美国故事 SENEWS-2008-0216-FEATURE

Now the Special English program American Stories.

Our story today is called "Prelude¹". It was written by Edgar Valentine Smith. Here is Kay Gallant² with the story.

Salina Joe Hutshel was born in a cabin³ that had two rooms, one small window, and a dirt floor. Her parents, Shag and Marty Hutshel, built the little house in one day with the help of their families and friends.

Salina Joe began to talk when she was one-year old. By the time she was seven, her parents couldn't answer any of her questions. Salina Joe's big black eyes were full of curiosity⁴, but her mind stayed hungry. Her parents sent her to school for six months. They took her out as soon as she learned⁵ to read and write. Her parents had never learned.

Salina Joe had to work on the farm. She planted corn and sweet potatoes in the hard red earth. She fed the cows and built fences. She cleaned the cabin and chopped⁶ wood. She did all the cooking and washed all the clothes.

Her parents spent most of their time with the uncles, aunts and cousins in the family who lived nearby. All the Hutshels were like Salina Joe's parents. They couldn't read or write. They didn't like to work and they never took baths.

One Sunday when Salina Joe was sixteen years old, her parents took her to the town of East Field. As they walked down the street, Salina Joe heard someone behind her whisper, "Those are part of the Hutshel family. They are all dirty, lazy people who never work."

A few days later, Salina went back alone to East Field. She went into one of the stores. It was only a simple country store. But to Salina Joe, it seemed like a wonderful place. She looked at silk ribbons and soft leather shoes. Salina Joe had never owned a pair of shoes or a silk ribbon. In the back of the store, she found a dress. It was made of red cotton material with little snow white squares on it. Salina Joe couldn't stop touching⁸ the dress. She asked the store's owner, "How much the dress cost?"

"Five dollars," he said, "but I'll sell it to you for three."

That evening after dinner, she told her father about the dress. Shag's face got red. "Are you crazy?" He yelled⁹, "Do you think I would buy you that dress?"

"But Pa," Salina Joe said, "it only costs three dollars. I work hard and I have never asked you for anything before, besides, I'm gonna pay for it myself."

"How?" Her father laughed.

"I'm going to get a job in Mr. Pruwit's paint factory."

"Oh, no, you are not," her father yelled, "you are going to stay right here and work on the farm." Her father got up from his chair and took off his heavy leather belt. "You are not getting the job or the dress", he said, "but I'm gonna give you a beating you'll never forget."

A long knife lay on the kitchen table. Salina Joe's fingers found its handle. She didn't move. Her serious dark eyes never left her father's face. "Pa," she said softly¹⁰, "if you touch me with that belt, I'll cut your heart out." Shag hustled¹¹, dropped the belt, and slowly back away from his daughter.

The next day, Salina Joe went to work in Pruwit's paint factory. She carried heavy pails¹² of paint from morning to night. The smell gave her headaches, the paint got on her skin and in her hair. After three months, she went to the store and bought her dress, a pair of white leather shoes, some silk stockings and a hat made of white lace⁷. Salina Joe left the store with her beautiful new clothes wrapped in paper. She began walking home. She stopped when she came to the road that led to the large town of Dothan, 15 kilometers away. Salina Joe turned and began walking to Dothan without looking back once toward¹³ the cabin where she was born.

She reached Dothan five hours later. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. She found a small pond of water outside of town. Salina Joe took off her dirty farm clothes. She washed herself in the pond, dried with the paper from her package, and put on her fine new clothes. Then, she entered the town. No one in Dothan knew she was from a Hutshel family. When she walked down the street, people smiled at her and said "Hello".

As she walked around the town, she came to a large house with a black iron fence surrounded. The house had two floors and was painted a sparkling¹⁴ white. In front of it were oak¹⁵ trees that made shadows on the green grass. Girls dressed in clean white blouses and blue skirts sat under the trees.

Just then a lady passed by and stopped to smile at Selina Joe.

"What is that building?" Selina Joe asked the woman.

"That's the state reformatory for girls." The woman answered. "That's where the state puts the girls who break the law. Before the girls can leave, they have to show that they have changed for the better."

"Changed..." Selina Joe whispered, still staring at the reformatory. "Different from what they were? Do they go to school there?"

"Yes，" said the woman.

"Would they take a girl who only had six months of school?" She asked softly.

The woman laughed. "You don't understand." She said. "The reformatory only takes bad girls. A girl like you would never go there."

