The Pillow
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-05-24 08:03 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
For twelve years, my church has participated in the Appalachia Service Project. One week each summer, volunteers travel to Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia to repair or build homes for families.

At the age of sixteen, I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that "our family" was living in a trailer that was in poor condition, no bigger than two parking spaces. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.

The staff soon decided1 that the only reasonable solution was to build a new house-something highly unusual but necessary under these circumstances. Normally the goal is to repair existing homes. "Our family" was overjoyed with their new house that was 20x30 foot with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen/family room.

On Tuesday of that week, while we all ate lunch together, I asked “our family’s” three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, "What do you want for your new room?" Anticipating posters, toys and other gadgets2 that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh, the oldest, responded, "I just want a bed."

We were stunned3. The boys had never slept in a bed. They were accustomed only to foam4 pads. That night we had a meeting and unanimously decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding. They arranged for everything to be delivered on Friday.

When Friday arrived, we could hardly contain ourselves. After lunch, when we saw the delivery truck coming, we told “our family” about the surprise. It was like watching ecstatic children on Christmas morning.

That afternoon, we set up the beds as we finished each room. Josh, who had his own room, wanted to put his bed together by himself. Eric and Ryan shared a room and got a new bunk5 bed. As we fitted the frames together, Eric, who had been working outside, ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway6.

As Meggan, a member of our group, slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, "What is that?"

"A pillow," she replied.

"What do you do with it?" Eric persisted.

"When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” Meggan answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.

"Oh . . . that's soft," he said, hugging it tightly.

Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, "Do you have a pillow?" We know exactly what he means.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械,小器具( gadget的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置,做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
3 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
4 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
5 bunk zWyzS     
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话
参考例句:
  • He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
  • Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。
6 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
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