A white lie he kept for all his life

一個簡單而美麗的故事，讀完后是否會讓你有一些莫名的感動，是否能觸動你內心某些柔軟的東西?愛，有時可能就是源自于一個充滿善意的謊言。

(1) He met her at a party. She was so outstanding， with many boys around her， while he was so normal， with nobody paying attention to him.

(2) At the end of the party， he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised， but due to being polite， she agreed.

(3) They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything， and she felt uncomfortable， thinking， “Please let me go home.”

(4) Suddenly he asked the waiter， “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”

(5) Everybody stared at him—so strange! His face turned red， but， still， he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

(6) She asked him curiously， “Why do you have this hobby?”

(7) He replied， “When I was a little boy， I was living near the sea. I liked playing in the sea， and I could feel the taste of the sea， just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee， I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.”

(8) While saying that， tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling， from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness， he must be a man who loves home， cares about home， and has responsibility of home.

(9) Then she also started to speak， about her faraway hometown， her childhood， her family. That was a really nice talk， also a beautiful beginning of their story.

(10) They continued to date (約會). She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he was kind-hearted， warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

(11) Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story， the princess married the prince， then they were living a happy life... And， every time she made coffee for him， she put some salt in the coffee.

(12) After 40 years， he passed away， leaving her a letter which said， “My dearest， please forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee.”

(13) “Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar， but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.

(14) I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life， but I was too afraid to do that， as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.

(15) Now I’m dying， I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange bad taste!But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!

(16) Since I knew you， I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time， I still want to know you and have you for my whole life， even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

(17) Her tears made the letter totally wet.

(18) Someday， someone asked her， “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s sweet，” she replied.

閱讀思考

1. After ordering some salt to put into the coffee， the young man must have felt __________.

A. excitedB. satisfiedC. embarrassedD. displeased

2. Why did the man have salty coffee all his life?

A. To change lifestyle.B. To please his wife.

C. To keep his word.D. To remember the past.

3. What does the writer mean by saying “she almost missed him!(in Paragraph 10)”?

A. She meant to leave him on their first date.

B. She thought of him every now and then.

C. She nearly misunderstood his explanation.

D. She could hardly believe this simple fact.

4. It is implied in the passage that the woman _______ when reading the letter left by her husband.

A. was confused about his behavior

B. was touched by his white lie

C. felt sorry to know the truth too late

D. felt angry about his dishonesty

答案及解析

1. C。根據文章第五段的描述:Everybody stared at him—so strange!His face turned red， but， still， he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. 可以知道，由于緊張the young man誤點了鹽，從他臉紅的細節可以看出，他當時應該是比較尷尬。

2. C。根據文中第14段的描述:I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life， but I was too afraid to do that， as I have promised not to lie to you for anything. 可以知道他之所以沒有說出這個謊言是為了遵守自己再也不撒謊的諾言。

3. A。此處的miss意思為“錯過”，從文中我們可以知道，起初女孩對男孩并沒有好感，之所以接受男孩的邀請完全是出于禮貌，通過交往才發現男孩的種種優點， 因此she almost missed him的暗含意義是:她第一次約會是本想要離開的。

4. B。根據第17段Her tears made the letter totally wet，文中的那位妻子顯然被丈夫善意的謊言感動了。

語法指津

1. She was so outstanding， with many boys around her， while he was so normal， with nobody paying attention to him.

句中while一詞表示“對比性轉折”，解釋為“然而，但是”，例如:

English is understood all over the world while Turkish is spoken by only a few people outside Turkey itself.

英語世界通行，但土耳其語離開本國就很少有人說了。

I drink black coffee while he prefers it with cream.

我愛喝清咖啡而他喜歡加牛奶的。

此外，while還可以用在句首引導讓步狀語從句，表示“雖然，盡管”，如:

While I admit that there are problems， I don’t agree that they cannot be solved.

盡管我承認有問題，但我不同意這些問題是無法解決的。

While I like the color of the hat， I do not like its shape.

盡管我喜歡那個帽子的顏色，但是我不喜歡它的樣式。

典題例析

(1) ________ the Internet is of great help， I don’t think it’s a good idea to spend too much time on it. (08湖南卷)

A. IfB. WhileC. BecauseD. As

答案:B。

分析: while表示“雖然，盡管”位于句首引導讓步狀語從句，句意為:盡管網絡很有用，但我認為我們不該花太多時間在網絡上。

(2)The cost of living in Glasgow is among the lowest in Britain， ________ the quality of life is probably one of the highest. (06天津卷)

A. sinceB. whenC. asD. while

答案:D。

分析:while此處表示對比性的轉折關系“然而，但是”，句意為:在英國格拉斯哥的生活費用是處于最低的行列的，但是其生活質量可能是最高的之一。

2. ...she felt uncomfortable， thinking， “Please let me go home.”

本句中的thinking為現在分詞作狀語，判斷使用何種分詞作狀語主要取決于分詞與其邏輯主語的關系，若為主動關系則用現在分詞，若為被動關系則用過去分詞，例如:

Watching TV in the room，I heard someone knocking at the door.(分詞watching TV in the room的邏輯主語是I，I與watch是主動關系)

正在房間里看電視，我聽見有人敲門。

Founded in 1636， Harvard is one of the most famous universities in the United States.

成立于1636年，哈佛大學是美國最著名的大學之一。

注意:

分詞作狀語時要注意其完成形式，分詞的完成時表示動作有先后順序，即分詞的動作先于主句的謂語動詞發生，例如:

The storm left， having caused a lot of damage to this area.(05全國I)(the storm與cause是主動關系，但動作先于主句的謂語發生，故用現在分詞的完成式)

已經對這個地區造成了巨大的損失，暴風雨退去了。

Having written the letter， he went out to post it.

寫完了信后他出去寄信了。

Having been told many times， he still repeated the same mistake.

已經被告知過很多次了，他還是犯同樣的錯誤。

典題例析

(1) to reach them on the phone， we sent an email instead. (08重慶卷)

A. FailB. FailedC. To failD. Having failed

答案:D。

分析:本題中分詞的動作與主句的謂語動詞存在先后順序，應是先發生沒打通電話的事情，然后才發的郵件，此外根據fail這一動作與主句的主語we為主動關系，因此使用現在分詞的完成式。

(2)The glass doors have taken the place of the wooden ones at the entrance，

in the natural light during the day. (07天津卷)

A. to letB. lettingC. letD. having let

答案:B。

分析:玻璃門取代出口處的木門，這一情況使得自然光能在白天進入。含義上存在主動關系，因此使用現在分詞，此處等于which lets，which指代前面的整個句子。

(3)_____ for the breakdown of the school computer network， Alice was in low spirits. (06福建卷)

A. BlamingB. BlamedC. To blameD. To be blamed

答案:B。

分析:主句的主語Alice與blame的關系為被動關系，Alice因為校園網的癱瘓而被譴責，因此，此處應使用過去分詞作狀語表示被動關系。to be blamed表示“將要被譴責”，不合題意。

詞匯聚焦

1. outstanding adj. 杰出的，優秀的

an outstanding student優秀學生

an outstanding piece of work優秀作品

2. meet all one’s needs 滿足某人所有的需要

He did whatever he could do for her to meet all her needs.

他為她做任何他能做到的事情來滿足她的所有需求。

3. pass away表示“去世”的委婉的說法

His mother passed away last year.

他的母親去年去世了。

編輯/梁宇清