Seventy-three-year-old George McNeilon selected his food in Value Mart more carefully than NASA chose its candidates for the space shuttle. Skim milk was $2.99, on sale from $3.49; white bread, 89 cents with a 10-cent discount; table salt, 99 cents, 20 cents off the regular price. Leaving the cashier, he estimated that he had saved 80 cents today. He was pleased that he had got good value for his money again.
At the exit, the chilly1 wind reminded him of his gloves. "Now where are they?" Not in the coat pockets. Not in the pants pockets. Not in the grocery bag either. He was sure he was wearing them when he entered the store. He clearly remembered thrusting them into the pocket of his coat. The worried man made a second thorough search of all his pockets, again including the grocery bag. Now he was sure they must have been dropped somewhere inside the store.
Old George had bought the black gloves at a 25% discount, for just $35.00, ten years ago. They were genuine lamb skin, soft and warm and very durable2. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material that never lasted longer than three years. His impulsive3 decision to buy the expensive gloves turned out to be a good one, which even promoted his social status on the bus, as poorer passengers stared at him enviously4 for six months out of the year. He had taken care not to let a drop of water or rain touch his expensive gloves, so they looked like new. Losing this favourite possession was almost like losing a child to him.
<A hRef=http://www.zequeka.cn/MiNifoRm.html>蘇州中小學(xué)生作文培訓(xùn)班</a>
Bad luck, he thought, to lose his expensive gloves on New Year's Eve.
George, calm on the outside but frantic5 on the inside, re-entered the store with long steps. He followed the same route he had walked before, starting at the bread counter, to the dairy section, the aisle6 where salt and sugar were placed, then the rest of the store. They were all open aisles7 and it did not take long to be convinced that the gloves were not in sight. After checking the forty-foot-long bread section, he quickened his pace through the two-hundred-foot aisle leading to the dairy products. There he even turned over egg boxes to see if the gloves had fallen in between. Several minutes of anxious searching turned out to be in vain. His heart grew heavier and he started to sweat as he entered aisle six. The salt and sugar were packed in white bags, and anything black could be spotted8 easily. No. His black gloves were gone. His sharp eyes could not have missed them.
He ran through all the other aisles, then all the way to the cashier, but there was nothing. <a Href=http://www.zequeka.cn/minifoRm.html>蘇州作文輔導(dǎo)班</a>
"Society has changed, people have changed", he murmured to himself. "Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!"
Yet he did not give up. He started from the bread section again. This time he focused on the baskets and gloves in other shoppers' hands. He would stare at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like his. The first two ladies he met were gloveless. The third person he saw was a man who did wear gloves, but they were working gloves covered with paint stains. On his way to the dairy section, there was a glimmer9 of hope: he noticed a lady fifteen feet away wearing a pair of gloves as dark and expensive as his. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. He even said "Hi!". But when the surprised lady returned his greetings, his eyes dropped to the floor again, for the fingers of her gloves were just far too small for him.
Steps further on, he encountered a man who looked like a lawyer or a doctor, who was definitely wearing a pair of black leather gloves, but wouldn't it be embarrassing to ask, "Are you wearing my gloves?" On second thought, George decided10 that anybody who wanted to keep his gloves wouldn't be so foolish as to wear them right inside the store. So he started to look at people's bulging11 pockets instead, but before long, he found bulging pockets were too hard to detect. Most of them were stuffed with scarves, books, hats and caps , not necessarily gloves. "I am no detective," he admitted to himself, and headed dejectedly towards the exit. <a href=http://www.zequeka.cn/miniform.html>提分快的蘇州初中作文閱讀培訓(xùn)</a>
On his way out, he went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves, but she said no. Then he went to the manager's office to make the same inquiry12. She asked him what colour they were, and when he said "black", there came another disappointing answer. Such a pair of expensive gloves, who would give them up? He took his time now, finally waddling13 out of the store.
