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情深似海－你是否懂得父爱

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2024-11-30
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情深似海－你是否懂得父爱

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2006-12-01 06:00 字体： [ 大中小]　进入论坛

(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Enormous Debt

There was no one quite like my father —— in our town of Victor. When any other man in town had an extra dollar, he bought a drink; when Father had an extra dollar, he bought a book. Other people had pictures on their walls, or at least a calendar; we had books, 3000 of them, lining ¹ every vertical ² surface of our little four - room house, on every subject from astronomy to zoology ³.

Father was the most persistent ⁴ scholar I ever knew. Every summer he took a month or so off to attend classes in Denver or Omaha or Chicago. Twice a week, a neighbor recently arrived from Germany came over to converse ⁵ with him in German because he hoped some day to study with the great professors of medicine in Vienna. Eventually, he earned seven degrees, attended 11 different colleges and universities, and in 1951, when he was 82 sent us a cheerful little note from England to say that he had just enrolled ⁷ for a graduate course in Elizabethan literature at Oxford ⁸.

My sister, Pherbia, and I were the immediate ⁹ beneficiaries of Father's insatiable hunger to learn. Every spring, carrying his geologist's hammer, he would take us hiking through the mountains to study mineral formations and search for rocks and wildflowers for his specimen ¹⁰ collections. We were expected to identify all specimens ¹¹ without hesitation ¹². On winter nights, when the skies were especially clear from our, 10,000-foot vantage point in the Rockies, he would set up a telescope and wake us to come view the stars, which he then named with the affectionate familiarity of a local tour guide. For the rest of my life, wherever I traveled around this earth, the stars remained my friends.

Plain, distinct speech was a particular concern of my father and he was constantly drilling me in the art of elocution. Before I was three, he was reading aloud to me from the Bible, Shakespeare and Mark Twain. Thereafter, I read aloud to him so he could work on my diction. By the time I was in the fifth grade, I could recite from a whole range of classical literature and poetry —— and had to be prepared to do so at a moment's notice. Once, when we happened to meet near the church, he swept me inside, stood me up in the pulpit and said, "Go ahead. " It was a familiar signal. I promptly ¹³ launched into a recitation while, from a rear pew, Father kept coaching, "Aspirate your H's! Louder! And put more fire into it!"

Of course, here have been times as a young man, when I got tired of study and devoted ¹⁴ my time to playing. Then Father would admonish ¹⁵ me succinctly ¹⁶ by quoting a saying from Shakespeare, "If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work."

Obviously, his efforts were not entirely ¹⁷ in vain, for my voice has enabled me to earn a fair livelihood ¹⁸. But that fact doesn't begin to define the enormous debt I owe my father.

　　Annotation:
　　1. line every vertical surface 这里的意思是凡能放书的地方都放满书。vertical 垂直的
　　2. zoology n. 动物学
　　3. persistent adj. 固执的，坚定不移的
　　4. enroll ⁶ v. 录取
　　5. beneficiary n. 受益人
　　6. insatiable adj. 不知足的，贪得无厌的
　　7. formation n. 结构
　　8. specimen n. 标本
　　9. vantage n. 有利
　　10. come view 等于come and view,意思是“来观看”
　　11. affectionate v. 深情的
　　12. drill v. 使牢记，教导
　　13. elocution n. 演说法，发声法
　　14. thereafter adv. 以后
　　15. at a moment's notice 随叫随到
　　16. pulpit n. 讲经台
　　17. pew n. 教堂的条凳或座位
　　18. aspirate v. 送气
　　19. admonish v. 告诫，敦促
　　20. succinctly adv. 简洁地
　　21. tedious adj. 冗长乏味的
　　22. don't begin to （口）决不能，完全不能

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收听单词发音

1 lining
n.衬里，衬料
参考例句：
The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。 Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 vertical
adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置
参考例句：
The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。 Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

3 zoology
n.动物学，生态
参考例句：
I would like to brush up my zoology.我想重新温习一下动物学。 The library didn't stock zoology textbooks.这家图书馆没有动物学教科书。

4 persistent
adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的
参考例句：
Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。 She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 converse
vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反
参考例句：
He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。 I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

6 enroll
v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol
参考例句：
I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。 They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

7 enrolled
adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起
参考例句：
They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。来自《简明英汉词典》 He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 immediate
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。 We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 specimen
n.样本，标本
参考例句：
You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。 This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

11 specimens
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人
参考例句：
Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。 The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。来自《简明英汉词典》

12 hesitation
n.犹豫，踌躇
参考例句：
After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。 There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

13 promptly
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。 She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

14 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

15 admonish
v.训戒；警告；劝告
参考例句：
I will tactfully admonish him not to behave like this again.我会婉转的规诫他不要再这样做。 Admonish your friends privately,but praise them openly.要私下告戒朋友，但是要公开夸奖朋友。

16 succinctly
adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地
参考例句：
He writes simply and succinctly, rarely adding too much adornment. 他的写作风格朴实简练，很少添加饰词。来自互联网 No matter what question you are asked, answer it honestly and succinctly. 总之，不管你在面试中被问到什么问题，回答都要诚实而简明。来自互联网

17 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 livelihood
n.生计，谋生之道
参考例句：
Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。 My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。