佚名/Anonymous
Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents.Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me.They dont act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV.In their opinion,“I love you”is too luxurious for them to say.Sending flowers to each other on Valentine's Day is even more out of the question.Finally my father has a bad temper.When he's very tired from the hard work,it is easy for him to lose his temper.
One day,my mother was sewing a quilt.I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.
“Mom,I have a question to ask you,”I said after a while.
“What?”she replied,still doing her work.
“Is there love between you and Dad?”I asked her in a very low voice.
My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes.She didnt answer immediately.Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.
I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her.I was in a great embarrassment and I didnt know what I should do.But at last I heard my mother say the following words:
“Susan,”she said thoughtfully,“look at this thread.Sometimes it appears,but most of it disappears in the quilt.The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable.If life is a quilt,then love should be a thread.It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime,but its really there.Love is inside.”
I listened carefully but I couldnt understand her until the next spring.At that time,my father suddenly got sick seriously.My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month.When they returned from the hospital,they both looked very pale.It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
After they were back,every day in the morning and dusk,my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road.My father had never been so gentle.It seemed they were the most harmonious couple.Along the country road,there were many beautiful flowers,green grass and trees.The sun gently glistened through the leaves.All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
The doctor had said my father would recover in two months.But after two months he still couldnt walk by himself.All of us were worried about him.
“Dad,how are you feeling now?”I asked him one day.
“Susan,dont worry about me.”he said gently.“To tell you the truth,I just like walking with your mom.I like this kind of life.”Reading his eyes,I know he loves my mother deeply.
Once I thought love meant flowers,gifts and sweet kisses.But from this experience,I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life.Love is inside,making life strong and warm.
有時我懷疑，父母之間是否存在著真愛。每一天，他們都疲於奔命，為我和弟弟賺學費。我從沒見他們有過任何我在書中或電視中看到的浪漫舉止。在他們看來，將“我愛你”這句話說出口都太奢侈，更別說在情人節互贈鮮花了。父親脾氣很糟，特別是經過了一天工作的勞累之後，他那糟糕的脾氣更容易發作。
有一天，媽媽正在縫被子，我安靜地坐在旁邊看著她。
“媽媽，我有個問題想問你。”過了一會兒我說。
“什麽問題啊？”她答道，而手裏的活兒卻沒停下。
“你和爸爸之間有愛情嗎？”我壓低聲音問道。
母親停下手裏的活兒，抬起頭詫異地看著我，並未馬上回答，然後又低下頭，繼續縫被子。
我很擔心，因為我覺得這個問題會傷她的心。我很尷尬，不知所措。可接下來，我卻聽到母親說出了這樣一番話。
“蘇珊，”她若有所思地說，“你看這線。有時我們看得見它，但更多時侯它卻藏於被子中，我們看不見。這些線確實能使被子結實耐用。如果將生活比做一床被子，那麽愛就是絲線。你不可能時刻都看得到它，但是它卻真實地存在著。愛隱藏於生活之中。”
我仔細聽著，但是直到第二年春天才真正明白她這番話的含義。當時，父親病重，母親在醫院裏照顧他。一個月後，父親出院回到家時，兩個人看起來都麵色蒼白，就像他們都生了一場大病。
他們回家後，每到黎明和黃昏，母親總會攙扶著父親在鄉間小路上散步。父親從沒有那樣溫柔過。他們看起來就仿佛是世間最和諧的一對。路旁有許多漂亮的鮮花、綠草和樹木，陽光透過葉子的縫隙溫柔地照射在上麵，所有這一切勾勒出一幅世間最美的畫麵。
醫生說，兩個月後父親就能病愈。不過，兩個月後他還是不能獨立行走，為此，我們都很擔心。
“你感覺如何，爸爸？”有一天我問他。
“蘇珊，不要擔心我。”父親慢慢地說，“不瞞你說，我很喜歡和你媽媽一起散步的感覺。我喜歡這樣的生活。”從他的眼神中，我讀出了他對母親那份深深的愛戀。
曾經，我以為愛情是與鮮花、禮物和香吻密不可分的。可是，經曆了這些後，我明白了：愛情就如同我們生活中被子裏的絲線，隱藏於生活之中，令生活變得更加穩固和溫暖。
心靈小語
不要對愛有太多的苛求，因為她一直就存在於你身邊。
詞匯筆記
tuition[tjui??n]n.學費
Her yearly tuition is$2，000.
她一年的學費是兩千美元。
luxurious[l?ɡzju?ri?s]adj.奢侈的；豪華的
The carpet in the house is luxurious.
屋裏的地毯很華麗。
embarrassment[emb?r?sm?nt]n.尷尬；難堪；局促不安
He could not hide his embarrassment.
他無法掩蓋自己的窘態。
harmonious[hɑ:m??ni:?s]adj.和諧的；和睦的；協調的；調和的
They can build a more harmonious society once inequality
and exploitation are removed.
消除了不均與剝削，他們就能建立一個更為和諧的社會。
小試身手
如果將生活比作一床被子，那麽愛就是絲線，你不可能時刻都看得到它，但是它卻真實地存在著。愛隱藏於生活之中。
愛就如同我們生活中被子裏的絲線，隱藏於生活之中，令生活變得更加穩固和溫暖。
短語家族
In their opinion,“I love you”is too luxurious for them to say.
In ones opinion：根據某人的看法
Sending flowers to each other on Valentines Day is even more out of the question.
Out of the question：不值得討論的；不可能的