新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第三冊unit5-a Graceful Hands

Section (A)

Graceful Hands

I have never seen Mrs. Clark before, but I know from her medical chart and the report I received from the preceding shift that tonight she will die.The only light in her room is coming from a piece of medical equipment, which is flashing its red light as if in warning. As I stand there, the smell hits my nose, and I close my eyes as I remember the smell
of decay from past experience. In my mouth I have a sour, vinegar taste coming from the pit of my stomach. I reach for the light switch, and as it silently lights the scene, I return to the bed to observe the patient with an unemotional, medical eye.

Mrs. Clark is dying. She lies motionless: the head seems unusually large on a skeleton body; the skin is dark yellow and hangs loosely around exaggerated bones that not even a blanket can hide; the right arm lies straight out at the side, taped cruelly to a board to secure a needle so that fluid may drip in;the left arm is across the sunken chest, which rises and falls with the uneven breaths.

I reach for the long, thin fingers that are lying on the chest. They are ice cold, and I quickly move to the wrist and feel for the faint pulse. Mrs. Clark's eyes open somewhat as her head turns toward me slightly. I bend close to her and scarcely hear as she whispers, "Water." Taking a glass of water from the table, I put my finger over the end of the straw and allow a few drops of the cool moisture to slide into her mouth and ease her thirst. She makes no attempt to swallow; there is just not enough strength.

"More," the dry voice says, and we repeat the procedure. This time she does manage to swallow some liquid and weakly says, "Thank, you."She is too weak for conversation, so without asking, I go about providing for her needs. Picking her up in my arms like a child, I turn her on her side. Naked, except for a light hospital gown, she is so very
small and light that she seems like a victim of some terrible famine. I remove the lid from a jar of skin cream and put some on the palm of my hand. Carefully, to avoid injuring her, I rub cream into the yellow skin, which rolls freely over the bones, feeling perfectly the outline of each bone in the back.

Placing a pillow between her legs, I notice that these too are ice cold, and not until I run my hand up over her knees do I feel any of the life-giving warmth of blood.When I am finished, I pull a chair up beside the bed to face her and, taking her free hand betweenmine, again notice the long, thin fingers. Graceful. I wonder briefly if she has any family, and then I see that there are neither flowers, nor pictures of rainbows and butterflies drawn by children, nor cards.

There is no hint in the room anywhere that this is a person who is loved. As though she is a mind reader, Mrs. Clark answers my thoughts and quietly tells me, "I sent ... my family ... home ... tonight ...didn't want ... them ... to see ..." Having spent her last ounce of strength she cannot go on, but I have understood what she has done. Not knowing what to say, I say nothing. Again she seems to sense mythoughts, "You …stay …"

Time seems to stand still. In the total silence, I feel my own pulse quicken and hear my breathing as it begins to match hers, breath for uneven breath. Our eyes meet and somehow, together, we become aware that this is a special moment between two human beings ... Her long fingers curl easily around my hand and I nod my head slowly, smiling. Without words, through yellowed eyes, I receive my thank you and her eyes slowly close.

Some unknown interval of time passes before her eyes open again, only this time there is no response in them, just a blank stare. Without warning, her shallow breathing stops, and within a few moments,the faint pulse is also gone. One single tear flows from her left eye, across the cheek and down onto the pillow. I begin to cry quietly. There is a swell of emotion within me for this stranger who so quicklycame into and went from my life.

Her suffering is done, yet so is the life. Slowly, still holding her hand, I become aware that I do not mind this emotional battle, that in fact, it was a privilege she has allowed me, and I would do it again, gladly. Mrs. Clark spared her family an episode that perhaps they were not equipped to handle and instead shared it with me. She had not wanted to have her family see her die,yet she did not want to die alone. No one should die alone, and I am glad I was there for her.

Two days later, I read about Mrs. Clark in the newspaper. She was the mother of seven,grandmother of eighteen, an active member of her church, a leader of volunteer associations in her community, a concert piano player, and a piano teacher for over thirty years.Yes, they were long and graceful fingers.

