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| -- 作者：nukeya -- 发布时间：2008-9-18 18:28:15 -- 翻译：感恩节的承诺 感恩节的承诺 作者 Ｐａｕｌｉｎｅ Ｓｔａｄｌｅｒ Our family needed to come together more than ever that fall. I decided to have Thanksgiving at my house. I hadn’t fixed a formal dinner in months, and I had a full set of white stoneware1) in my china cabinet just begging to be used: plates, salad plates, cups and saucers, creamer, sugar bowl, butter dish — the works. A week in advance, I made out my grocery list, including ingredients for my special fruit punch2). It had been my granddaughter’s favorite. Amanda, 20 years old, had lost her life in a car accident in the spring. She had visited with me the very evening before she died. Amanda was in heaven, I had no doubt. But would anything ever seem right in this world? Not without any more visits from Amanda. The entire family was bereft3). She was my daughter’s only child, and we were all very close. I hoped our holiday together would be of some comfort. I busied myself with shopping, then turned my attention to our Thanksgiving table. I removed the dishes from the china cabinet —every last one — and ran them through the dishwasher. When the dishes were dry, I set them out on the table. I fussed4) for a while, arranging the centerpiece, the place settings and serving pieces just so. The salt and pepper shakers and the gravy boat had to be within easy reach. I prepared the side dishes5), cooking and freezing them, returning to the table now and again to admire it. Early Thanksgiving morning, with the turkey already in the oven, I made a final inspection6) of my table. Soon my guests would arrive and our whole family would be seated around it. Everyone but Amanda, I thought. Tears filled my eyes. God, let me feel your comforting presence today. I dried my tears, and laid the rolls out on a baking sheet. I took a stick of butter from the fridge. I lifted the lid on the butter dish. A folded piece of paper lay inside, a letter dated 1997. How did this get in here? I had to catch my breath. The letter was from Amanda. “Dear Grandma...” I could hear Amanda’s sweet voice as I read. “Promise to keep my secret about Mom’s surprise.” I remembered. My generous granddaughter had spent too much money on a special Christmas gift that year. I had kept my promise to her to this day. Then I reached the end of the letter. “Well, I hate good-byes, so I’ll just say, See you later. Love, Amanda.” I folded the letter and held it to my heart. I can’t explain how it made its way into the butter dish on Thanksgiving Day. All I know is I received the exact message I needed to hear, at the moment I needed it most. I had much to be thankful for. I’d kept my promise to my granddaughter, and God would see to it that she kept her promise to me. It’s his promise to us all. “See you later,” Amanda said. I’m counting on it. 那年秋天我们家最需要团聚。我决定让一家人在我的住处过感恩节。我有好几个月都没做过正式的大餐，碗柜里一整套白瓷餐具都等着人去用：碟子、色拉盘、茶杯和茶托、奶油小壶、糖罐、黄油碟——一应俱全。我提前一个礼拜列出购物单，包括我特拿手的水果潘趣酒所需的配料。那是我外孙女最喜欢的饮料。 年仅20岁的阿曼达在春天的一起车祸中“走了”。她出事的前一天晚上还来探望过我。阿曼达在天堂，对此我深信不疑。但是没有她的世界还会完好如初吗？不会的，因为阿曼达再也不会来探望我了。全家人都为此感到悲痛。我女儿就她这么一个孩子，我们之间亲密无间。希望一起过节能带来些许安慰。 我忙着购物，然后一门心思都扑到感恩节大餐上。我把盘子碟子从碗柜里取出来，一个不剩，然后放进洗碗机洗一遍。餐具干了之后，我就把它们摆在餐桌上。我仔细摆弄了一会儿，放好餐桌中间的饰物、餐具和刀叉。盐瓶、胡椒瓶和船形调味盘得放在容易够着的地方。我准备了附餐，烹饪好之后冷冻起来，回到餐桌旁再次欣赏自己的杰作。 感恩节那天清晨，火鸡已经进了烤箱，我最后一次检查餐桌。我的客人们很快就会到，我们全家都会坐在餐桌周围。 我想，除了阿曼达，一家人都齐了。泪水浸满我的双眼。上帝，今天让我感到你的存在，给我一丝安慰吧。 我擦干泪，把面包卷铺在烘烤板上。我从冰箱取出一块黄油，揭开黄油碟的盖子。里面有一张折叠起来的纸，是一封写于1997年的信。这怎么在这里？我不由地屏住呼吸。这封信是阿曼达写的。 “亲爱的外婆……”我读信时能听到阿曼达甜美的声音。“答应我，关于让妈妈惊讶的那件事，请给我保密。”这事我记得。我慷慨的外孙女那年买了个特殊的圣诞礼物，花了太多的钱。时至今日，我依然对她信守承诺。 接着我读到信的结尾。“好了，我不愿说再见，所以我只会说，回头见。爱你的阿曼达。” 我把信折起来，放到我胸口。我无法解释这封信如何在感恩节到了黄油碟里。我只知道在我最需要的时候收到我需要听到的消息。有很多事值得让我感激。我对外孙女信守承诺，上帝会确保阿曼达也信守对我的承诺。这是上帝对所有人的承诺。“回头见，”阿曼达说。我盼望着承诺兑现。 1.stoneware [5stEunwZE] n. 瓷器 2.punch [pQntF] n. 潘趣酒：一种由酒、果汁、汽水或苏打水调和而成并加有香料的饮料 3.bereft [bI5reft] adj. 被剥夺的，失去亲人的，丧失的 4.fuss [fQs] v. 忙乱 5.side dish：正菜外的附加菜 6.inspection [In5spekFEn] n. 检查 stoneware n. 石制品 与 stoneware 相关的例句Purple Stoneware of the Ming and Qing Dynasties明清紫砂器 a fat-bellied stoneware drinking jug with a long neck; decorated with a caricature of Cardinal Bellarmine (17th century). 有长颈的肥大的瓷器饮用壶；装饰有红衣主教贝拉明的讽刺画（世纪）。 |
| -- 作者：admin -- 发布时间：2008-12-10 12:51:34 -- 翻译的不错 |
| -- 作者：卡卡小妮子 -- 发布时间：2008-12-12 16:33:27 -- 恩，挺厉害的！ |