聲念出收信水手的名字；叫到的人一邊從人群中擠出來，一邊應道廣來了，來了!”
一次“郵件點名”帶給了我外祖母、爸爸以及納爾遜牧師的回信——我讀了信，既震驚又深感卑微。
他們沒有說他們原諒我以前不曾感謝他們，相反，他們卻向我致謝，天哪；就因為我記得他們做的事，并認為他們做了不同尋常的事。
身為大學教授的爸爸向來特別留意不使用任何過于感情化的文字，因此，當他信中寫道，在教了許許多多的年輕人之后，他現(xiàn)在認為自己最優(yōu)秀的學生當中也包括自己的兒子時，我知道他是多么地感動。
納爾遜牧師寫道，他那平凡的老派校長的歲月隨著學校里發(fā)生的如此迅猛的變化而告結束，他也懷著自我懷疑的心態(tài)退了休?！罢f我做得不對的遠遠多于說我做得對的，”他寫道，接著又說我的信給他帶來了令人振奮的信心：自己的校長生涯還是有其價值的。
一看到外祖母那熟悉的筆跡，我頓時回想起往日站在她的白色搖椅旁看她給親戚寫信的情景。外祖母一個字母一個字母地慢慢拼出一個詞，接著再寫下一個詞，因此寫滿一頁要花上幾個小時。外祖母最近花費不少工夫?qū)ξ冶磉_了充滿慈愛的謝意，讀著老人家的信我禁不住流淚——從前是她給我換尿布的呀!
許多年后，我從海岸警衛(wèi)隊退役，試著靠寫作為生，我一直不曾忘記那三封“感謝”信是如何使我認識到，大凡人都暗自期望著有更多的人對自己的努力表達謝意。
現(xiàn)在，感恩節(jié)又將來臨，我自問，對此文的讀者，對我們的祖國，事實上也是對全世界，我有什么祝愿，因為，用一位善良而且又有智慧的朋友的話來說，“我們究其實都是十分相像的凡人，有著相似的需求?！碑斎?，我首先祝愿大家記住這一簡單的常識：實現(xiàn)世界和平，這對我們自身的存亡至關重要。
此外我還有別的祝愿——這一祝愿是如此強烈，我將這句話印在我所有的信箋底部現(xiàn)并褒揚各種美好的事物。”
第五單元
如何歡慶節(jié)日
課文B
如同春節(jié)那樣，散居各處的美國人到感恩節(jié)就回家團聚。埃倫；古德曼在等待子女回家的同時，思索著當子女長大離家，常常在遠方定居之后，父母與子女關系的不斷變化。
何處是家？
埃倫·吉德曼
“孩子們要回家過節(jié)了?！?/span>
我們在相互交流著感恩節(jié)的菜單和節(jié)日安排時，我的朋友鄭重其事地這么說。
我愣了一下，不由對我倆用詞相同感到有趣?！皬氖裁磿r候起，”我問道，“咱們成了把長大成人的子女叫做‘孩子’的人?”
