听美国故事练听力 06

　　Now the weekly VOA Special English program "American Stories".
Our story today is called “Surviving Adverse¹ Seasons”. It waswritten by Barry Targan. Here is Shep O'Neal to tell you the story.
Abel Halleck was 59 years old when his wife Estelle died. Her deathwas sudden² and unexpected³, the kind of death you cannot forget. AbelHalleck buried his wife, then he stopped doing anything.
His work, the world, life and all its possibilities were no longerimportant to him. He had learned⁴ quickly that the laws about life hehad trusted did not really exist after all. For a year, Abel Halleckdid nothing, but one morning, he decided⁵ to study Latin⁶. He choseLatin because it was a dead language. It would never be important oreven useful to him in the years he had left to live. And so, AbelHalleck entered a Latin class taught by Silvia Warren on Mondayevenings.
Silvia Warren was thin and small; her long straight hair was silver-gray. She smiled easily at everything like a young person. She hadtaught Latin for 23 years at the local high school. When she was 53,the school stopped offering⁷ Latin. Latin was not useful in a worldexcited by technology and space travel. Silvia Warren retired⁸, now shespent her time painting, taking pictures, playing the piano andvisiting with her friends. She also taught Latin to adults at thelocal high school in the evening. She had never married or even beenin love. She wondered about this more than anything else about herlife. Men had found her good-looking and still did, but no one hadcome along, ever.
During the first Latin class that night, a storm darkened the sky.
After class, Abel Halleck walked with Silvia Warren to the door nearthe school parking⁹ lot; they stood near the open door watching thestorm. "It’s a bad night to be out," he said. She nodded, “but itcan’t rain this hard for long,” she said. She held her books tightlyto her body and disappeared into the rain.
When Abel Halleck left the building a few minutes later, he saw herbending over the engine of her car. "It won't start,” she said. Helooked at the engine, after a moment, he found the problem. "It’s theradio static¹⁰ depressor," he said, "try it now." The car started atonce. "Wait,” he said, "you might still have problems before you gethome, stop at my house and I will fix it for you."He drove¹¹ home slowly and put his car into the large garage connectedto his house. Silvia Warren drove in after him. Abel Halleck’s garagewas really a workshop. Here he had all the tools and equipment heneeded to create or repair any thing. In less than 5 minutes, he fixedher car. "There," he said, "better than new. Um, would you like a cupof coffee?"She walked with him to the door that connected the garage to thehouse. Abel Halleck moved his fingers over a metal square on the doorand it opened. "What are you, Mr. Halleck, a magician¹²?” Silvia Warrenlaughed excitedly. "I'm retired," he said, "but I was an inventor. Iunderstood how things worked and I found ways to make them workbetter." He told her about the work he had done. He had not spoken somuch to someone for a long time.
The following Monday evening, Abel Halleck went back to SilviaWarren's Latin class and he returned every Monday night. They got toknow each other better. Silvia Warren introduced him to her closestfriend, Mildred Lethem who taught biology and collected rarebutterflies.
One afternoon, the 3 of them met for a coffee. "I think you'll beinterested in insects, Mr. Halleck." Mildred Lethem told him. "Theyare a lot like machines. They are fascinating¹³ because they areperfectly predictable. You always know what they will do." “I’m toobusy." Abel Halleck said sharply¹⁵. "My head is too full of Latin."He finished his coffee, said goodbye and left. Halfway¹⁶ home fromMildred Lethem's house, he turned around and drove to the local publiclibrary. He wanted to find out if she was right when she said insectswere perfectly¹⁴ predictable. In one book called "The Life of Insects",he learned about diapause. He read “this condition is a means¹⁷ forsurviving adverse seasons. The insect enters a deep sleep, all growthstops and its body functions slow down. The state of diapause can lastfor 2 or 3 years or even longer, but finally it ends and the insectawakes to continue its normal life.” Abel Halleck closed the book.
His days filled up. He studied Latin, visited his daughter and herfamily once a week. He met with Silvia Warren and Mildred Lethem fordinner often, and when April came, he went with them into the country.
The experience was new to Abel Halleck. He knew about engines andmachines, but the woods and the river, the animals and the insects ofthe fields belonged to another world. He watched Mildred Lethem andSilvia Warren as they explored ahead of him. Silvia jumped up on awide, flat rock. Throwing open her arms to the sky, she began recitingLatin poetry to the wild flowers and the blue sky. Abel Halleck smiledand looked up the sky himself. When he looked down, she was gone.
Mildred Lethem was running to the rock. He stood up quickly andhurried down the side of the hill to them. Silvia was lying very stillon the ground when he reached her. Mildred Lethem was by her side,crying softly¹⁸.
At the hospital, the doctor asked them, "Are you her family?" "No,"Mildred Lethem said, "there is no family, we are her friends." Theywere sitting in a small office where they had been waiting for hours.
"We don’t have all the tests back yet," the doctor continued, "but itlooks like a form of lupus erythematosus. "What is that?" Abel Halleckasked. The doctor explained. "It was a blood disease¹⁹ that caused thebody to attack its own tissues²⁰. In time, it killed. " "How much time?"Abel asked. "It’s not predictable," the doctor said, "the diseasesuddenly goes away and then just as it suddenly returns. With lupus,you never know."Abel Halleck did not sleep well. He woke up at 4 'o clock in themorning, got dressed and drove to the university, three hours away. Atthe university, he went to the library. He took the Latin that he knewand used it to make a gift for her. He wanted to say what he wantedher to know in language better than his own. So he worked his waythrough books of Latin poetry and stories. When he found a sentence hewanted, he wrote it down in Latin.
From Lucretius, he wrote, “Like children trembling²¹ in the dark, wesit and are afraid. And all our fears are empty like the thingschildren imagine in the dark.” From Horace, “The ice melts²² andspring comes, followed by summer soon to die. For after her comesautumn and then back to winter when nothing moves.” From Cattulus,her favorite poet, he copied, “If a wished-for thing and a thing pasthoping for should come to a man, will he not welcome it the more?
Therefore, it is more welcome to me than gold that Lesbia brings backmy desire of old.” Then, he picked up his pen to write to her in hisown words. “All of this means that we like the insects must die.
Death must come to all living creatures. If there is comfort anywhere,it is in the truth and in the act of these words.”
Mildred Lethem was with her when he came into the hospital room. Hehanded Silvia Warren the paper, she read it and cried then she driedher eyes. She looked up at him, smiling and nodded at once. Andtogether they settled²³ down to wait for the long night soon to come.
You have just heard the story “Surviving Adverse Seasons" written byBarry Targan. It was adapted for Special English by Donald Discenctus.
Permission was given by the author for the adaptation²⁴. This story iscopyrighted, all rights reserved²⁵. Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal.
The director²⁶ was Lawan Davis, for VOA Special English. This is ShirleyGriffith.

