Grade 9 Unit 6 Topic 2 Section D

Gift of the Magi

(N= Narrator ^[1]narrator: 美: [ˌnəˈreɪtər]  英: [nəˈreɪtə(r)]  n. 讲述者；（电视节目中的）幕后解说员；旁白员  D= Della J=Jim)

N: Tomorrow will be Christmas. But Della feels very sad because she has no money to buy a present for her husband ^[2]husband: 美: [ˈhʌzbənd]  英: [‘hʌzbənd]   n. 丈夫, Jim. In fact, Della and Jim have two precious ^[3]precious: 美: [ˈpreʃəs] 英: [‘preʃəs]  adj. 珍奇的；珍稀的；宝贵的；珍贵的 possessions ^[4]possession: 美: [pəˈzeʃ(ə)n]  英: [pə’zeʃ(ə)n]   n. 拥有；具有；属地；个人财产. They are Jim’s gold watch and Della’s long beautiful hair, which are the only wealth ^[5]wealth: 美: [welθ]  英: [welθ]  n. 财富；财产；富裕；丰富 for them. Della had her hair cut, sold it and bought a gold watch chain ^[6]chain: 美: [tʃeɪn]  英: [tʃeɪn]  n. 链条；链子；锁链；一系列 for Jim. Now, Della is at home.

(All of a sudden ^[7]sudden:  [ˈsʌd(ə)n]  adj. 突然的；忽然的；突如其来的 ^[8]all of a sudden: “all at once”的变体；突然, the door opens and Jim comes in)

J: You—?

D: Jim. Don’t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off ^[9]cut off: 削除；截止；截断(退路等)；割下来 and sold it because I couldn’t have lived through ^[10]live through: 经受过；经历过 Christmas without giving you a present. Jim, it will grow quickly. Say “Merry Christmas!”Jim, and let’s be happy.

J: You’ve cut off your hair?

D: I’ve cut it off and sold it. It’s sold. I tell you, sold and gone, too. It’s Christmas Eve, Jim. Please understand. I sold my hair so that ^[11]so that: 因此；以便 I could give you something for Christmas.

J: Well, Della, I do understand. Don’t worry. The fact that you have a different hair cut could not possibly ^[12]possibly: 美: [ˈpɑsəbli] 英: [ˈpɒsəbli]  adv. 可能；或许；尽可能 make me love you less. I know you sold your hair for me. Now look at this present I got for you.

D: Ah! The combs ^[13]comb: 美: [koʊm]  英: [kəʊm]  v. 梳；搜寻；仔细搜索；梳理（羊毛、棉花等）  n. 梳子；篦子；. They were in the shop windows for many months!

J: Yes, the beautiful combs, with jeweled ^[14]jeweled: 英 [ˈdʒuːəld]美 [ˈdʒuːəld]   adj. 饰有宝石的  |  jewel: 美: [ˈdʒuːəl]   英: [ˈdʒuːəld]  n. 珠宝；宝石；珠宝首饰  v. 镶嵌 rims ^[15]rim: 美: [rɪm]  英: [rɪm]  n. 轮辋；轮圈；（圆形物体的）边沿   v. 形成…的边沿；给…镶边 —just the color to wear in your beautiful hair.

D: But, Jim. They are expensive combs. I know, my heart had longed for ^[16]long for: 渴望   *此处为过去完成时，因为渴望这一活动在（过去）卖头发时已经结束。 them without the least hope of owning them. Now they are mine. Thank you, Jim.

J: Now, you will see why I was upset at first.

D: Jim, you don’t know what a nice – what a beautiful gift, nice gift I’ve got for you. Can you guess?

J: I’m sorry. I have no idea what it could be.

D: Look! A gold watch chain! Isn’t it lovely, Jim? I hunted all over the town to find it. You’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.

J: Della, let’s put our Christmas gifts away ^[17]put away: 把…收起来；储存 and keep them for a while. They’re too nice to use just at present ^[18]at present: 目前，现在, I sold the watch to get the money to buy the combs. Now, let’s have our supper.