Christmas morning

江蘇師范大學 王 蓬

精彩導讀

下著細雨的圣誕日，作者、其姐妹還有他們的爸爸一起幫助了在狹窄房檐下淋雨的一家五口人。他們感受到了幫助別人的快樂，他們的善舉也讓圣誕的早晨如此溫馨與美好。

體裁 記敘文 文章詞數 4 8 7 難度指數 ★★題材 圣誕故事 建議用時 8′

A light rain was falling as my family ran out of the Methodist Church（衛理公會教堂），eager to get home and play with the presents for Christmas，but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door，gathered closely together under the narrow gas stationin an attemptto keep dry.

My father was driving very slowly down the highway.Suddenly，my father U－turned in the middle of the road and said，“They're standing in the rain.They've got children.It's Christmas today.”

There were five of them:the parents and three children，two girls and a small boy.My fatherrolled downhis window.“Merry Christmas！”he said.“Howdy（你好）！”the man replied. “Well，that bus isn't going to come along for several hours，and you're getting wet standing here，”my father said，“Why don't you all get in the car and I'll run you up there？”The man thought about it for a moment，and then he waved to his family.They climbed into the car.They had no luggage，except the clothes they were wearing.

Once theysettled in，my fatherlooked backover his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet.Three upset faces gave him their answer. “Well，I didn't think so，”my father said，winking （眨眼示意）at my mother，“because when I saw Santa this morning，he told me that he was having trouble finding you，and he asked me if he could leave your toys.”All at once，the three children's faces lit up，and they began to bounce around in the back seat，laughing and chattering（喋喋不休）.

My mother noticed that the middle child was wearing a short－sleeved dress，so she gave the girl my sister's only sweater to wear.My father invited them to join us for Christmas dinner，but the parents refused.Even when we all tried totalk them intocoming，theywere firm intheir decision.

On the way to the bus stop，my father asked the man if he had money for the busfare.His brother had sent tickets，the man said.My father reached into his pocket andpulled outtwo dollars，which was all he had left until his next payday.He pressed the money into the man's hand.The man tried to give it back，but my fatherinsisted.“It'll be late when you get to Birmingham，and these children will be hungry before then.Take it.I'vebeen broke before，and I know what it's like when you can't feed your family.”

As we drove away，I watched out the window as long as I could，looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.All this happened a long time ago，but the memory of it remains clear.That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.

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Language study

Vocabulary

1.bounce v.彈跳；上下移動；有活力地走

2.fare n.車費；票價

3.insist v.堅持

4.in an attempt努力嘗試

5.roll down搖下；展開；鋪開

6.settle in安頓下來；習慣于；適應

7.look back回過頭看

8.light up點火；照亮；喜形于色；面露喜色

9.talk sb into成功說服某人做某事

10.be firm in堅持、堅定于某事

11.pull out掏出；拿出

Difficult sentences

1.All at once，the three children's faces lit up，and they began to bounce around in the back seat，laughing and chattering.

翻譯：______________________________________________________________

【點石成金】light up原意為“點火照亮”，此處指孩子們忽然高興起來，laughing and chattering此處為伴隨狀語。

2．I've been broke before，and I know what it's like when you can't feed your family.

翻譯：____________________________

【點石成金】broke意為“一貧如洗的”，句中的when在此處意為“在……條件下”，what引導賓語從句。