爱的价值 The Value of Love

 
     The cheerful girl with 1)bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout 2)stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink 3)foil box. “Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them” Please, mommy, please!”
　　这个兴高采烈的女孩差不多五岁了，留着一头富有弹性的金黄卷发。她正和妈妈在收银台旁排队等候交钱，忽然，她看见一串闪闪发光的白珍珠，装在一个粉红色的金属盒里。“噢，妈咪，能给我买那个吗？妈咪，求你了！”

　　Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. “A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra 4)chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another 5)crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”
　　她的妈妈迅速看了看那个小金属盒的背后，然后回过头望着女儿仰起的脸孔里那双充满恳求的蓝眼睛。“1.95美元。几乎要2美元。如果你真想要，我会给你多一些家务做。很快你就能存够钱给自己买了。再过一个星期就是你的生日，奶奶也许会给你一张崭新的一美元钞票。”

　　As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny 6)bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick 7)dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
　　詹妮一回到家就把储钱罐里的钱全倒了出来，数了数，一共17美分。饭后，她做家务比往常更勤快了。她还跑到邻居家问麦克詹姆斯太太，愿不愿意花10美分让她帮忙采蒲公英。她生日那天，奶奶真的给了她一张崭新的一美元纸币。最后，她终于存够了钱买那串项链。

　　Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere—Kindergarten, 8)Sunday school, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a 9)bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
　　詹妮很喜爱这一串珍珠项链。戴上它，她便感到自己打扮得很漂亮，感到自己很成熟。她走到哪儿都戴着它——上幼儿园，星期天上主日学校，甚至是在睡觉的时候，只有游泳或洗泡泡浴时才取下。妈妈说，如果那些珍珠湿了水，就可能染绿她的脖子。