It was freezing cold, perhaps zero degrees Fahrenheit14. Without his warm gloves, he had to shrink his hands into his sleeves. It was only a seven-minute walk home, and when he was one house before his own door, he shivered so badly that a bus driver passing by made a special stop and offered to let him get on. Old George was too cold to say anything, and could only raise his trembling hand to make a gesture of thanks and refusal.
Back home, George was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. If he bought cheap ones again, he would have to replace them very soon. If he bought a new leather pair, they would cost fifty dollars now. He was very upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.
After the holiday, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he stepped into Value Mart again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. "What colour are they?" the woman in the office asked again. "Black," he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men's leather gloves. "Are they??"
"Yes! Those are mine!" George exclaimed, his eyes glowing with joy.
1 chilly
adj.涼快的，寒冷的
參考例句：
I feel chilly without a coat.我由于沒有穿大衣而感到?jīng)鲲`颼的。 I grew chilly when the fire went out.爐火熄滅后，寒氣逼人。
2 durable
adj.持久的，耐久的
參考例句：
This raincoat is made of very durable material.這件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。 They frequently require more major durable purchases.他們經(jīng)常需要購買耐用消費品。
3 impulsive
adj.沖動的，刺激的；有推動力的
參考例句：
She is impulsive in her actions.她的行為常出于沖動。 He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是個一沖動就魯莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他為人十分正直、誠懇。
4 enviously
adv.滿懷嫉妒地
參考例句：
Yet again, they were looking for their way home blindly, enviously. 然而，它們又一次盲目地、忌妒地尋找著歸途。 來自辭典例句 Tanya thought enviously, he must go a long way south. 坦妮亞歆羨不置，心里在想，他準(zhǔn)是去那遙遠(yuǎn)的南方的。 來自辭典例句
5 frantic
adj.狂亂的，錯亂的，激昂的
參考例句：
I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地趕完工作。 He made frantic dash for the departing train.他發(fā)瘋似地沖向正開出的火車。
6 aisle
n.（教堂、教室、戲院等里的）過道，通道
參考例句：
The aisle was crammed with people.過道上擠滿了人。 The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐帶領(lǐng)我沿著通道到我的座位上去。
7 aisles
n. (席位間的)通道, 側(cè)廊
參考例句：
Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在諾曼時期，原來的薩克森風(fēng)格的建筑物都增添了走廊。 They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他們走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下來。
8 spotted
adj.有斑點的，斑紋的，弄污了的
參考例句：
The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商從一群200頭牛中選出有斑點的牛。 Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯積了有斑點的短襪。
9 glimmer
v.發(fā)出閃爍的微光；n.微光，微弱的閃光
參考例句：
I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注視她，感到了一線希望。 A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一絲笑意。
10 decided
adj.決定了的，堅決的；明顯的，明確的
參考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.這使他們比對手具有明顯的優(yōu)勢。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英國人和中國人打招呼的方式有很明顯的區(qū)別。
11 bulging
膨脹； 凸出（部）； 打氣； 折皺
參考例句：
Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里裝滿了禮物。 Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那個鼓鼓囊囊的紅色文件夾便告訴她：“問問是不是重要的事。”
12 inquiry
n.打聽，詢問，調(diào)查，查問
參考例句：
Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.許多家長迫切要求調(diào)查這個問題。 The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.調(diào)查的范圍已經(jīng)縮小到只剩5個人了。
13 waddling
v.（像鴨子一樣）搖搖擺擺地走( waddle的現(xiàn)在分詞 )
參考例句：
Rhinoceros Give me a break, were been waddling every day. 犀牛甲：饒了我吧，我們晃了一整天了都。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng) A short plump woman came waddling along the pavement. 有個矮胖女子一搖一擺地沿人行道走來。 來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
14 Fahrenheit
n./adj.華氏溫度；華氏溫度計(的)
參考例句：
He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被問到水的沸點是華氏多少度。 The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出華氏80度。
《Gloves》添加時間：2024-12-14；更新時間：2025-03-09
