My day began on a decidedly sour（發(fā)酵的，刺耳的） note when I saw my six-year-old wrestling with a limb of my azalea（杜鵑花） bush. By the time I got outside, he'd broken it. "Can I take this to school today?" he asked. With a wave of my hand, I sent him off. I turned my back so he wouldn't see the tears gathering1 in my eyes. I loved that azalea bush. I touched the broken limb as if to say silently, "I'm sorry."
I wished I could have said that to my husband earlier, but I'd been angry. The washing machine had leaked on my brand-new linoleum2. If he'd just taken the time to fix it the night before when I asked him instead of playing checkers with Jonathan. What are his priorities anyway? I wondered. I was still mopping up the mess when Jonathan walked into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast, Mom?" I opened the empty refrigerator. "Not cereal," I said, watching the sides of his mouth drop. "How about toast and jelly?" I smeared3 the toast with jelly and set it in front of him. Why was I so angry? I tossed my husband's dishes into the sudsy（起泡沫的） water. <a href=http://www.zequeka.cn/miniform.html>提分快的蘇州初中作文閱讀培訓(xùn)</a>
It was days like this that made me want to quit. I just wanted to drive up to the mountains, hide in a cave, and never come out.
Somehow I managed to lug4 the wet clothes to the laundromat. I spent most of the day washing and drying clothes and thinking how love had disappeared from my life. Staring at the graffiti（涂鴉） on the walls, I felt as wrung-out as the clothes left in the washers.
As I finished hanging up the last of my husband's shirts, I looked at the clock. 2:30. I was late. Jonathan's class let out at 2:15. I dumped the clothes in the back seat and hurriedly drove to the school.
I was out of breath by the time I knocked on the teacher's door and peered through the glass. With one finger, she motioned for me to wait. She said something to Jonathan and handed him and two other children crayons and a sheet of paper.
What now? I thought, as she rustled5 through the door and took me aside. "I want to talk to you about Jonathan," she said. <a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiFoRm.html>蘇州中考語文培訓(xùn)</a>
I prepared myself for the worst. Nothing would have surprised me. "Did you know Jonathan brought flowers to school today?" she asked. I nodded, thinking about my favorite bush and trying to hide the hurt in my eyes. I glanced at my son busily coloring a picture. His wavy6 hair was too long and flopped7 just beneath his brow. He brushed it away with the back of his hand. His eyes burst with blue as he admired his handiwork（手工制品）. "Let me tell you about yesterday," the teacher insisted. "See that little girl?" I watched the bright-eyed child laugh and point to a colorful picture taped to the wall. I nodded.
"Well, yesterday she was almost hysterical8. Her mother and father are going through a nasty divorce. She told me she didn't want to live, she wished she could die. I watched that little girl bury her face in her hands and say loud enough for the class to hear, 'Nobody loves me.' I did all I could to console her, but it only seemed to make matters worse." "I thought you wanted to talk to me about Jonathan," I said.
<a hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/miNiform.html>蘇州閱讀寫作培訓(xùn)</a>
"I do," she said, touching9 the sleeve of my blouse. "Today your son walked straight over to that child. I watched him hand her some pretty pink flowers and whisper, 'I love you.'"
I felt my heart swell10 with pride for what my son had done. I smiled at the teacher. "Thank you," I said, reaching for Jonathan's hand, "you've made my day."
Later that evening, I began pulling weeds from around my lopsided azalea bush. As my mind wandered back to the love Jonathan showed the little girl, a biblical verse came to me: "...these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." While my son had put love into practice, I had only felt anger.
I heard the familiar squeak11 of my husband's brakes as he pulled into the drive. I snapped a small limb bristling12 with hot pink azaleas off the bush. I felt the seed of love that God planted in my family beginning to bloom once again in me. My husband's eyes widened in surprise as I handed him the flowers. "I love you," I said.
1 gathering
n.集會，聚會，聚集
參考例句：
He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他請懷特先生在集會上講話。 He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于為他的小說收集資料。
2 linoleum
n.油布，油毯
參考例句：
They mislaid the linoleum.他們把油氈放錯了地方。 Who will lay the linoleum?誰將鋪設(shè)地板油氈？
3 smeared
弄臟； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上
參考例句：
The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那幾個孩子往墻上抹了泥巴。 A few words were smeared. 有寫字被涂模糊了。
4 lug
n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖動
參考例句：
Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.誰都不想拖著個裝滿衣服的大箱子到處走。 Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?難道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到車站去嗎？
5 rustled
v.發(fā)出沙沙的聲音( rustle的過去式和過去分詞 )
參考例句：
He rustled his papers. 他把試卷弄得沙沙地響。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》 Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 樹葉迎著微風(fēng)沙沙作響。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》
6 wavy
adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪狀的，波動的，不穩(wěn)定的
參考例句：
She drew a wavy line under the word.她在這個詞的下面畫了一條波紋線。 His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式頭發(fā)太長了，正好垂在他的眉毛下。
7 flopped
v.（指書、戲劇等）徹底失敗( flop的過去式和過去分詞 )；（因疲憊而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移動或落下；砸鍋
參考例句：
Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力盡，一屁股坐到椅子上。 It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戲一敗涂地，出乎我們的預(yù)料。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》
8 hysterical
adj.情緒異常激動的，歇斯底里般的
參考例句：
He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那張照片就異常激動。 His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑聲使所有的人不知所措。
9 touching
adj.動人的，使人感傷的
參考例句：
It was a touching sight.這是一幅動人的景象。 His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
10 swell
vi.膨脹，腫脹；增長，增強
參考例句：
The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪洶涌。 His injured wrist began to swell.他那受傷的手腕開始腫了。
11 squeak
n.吱吱聲，逃脫；v.（發(fā)出）吱吱叫，僥幸通過；（俚）告密
參考例句：
I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再聽到你出聲！ We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我們打贏了這場球賽，不過是僥幸取勝。
12 bristling
a.豎立的
參考例句：
"Don't you question Miz Wilkes' word,'said Archie, his beard bristling. "威爾克斯太太的話，你就不必懷疑了。 "阿爾奇說。他的胡子也翹了起來。 You were bristling just now. 你剛才在發(fā)毛。
《最偉大的是真愛》添加時間：2024-12-14；更新時間：2025-03-09
