(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Salina Joe Hutshel was born in a cabin that had two rooms, one small window, and a dirt floor. Her parents, Shag and Marty Hutshel, built the little house in one day with the help of their families and friends. Salina Joe began to talk when she was one-year old. By the time she was seven, her parents couldn't answer any of her questions. Salina Joe's big black eyes were full of curiosity, but her mind stayed hungry. Her parents sent her to school for six months. They took her out as soon as she learned to read and write. Her parents had never learned. Salina Joe had to work on the farm. She planted corn and sweet potatoes in the hard red earth. She fed the cows and built fences. She cleaned the cabin and chopped wood. She did all the cooking and washed all the clothes. Her parents spent most of their time with the uncles, aunts and cousins in the family who lived nearby. All the Hutshels were like Salina Joe's parents. They couldn't read or write. They didn't like to work and they never took baths. One Sunday when Salina Joe was sixteen years old, her parents took her to the town of East Field.
As they walked down the street, Salina Joe heard someone behind her whisper, "Those are part of the Hutshel family. They are all dirty, lazy people who never work." A few days later, Salina went back alone to East Field. She went into one of the stores. It was only a simple country store. But to Salina Joe, it seemed like a wonderful place. She looked at silk ribbons and soft leather shoes. Salina Joe had never owned a pair of shoes or a silk ribbon. In the back of the store, she found a dress. It was made of red cotton material with little snow white squares on it. Salina Joe couldn't stop touching the dress. She asked the store's owner, "How much the dress cost?" "Five dollars," he said, "but I'll sell it to you for three." That evening after dinner, she told her father about the dress. Shag's face got red. "Are you crazy?" He yelled, "Do you think I would buy you that dress?" "But Pa," Salina Joe said, "it only costs three dollars. I work hard and I have never asked you for anything before, besides, I'm gonna pay for it myself." "How?" Her father laughed. "I'm going to get a job in Mr. Pruwit's paint factory." "Oh, no, you are not," her father yelled, "you are going to stay right here and work on the farm." Her father got up from his chair and took off his heavy leather belt. "You are not getting the job or the dress", he said, "but I'm gonna give you a beating you'll never forget."
A long knife lay on the kitchen table. Salina Joe's fingers found its handle. She didn't move. Her serious dark eyes never left her father's face. "Pa," she said softly, "if you touch me with that belt, I'll cut your heart out." Shag hustled, dropped the belt, and slowly back away from his daughter. The next day, Salina Joe went to work in Pruwit's paint factory. She carried heavy pails of paint from morning to night. The smell gave her headaches, the paint got on her skin and in her hair. After three months, she went to the store and bought her dress, a pair of white leather shoes, some silk stockings and a hat made of white lace. Salina Joe left the store with her beautiful new clothes wrapped in paper. She began walking home. She stopped when she came to the road that led to the large town of Dothan, 15 kilometers away. Salina Joe turned and began walking to Dothan without looking back once toward the cabin where she was born. She reached Dothan five hours later. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. She found a small pond of water outside of town. Salina Joe took off her dirty farm clothes. She washed herself in the pond, dried with the paper from her package, and put on her fine new clothes. Then, she entered the town. No one in Dothan knew she was from a Hutshel family. When she walked down the street, people smiled at her and said "Hello".
As she walked around the town, she came to a large house with a black iron fence surrounded. The house had two floors and was painted a sparkling white. In front of it were oak trees that made shadows on the green grass. Girls dressed in clean white blouses and blue skirts sat under the trees. Just then a lady passed by and stopped to smile at Selina Joe. "What is that building?" Selina Joe asked the woman. "That's the state reformatory for girls." The woman answered. "That's where the state puts the girls who break the law. Before the girls can leave, they have to show that they have changed for the better." "Changed..." Selina Joe whispered, still staring at the reformatory. "Different from what they were? Do they go to school there?" "Yes，" said the woman. "Would they take a girl who only had six months of school?" She asked softly. The woman laughed. "You don't understand." She said. "The reformatory only takes bad girls. A girl like you would never go there." Selina Joe sighed. She spent the afternoon, watching the big white house, its wide windows, and the girls sitting under the trees. When it was dark, Selina Joe went around to the back of the house. She climbed over the black iron fence and looked into one of the windows. Two girls her own age sat at the table, reading books. "Can I come in?" Selina Joe whispered to them.
