课文阅读

When he heard these words, something in him woke: his father loved him! He had never thought of it before, taking for granted the tie of their blood. Now that he knew his father loved him, there would be no more loitering in the mornings and having to be called again. He got up, stumbling blind with sleep, and pulled on his clothes.
And then on the night before Christmas, he lay thinking about the next day. They were poor, and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and in the mince pies his mother made. His sisters sewed presents, and his mother and father always bought something he needed, a warm jacket, maybe, or a book. And he always saved and bought them each something, too.

He wished, that Christmas he was fifteen, he had a better present for his father instead of the usual tie from the ten-cent store. He lay on his side and looked out of his attic window.
"Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy, "What is a stable?"
"It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."
Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!

A thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift, out there in the barn? He could get up earlier, creep into the barn and get all the milking done. And then when his father went in to start the milking, he'd see it all done.
He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn't sleep too soundly.

He must have waked twenty times, striking a match each time to look at his old watch.
At a quarter to three, he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. A big star hung low over the roof, a reddish gold. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.

But they accepted him calmly and he brought some hay for each cow and then got the milking pail and the big milk cans. He had never milked all alone before, but it seemed almost easy. He smiled and milked steadily, two strong streams rushing into the pail, frothing and fragrant. The cows were behaving well, as though they knew it was Christmas.

参考译文

听到这里，某种情愫在他的心里升起：父亲是爱他的！以前他从未想到这一点，认为这种血脉相连的关系是理所当然的。现在他知道父亲爱自己，以后早上再也不能虚度了，也不会被叫醒了。他起床来，在睡意中蹒跚站起，穿上衣服。

于是在圣诞节前夜，他躺在床上，想着第二天的事。他家很穷，最让人兴奋的，是自己养的火鸡和母亲做的肉馅饼。他的姐姐们会缝制礼物，父母总是给他所需的东西：一件温暖的夹克，或是一本书。他总是保藏着，并给他们每个人回赠礼物。

圣诞节他就十五岁了，他希望送给父亲更好的礼物，而不是通常从小杂货店买的鞋带。他躺在父亲身边，从阁楼的窗子向外看去。
“爸爸，”当他还小的时候这么问过父亲，“什么是马棚？”
“就是畜棚，”父亲答道，“就像我家的这样。”
这么说耶稣出生在畜棚里，牧羊人和东方三贤士来到畜棚，给他们带来圣诞节礼物。

一个念头就象一把银剑在他脑海中突然一闪，为什么不在马棚里送父亲一个特殊的礼物呢？他可以起来早些，偷偷到马棚里挤奶。于是父亲进去开始挤奶时，发现活儿都干完了。
他看着星星，私自笑了起来。这就是他要做的事，他不能睡得太沉。
他一定醒来了20次，每次醒来都擦一根火柴看看他的旧手表。
2点三刻，他起身来，偷偷下楼，仔细地避开叽叽嘎嘎的门板，溜了出来。一颗大大的星星低低地挂在天上，是微红的金星。睡意昏昏的母牛吃惊地看着他，对她们来说这时候还早。

然而她们平静地接纳了他，他给每头母牛抓来一把干草，并拿来挤奶桶和大奶桶。
他以前从未一个人挤过奶，但是这活儿看起来并不难。他笑了笑，沉稳地挤起奶来，两大股带着泡沫、散发着香气的奶液流进桶里。母牛们表现不错，好像知道这是圣诞节似的。

词汇释义

1.sew v. 缝纫,缝合

例句：
I'll just sew up that tear, and the coat will be as good as new.
我把大衣的破处缝好，就会完好如新了

2.attic n. 阁楼

例句：
He made the attic in the small house a reading room.
他把小屋的阁楼当作阅读室。

3.shepherd n. 牧羊者,牧师,指导者

例句：
The shepherd set out to look for the sheep that had wandered (away).
牧羊人出发去找走失的羊.

4.pail n. 提桶

例句：
He lifted a pail of water from the ground.
他把一桶水从地上提了起来。

5.fragrant adj. 芬香的,馥郁的,愉快的

例句：
The air in the garden was warm and fragrant.
花园里的空气一片温馨。

难句解析

1. and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and in the mince pies his mother made.

【参考译文】最让人兴奋的，是自己养的火鸡和母亲做的肉馅饼。

【结构解析】句子的主干是“...the excitement was in the turkey...and in the mince pies...”，句中的“excitement”相当于“exciting thing”。

2. he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out.

【参考译文】他起身来，偷偷下楼，仔细地避开叽叽嘎嘎的门板，溜了出来。

【结构解析】“ careful of the creaky boards”是形容词结构做状语，修饰"let...out"。