有声美文-19｜The Best Mother 最棒的妈妈
01 | Poverty and Richness 贫穷与富有
02 | Chief Seattle's Thoughts 西雅图宣言
03 | A Pair of Precious Hands 宝贵的双手
05 | Facing the Enemies Within 直面内在的敌人
06 | The Goodness of Life 云淡风轻，感受生命的美好
08 | The Warmth of a Glass of Milk —杯牛奶的温暖
09 | Clear Your Mental Space 清理心灵的空间
10 | What is Your Recovery Rate? 你的恢复速率是多少
13 | The 50-Percent Theory of Life 生活理论半对半
15 | What I have Lived for 我为何而生
16 | Three Days to See 假如给我三天光明
The Best Mother
最棒的妈妈
Liddell Sharen
Terri Wilson stomped her foot. She was the only student left in the schoolyard. And it was raining. Finally, her mother's car turned into the parking lot.
特丽·威尔逊使劲跺着脚。校园里只剩下她一个学生了。天还在下着雨。终于，她妈妈的车转进了停车场。
You're late! Terri said as she got in the car.
“你来晚了！”特丽边上车边说。
Sorry. I had to take Snowball to the veterinarian for his shots, her mother said. "I almost didn't come. I thought you'd be walking home. Then I remembered you wouldn't wear your raincoat this morning."
“对不起。我得带雪球去兽医那儿打针，”她妈妈解释说，“我差点就不来了。我以为你会自己走回家呢。后来想起来你今天早上出门时不愿意穿雨衣。”
Terri scowled . No one in sixth grade wore raincoats!
特丽皱了皱眉头。六年级生中才没人穿雨衣呢！
Their small white dog pawed at her knee. "Snowball! Get down! Bad dog! You're getting hair all over me."
他们家的小白狗把爪子搭在她的膝盖上。“雪球！下去！你这只臭狗！你弄得我浑身都是狗毛。”
Terri, he's just glad to see you.
“特丽，它只是很高兴看见你。”
Terri sighed and patted the trembling animal. "Sorry, boy. I didn't mean to yell."
特丽叹了口气，轻轻拍了拍吓得瑟瑟发抖的小狗。“对不起，小家伙。我不是故意朝你吼的。”
Mrs. Wilson stopped the car in the driveway. Terri helped carry the groceries into the kitchen. Grumbling to herself, she pulled a carton of milk, some cans of apple juice, and a box of oatmeal from a bag. Why couldn't her mother buy chocolate milk and carbonated drinks and sugar- frosted puffs like Mrs. Hanson bought for Laurie?
威尔逊太太把车停在了家门口的车道上。特丽帮忙把买的食品拿进厨房。她一边从袋子里拽出一盒牛奶、几罐苹果汁和一盒燕麦片，一边嘀嘀咕咕地发着牢骚。她的妈妈怎么就不能像汉森太太给劳丽买东西那样，买些巧克力牛奶、碳酸饮料还有糖霜泡芙呢？
Her two older brothers trooped into the kitchen. "We're starving. Is there anything to eat?"
她的两个哥哥一起走进厨房。“我们饿死了。有没有吃的啊？”
Mrs. Wilson pointed to the fruit bowl and the boys grabbed the last two apples. Half a dozen oranges remained in the bowl. Terri clenched her fists. She hated peeling oranges. Wishing she were an only child like Jill MacDonald, she stomped off to her room.
威尔逊太太指了指果盘，两个男孩抢走了最后两个苹果。果盘里就剩下六个橙子了。特丽气得攥紧了拳头。她讨厌剥橙子皮。她使劲跺着脚，回到了自己的房间。她多么希望自己和吉尔·麦克唐纳一样是家里的独生女啊！
Where was her tape player? She pawed aimlessly through the scattered piles of papers, books, and tapes littering her floor. Her mother refused to clean her bedroom; she said eleven-year-olds should be responsible for their own things. Terri snorted. Susan Brown was twelve, and her mother still picked up for her.
她的录音机在哪儿呢？她像一只无头苍蝇似的在地板上左一堆右一堆的纸啊、书啊、磁带里翻找起来。她的妈妈拒绝为她打扫房间，说11岁大的孩子应该自己负责自己的事情了。特丽不屑地哼了一声。苏珊·布朗都12岁了，她妈妈还帮她收拾房间呢。
That evening Terri turned her basket of clean clothes upside down. The only pajamas she could find were the red flannel ones. She loved the soft feel of the material, but she hated the bright color. She called down the hall. "Did you do a wash today?"
