PART TWO - THE SCHOOLGIRL
CHAPTER SIX
Life at Lowood Continues
As spring came and the days grew warmer, life at Lowood no longer seemed so hard. We enjoyed walking and playing outside, under a bule sky. But the warm weather also brought sickness to our area. By May, more than half the girls were seriously ill. Because of the poor food and bad living conditions, many girls died.
There was fear and death inside the school, but outside the sun [-----1-----] on the flowers and on the little streams of water flowing through the valleys. Fortunately, a few of the girls and I did not get sick. We enjoyed the beautiful summer weather, with no lessons or rules to follow at all!
Sadly, Helen Burns could not come outside with me, because she had tuberculosis. When I learned how sick she was, I decided to visit her. I found her lying in bed, looking [-----2-----].
"You have come to say goodbye," she whispered, coughing. "You are just in time. I'm going soon."
"Where, Helen? Are you going home?" I asked.
"Yes, to my long home--my last home."
"No, no ,Helen!" I was crying at the thought of losing her.
"Jane, your feet are cold. Lie down with me and cover them with my [-----3-----]." I did so.
"Don't worry about me, Jane. I am happy," she continued. "Please don't cry. If I die young, I won't suffer. I am going to Heaven."
"Is Heaven a real place?" I asked.
"Yes, Jane. I'm sure of it. Our souls go there when we die," she answered firmly.
"Will I see you again, Helen, when I die?"
"Yes, you will go to heaven too, Jane."
I could not quite believe that Heaven existed, and I held tightly to Helen. I did not want to let her go; I was afraid that she would die that minute. We kissed goodnight and fell asleep. In the morning Miss Temple found me asleep with Helen Burns dead in my arms. She was bured in a pretty place near a church.
Vocabulary Focus
going to Heaven：去天堂，死亡的委婉说法。基督教认为今生行善的人死后会进天堂享受极乐世界，反之则会进地狱遭受永远的痛苦。
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