Roy Popkin
1 The story began a downtown Brooklyn street corner. An elderly man had collapsed(晕倒) while crossing the street, and an ambulance rushed him to Kings County Hospitoal. There when he came to now and again, the man repeatedly called for his son.
2 From a worn letter found in his pocket, an emergency-room nurse learned that his son was a Marine stationed in North Carolina. It seemed there were no other relatives.
3 Someone at the hospital called the Red Cross office in Brooklyn, and a request(请求) for the boy to rush to Brooklyn was sent to the Red Cross director of the North Carolina Marine Crops camp. Because time was short-the patient was dying-the Red Cross man and officer set out in a jeep. They found the young man wading(涉水而行) through some marshes in a military exercise. He was rushed to the airport in time to catch the one plane that might enable(使能够) him to reach his dying father.
4 It was mid-evening when the young Marine walked into the entrance lobby(大厅) of Kings County Hospital. A nurse took the tired, anxious(急切的) seviceman(军人) to the bedside.
5 “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. The medicine he had been given because of the pain from his heart attack made his eyes weak and he only dimly(模糊地) saw the young man in Marine Crops uniform standing outside the oxygen(氧气罩) tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped(裹…) his strong fingers around the old man’s limp(无力的) ones, squeezing(紧握) a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair, so the Marine could sit by the bed.
6 Night are long in hospitals, but all through the night the young Marine sat there in the dimly-lit(光线暗淡的) ward(病房), holding the old man’s hand and offering words of hope and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine rest for a while. He refused.
7 Whenever the nurse suggested that the Marine was there, but he paid no attention to her and the night noise of the hospital-the clanking(发出丁当声) of an oxygen tank(罐), the laughter of night-staff(夜班人员) members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans(呻吟声) and snores(鼾声) of other patients. Now and then she heared him say nothing, only held tightly to his son through most of the night.
8 It was nearly dawn when the patient died. The Marine placed on the bed the lifeless(无生命的) hand he had been holding, and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he smoked a cigarette-his first since he got to the hospital.
9 Finally, she returned to the nurse’s station, where he was waiting. She started to offer words of sympathy(同情)，but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked.
10 “He was your father,” she answered, startled(使…惊讶).
11 “No, he wasn’t,”the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
12 “Why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?” the nurse asked.
13 “I knew immediately there’d been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I guessed he really needed me. So I stayed.”
14 With that, the Marine turned and left the hospital. Two days later a message came in from the North Carolina Marine Corps base informing the Brookly Red Cross that the real son was on his way to Brooklyn for his father’s funeral. It turned out there had been two Marines with the same name and similar(相似的) numbers in the camp. Someone in the personel(人事部) office had pulled out the wrong record.
15 But the wrong Marine had become the right son at the right time. And he proved, in a very human way, that there are people who care what happens to their fellow(身份相同的) men.
Word List 单词表
watch n.看护，守候（病人）
elderly adj. 年长的
collapse v. (因病，累等)晕倒
ambulance n. 救护车
rush v. 急速将……送往
repeatedly adv. 一再,反复地
wear (wore, worn) v.磨损
emergency-room n. 急诊室
Marine n. （美国海军陆战队）士兵或军官
station v.驻扎
station n.值班处
corps n.特种部队，兵团
jeep n.越野车，吉普车
wade v涉水而行
marsh n.沼泽地，湿地
military adj.军事的
enable v.使（人）能够……
reach v.到达……（某人）处，抵达（某地）
lobby n.（旅馆、剧院、医院等的）大厅
serviceman n.军人
bedside n.病床边，床边
weak adj.虚弱的，软弱的
dimly adv.模糊地，蒙眬地
oxygen n.氧气
tent n.（氧气）罩
wrap v. 裹……包……
limp adj.没劲的，无力的，没精神的
squeeze v.紧握；挤
encouragement n.鼓励
dimly-lit adj.光线暗淡的
ward n.病房
occasionally adv.偶然地，不时
clanking n.发出叮当声
tank n.（盛液体或气体的）箱，罐或桶
laughter n.笑声
night-staff n.夜班工作人员
exchange v.交换
moan n.呻吟声
snore n.鼾声，呼噜声
tightly adv.紧紧地
lifeless adj.无生命的，死的
sympathy n.同情
startle v.使……惊讶
base n.（军队等）基地，大本营
inform v.通知，告诉
funeral n.葬礼
personnel n.人事部，人员
human adj.有人情的，好心肠的
fellow n.（在名词前）身份相同的
Proper Names 专有名词
Roy Popkin罗伊·波普金（人名）
Brooklyn布鲁克林区（美国纽约市行政区名）
North Carolina（美国）北卡罗来纳州
Useful Expressions 常用短语
rush sb. to… 快速送某人去……
in time及时
enable sb. to do sth.使得某人能做某事
take…to…带……去……
reach out one’s hand伸出某人的手
all through the night整个夜晚
pay attention to sth.注意
now and then偶尔，不时
hold (tightly) to sth.紧抓住
return to…回到……
on one’s way to…在去……的路上
come to 醒过来，苏醒
The patient came to three hours after the operation.