The two girls were surprised, but one of them said, "Sure. Step right in." She told them she wanted to stay at the reformatory and go to school there. She wanted to be changed. The girls liked the idea. They thought it would be a good joke on the reformatory's head teacher Marry Shane. Everyone called her Old Iron Jaw, because she never smiled. The girls gave Selina Joe a skirt and a blouse. They hid her under their bed that night when Old Iron Jaw came to inspect the rooms. The next morning, they shared their breakfast with her. But Marry Shane, the head teacher, had good eyes. Right after breakfast, Selina Joe felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the serious face of Old Iron Jaw's. "What are you doing here?" Mary Shane asked. "I, I climbed over the fence, ma'am," Salina Joe said. "I won't stay here long. I just want to learn what are in the books you have here, then I'll leave." "I'm afraid you can't stay here," said Mary Shane.
Salina Joe's heart broke. She put her arms around the teacher's shoulders. "Oh, please ma'am," she cried. "Please let me stay. I don't want to go back home. I don't want to be like all the other Hutshels for the rest of my life. I want to be changed. I want to be made different." "Come with me, child," Mary Shane said. "We'll go see the director Mr. Welborn." They went straight into his office without stopping to knock at the door. "Jim Welborn," Mary Shane said, " I want you to listen to this girl's story." She turned and left the office. Mary Shane sat in her classroom for an hour. From time to time, she looked out the door into the hall that went from her classroom to the director's office. Finally, she heard footsteps hurrying to her classroom. Then Salina Joe stood in the doorway. The woman didn't have to ask any questions. The girl's pink cheeks and her happy eyes said everything. Mary Shane turned and went to the classroom window. Deep inside herself, a small voice kept saying over and over again, "For this child that comes of her own free will to be changed, for this one child who wants to be made different, I thank you God."
重点解析
1.as soon as 一......就；一经
As soon as we found this out, we closed the ward.
我们一发现此事就关闭了病房。
2.take off 脱下；脱掉
He wouldn't take his hat off.
他不肯摘下帽子。
3.step in 走进；挤进
He hospitably asked me to step in and have a talk.
他殷勤地邀请我进去谈谈。
4.knock at 敲(门，窗等)
Knock at my window at eight o'clock and I'll be ready.
