55.The Mistaken Father

　　The morning following the birth of our first child, my husband was mistakenly directed to the room of another new mother on the maternity¹ floor. As he walked into the room, he bent² over the nap³- ping mother, whose back was turned to him, and gave her a big kiss. The woman was startled⁵ to see a stranger. But before she could say anything, my husband smiled and said, "I didn't know having a baby would change you this much!"

Notes:

　　(1) mistaken adj.弄错了的 (4) nap v.小睡；打盹

　　(2) direct v.批示方向；指点 (5) startle⁴ v.使惊奇

　　(3) maternity n.（医院）产科病房

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① When did the husband go to see his wife?

　　A. in the morning

　　B. at noon

　　C. in the afternoon

　　D. at night

　　② Why did the husband enter the room of another new mother ?

　　A. Because he had a bad memory.

　　B. Because he was misguided by the nurse.

　　C. Because he was mistakenly directed.

　　D. The new other needed help.

　　③ What was the other new mother doing?

　　A. She was crying out for help.

　　B. She was lying in bed, awake.

　　C. She was having asleep.

　　D. She was chatting with the man's wife.

　　④ What did the husband do to the other new mother?

　　A. He smiled at her and then went out.

　　B. He bent over and kissed her.

　　C. He helped the woman to get up.

　　D. He sent her a bunch of flower.

　　⑤ How did the husband handle the incident?

　　A. He ran out quickly.

　　B. He felt ashamed.

　　C. He was very angry with the woman.

　　D. He left the mistake uncorrected and made the best of it.

55.糊涂父亲

　　我们孩子出世的那天早晨，我丈夫由于受误导跑到了产科病区的另一位产妇那里。他弯下腰，给了那位正背对着他小睡的产妇一个长吻。那位产妇发现是位陌生人，惊跳起来。但她还没来得及张口，我丈夫便微笑着说：“真想不到生个孩子能使你变化如此之大！”

练习参考答案：

①A②C③C④B⑤D

1 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 nap   

n.(白天)打瞌睡，打盹

参考例句：

• The nap of the coat has been worn off.外衣上的绒毛已经磨掉了。
• Don't bother me while I am taking my nap.我小睡的时候不要打扰我。

4 startle   

v.（突然受）惊吓，使吃惊，吓得一跳

参考例句：

• Sorry,I didn't mean to startle you.对不起，我不是故意想吓你一跳的。
• I hope I didn't startle you.但愿我没有吓着您。

5 startled   

adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳，使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛，那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》