week4day7The Price of Miracle 奇迹的价格

Day 7
每日一读
The Price of Miracle
奇迹的价格是多少？$1.11？ 
是的,只用了一美元加十一美分，她买到了奇迹。
Tess was a precocious eight-year-old girl 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 completely out of money. They were moving
to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the
money for the doctor’s bills and their house. Only a very costly surgery
could save him now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them
the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered
desperation, “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. Three times, even. The total had to be absolutely exact. No
chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and
twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way six
blocks to the pharmacy with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
英语晨读精华
65
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he
was too busy at this moment. Tess 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 was a well-dressed man. He stooped down
and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother
英语晨读精华
66
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 man from Chicago. “One
dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely 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 your little brother.” 
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped
her mitten and 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.”
That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without
charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that
had led them to this place. “That surgery,” her Mom whispered, “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. 
英语晨读精华
67
[ 注释]：
precocious: 早熟的
desperation: the condition of being desperate 绝望
pharmacist: 药剂师
soften: to make less harsh, strident, or critical 变温和
audibly: 可听见地，听得清清楚楚地
mitten: (拇指分开的)两指手套; 露指长手套
neurosurgery: 神经外科
英语晨读精华
68
Time to Learn
下面几篇小短文都是优秀的英语作文，以资借鉴。多练多写对英语水平的提高也有很大
帮助。　
Just Before The Rain Falls  
The wind comes up, bending the trees in a rhythm against the sky.
There is a darkening, as if the sky were poising itself. Fat, grayish clouds
scud across the sky. A boy looks up from his play at the trees which are
no longer making a noise. He feels something light and wet on his arm.
And then it begins to rain like hell.　
Sunday Afternoon  
Hank Borsini is balding, overweight, and a little puffy under the chin. But
most of all he is fifty-five and has nothing to do on Sunday afternoon. His
kids are grown up and on their own. His lawn has already been fertilized,
watered, mowed and edged. He is tired of watching TV and reading the
Sunday newspaper. So finally he wanders toward a tavern just down the
block around the corner. There the music is loud and brazen. There the
world will begin to brighten momentarily with a beer of two. There he
can waste time with other middle-aged men who also have nothing to do.
英语晨读精华
69
The August Moon  
I liked the Autumn Festival very much when I was a small girl,
because I was with my family then. On the evening of August 15 of the
lunar calendar, when the moon was brightest, we always sat together
outside in our yard to eat moon cakes — eaten only on this occasion —
and enjoy the beautiful moonlight. Mother would then tell me the story of
the moon fairy Chang-e who lived in a palace on the moon, with a jade
rabbit for companion. I always imagined that I was the moon fairy
whenever I heard the story. When I grew older, however, I was compelled
to leave home for education in the city. And now I am living alone away
from home. The August moon only serves to remind me of the lost happy
days I had with my family in the country.