想到時光流逝，想到我們自己的母親仍把我們叫做“丫頭”，我倆不由得笑出聲來，隨后她止住了笑。
“從什么時候起，”我的老朋友問道，“我們的孩子成了到節(jié)假日才回家的人?”兩人心頭一時又酸又甜。
(1)這個星期是我們的朋友們將小輩帶回家的時候，是急切地把子女從人滿為患的機場接回去的時候。我們忙亂地安排子女、侄子侄女、堂兄弟表姐妹什么的在餐桌旁一一就坐，就跟擺放在特殊場合才偶爾一用的精美餐具似的。
這些精力旺盛的后輩不再穿林過河而歸。他們擠過檢票處，使勁把行李塞進座位上方滿滿的行李箱。他們搭乘航空公司的客機飛回家，那些公司老板心里想著客滿的航班，祈禱著好天氣持續(xù)下去。
(2)這個星期美國人擠滿飛機和公路，都想回到他們已不再居住卻仍稱之為家的地方。這證明了家庭具有能給人帶來喜悅的吸引力。回家過節(jié)。
但我的老朋友很微妙地觸及了另外一個事實，即這個國家一代又一代的人分散在天南地北。我們的家庭生活原本平平淡淡，沒有變化，孩子抽屜里的襪子、他們臉上任何一道不悅神情都一清二楚，現(xiàn)在卻要迎接他們回家，把他們安置在指定的客房里。
我們相互擁有探視權，我的朋友說。她是位母親，住在電話區(qū)號為617的地方，盼望著迎接分別住在區(qū)號為415和011地區(qū)的子女回家。我們保持聯(lián)系，我們互通信息，我們相互問好，再依依道別。但我們?nèi)栽噲D學會如何把團圓的“美好時光”壓縮得短些，但相聚的次數(shù)要多些。
我的朋友并沒有抱怨。我們誰都不想回到那美好的往昔。千度顯得空落落的老巢如今覺得寬寬敞敞。
更重要的是，我們把子女養(yǎng)育成人，是要他們眺望遠方。我們跟他們說，世界是你們的，去擁有這個世界吧。他們一個個去擁有世界了，有的去了305，有的去了215，有的去了406。畢竟，這就是美國的生活方式。
于是我們收發(fā)電子郵件，我們旅行，想到如今保持聯(lián)系——至少是虛擬的聯(lián)系——要比我們自己父母年輕時便捷得多，不由心存感激。翻門為“孩子們”創(chuàng)建自己的生活而深感歡欣。
然而，偶爾我們腦子里會掠過一個不那么愛國的念頭。難道這就是美國方式，家庭成員相距如此遙遠，這種與感恩節(jié)同樣獨特的不同尋常的國民傳統(tǒng)?
我們是一個遷徙者的國度，由清教徒前輩移民創(chuàng)立，有意或被迫離鄉(xiāng)背井者曾在這里居住。我們的民族神話建立在離開家園、重新開始這一誘惑之上。(3)我們西進，再西進，期待得到最后那片最好的土地，而那卻只是路上一個小站而已。
就連羅伯特·弗羅斯特那最為人所知、最美國化的定義——“家就是那個當你不得不前往時，他們必須接納你的所在”——也帶有其潛臺詞，家不是羈留之所。 ．
作為中年人，我和朋友見過年長者從獨立的住宅搬入公寓套間，從北方遷往南方，老了的太陽鳥仍遷徙不已。在一代又一代人的夾層的另一端，我們留意著自己子女的用詞。他們星期二“回家來”，星期天“回家去”。
今天，許多美國人覺得難以回答“你是哪里人”這個問題。我們是否都擁有雙重籍貫?國民對越發(fā)薄弱的家庭紐帶的關注難道更著眼于地域，而非我們的情感?
這些問題在十一月的氣氛中并不顯得重要，我們的話題也從子女歸來轉(zhuǎn)到火雞填料里加栗子的好處與缺陷。畢竟這是歡慶團圓之時，不是默想離別痛苦的時候。
“孩子們”就要回家了。把我們帶回擺滿食物的餐桌旁的，不是食品匱乏，而是我們彼此之間的關系。在享用火雞與餡餅的間隙，我們定下心來品味團圓的溫馨。
(4)在這個人們流動不停的國度里，整個感恩節(jié)期間我們留在家中享受天倫之樂。
Unit 5 Giving Thanks
Text A
Content Questions
1. He wrote them on a ship on the way to theislandofTulagiin the South Pacific on Thanksgiving Day, 1943.
2. Preparing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner featuring roast turkey made the writer extremely busy.
3. The writer was thinking about Thanksgiving.
4. He decided to write letters to show gratitude to those who had helped him in his life.
5. He had always accepted what they had done for him, but never expressed to any of them a simple “Thank you.”
6. He decided to write to his father, his grandmother, and the Rev. Lonual Nelson, his grammar school principal.
7. His father had impressed upon him from boyhood a love of books and reading.
8. He remembered that each morning Nelson would open the school with a prayer over his assembled students.
9. He recalled how his grandmother had taught him to tell the truth, to share, and to be forgiving and considerate of others. And he thanked her for her delicious food and for all the wonderful things she had done for him.
10. His reading of their letters left him not only astonished but also more humbled than before, because they all thanked him rather than saying they would forgive him for not having previously thanked them.
11. The writer learned that one should learn to express appreciation for others’ efforts.
12. The writer wished for all people the common sense to achieve world peace, and find the good and praise it.
Text Organization
1.
