Edward Wellman bade good-bye to his family in the old country headed for a better life in America. Papa handed him the family's savings1 hidden in a leather satchel2. "Times are desperate here," he said, hugging his son goodbye. "You are our hope."
Edward boarded the Atlantic freighter（貨船） offering free transport to young men willing to shovel3（鏟） coal in return for the month-long journey. If Edward struck gold in the Colorado Rockies, the rest of the family could eventually join him.
For months, Edward worked his claim tirelessly, and the small vein4 of gold provided a moderate but steady income. Leaving Ingrid behind before he could officially court her had been his only regret in accepting this American adventure. He had secretly hoped to make Ingrid his wife. Finally, he wrote to Papa, asking him to help make this dream come true.
After nearly a year, a telegraph came with a plan to make his life complete. Mr. Henderson had agreed to send his daughter to Edward in America. Because she was a hardworking young woman with a good mind for business, she would work alongside Edward for a year to help the mining business grow. By then both families could afford to come to America for their wedding.
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Edward's heart soared with joy as he spent the next month trying to make the cabin into a home. At last, the day he had been waiting for his whole life arrived. With a bouquet5 of fresh-picked daisies in hand, he left for the train depot（倉庫，停車場）. Steam billowed and wheels screeched6 as the train crawled to a stop.
His heart beat with eager anticipation7, then stopped with a sinking thud. Not Ingrid, but her older sister Marta, stepped down from the train.
Edward only stared － dumbfounded. Then with shaking hands he offered Marta the bouquet. "Welcome," he whispered, his eyes burning. A smile etched across her plain face.
"I was pleased when Papa said you sent for me," Marta said, looking into his eyes briefly8, before dropping her head again.
"I'll get your bags, "Edward said with a fake smile. Together they headed for the buggy（雙輪單座輕馬車）.
Mr. Henderson and Papa were right. Marta did have a great grasp of business. Within 6 months, their assets doubled. <a Href=http://www.zequeka.cn/minifoRm.html>蘇州作文輔導班</a>
Her delicious meals and quiet smile graced the cabin with a wonderful woman's touch. But the wrong woman, Edward mourned as he collapsed9 onto his cot each night. Why did they send Marta? Would he ever see Ingrid again? Was his lifelong dream to have her as his wife forsaken10?
For a year, Marta and Edward worked and played and laughed, but never loved. Once, Marta had kissed Edward on the cheek before retiring to her room. He only smiled awkwardly. From then on, she seemed content with their exhilarating hikes in the mountains and long talks on the porch after suppers.
One spring afternoon, torrential rains washed down the hillside, eroding11 the entrance to their mine. Furiously, Edward filled sand bags and stacked them in the water's path. Suddenly there was Marta at his side holding the next burlap bag open. Edward shoveled12 sand inside, then with the strength of any man, Marta hurled13 it onto the pile and opened another bag… For hours they worked, knee-deep in mud, until the rains diminished.
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Hand in hand, they walked back to the cabin. Over warm soup Edward sighed, "I never could have saved the mine without you. Thank you, Marta."
"You're welcome," she answered with her usual smile, then went quietly to her room. A few days later, a telegraph came announcing the arrival of the Henderson and Wellman families next week. As much as he tried to stifle14 it, the thought of seeing Ingrid again started Edward's heart beating in the old familiar way.
Together, he and Marta went to the train station. They watched as their families exited the train at the far end of the platform. When Ingrid appeared, Marta turned to Edward. "Go to her," she said.
Astonished, Edward stammered15, "What do you mean?"
"Edward, I have always known I was not the Henderson girl you intended to send for. I had watched you flirt16 with Ingrid at the church picnics. I know it is she, not me, you desire for your wife." "But ..."