1 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

2 sudden   

n.突然，忽然；adj.突然的，意外的，快速的

参考例句：

• All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
• The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。

3 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

7 offering   

n.提供，奉献物，牲礼

参考例句：

• What is your competition offering?你的竞争者提出的条件是什么？
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 parking   

n.停车，停机，停放

参考例句：

• A bus is parking on the road.路上停着一辆公共汽车。
• Next you must learn how to back a car into a parking space.下一步你应该学会如何把车倒入停车的空地。

10 static   

adj.静的；静态的

参考例句：

• Don't view things as static and isolated.不要静止地孤立地看待事物。
• What is the difference between static and non-static variables?静态变量和非静态变量有何不同？

11 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

12 magician   

n.魔术师，变戏法的人，术士

参考例句：

• With a wave of his hand,the magician made the rabbit vanish.魔术师手一挥兔子便不见了。
• The magician transformed the man into a rabbit.魔术师把那个人变成了兔子。

13 fascinating   

adj.迷人的，吸引人的，使人神魂颠倒的

参考例句：

• Your ideas are fascinating to me.你的这些主意对我来说是有吸引力的。
• The very style of the book is fascinating.这本书的风格本身就会引人入胜。

14 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。

15 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

16 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

17 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

18 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。

19 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

20 tissues   

n.组织( tissue的名词复数 )；薄纸；棉纸；一套

参考例句：

• The teacher showed the students the pictures of brain tissues. 老师给学生们看脑组织的图片。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Give some face tissues to me. 给我些面巾纸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 trembling   

n.发抖adj.发抖的v.发抖( tremble的现在分词 )；焦虑；颤动；轻轻摇晃

参考例句：

• My legs were trembling with fear. 我吓得双腿直发抖。
• Daddy was trembling with anxiety as to how the talks would go. 爸爸为那些商谈的进展而焦虑不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 melts   

（使）融[溶，熔]化( melt的第三人称单数 )； 溶解； （使）消散，消失； （使）软化，变得温柔

参考例句：

• The morning fog usually melts away as the sun rises. 晨雾通常在太阳升起时消失。
• It is difficult to tell where the blue melts into the green. 很难说蓝色是在什么地方变成绿色了。

23 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

24 adaptation   

n.改编，适应，改编成的作品

参考例句：

• This process is known as adaptation.这个过程即所谓适应。
• The book described the adaptation of desert species to the hot conditions.这本书描绘了沙漠物种对炎热环境的适应。

25 reserved   

adj.预订的；矜持的；储藏着的v.保留[储备]某物( reserve的过去式)

参考例句：

• The star has a ski slope reserved exclusively for her. 这位明星有一个专门留给她的滑雪场地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is very reserved. He does not say much. 他是个拘谨的人，不爱多说话。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 director   

n.主管，导演；主任；理事；董事；处长

参考例句：

• The director has taken the visitors off to his office.经理把客人带到他办公室去了。
• The new director is easy to get along with.新来的主任很好处。