英语智慧背囊 15-甜豌豆的夏天
 音频下载[点击右键另存为][00:03.19]Sweet-Pea Summers 甜豌豆的夏天[00:06.74]Each summer in the late 1960s, [00:09.78] my two sisters and I would ride the Greyhound bus [00:13.12]from Arizona to Arkansas to stay with our father. [00:16.46]A World War II veteran, [00:18.53]Dad had many medical problems, [00:20.62]any one of which could cause many people to lose more than their sense of humor, [00:25.45] but not him. [00:26.85]I have vivid memories of Dad waking us up in the morning. [00:30.57]Before he’d put on his legs for the day [00:33.41](he had lost his legs after his discharge), [00:36.15] his wheelchair was his mobility. [00:38.55]Holding his cane, [00:40.41] which was his extended arm, [00:42.71] he would roll through the house yelling, [00:44.90] "Up, up, up! Get up and face the day! [00:47.90]It’s a beautiful day! Rise and Shine!" [00:51.41] If we didn’t get up right away, [00:53.81]he would repeat his song in rhythm with his cane hitting the end of our beds. [00:58.73] This was no performance put on for our benefit; [01:02.56]every day was truly a beautiful day to him. [01:06.16]Back in the sixties, [01:08.36]there was no handicapped parking or wheelchair-accessible ramps like there are now, [01:13.49]so even a trip to the grocery store was a difficult task. [01:17.54]Dad wanted no assistance from anyone. [01:20.93]He would climb stairs slowly but surely, [01:23.99] whistling all the way. [01:26.05] As a teenager, [01:27.56]I found this embarrassing, [01:29.29]but if Dad noticed, [01:30.94]he didn’t let me help. [01:32.47]Those summers always ended too soon. [01:35.75] He would drive us back to Arizona every year, [01:39.24] stopping at the checkpoint for fruit and vegetables at the New Mexico-Arizona border. [01:44.94] When asked if he had any fruits or vegetables, [01:48.21]he would reply, "Just three sweet peas." [01:51.28]Our father has been gone for a long time now, [01:54.99] but not the lesson that he taught us: [01:57.29]You are only as handicapped as you let yourself be. |
