C
我第一次听到这个故事是在很多年前,一个纽约女孩告诉我的。可能这个故事每几年都会以不同的形式出现一次。然而,我依旧认为在某个地方、某个时候,这个故事真实发生了……
I first heard this story a few years ago from a girl in New York. Probably the story reappears every few years, to be told in one form or another. However, I still would like to think that it really did happen, somewhere, sometime.
They were going to Florida—three boys and three girls. After they got on the bus, they began talking about the golden beaches in Florida.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain suit, never moving, silent, his dusty face masking his age. He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot.
Deep into the night, the bus stopped at a café. Everybody got off except Vingo. He sat in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him.
"We're going to Florida," she said. "I hear it's really beautiful."
"It is," he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.
In the morning, they woke up outside a café, and this time Vingo went in. The girl asked him to join them. He seemed very shy. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he told his story. He was in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
"Are you married?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Well, when I was in jail, I wrote to my wife," he said. "I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn't stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it hurt too much, well, she could just forget me, and I would understand. I told her she didn't have to write to me. And she didn't. Not for three and a half years."
"And you're going home now, not knowing?"
"Yeah," he said shyly. "Well, a week before I was set free from jail, I wrote to her again. We used to live in Brunswick, and there's a big oak tree standing in front of the town. I told her that if she'd take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I'd get off and come home. If she didn't want me, just forget it."
"Wow," the girl exclaimed, "wow!"
She told her friends about the story. As the bus approached Brunswick, Vingo showed them a picture of his wife and three children—the woman was beautiful and the children were cute.
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree.
Then Brunswick was ten miles away, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, shouting and crying, doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo.
Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs, like a banner of welcome flowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo rose and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.
WORD BOX ＞＞
| probably | ['prɒbəbli] | adv. 很可能 | chew | [tʃu:] | vt. 咀嚼,咬 |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| jail | [dʒeɪl] | n. 监狱 | stand | [stænd] | vt. 忍受 |
| oak | [əuk] | n. 橡树 | handkerchief | ['hæŋkətʃɪf] | n. 手帕 |
| exclaim | [ɪk'skleɪm] | vi. 惊叫,大声说 | approach | [ə'prəutʃ] | vt. 靠近 |
| stunned | [stʌnd] | adj. 目瞪口呆的 | a banner of welcome | 欢迎的旗帜 | |
COMPREHENSION CHECK UP ＞＞
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
(
D
) 1. What can we infer from the underlined sentences in paragraph 3?
A. Vingo was very shy because he knew someone was watching him.
B. Vingo was very disappointed because his wife didn't answer his letter.
C. Vingo was excited because he could go home and meet his wife and children.
D. Vingo was nervous because he didn't know whether his wife would accept him.
(
A
) 2. Which word do you think can best describe Vingo's wife?
A. Loyal.
B. Humorous.
C. Generous.
D. Hard-working.
(
B
) 3. After reading the whole story, what conclusion can we make?
A. Don't laugh at a person who has no home.
B. Home is always the first place a person wants to go to.
C. Young people are always curious about everything new around them.
D. It is impolite to ask questions about one's privacy that he or she doesn't want to tell.
(
C
) 4. What's the best title for the passage?
A. A story of a poor man
B. The power of love
C. Going home
D. Help from strangers