那天晚上，特丽把她那一篮干净衣服翻了个底朝天，可是只找到了那套红色法兰绒睡衣。她很喜欢法兰绒那种柔软的感觉，但她不喜欢那种鲜亮的颜色。她朝楼下客厅喊道：“你今天洗衣服了吗？”
Yes.
“洗了啊。”
Did you wash my blue pajamas?
“那你洗我的蓝色睡衣了吗？”
I don't think so. In fact, I don't think I washed anything of yours. Did you put your clothes in the hamper ?
“好像没洗。实际上，我洗的衣服里没有一件是你的。你把衣服放到洗衣篮里了吗？”
Terri ground her teeth. She hated carrying her dirty clothes to the stupid hamper in the utility room. Why couldn't her mother gather up her laundry? After all, she walked by Terri's room at least fifty times a day. Amanda Cummings' mother always made sure her favorite clothes were clean. Once Amanda wore the same purple capris every day for two weeks. She said her mom washed it every night and had it ready for her to wear the next day.
特丽气得咬牙切齿。她讨厌把脏衣服拿到杂物间，放到那只丑得要命的洗衣篮里。妈妈为什么就不能帮她收一下要洗的衣服呢？不管怎么说，她一天至少要路过特丽的房间50次。阿曼达·卡明斯的妈妈总是确保阿曼达最喜欢的衣服是干净的。有一次阿曼达连续两个星期每天都穿同一条紫色的紧身裤。她说她妈妈每天晚上帮她把裤子洗好，准备好第二天给她穿。
Terri pulled on the red pajamas and snuggled up to Buster, her teddy bear. Mom will have to sew his poor arm on again, she thought, closing her eyes. Moments later, she heard a noise. Someone was vacuuming . She opened one eye, then bolted upright. There was Susan Brown's mother,cleaning the bedroom in the middle of the night?
特丽套上红色睡衣，然后依偎在她的泰迪熊巴斯特旁边。妈妈得再把巴斯特可怜的胳膊缝一下了，她一边想着，一边闭上了眼睛。过了一会儿，她听到一阵声响，是有人在用吸尘器。她睁开一只眼睛，然后迅速坐直了身子。是苏珊·布朗的妈妈，她怎么深更半夜打扫卧室啊？
Terri looked around the room, confused. Mrs. Brown had picked up all her clothes and toys and lined her shelves with books and tapes.
特丽看了看房间四周，困惑不已。布朗太太把她的所有衣服和玩具都收拾好了，还把她的书和磁带整整齐齐地摆在了书架上。
"I can't sew this threadbare thing! yelled Mrs. Brown. She was swinging Buster Bear around her head by one ragged ear. "We'll just have to throw it away!"
“这破玩意儿我可缝不了！”布朗太太喊道。她拎着大熊巴斯特的一只破耳朵，在她脑袋边晃来晃去。“咱们把它扔掉算了！”
I can't throw out Buster. He's my friend. I've had him since I was six months old.
“我可不能把巴斯特扔掉。他是我的朋友。我六个月大的时候他就跟着我了。”
Then you've had him long enough. You'll sleep much better without this piece of rubbish. And remember, Snowball stays in his doghouse. If I find one white hair on your bed, it's off to the pound with him. Mrs. Brown sniffed and disappeared in a flash of light.
“那他陪你的时间也够长的了。没有这件垃圾陪着你，你会睡得更好。还有记住，雪球必须待在它的狗屋里。如果我在你床上发现一根白色的狗毛，我就马上把这根狗毛和雪球一起送到动物收容所去。”布朗太太很不屑地说完这番话，然后消失在一道光里。
"Terri, I have a present for you. Amanda Cummings' mother appeared, holding a pair of designer jeans. Terri whooped with delight. She tried to hug Mrs. Cummings, but the woman pushed her away. Be careful! You'll wrinkle my blouse!"
“特丽，我有份礼物给你。”阿曼达·卡明斯的妈妈出现了，手里拿了一条出自名设计师之手的牛仔裤。特丽高兴地欢呼起来。她想抱抱卡明斯太太，可这个女人一下子把她推开了。“小心点儿！你会把我的衣服弄皱的！”
"The pants fit perfectly, but they didn't feel right. "Uh, Mrs. Cummings, they're stiff ."
