英语美文：送给爸爸的礼物

 无论我送什么样的礼物，爸爸总是很开心的赞赏......

　No matter how humble¹ the contents of a package, Dad always took care to appreciate the time and thought that went into selecting a store-bought gift or the skill that went into making one. When we were young and had no money to buy Dad gifts, we often relied on imagination to make up for a shortage of shopping funds. Dad beamed1) with pleasure upon opening a coin pouch² made at summer camp, a note redeemable2) for washing and waxing his car, or a homemade card with a message of a prayer said in his honor. 

　　But even when our buying power increased through money from odd jobs3) and baby-sitting, we sometimes ran short on imagination. Still, Dad made our bland4) gifts seem like dreams come true. When he opened a plain white shirt just like the ones he wore to work, he would appear delightfully⁵ jolted5) as if he'd never seen anything like it. He'd pull the shirt out of the bag reverently6) and comment on its features. "Oh, this is really nice," he'd say, pointing out the button-down collar7) or extra-long shirttail. Then he'd carefully remove the packaging and try it on. "It's exactly what I needed," he'd say several times in between praising the quality of workmanship8) and tidiness of the fabric⁸. All the while, we watched, wallowing9) in the pleasure of pleasing Dad. 

　　Over the years, we gave Dad a full closet of shirts—plaid10) flannels11) for the cold, short-sleeved knits12) for golf, and long-sleeved Oxford¹⁰ shirts13) for church and work. We gave him miles of ties. We gave him implements14) of leisure such as golf balls and gloves and fishing poles, and things to nurture¹² hobbies like tools for woodworking and gardening. 

　　If the color or size wasn't perfect, or if his toolbox already held in triplicate15) the tool we gave him, Dad didn't let on16). He made us feel so good about our gifts that Father's Day became an occasion we all looked forward to. 

　　I suspect Dad was always more comfortable with giving gifts than receiving them. I figure that's what made him so good at appreciating our simple gifts—his ever-present awareness¹³ that every gift that comes to you brings an opportunity to give one back in the form of gratitude¹⁴. 

　　Dad's manner of receiving even the most mediocre17) of presents was a simple but enduring gift for our family. Although he is no longer with us, his gift lives on in our memories.

英语词汇：送给爸爸的礼物

　　1. beam [bi:m] vi. (面)露喜色;(人)满脸堆笑;感到欣喜 

　　2. redeemable³ [rI5di:mEbl] adj. (赠券等)可兑换现金或物品的 

　　3. odd job: 杂工,零工 

　　4. bland⁴ [blAnd] adj. 淡而无味的;枯燥乏味的 

　　5. jolt⁶ [dVEult] vt. 使震惊;扰乱,使慌乱不安 

　　6. reverently⁷ [5revErEntlI] adv. 恭敬地;虔敬地 

　　7. button-down collar: 领尖扣;领尖有扣眼,前衣片上有扣子,领尖被固定在前衣片上;这是典型的美国式衬衫领,其领尖夹角一般等于或小于标准领形,适合系小温莎结或普通结。 

　　8. workmanship [5w\:kmEnFIp] n. (工匠的)手艺,技艺 

　　9. wallow [5wClEu] vi. 变得富有;沉湎;纵乐 (in) 

　　10. plaid [plAd] adj. 有格子图案的 

　　11. flannel⁹ [5flAnl] n. [~s] 法兰绒衣服(如内衣、男子长裤等) 

　　12. knit [nIt] n. 编结(或针织)品,织物;编结(或针织)的衣服 

　　13. Oxford shirt: 牛津布衬衫 

　　14. implement¹¹ [5ImplImEnt] n. [~s] 装备;家具;服装数 

　　15. in triplicate: 一式三份 

　　16. let on: <口> 泄露(秘密);流露真情 

　　17. mediocre¹⁵ [7mi:dI5EukE(r)] adj. 中等(质量)的,普普通通的,平庸的

1 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。

2 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

3 redeemable   

可赎回的，可补救的

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• The bonds are redeemable by annual drawings. 公债每年抽签偿还。

4 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

5 delightfully   

大喜，欣然

参考例句：

• The room is delightfully appointed. 这房子的设备令人舒适愉快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The evening is delightfully cool. 晚间凉爽宜人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

7 reverently   

adv.虔诚地

参考例句：

• He gazed reverently at the handiwork. 他满怀敬意地凝视着这件手工艺品。
• Pork gazed at it reverently and slowly delight spread over his face. 波克怀着愉快的心情看着这只表，脸上慢慢显出十分崇敬的神色。

8 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

9 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

10 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

13 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

14 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

15 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。