Selina Joe sighed.

She spent the afternoon, watching the big white house, its wide windows, and the girls sitting under the trees. When it was dark, Selina Joe went around to the back of the house. She climbed over the black iron fence and looked into one of the windows. Two girls her own age sat at the table, reading books.

"Can I come in?" Selina Joe whispered to them.

The two girls were surprised, but one of them said, "Sure. Step right in."

She told them she wanted to stay at the reformatory and go to school there. She wanted to be changed. The girls liked the idea. They thought it would be a good joke on the reformatory's head teacher Marry Shane. Everyone called her Old Iron Jaw¹⁶, because she never smiled.

The girls gave Selina Joe a skirt and a blouse. They hid her under their bed that night when Old Iron Jaw came to inspect the rooms. The next morning, they shared their breakfast with her. But Marry Shane, the head teacher, had good eyes. Right after breakfast, Selina Joe felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the serious face of Old Iron Jaw's.

"What are you doing here?" Mary Shane asked.

"I, I climbed over the fence, ma'am," Salina Joe said. “I won't stay here long. I just want to learn what are in the books you have here, then I'll leave."

"I'm afraid you can't stay here," said Mary Shane.

Salina Joe's heart broke. She put her arms around the teacher's shoulders. "Oh, please ma'am," she cried. "Please let me stay. I don't want to go back home. I don't want to be like all the other Hutshels for the rest of my life. I want to be changed. I want to be made different."

"Come with me, child," Mary Shane said. "We'll go see the director Mr. Welborn." They went straight into his office without stopping to knock at the door.

"Jim Welborn," Mary Shane said, " I want you to listen to this girl's story." She turned and left the office.

Mary Shane sat in her classroom for an hour. From time to time, she looked out the door into the hall that went from her classroom to the director's office. Finally, she heard footsteps¹⁷ hurrying to her classroom. Then Salina Joe stood in the doorway¹⁸. The woman didn't have to ask any questions. The girl's pink cheeks and her happy eyes said everything. Mary Shane turned and went to the classroom window. Deep inside herself, a small voice kept saying over and over again, "For this child that comes of her own free will to be changed, for this one child who wants to be made different, I thank you God."

You have just heard the story called "Prelude". It was written by Edgar Valentine Smith and adapted for Special English by Dona de Sanctis. "Prelude" was first published in Harper's Magazine in 1923. Your storyteller was Kay Gallant. For VOA Special English, this is Ray Freeman.

1 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

2 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

3 cabin   

n.(结构简单的)小木屋；船舱，机舱

参考例句：

• They threw up a new cabin in a couple of hours.在几小时之内他们就建起了一座新的小屋。
• It's very hot in the cabin;let's go on deck.舱室内很热，我们到甲板上去吧。

4 curiosity   

n.好奇心，新奇的事物，珍品

参考例句：

• He gave in to curiosity and opened my letter.他抑制不住好奇心，拆开了我的信。
• The children are dying of curiosity to see what's in the parcel.孩子们出于好奇，迫不及待地想看看包裹中是什么东西。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 chopped   

[医]剁碎的

参考例句：

• He chopped some wood for the fire. 他劈了些柴烧火。
• Finish by sprinkling some chopped almonds over the cake. 最后在蛋糕上撒些剁碎的杏仁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lace   

n.饰带，花边，缎带；v.结带子，饰以花边

参考例句：

• She let a piece of lace into her dress.她在衣服上镶了一块花边。
• The bride is wearing a wedding dress made of lace.新娘穿一件蕾丝婚纱。

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

11 hustled   

催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
• The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。

12 pails   

n.桶，提桶( pail的名词复数 )；一桶的量

参考例句：

• Families upstairs have to carry pails to the hydrant downstairs for water. 住在楼上的人家得提着水桶去楼下的水龙头打水。 来自互联网
• We brought some spades, pails and saplings with us. 同学们拿着铁锨、水桶和小树苗上路了。 来自互联网

13 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

14 sparkling   

adj.发火花的，闪亮的；灿烂的，活泼的；闪闪发光的，闪烁的；起泡沫的v.闪光，闪耀(sparkle的现在分词)

参考例句：

• the calm and sparkling waters of the lake 平静的波光粼粼的湖水
• Other sparkling wines are often considered the poor relations of champagne. 其他起泡的葡萄酒通常被认为较香槟酒为次。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

16 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

17 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

18 doorway   

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。