英语美文背诵 多莉姨妈的帽子(下)

As fantastic as it seemed, I could picture angels doing this.

虽然听起来有些玄妙，但我相信万能的天使还是能够做到这一点的。

"The result," she said, "is that God hears your beautiful voice, singing in his praise."

这样上帝就能听到你唱赞美诗的美妙声音了。

"Where will I hide the foil¹?"

“那我把铝箔藏在哪儿呢?”

"My hat!" said Aunt Dolly. "I'll hide it in my hat. I'll sit in the front row. As for Sister Kathleen and your parents? Not a single word to them."

“藏在我的帽子里，”多莉姑姑说。“我会坐在演唱会的前排。不要对凯瑟琳嬷嬷和你的父母泄漏一个字。”

My entire family attended the pageant². With my eyes firmly on her hat, the fact that none present could hear my voice didn't matter. My silent singing was for God's ears alone.

圣诞节那天，全家都去观看我的表演。我紧紧盯着她的帽子，根本不去考虑在场的人能否听到我的声音，我沉默的歌声是唱给上帝一个人听的。演出非常成功。

Four years ago Aunt Dolly died at the age of 90. When the nieces and nephews gathered to reminisce about her, we discovered something many of us had in common. Her angelic hat.A stutterer made it through a dreaded³ speech by concentrating on the hat. The family klutz didn't knock anyone over during his high school commencement march because he kept his eyes glued to the hat. Even the most timid⁴ of us took part in school plays, spelling bees and talent shows because Aunt Dolly sat in the front row wearing her hat.Her surefire faith that God's angels are here to help us overcome life's stumbling⁵ blocks enabled⁶ us kids to do things we thought were impossible.

4年前多莉姑姑去世了，享年90岁。葬礼结束后，我们晚辈聚在一起，追忆这位令人尊敬的姑妈。我们吃惊地发现，她的“天使帽子”曾帮过我们许多人。一个口吃的外甥盯着她的帽子，完成了自己首次登台演讲；一个胆小的侄女勇敢地参加学校戏剧演出，并在拼写比赛和天才竞赛中获奖。就因为多莉姑姑戴着帽子坐在前排，她让我们相信天使就在我们身边，帮我们完成了许多自以为不可能完成的任务。

Even now at times, when my world is turned upside down, I think of Aunt Dolly and remember that my childhood beliefs still hold true. My family loves me. The sun will come up tomorrow. And for one unforgettable Christmas pageant, I had a wonderful voice. I guess just about anything is possible when angels are on our side.

即使到了现在，当我在生活中遇到挫折时，还会想起多莉姑姑和她的“天使帽子”。我童年时的信仰仍然没有改变：我的家人都爱我；太阳每天早上都会升起；在那个难忘的圣诞节表演中，我拥有最美妙的声音。她让我们相信天使就在身边，让我们对自己充满自信。

1 foil   

n.箔，金属薄片，陪衬；vt.挫败，使受挫折

参考例句：

• Milk bottle tops are made of tin foil.牛奶瓶盖是用锡箔做的。
• An ugly woman serves as a foil to a pretty girl.一个丑女人可以将美丽的姑娘反衬得更加漂亮。

2 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

3 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

4 timid   

adj.胆怯的，害羞的

参考例句：

• The rabbit is timid and suspicious.兔子胆小而多疑。
• He was timid about investing money.他不敢投资。

5 stumbling   

adj.摇摇晃晃或跌跌撞撞的v.（不顺畅地）说( stumble的现在分词 )；跌跌撞撞地走；绊脚；（说话、演奏等）出错

参考例句：

• The question of disarmament proved a major stumbling block to agreement. 结果证明裁军问题是达成协议的主要障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His stumbling attempts at colloquial Russian amused her. 他结结巴巴地学说俄语，把她逗乐了。 来自辞典例句

6 enabled   

adj.激活的v.使能够，提供做…的权利[措施]( enable的过去式和过去分词 )；使可能

参考例句：

• His photographic memory enabled him to tuck away yards of facts. 他过目不忘的记忆力使他能记下大量事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Long practice enabled that American to speak fluent Chinese. 长期的练习使得那个美国人能讲一口流利的汉语。 来自《简明英汉词典》