Parts | Paragraphs | Main Ideas |
Part One | Paras. 1-9 | On Thanksgiving Day 1943, as a young coastguardsman at sea, the writer came up with the idea of expressing his gratitude to people who had helped him before. |
Part Two | Paras. 10-16 | The writer wrote three thank-you letters to his father, the Rev. Nelson and his grandmother. |
Part Three | Paras.17-23 | The writer got three letters in reply. |
Part Four | Paras. 24-26 | The writer wishes everyone to find the good and praise it. |
2-
Correspondents | Letters Sent | Letters Received |
Father | Thanks him for teaching the writer from boyhood to love books and reading. | Tells the writer how he, as a teacher and a father as well, felt content with his own son. |
The Rev. Nelson | Thanks him for his morning
school prayers. i | Tells the writer about his retirement coupled with self-doubt, and the re-assurance brought to him by the writer's letter. |
Grandmother | Thanks her for teaching the writer how to tell the truth, to share and to be forgiving, and for her good cooking and her sprinkling the writer's life with stardust. | Expresses her loving gratefulness to her grandson. |
Language Sense Enhancement
I. 1) decades 2) undergoing
3) had done wrong 4) welcome reassurance
5) appreciated 6) brought back
7) relatives 8) accomplish
9) consume 10) representing
Language Focus
Vocabulary
1. 1) sprinkled 2) in turn
3) reversed 4) repay
5) at sea 6) traditional
7) statement 8) longed for
9) in secret 10) unloaded
11) weep 12) under way
2. 1) stretch out 2) make out
3) hope for 4) turns (it) over
5) put away 6) brings back
7) got to 8) go about
3. 1) As supplies of traditional fuels diminish, people are working to increase the use of solar
energy.
1.
2) We accord high priority to meeting the challenges of economic and environmental development in the region.
3) While it is true that children of today are exposed to more information than were children of the past, it does not follow that they automatically become more sophisticated.
4) Since she borrowed those books from the library she has been immersed in British history and culture.
5) Everything changed in a flash on June 1, 2000 when he lost both legs in a serious traffic accident.
4. 1) I'd like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has been so considerate of my well-
being. My heart is filled with gratitude that words cannot express.
2) After everyone assembled on the playground amid the noise and excitement of the specta-tors, our coach again impressed on us the need to do our best in quest of excellence.
3) Everything I saw in my hometown was marvelous. I could hardly believe that it had undergone such swiftchanges through cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers and the rest in the past few years.
II. Collocation
1, fond of 2. sick of
3. thoughtful of 4. confident of
5. conscious of 6. critical of
7. guilty of 8.ashamed of
■
III. Usage
1. To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.
2. It is cooperation, rather than conflict, that will enable you to achieve your success.
3. Ann made students think for themselves rather than telling them what to think.
4. I think I'll stay at home this evening rather than go / going out.
1. Most people are content to let perfect days happen at random rather than plan / planning for them.
Comprehensive Exercises
I. Cloze
(A)
1) at sea 2) Turning over
3) reverse 4) got to
5) repay 6) gratitude
7) assembled 8) immersed in
9) unloading 10) swift
(B)
1) Instead 2) possessions
3) richer 4) breath
5) cherish 6) special
7) specific 8) shining
9) miracles 10) gift
II. Translation
1.
1). Grandma took it for granted that food prices would soar, so she bought a lot of rice.
2). I can quote you several instances of her dedication to science.
3). The 1980s saw the start of the swift development of some special economic zones inChina.
4). Tension between the two countries stemmed in part from the latest spy affair.
5). Peter has worked in a law firm for many years. You can consider having him as your lawyer to act on your behalf when you need legal help.
2.
Amid the atmosphere of Thanksgiving George was immersed in the diary left to him by his father, who died at sea after he completed two successive trips around the world. The diary brought back every moment George had spent with his father and many of the specific things his father did on his behalf. George's father used to impress on him the need to undergo all kinds of hardship in quest of excellence. He also taught him that nothing in the world could be taken for granted. Even today, George still remembers how his father would quote Aesop's famous saying "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls" and tell him to accordthe greatest importance to it.
Chinese Translations of Texts A&B
