讀點(diǎn)好英文:The Price of a MiracIe 奇跡的價(jià)格

The Price of a MiracIe 奇跡的價(jià)格

·Jennifer Roberts·

Tess was eight years old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were compIeteIy out of money.They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have the money for both the doctor bills and the house payment.

Only a very costIy surgery could save her brother now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. She heard her Dad say to her Mom，“Only a miracle can save him now.”

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.She counted it three times.The total had to be exactly perfect.No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out from the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

Tess waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too intently talking to another man to be bothered by an eight-year-old at this moment. She twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.

Nothing.

She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.

Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it！

“And what do you want?”the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.“I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages.”he said, without waiting for a reply to his question.

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother.”Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone，“He's really, really sick, and I want to buy a miracle.”

“I beg your pardon?”said the pharmacist.

“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So, how much does a miracle cost?”

“We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you.”the pharmacist said, softening a little.

“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest.Just tell me how much it costs.”

The pharmacist's brother stooped down and asked the little girl，“What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”

“I don't know.”Tess replied with her eyes welling up，“I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation, but my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

“How much do you have?”asked the pharmacist's brother.

“One dollar and eleven cents.”Tess answered bareIy audibly，“And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”

“Well, what a coincidence.”smiled the man.“A dollar and eleven cents……the exact price of a miracle for little brother.”Then he said，“Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents.Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”

The pharmacist's brother was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon from Chicago who specialized in neuro-surgery.The operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.Later, Mom and Dad were talking about the chain of events that had led them to this.Her mom said，“That surgery was a real miracle.I wonder how much it would have cost.”Tess smiled.She knew exactly how much a miracle cost……One dollar and eleven cents……plus the faith of a little child.

詹妮弗·羅伯茨

8歲的苔絲聽(tīng)到爸爸媽媽談?wù)撔〉艿馨驳卖數(shù)氖隆Ｋ恢赖艿懿〉煤苤?，他們家的錢(qián)都花光了。下個(gè)月他們就要搬到合租的公寓去了，因?yàn)榘职忠呀?jīng)沒(méi)錢(qián)同時(shí)支付弟弟的醫(yī)療費(fèi)和房租了。

救弟弟需要高昂的手術(shù)費(fèi)用，而且似乎也沒(méi)人會(huì)借給他們錢(qián)。她聽(tīng)爸爸跟媽媽說(shuō)：“現(xiàn)在只有奇跡能救他了?！?/p>

苔絲走進(jìn)了自己的房間，從壁櫥里隱秘的地方找出一個(gè)裝果凍的玻璃罐子。她把里面所有的零錢(qián)都倒在地板上，仔細(xì)地?cái)?shù)了起來(lái)，一共數(shù)了三遍，數(shù)目必須得準(zhǔn)確，這樣就不會(huì)出錯(cuò)了。

她小心翼翼地把硬幣裝回罐子，擰上蓋子，然后悄悄從后門(mén)溜了出去，走過(guò)六個(gè)街區(qū)來(lái)到“雷克索”藥店，這家藥店的大門(mén)上掛著大大的印第安酋長(zhǎng)的紅色標(biāo)志。

苔絲耐心地等著藥劑師能注意到她，可那時(shí)藥劑師正忙著與另一個(gè)人說(shuō)話(huà)，根本顧不上理這個(gè)8歲的孩子。她在地板上蹭著腳，摩擦出聲來(lái)。

沒(méi)用。

她用她能發(fā)出的最讓人厭惡的聲音清了清嗓子。還是沒(méi)用。

最后她從罐子里拿出一枚25分的硬幣，“當(dāng)”的一聲扔在玻璃柜臺(tái)上。這回管用了！

“你想要什么？”藥劑師不耐煩地說(shuō)，“我正在和我的弟弟說(shuō)話(huà)，他從芝加哥來(lái)，我們好多年沒(méi)見(jiàn)了。”他不等她回答就接著說(shuō)。

“我想跟你說(shuō)說(shuō)我的弟弟?！碧z也同樣不耐煩地答道，“他病得很重很重，我想買(mǎi)一個(gè)‘奇跡’?！?/p>

“你再說(shuō)一遍？”藥劑師說(shuō)。

“他叫安德魯，他腦袋里長(zhǎng)了個(gè)壞東西，我爸爸說(shuō)現(xiàn)在只有奇跡能救他。那么，‘奇跡’要多少錢(qián)？”

“我們這兒不賣(mài)‘奇跡’，小姑娘。對(duì)不起，我?guī)筒涣四??！彼巹熣f(shuō)，語(yǔ)氣柔和了許多。

“聽(tīng)我說(shuō)，我有錢(qián)買(mǎi)。如果這個(gè)不夠，我會(huì)再給，你就告訴我要多少錢(qián)吧?！?/p>

藥劑師的弟弟俯下身，問(wèn)苔絲：“你弟弟需要什么樣的奇跡？”

“我不知道，”苔絲的淚水奪眶而出，回答說(shuō)，“我只知道他病得非常厲害，媽媽說(shuō)他需要手術(shù)，但是爸爸付不起手術(shù)費(fèi)，所以我想用我的錢(qián)?！?/p>

“你有多少錢(qián)？”藥劑師的弟弟問(wèn)。

“一塊一毛一，”苔絲回答的聲音別人幾乎聽(tīng)不到，“這是我所有的錢(qián)，但是如果需要，我還可以再弄點(diǎn)來(lái)。”

“真是巧啊，”那人笑了，“一塊一毛一……正好是治好你弟弟的‘奇跡’的價(jià)錢(qián)。”然后他說(shuō)，“帶我去你家，我想看看你弟弟，見(jiàn)見(jiàn)你父母。咱們看看我有沒(méi)有你所說(shuō)的‘奇跡’。”

這個(gè)藥劑師的弟弟是卡爾頓·阿姆斯特朗醫(yī)生，芝加哥神經(jīng)外科手術(shù)的專(zhuān)家。手術(shù)沒(méi)要一分錢(qián)，沒(méi)過(guò)多久，安德魯就回家了，而且恢復(fù)得很好。后來(lái)，爸爸媽媽又談起這件事的來(lái)龍去脈，媽媽說(shuō)：“這個(gè)手術(shù)真是一個(gè)奇跡，它到底需要多少錢(qián)呢？”苔絲笑了，她知道這個(gè)奇跡的確切價(jià)格是……一塊一毛一，再加上一個(gè)孩子的信念。

Practising&Exercise　實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升篇

核心單詞

compIeteIy[k?m'pli：tli]adv.完整地；完全地；徹底地

costIy['k?stli]adj.貴重的，寶貴的

pour[p?：]v.倒，灌，注

bother['b?e?]v.煩擾，打攪

quarter['kw?：t?]n.四分之一；一刻鐘

stoop[stu：p]v.屈身，彎腰

bareIy['be?li]adv.僅僅；勉強(qiáng)；幾乎沒(méi)有

faith[feiθ]n.信念；信任，完全信賴(lài)

實(shí)用句型

The pharmacist's brother was Dr. CarIton Armstrong, a surgeon from Chicago who speciaIized in neuro-surgery.

藥劑師的弟弟是卡爾頓·阿姆斯特朗醫(yī)生，芝加哥神經(jīng)外科手術(shù)的專(zhuān)家。

①這是由who引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句。

②from來(lái)自，也可說(shuō)come from。

翻譯練習(xí)

1.我8點(diǎn)在這里等你。（wait for）

2.那點(diǎn)輕微的損壞并不能降低引擎的威力。（take from）

3.他昨晚12點(diǎn)才回到家。（not until）