The Names of the Trees
Laura Kasischke
I passed this place once long ago
when a man lived here with his four
daughters, peacefully, it seemed. Those
daughters took turns washing
dishes, doing laundry. Frothy pearls1 and
feathers in a sink. Soft
socks, warm towels, folded, clean, in
closets, drawers, and baskets, and
on shelves. To me
this was astonishing. The laundry
done by daughters! No
mother in the house at all. A weeping
willow2 grew in their back-
yard, but it was not a symbol then.
It could not have been
because this was the only tree
I knew the name of yet -- unless it was a tree
that bore familiar fruit. Like
an apple tree, a mulberry. This
willow's branches did not seem to be <a href=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiform.html>蘇州初中作文閱讀培訓(xùn)</a>
branches at all to me, but
ribbons dangling3 loosely, tangling
girlishly. If there was any weeping, it
was inaudible to me. (Was
I supposed to see it?) One
of the daughters was only
a year ahead of me, and she
invited me (once) inside because
she wanted to play house with me. When
I confessed4 I wasn't sure what playing
house might mean, this girl
said she would teach me.
She was Mother for this reason.
I was the family dog. She
told me to eat Froot Loops
from a bowl on the kitchen floor
while on my hands and knees. We
laughed when I couldn't do it. But when
I was Mother, she
couldn't do it either.
That there was laughter!
A blue tablecloth5.
Salt and pepper shakers shaped
like hands, which, put <a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNifoRm.Html>蘇州初中語(yǔ)文補(bǔ)習(xí)</a>
together, appeared to pray. When
I was thirsty, another daughter poured
a cup of water for me, pouring
water with such confidence it
seemed to me that she
might have poured the first water
from the first tap. When, out
of curiosity6, I went
into their bathroom and pretended to pee
I witnessed toilet paper printed with
forget-me-nots, along with a little dish
that held a piece of pink soap in it.
And, when, after this, I couldn't sleep
for three nights in a row, my
mother finally gave up
trying to comfort me.
1 pearls
n.珍珠( pearl的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )；珍品；人造珍珠；珠狀物
參考例句：
<a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNifoRm.Html>蘇州初中語(yǔ)文補(bǔ)習(xí)</a>
a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 纏著珍珠的紅寶石項(xiàng)鏈 a string of pearls 一掛珍珠
2 willow
n.柳樹(shù)
參考例句：
The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河邊疏疏落落有幾棵柳樹(shù)。 The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。
3 dangling
懸吊著( dangle的現(xiàn)在分詞 )； 擺動(dòng)不定； 用某事物誘惑…； 吊胃口
參考例句：
The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 結(jié)果，那顆牙就晃來(lái)晃去吊在床柱上了。 The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子們坐在一堵高墻上，搖晃著他們的雙腿。
4 confessed
adj. 眾所周知的，公認(rèn)的動(dòng)詞confess的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞形式
參考例句：
She confessed to the murder. 她供認(rèn)犯了謀殺罪。 He confessed to a priest that he had sinned. 他向神父懺悔他犯了罪。
5 tablecloth
n.桌布，臺(tái)布
參考例句：
He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那兒沉思，輕輕地?fù)崤啦肌? She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皺的桌布熨平了。
6 curiosity
n.好奇心，新奇的事物，珍品
參考例句：
He gave in to curiosity and opened my letter.他抑制不住好奇心，拆開(kāi)了我的信。 The children are dying of curiosity to see what's in the parcel.孩子們出于好奇，迫不及待地想看看包裹中是什么東西。
《The Names of the Trees》添加時(shí)間：2024-12-14；更新時(shí)間：2025-03-09
