英语专业晨读美文-人生篇 13 Dad's Mandolin

[00:02.28]Dad’s Mandolin
[00:06.89]My father was a self-taught mandolin player.
[00:11.14]He was one of the best string instrument players in our town.
[00:14.84]He could not read music, but if he heard a tune¹ a few times,
[00:19.17]he could play it. When he was younger,
[00:21.45]he was a member of a small country music band.
[00:23.92]They would play at local dances and on a few occasions
[00:27.58]would play for the local radio station.
[00:29.66]He often told us how he had auditioned³ and earned a position
[00:33.48]in a band that featured Patsy Cline as their lead singer.
[00:36.45]He told the family that after he was hired
[00:39.13]he never went back. Dad was a very religious man.
[00:42.84]He stated that there was a lot of drinking
[00:45.30]and cursing the day of his audition²
[00:47.25]and he did not want to be around that type of environment.
[00:50.38]Occasionally, Dad would get out his mandolin
[00:53.46]and play for the family. We three children:
[00:56.06]Trisha, Monte and I, would often sing along.
[00:59.63]Songs such as the Tennessee Waltz, Harbor Lights
[01:03.78]and around Christmas time,
[01:05.04]the well-known rendition of Silver Bells.
[01:07.81]“Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the city”
[01:11.77]would ring throughout the house.
[01:13.34]Dad loved to play the mandolin for his family.
[01:16.68]He knew we enjoyed singing, and hearing him play.
[01:19.83]He was like that. If he could give pleasure to others,
[01:23.71]he would, especially his family. He was always there,
[01:27.90]sacrificing his time and efforts to see
[01:30.20]that his family had enough in their life.
[01:32.10]I had to mature into a man and have children of my own
[01:35.02]before I realized how much he had sacrificed.
[01:37.68]In August of 1993 my father was diagnosed⁴
[01:42.15]with inoperable lung cancer.
[01:44.05]He chose not to receive chemotherapy treatments
[01:47.32]so that he could live out the rest of his life in dignity.
[01:50.04]About a week before his death,
[01:52.00]we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for us.
[01:55.02]He made excuses but said “okay”.
[01:57.18]He knew it would probably be the last time
[02:00.29]he would play for us.
[02:01.92]He tuned⁵ up the old mandolin and played a few notes.
[02:04.84]When I looked around, there was not a dry eye in the family.
[02:08.73]We saw before us a quiet humble⁶ man with an inner strength
[02:12.43]that comes from knowing God, and living with him in one's life.
[02:15.74]Dad would never play the mandolin for us again.
[02:18.50]We felt at the time that he wouldn't have enough strength to play,
[02:22.13]and that makes the memory of that day even stronger.
[02:25.22]Dad was doing something he had done all his life, giving.
[02:28.54]As sick as he was, he was still pleasing others.
[02:31.78]Dad sure could play that mandolin!
 

1 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

2 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

3 auditioned   

vi.试听（audition的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• None of the actresses we have auditioned is suitable. 我们试听的这些女演员都不合适。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• What is that, from some script you auditioned for in the '40s? 什么玩意儿是你40年代试的那些剧本吗？ 来自电影对白

4 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

5 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。