Mrs. Green in Room 301
The notice was posted next to the mailboxes in the apartment building I’d just moved into in Brooklyn, New York. “A Mitzvah for Mrs. Green,” it read. “Sign up to drive Mrs. Green in Room 301 from her chemotherapy (化疗) treatments twice a month.”
Since I wasn’t a driver, I couldn’t add my name, but the word mitzvah lingered in my thoughts. It means “to do a good deed”. According to my grandmother, it also had another meaning. This was the one she was always pointing out to me because she noticed how shy I was about letting people do things for me. “Linda, it’s a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you.”
Three weeks later, on the night of taking my final exam, the snow was falling steadily for hours. Pride would not let me knock on a door and say, “It’s a 10-minute ride by car but a long wait for the bus, and it’s a 30-minute bus ride, so could you possibly give me a lift to school ” So I trudged (艰难地走) to the bus stop. For an hour, I prayed desperately that a bus would come. Then I gave up. The wind at my back pushed me toward home and I seemed to hear my grandma’s whisper: Ask someone for a lift! It could be a mitzvah. That idea had never really made sense to me. And even if I wanted to ask someone for a good deed, there wasn’t a soul on the street.
But as I pushed the door of my apartment building open, I found myself face to face with a woman at the mailbox. In that split second, desperation overcame pride, “Could you possibly give me a lift ” I hurriedly said, feeling quite awkward and uncomfortable, “I never ask anybody for a lift, but...” An odd look crossed the woman’s face, and I added, “Oh! I live in Room 401. I moved in recently!”
Para. 1 Then, without hesitation, she said, “Of course.”
Para. 2 Back home, I happened to know Grandma Alice was Mrs. Green!
【内容概要】
我新搬家到了New York的Brooklyn。在公寓门口看到贴了一个通知。住在301房的Mrs. Green在招募司机送她去化疗,每月两次。因为我不会开车,所以没有报名。但是“我”对通知上的一个词“Mitzvah”印象深刻——“我”的grandma也对“我”说过类似的话:为别人做善事是善举,请别人为自己做事也是善举。因为“我”羞于启齿,请别人帮忙。三周之后,在“我”期末考试的那个晚上,大雪难行,又搭不到公交车。即使想请别人帮忙,路上一个人都没有。恰好,“我”在公寓门口碰见了一位老太太。情急之下,“我”请求她送一程。老太太流露出奇怪的神情,但是还是答应了“我”的请求。
【思路点拨】
根据第二个段首句来看,第一段肯定要点名老太太的身份是Grandma Alice,很容易想到,二人肯定会有交流。由于前文提到,“我”是感到quite awkward and uncomfortable的,因此,第一段中还可以描写“我”在情绪上的变化。第二个段首句Back home表明“我”成功到达学校并参加了考试。根据第二个段首句可知,“我”得知了真相,Grandma Alice就是通知上所说的Mrs. Green,那位需要帮忙开车送去化疗的老太太。这时,可以描写“我”的情绪和感受,以及最终“我”和Mrs. Green之间的交流。
【难点疑点】
有的同学可能会疑惑,为什么这位患癌的老太太还答应“我”的帮忙呢?实际上这也是这篇文章的重要处理的情节。根据主旨句it’s a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you来看,提供帮助和接受帮助都是善举。但是在文章中,Mrs. Green因病一直在接受他人的帮助。而“我”是觉得接受帮助十分尴尬。由此可见,两个关键人物身上都没有同时体现提供帮助和接受帮助都是善举这个主旨。前文已经做了大量铺垫,“我”终于克服内心的尴尬,准备接受别人的帮助。而老太太也有了提供帮助的契机——开车载“我”去学校。因为“我”是新搬来的,对邻居不熟悉,所以“我”也不知道眼前的老太太就是Mrs. Green。而Mrs. Green因为患病,一直都是别人帮助她,突然有人请她帮忙,因此“An odd look crossed the woman’s face”。而“我”以为是老太太不认识我,还特意说明I live in Room 401. I moved in recently。所谓“无巧不成书”,一切看似超乎想象,但是又在情理之中。就好像欧亨利的小说结尾,让人意想不到。但是仔细回味,前文已经有大量情节铺垫。
【技巧点拨】通过本道题,同学们应该注意到了两个关键的点:1. 有明显的主旨句时,所有的情节都为主旨句服务,即情节要突出主题。2. 欧亨利式的故事结尾一定是“意料之外”和“情理之中”缺一不可。如果一味凸显意料之外,但不注意情节的伏笔和回应,那这个“意料之外”真的就是“意外”!
【下水文】
Then, without hesitation, she said, "Of course." We walked to her car, and she started chatting with me, easing my awkwardness and discomfort [非谓语动词做状语]. As we got in, she turned on the heat to warm us up. I unwound the scarf and Grandma’s smile suddenly sprang into my mind as if she were praising me for letting another person do something for me [回扣情节]. I murmured, “you remind me of my grandmother”, with tears blurring my eyes. With a slight smile touching the corners of her mouth [with的复合结构], she said, “Just call me Grandma Alice.” When she dropped me off, I stood there waving her goodbye. My final exam was a breeze compared with the difficulties I’d gone through [对比].
Back home, I happened to know Grandma Alice was Mrs. Green! I froze in surprise, realizing what a big mistake I made[非谓语动词做状语,名词性从句] . Grandma Alice was the very person who needed to get a ride but I went so far as to ask her to give me a lift to school. At the thought of her kindness, I was weighed down by guilt. I knocked on her door to express my heartfelt gratitude. As I entered her apartment, Mrs. Green embraced me and thanked me for giving her the opportunity to fulfill a “mitzvah”. At that moment, I began to understand that a “mitzvah” was not just about doing a good deed for someone else, but also about allowing others to do something for you, and people can experience the joy and fulfillment that come from both offering and receiving help.