8点钟敲我的窗，我会准备好的。
参考译文
《序曲》。萨利娜·乔·赫谢尔出生在一个有两个房间、一扇小窗户和一块泥土地板的小屋里。她的父母，沙格和马蒂·赫谢尔，在家人和朋友的帮助下，在一天内建造了这座小房子。萨利娜·乔一岁时就开始说话，她七岁时，父母无法回答她的任何问题。萨利娜·乔那双黑色的大眼睛里充满了好奇，但她的头脑却一直饥饿如渴。父母送她去上了六个月的学。她一学会读书和写字，他们就把她带走了。她的父母从来没学过这些。萨利娜·乔不得不在农场工作，她在坚硬的红土地里种玉米和红薯，还喂牛，筑篱笆。她打扫小木屋、劈柴、做饭、洗衣服。她的父母大部分时间都和住在附近的叔叔、阿姨和表亲在一起。所有的赫谢尔人都像萨利娜·乔的父母一样，他们既不会读也不会写，不喜欢工作，也从不洗澡。一个星期天，当萨利娜·乔16岁的时候，她的父母带她去了东菲尔德镇。
他们走在街上时，萨利娜·乔听到身后有人小声说：“那是赫谢尔家族的一部分，他们都是些从不工作的又脏又懒的人。”几天后，萨利娜独自回到东区。她走进一家商店，那只是一家简单的乡村店铺。但在萨利娜·乔看来，这是一个很棒的地方。她看着丝带和柔软的皮鞋。萨利娜·乔从没有过一双鞋或一条丝带。在商店的后面，她发现了一件连衣裙，是用红棉布做的，上面有白色的小方格。萨利娜·乔不停地摸那件衣服，她问店主：“这件衣服多少钱？”“五美元，”他说，“但我可以三美元卖给你。”那天晚上晚饭后，她告诉父亲有关这件衣服的事情。沙格脸红了，“你疯了吗？”他喊道，“你觉得我会给你买那件衣服吗？”“但是爸爸，”萨利娜·乔说，“只要三美元，我工作很努力，以前从来没有向你要过什么，而且，我会自己付钱的。”“怎么付？”她父亲笑了。“我要去普鲁维特先生的油漆厂找份工作。”“哦，不，你不能去，”她父亲喊道，“你就呆在这儿，在农场里干活。”她父亲从椅子上起身，脱下沉重的皮带。“你得不到那份工作，也买不到那件衣服，”他说，“但我要揍你一顿，让你永远不会忘记。”
厨房的桌子上放着一把长刀，萨利娜·乔的手指找到了它的手柄。她没有动，她那双严肃的黑眼睛从没有离开过她父亲的脸。“爸爸，”她轻声地说，“如果你用那条腰带碰我，我会把你的心割下来的。”沙格急忙把腰带扔掉了，然后慢慢地离开了女儿。第二天，萨利娜·乔去普鲁维特的油漆厂工作。她从早到晚提着沉重的油漆桶。这气味使她头痛，她的皮肤和头发上都沾上了油漆。三个月后，她去商店买了那条裙子，一双白色皮鞋，一些丝袜和一顶白色蕾丝帽。萨利娜·乔带拿着用纸包好的漂亮新衣服离开了商店。她开始步行回家，当她来到通往15公里外的大城镇多坦的公路上时停了下来。萨利娜·乔转过身，开始向多坦走去，没有回头看一眼她出生所在的那座小屋。她五个小时后到达多坦，当时是下午两点，她在城外发现了一个小池塘。萨利娜·乔脱下了她脏兮兮的农服。在池塘里洗了澡，用包里的纸擦干，穿上漂亮的新衣服。然后就进城了。在多坦没有人知道她来自赫谢尔家族。她走在街上时，人们对她微笑着说“你好”。
她在镇上溜达时，来到了一所四周围着黑色铁栅栏的大房子前。这所房子有两层，被漆成了闪闪发光的白色。前面是橡树，绿草上留下了房子的阴影。穿着干净的白衬衫和蓝裙子的女孩坐在树下。就在这时，一位女士经过，她停下来对萨利娜·乔微笑。“那座建筑是干什么用的？”萨利娜·乔问那个女人。“那是州女子教养院。”那女人回答说。“州政府把那些违法的女孩送到这里，女孩们离开之前，她们必须表明自己已经变好了。”“变了......”萨利娜·乔低声说，仍然盯着那座教养院。她们和以前不同了？她们上学吗？”“是的，”那个女人说。“她们会收留一名只上过六个月学的女孩吗？”她轻声问道。那个女人笑了。“你不明白。”她说。“教养院只接收坏女孩，像你这样的女孩永远不会去那儿。”萨利娜·乔叹了口气。她花了一下午的时间，看着那座大房子，它宽敞的窗户，还有坐在树下的姑娘们。天黑时，萨利娜·乔走到屋后。她爬过黑色的铁栅栏，朝一扇窗户望去。和她同龄的两个女孩坐在桌旁看书。“我能进来吗？”萨利娜·乔低声对她们说。
两个女孩很惊讶，但其中一个说：“当然，直接进去就行。”她告诉她们，她想留在教养院上学，她想改变自己。女孩们喜欢她这个主意。她们认为对于教养院的院长玛丽·谢恩来说，这会是一个很好的笑话。大家都叫她钢铁老下巴，因为她从来不笑。女孩们给了萨利娜·乔一条裙子和一件衬衫。那天晚上，钢铁老下巴来检查房间时，她们把她藏在床下。第二天早上，她们和她一起吃早餐。但院长玛丽·谢恩的眼睛很犀利。早餐后，萨利娜·乔感觉到一只手搭在她的肩膀上，她抬头看到钢铁老下巴那张严肃的面孔。“你在这里干嘛？”玛丽·谢恩问道。“我，我翻过了篱笆，夫人，”萨利娜·乔说。“我不会在这儿呆太久，我只想学你们这的书里的东西，然后就离开。”“恐怕你不能呆在这儿，”玛丽·沙恩说。
萨利娜·乔的心都碎了，她搂着老师的肩膀说，“哦，求求你了，夫人，”她喊道。“请让我留下来，我不想回家。我不想一辈子都像其他赫谢尔家族的人一样，我想改变自己，我想与众不同。”“跟我来，孩子，”玛丽·沙恩说。“我们去见主任韦尔伯恩先生。”她们径直走进他的办公室，没有停下来敲门。“吉姆·韦尔伯恩，”玛丽·谢恩说，“我想让你听听这个女孩的故事。”她转身离开了办公室。玛丽·谢恩在教室里坐了一个小时，她不时地向门外望进从教室到主任办公室的过道。最后，她听到急匆匆地向教室的脚步声，然后萨利娜·乔就站在了门口。那女人不必问任何问题，女孩粉红色的脸颊和流露出快乐神情的眼睛说明了一切。玛丽·谢恩转过身去，走到教室的窗户前。在她内心深处，一个很小声音一遍又一遍地说：“为了这个出自自己自由意志想要改变的孩子，为了这个想要变得与众不同的孩子，我感谢上帝。”