too …to do…如此……以至于不能……
She is too young to go to school.
turn out that/to (be/do)原来是，到头来
It turned out that the man who called me this morning was my old classmate.
The man who called me this morning turned out to be my old classmate.
happen to发生于……身上
She is so thin and weak.What has happened to her?
Night Watch
故事发生在布鲁克林商业区一条街的拐角处。一位老人在横穿马路时突然晕倒在地。一辆救护车立即将老人送往金司县医院。在医院里他不时地苏醒过来，每次嘴里都喊着他儿子的名字。
从老人的口袋里发现了一封很旧的信件，急诊的护士得知他的儿子是驻扎在北卡罗来纳海军陆战队的一中战士。看起来老从没有别的亲人了。
有人给红十字会布鲁克林办公室打了电话，要求北卡罗来纳海军陆战队营区红十字会主任通知那个战士立刻赶到布鲁克林。困为时间紧迫——病人已垂危——红十字会的工作人员和主任乘坐吉普?龇⒘恕Ｋ?找到那个年轻人时他正在一片沼泽地中涉水进行军事学习。他很快被送往机场，及时赶上了一趟班机，因为只有这趟班机或许能够让他见到生命垂危的父亲 。
到了午夜时分年轻的士兵走进了金司县医院的入口处大厅。一位护士将这位疲惫，心急如焚的士兵领到病床前。
“您的儿子来了”好对老人说。在病人眼睛睁开前她重复说了几遍。服用了治疗心绞痛的药使老人昏迷着，他只能隐隐约约地看到站在氧气罩外的穿着海军陆战队军装的年轻人，他伸出手。士兵用他那双有力的大手将老人无力的手紧紧握住，通过他的手他将幸福和鼓励传递给老人。护士搬来一把椅子，这样士兵可以挨着床坐下来。
医院的黑夜显得很漫长，但整个夜晚士兵一直坐在那灯光暗淡的病房里，握着老人的手，说着一些希望和鼓励的话。护士不时地建变色镜士兵休息一下，他都拒绝了。
无论护士何时走进病房，士兵都在那里。但他并没有注意到护士 以及医院里夜间的各种声音：氧气瓶的铿锵声，执夜班人员互相打招呼时的笑声，其它病人的笑声，呻咽声以及鼾声等等。护士时常会听到士兵轻声地说话。病危的老人什么都没说，大部分时间只是紧紧地抓着儿子的手。
天将拂晓时老人去世了。士兵把他一直握住的那只毫无生气的手放到床上，然后去告诉护士。当护士为老人做膳后整理工作时，士兵点燃一支烟——这是他到医院后抽的第一支香烟。
当护士回到值班室时他正在那儿等她。护士开始说了些表示同情的话，但士兵打断了她。“那个人是谁？”他问到。
“他是你的父亲。”她奇怪的回答。
“不是”士兵回答“我一生中从未见过他。”
“那为什么我把你带到他身边时你不说呢？”护士问到。
“我马上意识到弄错了，但我也了解他非常需要他的儿子而他的儿子恰恰不在这儿。当我意识到他病得已经分不清我是不是他的儿子时，我想他真的需要我，所以我留下来了。”
说完，士兵转身离开了医院。两天之后，布鲁克林红十字会接到北卡罗来纳海军陆战队基地的通知，说老人真正的儿子已经出发来面鲁克林参加其父的葬礼。原来在同一个营地有二个同名，番号相近的海军陆战队士兵。人事部门的人拿错了档案。
在关键时刻，这个弄错的士兵恰如其分地充当了真正儿子的角色。他以极富有人情味的方式向人们证实了关心自己同胞的人还是大有人在的。 |
发表于 2008-10-3 00:52:59
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