温馨夜读 PART3 01 Words From The Heart 心灵之声

 

[ti:]

[ar:]

[al:]

[by:]

[00:00.86]Eternal Love 永恒之爱

[00:03.38]In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, 

[00:08.29]the cement that binds¹ closer together,

[00:11.47]and the music that brings harmony.

[00:14.65]Words From The Heart 心灵之声

[00:21.21]Most people need to hear those three little words“I love you”.

[00:26.46]Once in a while, they hear them just in time.

[00:30.40]I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospice room, 

[00:35.15]where I worked as a volunteer.

[00:37.29]Her husband, Bill, stood nervously² nearby

[00:41.50]as she was transferred to the hospital bed.

[00:44.18]Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, 

[00:49.48]she was alert and cheerful.

[00:51.51]Connie was a romantic. She loved soap operas,

[00:55.71]romance novels and movies with a good love story.

[00:59.39]As we became acquainted, she confided³ how frustrating⁴ it was

[01:04.20]to be married 32 years to a man who often called her “a silly woman”.

[01:09.89]“Oh, I know Bill loves me,”she said,

[01:13.92]“but he has never been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me.”

[01:19.30]She sighed and looked out the window at the trees in the courtyard.

[01:23.90]“I’d give anything if he’d say‘I love you’, 

[01:28.05]but it’s just not in his nature.”

[01:30.79]Bill visited Connie every day.

[01:33.63]One day, I remembered it was February 12, over coffee in the cafeteria,

[01:40.20]I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives;

[01:45.34]how we love to get sentimental⁵ cards and love letters.

[01:49.06]“Do you tell Connie you love her?”I asked (knowing his answer), 

[01:54.42]and he looked at me as if I was crazy.

[01:57.05]“I don’t have to,”he said.“She knows I do!”

[02:02.30]“I’m sure she knows,”I said “but she needs to hear it, Bill.

[02:07.66]She needs to hear what she has meant to you all these years. 

[02:11.93]Please think about it.”

[02:13.57]Two days later I walked down the hospice ward⁶ at noon.

[02:17.95]There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor.

[02:23.63]I already knew from the head nurse that Connie had died at 11 a.m.

[02:29.11]When Bill saw me, he said，“I thought a lot about what you said,

[02:33.92]and this morning I told her how much I loved her... and loved being married to her.

[02:39.72]You should have seen her smile!”

[02:42.12]I went into the room to say my own goodbye to Connie.

[02:45.95]There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill.

[02:51.65]You know, the sentimental kind that says,“To my wonderful wife... I love you.”

[02:57.11]Don’t be closefisted in expressing your affection to your beloved lover,

[03:02.47]to your parents and to your friends who are waiting for it.

1 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

3 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。