听美国故事练听力 43

　　It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville Tennesee, a slowgrey rain. I was tired, so I went straight to my hotel. A big heavyman was walking up and down in the hotel lobby¹. Something about theway he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He hada big fat red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introducedhimself as Wentworth Caswell - Major Wentworth Caswell from a finesouthern family. Caswell pulled me into the hotel's bar room andyelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks.
While we drank, he talked continually³ about himself, his family, hiswife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handfulof silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket. By this time Ihad decided⁴ that I wanted no more of him. I said goodnight. I went upto my room and looked out of the window. It was 10 o'clock but thetown was silent⁵. "A nice quiet place," I said to myself as I got readyfor bed, "just an ordinary sleepy southern town."I was born in the south myself, but I live in New York now. I writefor a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. Themagazine had received some stories and poems from a writer inNashville named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. Thepublisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only forhis magazine. I left the hotel at 9 o'clock the next morning to findMiss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside, I metUncle Caesar. He was a big old black man with fuzzy grey hair. UncleCaesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must havebeen a military⁶ officer's coat. It was very long and when it was newit had been grey. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow ofcolors, only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big asa 50-cent coin. Uncle Caesar stood near a horse-sent carriage.
He opened the carriage door and said softly⁷, "Step right in, sir, I'lltake you anywhere in the city.""I want to go to 861 Jasmine⁸ Street", I said.
And I started to climb into the carriage, but the old man stopped me.
"Why do you want to go there, sir?""What business is it of yours?" I said angrily.
Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. "Nothing, sir, but it's a lonely partof town. Just step in and I'll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old anddying. I got out of the carriage.
"That will be $2, sir." Uncle Caesar said.
I gave him 2 one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed thatone had been torn in half and fixed⁹ with a piece of blue paper. Alsothe upper right hand corner was missing¹⁰.
Azalea Adair herself opened the door when I knocked. She was about 50years old. Her white hair was pulled back from her small tired face.
She wore a pale yellow dress. It was old but very clean. Azalea Adairled me into her living room: a damaged table, three chairs, and an oldred sofa were in the center of the floor. Azalea Adair and I sat downat the table and began to talk. I told her about the magazine's offer.
She told me about herself. She was from an old southern family. Herfather had been a judge. Azalea Adair told me she had never traveledor even attended school. Her parents taught her at home with privateteachers.
We finished our meeting. I promised to return with the agreement thenext day and rose to leave. At that moment, someone knocked at theback door. Azalea Adair whispered¹¹ a soft apology and went to answerthe caller¹². She came back a minute later with bright eyes and pinkcheeks. She looked ten years younger.
"You must have a cup of tea before you go," she said.
She shook a little bell on the table and a small black girl about 12years old ran into the room. Azalea Adair opened a tiny old purse andtook out a dollar bill. It had been fixed with a piece of blue paperand the upper right hand corner was missing. It was the dollar I hadgiven to Uncle Caesar.
"Go to Mr. Baker¹³'s store, Indy," she said, "and get me 25 cents worthof tea and 10 cents worth of sugar cakes, and please hurry." The childran out of the room. We heard the back door close.
Then the girl screamed. Her cry mixed with a man's angry voice. AzaleaAdair stood up. Her face showed no emotion as she left the room. Iheard the man's rough¹⁴ voice and her gentle one. Then a door slammed,and she came back into the room. " I am sorry, but I won't be able tooffer you any tea after all." she said, "It seems that Mr. Baker hasno more tea, perhaps he will find some for our visitor tomorrow." Wesaid goodbye. I went back to my hotel.
Just before dinner, Major Wentworth Caswell found me. It wasimpossible to avoid him. He insisted on buying me a drink and pulled 2one-dollar bills from his pocket. Again, I saw a torn dollar fixedwith blue paper with a corner missing. It was the one I gave UncleCaesar." How strange!" I thought. I wondered how Caswell got it.
Uncle Caesar was waiting outside the hotel the next afternoon. He tookme to Miss Adair's house and agreed to wait there until we hadfinished our business. Azalea Adair did not look well. I explained theagreement to her. She signed it. Then as she started to rise from thetable, Azalea Adair fainted¹⁵ and fell to the floor. I picked her up andcarried her to the old red sofa. I ran to the door and yelled² to UncleCaesar for help. He ran down the street. Five minutes later, he wasback with a doctor. The doctor examined Miss Adair and turned to theold black driver.
"Uncle Caesar," he said, “Run to my house, and ask my wife for somemilk and some eggs. Hurry!"Then the doctor turned to me. “She does not get enough to eat", hesaid, "she has many friends who want to help her, but she is proud.
Mrs. Caswell will accept help only from that old black man. He wasonce her family's slave¹⁶.""Mrs. Caswell?" I said in surprise, "I thought she was Azalea Adair.""She was," The doctor answered, "until she married Wentworth Caswell20 years ago. But he is a hopeless drunk¹⁷. He takes even the smallamount of money that Uncle Caesar gives her."After the doctor left, I heard Caesar's voice in the other room. "Didhe take all the money I gave you yesterday, Mrs. Azalea?" " Yes,Caesar." I heard her answer softly, "He took both dollars." I wentinto the room and gave Azalea Adair fifty dollars. I told her it wasfrom the magazine. Then uncle Caesar drove¹⁸ me back to the hotel.
A few hours later, I went out for a walk before dinner. A crowd ofpeople was talking excitedly in front of a store. I pushed my way intothe store. Major Caswell was lying on the floor. He was dead. Someonehad found his body on the street. He had been killed in a fight. Infact his hands were still closed into tight¹⁹ fists. But as I stood nearhis body, Caswell's right hand opened. Something fell from it androlled near my feet. I put my foot on it then picked it up and put itin my pocket. People said they believed a thief had killed him. Theysaid Caswell had been showing everyone that he had 50 dollars. Butwhen he was found, he had no money on him.
I left Nashville the next morning. As the train crossed a river, Itook out of my pocket the object that had dropped from Caswell's deadhand. I threw it into the river below. It was a button, a yellowbutton, the one from Uncle Caesar's coat.
You have just heard the story "A Municipal²⁰ Report". It was written byO. Henry and adapted for Special English by Dona de Sanctis. Yourstoryteller was Shep O'Neal. This is Susan Clark. Join us again nextweek at this time for another American story on the Voice of America.