Marta placed her fingers over his lips. "Shhh," she hushed him. "I do love you, Edward. I always have. And because of that, all I really want is your happiness. Go to her." As she gazed up at him, he saw for the first time how very beautiful she was. He recalled their walks in the meadows, their quiet evenings before the fire, her working beside him with the sandbags. It was then he realized what he had known for months. "No, Marta. It is you I want." Sweeping17 her into his arms, he kissed her with all the love bursting inside him. Their families gathered around them chorusing（合唱）, "We are here for the wedding!"
1 savings
n.存款，儲蓄
參考例句：
I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那樣會把我的積蓄用光的。 By this time he had used up all his savings.到這時，他的存款已全部用完。
2 satchel
n.(皮或帆布的)書包
參考例句：
The school boy opened the door and flung his satchel in.那個男學生打開門，把他的書包甩了進去。 She opened her satchel and took out her father's gloves.打開書箱，取出了她父親的手套來。
3 shovel
n.鐵锨，鏟子，一鏟之量；v.鏟，鏟出
參考例句：
He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用鎬和鏟干活。 He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把鏟就干上了。
4 vein
n.血管，靜脈；葉脈，紋理；情緒；vt.使成脈絡
參考例句：
The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天沒有心情唱歌。 The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.醫(yī)生把葡萄糖注射入病人的靜脈。
5 bouquet
n.花束，酒香
參考例句：
This wine has a rich bouquet.這種葡萄酒有濃郁的香氣。 Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚禮花籃包括玫瑰和長春藤。
6 screeched
v.發(fā)出尖叫聲( screech的過去式和過去分詞 )；發(fā)出粗而刺耳的聲音；高叫
參考例句：
She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫著不同意。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》 The car screeched to a stop. 汽車嚓的一聲停住了。 來自《現(xiàn)代漢英綜合大詞典》
7 anticipation
n.預期，預料，期望
參考例句：
We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我們在車站等著，期待她的到來。 The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各種動物 都變得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即將發(fā)生。
8 briefly
adv.簡單地，簡短地
參考例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想簡單地談一下這個問題的另一方面。 He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一個恐怖組織綁架并短暫拘禁。
9 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
參考例句：
Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地癱倒在地板上。 The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房頂在雪的重壓下突然坍塌下來。
10 Forsaken
adj. 被遺忘的, 被拋棄的動詞forsake的過去分詞
參考例句：
He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友們背棄了。 He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遺棄了他的妻子和孩子。
11 eroding
侵蝕，腐蝕( erode的現(xiàn)在分詞 )； 逐漸毀壞，削弱，損害
參考例句：
The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蝕。 Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一個新現(xiàn)象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐漸消失。
12 shoveled
vt.鏟，鏟出（shovel的過去式與過去分詞形式）
參考例句：
The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那個饑餓的人貪婪地、大口大口地吃。 來自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》 They shoveled a path through the snow. 他們在雪中鏟出一條小路。 來自《現(xiàn)代漢英綜合大詞典》
13 hurled
v.猛投，用力擲( hurl的過去式和過去分詞 )；大聲叫罵
參考例句：
He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗戶里扔了塊磚。 The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大風把屋頂?shù)耐咂瘟讼聛怼?來自《簡明英漢詞典》
14 stifle
vt.使窒息；悶死；扼殺；抑止，阻止
參考例句：
She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她強忍住笑。 It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥無味的交談，我不得不強忍住自己的呵欠。
15 stammered
v.結巴地說出( stammer的過去式和過去分詞 )
參考例句：
He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一緊張往往口吃。 來自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》 Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴薩往椅背上一靠，結結巴巴地說，“你是什么意思？” 來自英漢文學 - 雙城記
16 flirt
v.調情，挑逗，調戲；n.調情者，賣俏者
參考例句：
He used to flirt with every girl he met.過去他總是看到一個姑娘便跟她調情。 He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看著那個陌生人和他女朋友調情，他都要抓狂了。
17 sweeping
adj.范圍廣大的，一掃無遺的
參考例句：
The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。 Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能聽到風掠過樹枝的聲音嗎？
《不，我愛的人是你》添加時間：2024-12-14；更新時間：2025-03-09