裤子很合身，但穿着感觉有点不对劲。“唔，卡明斯太太，裤子有点儿硬。”
"Well, of course. That's the very latest fashion."
“对啊，那当然。那才是最新流行款式啊。”
"But I like only soft clothes. Couldn't you do what my mother does and run them through the washing machine a few times before I start to wear them?"
“但我只喜欢柔软的衣服。你就不能像我妈妈那样，在我穿新衣服之前把它们放到洗衣机里转几次吗？”
"Certainly not. What's the point of buying the newest styles if you're going to ruin them right away? As soon as you get home, change clothes so you don't ruin those jeans."
“当然不行。要是像你这样买回来之后马上就把衣服毁了，那我们买最新款的衣服还有什么意义啊？你一回到家就要换衣服，这样才不会把牛仔裤弄坏。”
"Terri nodded miserably . She hated changing clothes after school. Then she heard Jill MacDonald's mother call her to supper. Holding the jeans, Mrs. Cummings vanished."
特丽痛苦地点了点头。她讨厌放学回家后就换衣服。然后她又听见吉尔·麦克唐纳的妈妈叫她吃晚饭。而卡明斯太太拿着牛仔裤消失不见了。
Terri looked down and found herself at the kitchen table. She saw scalloped potatoes, broccoli with a yucky cheese sauce, and a chicken cutlet on her plate. Mrs. MacDonald asked her what was wrong.
特丽低头看了看，发现自己坐在了餐桌前。她看见自己的盘子里摆着加味烤土豆，浇了令人厌恶的芝士酱的西兰花，还有鸡排。麦克唐纳太太问她哪里不对劲。
"My brothers and I don't like scalloped potatoes, so my mom doesn't make them. We don't like cheese sauce either, so she just gives us plain broccoli."
“我哥哥和我都不喜欢吃加味烤土豆，所以我妈妈不做。我们也不喜欢芝士酱，所以她给我们做的西兰花什么也不放。”
Mrs. MacDonald raised an eyebrow. "Well, my husband and I like scalloped potatoes and cheese sauce. I'm not going to change our diet just to accommodate one child. You may leave the table if you don't wish to eat what is being served."
麦克唐纳太太竖起眉毛，说：“但是，我先生和我都喜欢加味烤土豆和芝士酱。我可不打算为了伺候一个小孩而改变我们的饮食习惯。你要是不想吃桌上的这些东西，可以离开餐桌。”
Suddenly, Mrs. Hanson was in the kitchen. For breakfast she put out frosted puffs and soda. They tasted terrific. Terri had two big bowls of the cereal and three tall glasses of the drink. But, later, at gym class, she couldn't finish the relay race. Her legs felt wobbly and her stomach was queasy . She groaned.
突然，汉森太太出现在了厨房里。她端出糖霜泡芙和苏打水当早餐。太美味了！特丽吃了两大碗麦片粥，喝了三大杯饮料。但是后来，在体育课上，她都没法跑完接力赛了。她双腿发颤，胃里感到一阵阵恶心。她哼哼起来。
"Terri, honey! Wake up!"
“特丽，宝贝儿！醒醒！”
Terri opened her eyes. Snowball was standing on her chest, licking her face, and Buster Bear was lying on her pillow.
特丽睁开眼睛。雪球趴在她胸口上舔她的脸，而大熊巴斯特则躺在她的枕头上。
"Her mother leaned over the bed. "I heard you call out. Were you having a dream?"
她妈妈站在床边，俯下身来。“我刚才听见你大声叫唤。你是不是做梦了？”
Terri shuddered . "It was more like a nightmare."
特丽打了个寒颤。“更像是个噩梦。”
"Shall I make you some warm milk?"
“要不要我给你倒点热牛奶？”
Terri shook her head. She reached up and hugged her mother. "Could you just stay with me for a minute?"
特丽摇摇头。她起身搂着妈妈。“你能不能就陪我待一分钟？”
Mrs. Wilson smiled and sat down, her arms around her daughter. "This is nice. Lately, I've been thinking you were all grown-up and didn't want hugs anymore."
威尔逊太太微微一笑，坐下来，双手搂着她的女儿。“真好啊。最近我还一直以为，你们都已经长大了，都不想再要我抱了呢。”
"Oh, Mom! I'll never be so grown-up that I won't need hugs from you. You're the best mother in the world."
“哦，妈妈！不管我长多大，我都需要你的拥抱。你是世界上最棒的妈妈！”
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