背诵为王 第 四 册 第 22 课

　　Lesson22 Bounty¹ of Love
My mother had a habit of keeping my letters, binding² them carefully in neat bundles with green tape, but this was her own secret. She never told me she was doing it. In 1957, when she knew she was dying, I was in hospital in Oxford³ having a serious operation on my spine⁴ and I was unable to write to her. So she had a telephone specially⁵ installed beside her bed in order that she might have one last conversation with me.
She didn't tell me she was dying, nor did anyone else for that matter, because I was in a fairly serious condition myself at the time. She simply asked me how I was and hoped I would get better soon and sent me her love. I had no idea that she would die the next day. She knew perfectly⁶ that her life was numbered in hours, but she still wanted to reach out and speak to me for the last time.
When I recovered and went home, I was given this vast collection of my letters, all neatly⁷ bound with a green tape, more than six hundred of them altogether, dating from 1925 to 1945, each one in its original envelope with the old stamps still on them. I am very lucky to have something like this to
refer to in my old age.
bounty 慷慨
spine 脊柱
慷慨母爱
母亲习惯保存我写给她的信件，她把这些信小心翼翼地用绿丝带捆得整整齐齐。但这是她自己的秘密，她从来没有告诉过我她在这么做。1957年，她知道自己将不久于人世了，那时我正在牛津住院，做一个重大的脊椎手术，所以无法给她写信。于是，她让人专门给她的床边安装了一部电话，这样她就能够和我最后说上几句话。她没有告诉我她即将要不久人世了，别的人也没有告诉我，因为我当时自己的身体状况也很不乐观。她只是问我怎么样了，希望我早日康复，并且说她爱我。我丝毫不知她第二天就要去世了。她很清楚地知道自己在这世上也就几个小时的光景了，但仍然想要最后一次和我通话。
我康复后回到家，拿到了那一大捆我的信件，整整齐齐地用绿丝带捆着，总共有六百多封，写信的时间是在1925到1945年间，每一封都装在原来的信封里，贴着原来的旧邮票。在年老时能拥有像这样的东西时常翻看我真是幸运。

1 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

2 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。