1 lobby   

n.前厅，（剧院的）门廊

参考例句：

• As he walked through the lobby,he skirted a group of ladies.他穿过门厅时，绕过了一群女士。
• The delegates entered the assembly hall by way of the lobby.代表们通过大厅进入会场。

2 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》

3 continually   

adv.不间断地，不停地；多次重复地

参考例句：

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size.其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
• The US is continually building up its armed forces.美军正持续加强它的三军。

4 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。

5 silent   

adj.安静的，不吵闹的，沉默的，无言的；n.(复数)默剧

参考例句：

• Immediately on his beginning to speak,everyone was silent.他一讲话，大家顿时安静下来。
• The boys looked at the conjuror in silent wonder. 孩子们目瞪口呆地看着那魔术师。

6 military   

n.军队；adj.军事的，军人的，好战的

参考例句：

• The area has been declared a closed military zone.这个地区已宣布为军事禁区。
• The king was just the tool of the military government.国王只是军政府的一个傀儡。

7 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。

8 jasmine   

n.茉莉

参考例句：

• It's a kind of green tea with the smell of jasmine.这是一种带有茉莉花香的绿茶。
• You can smell the perfume of jasmine.你可以闻到茉莉花的香味。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

11 whispered   

adj.耳语的，低语的v.低声说( whisper的过去式和过去分词 )；私语；小声说；私下说

参考例句：

• She sidled up to me and whispered something in my ear. 她悄悄走上前来，对我耳语了几句。
• His ill luck has been whispered about the neighborhood. 他的不幸遭遇已在邻居中传开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 caller   

n.打电话者，来访者，呼叫者

参考例句：

• The operator told the caller that the line is busy.接线员告诉打电话的人对方电话占线。
• The caller is on hold.那个打电话的人正等着通话。

13 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

14 rough   

adj.粗糙的；粗略的，大致的；粗野的，粗暴的

参考例句：

• It's just a very rough translation.这只是一篇非常粗糙的译稿。
• His reply was a bit rough.他的答复过于粗鲁了一点。

15 fainted   

v.晕倒，昏倒( faint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Facer has fainted; this bucket of water should fetch him round. 费塞昏过去了，这桶水可以使他苏醒过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She all but fainted when she heard the news. 听到那消息，她差点晕过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 slave   

n.奴隶，附件，卑鄙的人；vi.拼命工作

参考例句：

• Don't be a slave to custom.不要做风俗习惯的奴隶。
• Why should I slave away all my life!我为什么要辛辛苦苦地干一辈子呀！

17 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。

18 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。

19 tight   

adj.紧的；难解的；紧密的

参考例句：

• Time is going to be tight,so you'd better hurry.时间很紧，你最好抓紧一点。
• The box is so tight that I can't open it.这个盒子太紧，我打不开。

20 municipal   

adj.市的，市政的；n.政府证券

参考例句：

• The municipal authorities have kept the roads up well.市政当局把道路保养得不错。
• The city is planning to build a municipal library.该市正计划建一座市立图书馆。