小故事

A Letter
一封信
Dear Mother and Dad,
亲爱的爸爸妈妈：
Since I left for college I have been remise in writing and I am sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down, okay?
从我上大学以后就疏于写信，我为自己的粗心大意感到抱歉。我现在就会把一直到最近为止的情况都告诉你们，只是在读信前，我请你们一定先坐下。你们要是不坐下就读不下去了，好吗？
Well, then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out the window of my dormitory when it caught on fire shortly after my arrival here is pretty well healed now. I only spent two weeks in the hospital and now I can see almost normally and only get those sick headaches once a day.
现在，哎，我现在一切都好。当时我一到学校，我的宿舍就着火了，我从窗户跳了出去。这一跳导致我头骨骨裂还有脑震荡，现在已经基本上好了。我只在医院里待了两个星期，现在我看东西已经基本上恢复正常了，而且讨厌的头痛一天也只会烦我一次了。
Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory, and my jump, was witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the Fire Department and the ambulance. He also visited me in the hospital and since I had nowhere to live because of the burnout dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute.
幸运的是，我的宿舍着火和我从窗户跳下这些事情都被一个附近加油站的工作人员看见了，是他报了火警，还叫了救护车。后来他还到医院看我，而且因为我的宿舍烧毁了，他还好心地邀请我搬进他的公寓。那实际上只是一间地下室，不过还算精巧。
He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. We haven't got the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show.
他是个不错的男孩子，我们深深地相爱了，而且我们正准备结婚。我们还没有定好具体的日子，不过一定是在我的肚子大起来之前。
Yes, Mother and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same love and devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child.
妈妈爸爸，是的，我怀孕了。我知道你们有多想要个孙子，我也知道你们一定会欢迎这个小宝宝，并且全心地爱他、照顾他，就向我小时候对我那样。
The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has a minor infection which prevents us from passing our premarital blood tests and I carelessly caught it from him.
我们推迟结婚日期的原因是我的男朋友得了传染病，因此我们没通过婚前的血液检查，而我也不小心被他传染了。
I know that you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and, although not well educated, he is ambitious.
我知道你们一定会张开双臂热诚地欢迎他成为我们家庭的一员。虽然他没受过良好的教育，不过他人很好，而且很有志气。
Although he is a different race and religion than ours, I know your often express tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by that.
他是有色人种而且信仰不同的宗教，不过你们经常说要包容、要宽容，我相信你们一定会宽容地接纳他的。
Dear Mother and Dad, now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or skull fracture, I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant, I am not engaged, I am not infected, and there is no boyfriend.
现在，亲爱的爸爸妈妈，我来告诉你们我的近况。我要说的是我的宿舍没着火，我没有头骨骨裂或是脑震荡，我没住院，我没怀孕，我没订婚，我没被传染，我甚至还没有男朋友。
However, I am getting a "D" in American History, and an "F" in Chemistry and I wanted you to see those marks in their proper perspective.
只是我的美国史考了将将及格，化学不及格，我想让你们正确地看待我的这些分数。
Your loving daughter,
爱你们的女儿
Sharon
莎伦

重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. up to date
掌握最新信息的；
eg. We'll keep you up to date with any news.
一有新消息我们就会告诉你。
eg. I am very up to date on this sort of thing because I listen to the news.
我掌握了大量关于这类事的最新信息，因为我经常收听新闻。
2. get along
相处融洽；
eg. It's impossible to get along with him...
根本无法跟他和睦相处。
eg. They seemed to be getting along fine.
他们好像相处得颇为融洽。
3. catch on fire
着火；
eg. It is easy for paper to catch on fire.
纸很容易着火。
eg. Our house caught on fire last summer.
我们的房子去年夏天着火了。
4. fall in love
堕入爱河；（与…）相爱；
eg. I fell in love with him because of his kind nature.
我爱上他，是因为他秉性善良。
eg. We fell madly in love.
我们疯狂地相爱了。
5. prevent sb. from doing sth.
阻止；制止；阻碍某人做某事；
eg. He said this would prevent companies from creating new jobs...
他说这将使公司无法创造新的工作机会。
eg. The police have been trying to prevent them carrying weapons.
警方一直都设法阻止他们携带武器。
6. now that
既然；由于；
eg. Now that she was retired she lived with her sister.
现在她已经退休了，和姐姐一起住。
eg. Now that the problem has been identified, appropriate action can be taken.
现在既已找出问题的症结，即可采取适当行动。