It Should Once Again See Light_情感故事

It Should Once Again See Light

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2007-05-04 03:19 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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Several years ago, a physician from southern France contacted me. His granddaughter had taken ill with a disease that baffled the physicians there. He called after reading several of my articles on disorders¹ of the autonomic nervous system. His granddaughter’s symptoms seemed to match those I had described, and he asked me if I could help. I readily agreed, and for many months, I collaborated² with the child’s French physicians by telephone and by fax, directing their diagnostic testing. At last we came to a diagnosis³, and I prescribed a course of therapy. During the next several weeks, the child made a seemingly miraculous⁴ recovery. Her grandparents expressed their heartfelt thanks and told me to let them know should I ever come to France.

In the summer of 1996, I was invited to speak at a large international scientific meeting that was held in Nice, France. I sent word to the physician I had helped years before. Upon my arrival at the hotel, I received a message to contact him. I called him and we arranged a night to meet for dinner.

On the appointed day we met and then drove north to his home in the beautiful southern French countryside. It was humbling⁵ to learn his home was older than the United States. During the drive he told me that his wife had metastatic breast cancer and was not well, but she insisted upon meeting me. When introduced to her, I saw that despite her severe illness, she was still a beautiful woman with a noble bearing.

I was thereafter treated to one of the most wonderful meals I have ever eaten, complemented⁶ by the most exquisite⁷ of wines. After dinner, we sat in a seventeenth-century salon⁸, sipping¹⁰ cognac and chatting. Our conversation must have seemed odd to the young man and woman who served us because it came out in a free-flowing mixture of English, French and Spanish. After a time the woman asked, “My husband tells me you are Jewish, no?” “Yes,” I said, “I am a Jew.” They asked me to tell them about Judaism, especially the holidays. I did my best to explain and was astounded¹¹ by how little they knew of Judaism. She seemed to be particularly interested in Hannukah.

Once I had finished answering her questions, she suddenly looked me in the eye and said, “I have something I want to give to you.” She disappeared and returned several moments later with a package wrapped in cloth. She sat, her tired eyes looking into mine, and she began to speak slowly.

“When I was a little girl of eight years, during the Second World War, the authorities came to our village to round up all the Jews. My best friend at that time was a girl of my age named Jeanette. One morning when I came to play, I saw her family being forced at gunpoint into a truck. I ran home and told my mother what had happened and asked where Jeanette was going. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said, ‘Jeanette will be back soon.’ I ran back to Jeanette’s house only to find that she was gone and that the other villagers were looting her home of valuables, except for the Judaic items, which were thrown into the street. As I approached, I saw an item from her house lying in the dirt. I picked it up and recognized it as an object that Jeanette and her family would light around Christmas time. In my little girl’s mind I said, ‘I will take this home and keep it for Jeanette, till she comes back,’ but she and her family never returned.”

She paused and took a slow sip⁹ of brandy. “Since that time I have kept it. I hid it from my parents and didn’t tell a soul of its existence. Indeed, over the last fifty years the only person who knew of it was my husband. When I found out what really happened to the Jews, and how many of the people I knew had collaborated with the Nazis¹², I could not bear to look at it. Yet I kept it, hidden, waiting for something, although I wasn’t sure what. Now I know what I was waiting for. it was you, a Jew, who helped cure our granddaughter, and it is to you I entrust¹³ this.”

Her trembling hands set the package on my lap. I slowly unwrapped the cloth from around it. Inside was a menorah, but one unlike any I had seen before. Made of solid brass¹⁴, it had eight cups for holding oil and wicks and a ninth cup centered above the others. It had a ring attached to the top, and the woman mentioned that she remembered that Jeanette’s family would hang it in the hallway of their home. It looked quite old to me; later, several people told me that it is probably at least 100 years old. As I held it and thought about what it represented, I began to cry. All I could manage to say was a garbled¹⁵ “merci.” As I left, her last words to me were “Il faudra voir la lumière encore une fois”— it should once again see light. I later learned that she died less than one month after our meeting. This Hannukah, the menorah will once again see light. And as I and my family light it, we will say a special prayer in honor of those whose memories it represents. We will not let its lights go out again.

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收听单词发音

1 disorders
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调
参考例句：
Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。来自《简明英汉词典》 The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。来自《简明英汉词典》

2 collaborated
合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )；勾结叛国
参考例句：
We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。 We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

3 diagnosis
n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断
参考例句：
His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

4 miraculous
adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的
参考例句：
The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。 They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

5 humbling
adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气
参考例句：
A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。来自辞典例句 It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。来自互联网

6 complemented
有补助物的，有余格的
参考例句：
The excellent menu is complemented by a good wine list. 佳肴佐以美酒，可称完美无缺。 In vitro analysis must be complemented by studies of the virus replication cycle in plants. 体外的分析必须辅之以植物体内病毒复制周期的研究。

7 exquisite
adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的
参考例句：
I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。 I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

8 salon
n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室
参考例句：
Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？ You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

9 sip
v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量
参考例句：
She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。 Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

10 sipping
v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。 She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

11 astounded
v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶
参考例句：
His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。 How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

12 Nazis
n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义
参考例句：
The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。来自《简明英汉词典》 The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。来自《简明英汉词典》

13 entrust
v.信赖，信托，交托
参考例句：
I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。 They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

14 brass
n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器
参考例句：
Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。 Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

15 garbled
adj.（指信息）混乱的，引起误解的v.对（事实）歪曲，对（文章等）断章取义，窜改( garble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He gave a garbled account of what had happened. 他对所发生事情的叙述含混不清。 The Coastguard needs to decipher garbled messages in a few minutes. 海岸警卫队需要在几分钟内解读这些含混不清的信息。来自辞典例句

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