Words: 910

New Words

　graceful a. 1.優(yōu)美的，優(yōu)雅的 2.得體的
　chart n. 圖，圖表 vt. 制圖表
　preceding a. 在前的，在先的，前面的
　decay n. 變壞，腐爛，衰敗 vi. 1.腐爛，變壞 2.衰退，衰落，衰敗
　vinegar n. 醋
　pit n. 1.坑 2.礦井，煤礦
▲skeleton n. 1.骨骼，骨架 2.梗概，提要
　loose a. 1.寬松的，不緊的 2.自由的，散漫的
　loosely ad. 松地，大致地
　secure vt. 1.關(guān)緊，固定 2.使安全，保護 3.得到，獲得 a. 1.安全的 2.牢固的 3.無憂的，安心的
　fluid n. 液體，流體
　drip v. 滴 n. 1.(連續(xù)落下的)液滴 2.一滴
　faint a. 1.微弱的 2.虛弱
　pulse n. 脈搏 vi. 搏動，跳動
　straw n. 1.吸管，麥管 2.稻草，麥桿
　moisture n. 潮濕，濕氣
　slide v. 1.（使）滑動 2.（使）悄悄地移動 n. 1.滑，滑行 2.幻燈片
　thirst n. 1.渴，口渴 2.渴望
　liquid n. 液體
　naked a. 1.赤身的，裸露的 2.赤裸裸的，無遮蔽的
▲gown n. 女長服；罩衣
　famine n. 饑荒
　lid n. 蓋，蓋子
　jar n. 罐子，壇子
　palm n. 1.手掌，掌心 2.棕櫚樹
　injure vt. 傷害，損傷
　outline n. 1.輪廓，外形 2.要點，大綱 vt. 概述
　pillow n. 枕頭
　rainbow n. 虹，彩虹
　butterfly n. 蝴蝶
　hint n. 1.細微的跡象 2.暗示，提示 v. 暗示
　reader n. 1.讀者 2.讀物，讀本
　ounce n. (重量單位)盎司
　being n. 1.生物，人 2.存在
　interval n. 1.間隔，間距 2.幕間休息，中場休息
　blank a. 1.茫然的，無表情的 2.空白的，無字的，空著的 n. 空白
　shallow a. 1.(呼吸)淺的，弱的 2.淺的 3.膚淺的，淺薄的 n. 淺水處，淺灘
　emotion n. 情感，感情，激情
　privilege n. 特權(quán)，優(yōu)惠
　episode n. 1.一個事件，一組事件 2.(尤指電視或無線電廣播的)一集，一出，一部分
　association n. 1.協(xié)會，社團，組織 2.聯(lián)合，結(jié)交，結(jié)合

Phrases and Expressions

　the pit of the stomach 胸口，心窩
　hang around sth. (使)在……上掛著， （使）圍在……上
　so that 為的是，以便
　reach for 伸出手以觸到或拿到
　feel for （用手、足、棍等）摸索，尋找
　turn towards 轉(zhuǎn)向
　bend to 俯向
　make an attempt to do sth. 嘗試，企圖
　go about doing sth. 著手處理，開始做
　provide for sth. 為可能發(fā)生的事做安排
　pick sb. up 舉起，抱起
　pull up 把... ...拉過來，把... ...拉向前

Proper Names

　Mrs. Clark 克拉克夫人

    優(yōu)雅的雙手
    我從未見過克拉克夫人，但看過她的醫(yī)療記錄和上一位值班醫(yī)生交給我的報告后，我知道她今晚會去世。
    她屋里惟一的光線來自一件醫(yī)療設(shè)備，它閃著紅光，似乎在發(fā)出警告。 我站在那里，一股怪味刺激著我的鼻子，我想起了過去聞到過的腐爛的氣味，我閉上了眼睛。 我嘴里有一股從胃底涌上來的酸酸的醋味。 我伸手去開燈。燈靜靜地照亮了整個病房，我走回病床邊，用無動于衷的、醫(yī)生的目光觀察著病人。
    克拉克夫人已奄奄一息了。 她一動不動地躺著：骨瘦如柴的身體使她的頭顯得特別大；皮膚呈暗黃色，松松地裹在嶙峋的、連毛毯也遮掩不住的骨骼上；她的右臂平伸在床邊，被無情地用膠帶固定在一塊板上，以便能固定針頭使液體滴入；左臂橫放在深陷的胸部，胸口隨著不均勻的呼吸一起一伏。
    我伸手去觸摸她放在胸口的細長手指。 冰涼冰涼的。我忙將手移到她的手腕，感覺那微弱的脈搏。 克拉克夫人將頭稍稍轉(zhuǎn)向我，微微地睜開眼。 我俯過身去，勉強聽見她微弱的聲音："水。" 我從桌上拿起一杯水，用手指封著吸管的一端，滴了幾滴涼涼的水到她的嘴里，以緩解她的干渴。 她沒有用力去吞咽，因為她力氣不夠了。 "還要，"那干澀的聲音說。于是我們又重復(fù)了一次。 這次她終于咽了一些，并輕輕說了聲："謝謝，你。"
    她虛弱得沒法交談，因此沒等她要求，我就開始做她所需要的。 我像抱孩子似的把她抱起來，給她翻了個身。 除了一件淺色的病號服，她什么也沒穿。她又小又輕，簡直像一個嚴重饑荒的受害者。 我打開護膚霜的瓶蓋，揩了一些在手心。 為了不傷著她，我小心翼翼地把護膚霜揉在她發(fā)黃的皮膚上。她的皮膚松松地在骨頭上滑動，背上每塊骨頭的輪廓都能清楚地摸到。 當(dāng)我把枕頭放在她兩腿之間時，發(fā)現(xiàn)它們也是冰涼的，直到把手移到她膝蓋以上的部位，我才感受到血液供給生命的熱度。
    而后，我挪了把椅子面朝她坐在床邊，握住她那只空閑的手，此時我又一次注意到她那細長的手指。 很優(yōu)雅。 一時間，我突然想知道她是否有家庭，接著我發(fā)現(xiàn)病房里沒有花，沒有孩子們畫的彩虹和蝴蝶，也沒有卡片。 房間中沒有任何跡象表明她是一個被人愛著的人。 她似乎讀懂了我的心思，平靜地回答我說： "今天……我讓……家里人……都……回家……不想……他們……看見……" 她耗盡了最后的那點力氣，再也說不下去了。但我已然明白她做了些什么。 我不知道說什么好，所以什么也沒說。 她好像又看穿了我的心思："你……留下……"
    時間似乎停滯了。 在一片寂靜中，我感覺自己的脈搏加快了，我聽到自己的呼吸開始伴隨著她那不均勻的呼吸一起一落。 我們互相對視，不知怎么的，我們都意識到，這是兩個生命間的一個特殊時刻。 她那細長的手指很輕易地就攏住了我的手，我微笑著慢慢點了點頭。 無需任何語言，我從她發(fā)黃的眼睛中感受到了她對我的謝意，她慢慢閉上了眼睛。
    不知過了多長時間，她又睜開了雙眼，只是這一次目光里沒有任何反應(yīng)，只有空空的凝視。 沒有一點先兆，她那細弱的呼吸就停止了。幾秒鐘后，微弱的脈搏也消失了。 一顆淚珠從她的左眼中滲出，滑過臉頰，落在枕上。 我開始輕聲哭泣。 為這位迅速走進又很快走出我生活的陌生人，我心間涌起了一股感情。 她的痛苦結(jié)束了，可她的生命也結(jié)束了。 我依然握著她的手，漸漸地，我意識到我并不害怕這種感情之戰(zhàn)，意識到這實際是她賜予我的特殊榮幸，而且我還樂意再來一次。 克拉克夫人為她的家人省去了一幕他們或許無力面對的人生插曲，卻與我分享了它。 她不想讓家人看著她死去，然而她也不愿孤獨地離去。 不應(yīng)當(dāng)有人孤獨離去的，我很高興能守候在她身邊。
    兩天后，我在報上讀到了克拉克夫人的消息。 原來她是7個孩子的母親，18個孩子的祖母，教會里的活躍分子，社區(qū)志愿者協(xié)會的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，音樂會鋼琴演奏家，從教30余年的鋼琴教師。
    是啊，她的手指是那樣細長而優(yōu)雅。