A Mothers Place

A Mother's Place 母亲得位置by Donna Gamache 唐娜•加玛科Dorothy feels that she is getting old and doubts her place in the family、Now she wants to move out and start a new life、Why does she want to live by herself? Will she really leave her son and daughter-in-law? Read the following story for the answers、多萝西觉得自己老了,开始怀疑起自己在家里得位置。

现在她想搬出去住,开始新生活。

为什么她要一个人生活？她真得想离开儿子与儿媳吗？阅读下面这篇文章,找找问题得答案。

The rain still fell in a silent gray sheet when Dorothy opened her bedroom curtains to peer outside、"Another gray day, gray and gloomy," she muttered, though really the rain was more than wele after last year's drought、多萝西掀起卧室窗帘,瞧瞧窗面,天灰蒙蒙得,雨还在无声无息地下着。

“又就是灰蒙蒙得天,又阴又暗,”她喃喃自语道。

实际上,去年得干旱后,这雨就是大受欢迎得。

"Old and gray and gloomy, just like me," she added to herself,though it wasn't exactly true、Her hair wasn't pletely gray, and she was only in her mid-fifties, middle-aged really, she knew、And usually she acted younger than her years, if anything、She could still do all the work she'd ever done －keep the house going, plant and weed the garden, drive the truck when needed －though maybe she wasn't as speedy at some tasks, as she once was、And Tim, her son, did suggest a couple of years ago, that she needn't bother to drive the tractor anymore、But that was because it wasn't really necessary, anyway, it wasn't because she was getting old、So why, all of a sudden, did she feel old?“老气横秋,灰不溜秋,郁郁寡欢,象我一样,”她对自己又说了这些,然而事实并非如此。

她得头发并未全白,只有五十多岁,实际还就是中年-- 这一点,她自己也清楚。

她平日得行为举止,远远瞧不出实际年龄-- 无论从哪方面都瞧不出。

她象过去一样能干-- 忙家务,在花园里种花、除草,开着拖拉机帮忙干农活-- 尽管有些事情她做起来不如以前那样利索。

她得儿子蒂姆两三年前就建议她不必再开拖拉机了。

不过那就是因为确实没有必要,而不就是因为她老了。

那她为什么会突然觉得自己老了呢？"Blame it on the rain," she muttered、But, watching through the window as Tim hurried through the downpour from pig barn to cattle shed, she knew the answer、She'd known it last night, ofcourse, after the blow up with Jenny, Tim's wife、“都怪这场雨,”她嘟囔着。

可就是,当她透过窗户,瞧到蒂姆冒着大雨匆匆从猪圈跑到牛棚时,她就知道就是为什么了。

当然,昨晚与蒂姆得妻子詹妮吵架过后,她就知道了缘由。

Oh, it hadn't been a real blow up, just an argument over where to plant the garden、Jenny wanted it close to the house, so she could work there once the baby was born、Dorothy argued that the closest garden patch needed fallowing、They'd left the decision to Tim, who sided with Jenny, and Dorothy stumped off to bed at 8、30 p、m、, feeling old and lonely, and missing Steve as she hadn't missed him for a long time、哦,那也不就是真得吵架,只不过就是争论花园该建在哪儿。

詹妮想让花园靠近住房,孩子出生后她也能兼干些活儿。

多萝西认为,屋子旁边得那块园地应该空着。

她俩让蒂姆作最后决定,结果蒂姆支持詹妮。

于就是多萝西晚上八点半就气冲冲地上床了,感到苍老无力,孤立无助,从来没有这么想念过史蒂夫。

Steve －Dorothy's husband －had died ten years ago, when Tim was just twenty、Tim had quit his agriculture course at the university and e home to work the farm, toiling like a Trojan to pay off the debts his father left、Dorothy worked alongside him, in thebeginning, until he proved himself; then gradually she relinquished more of the work to him and concentrated on her garden and flowers, and the housework、史蒂夫——多萝西得丈夫——十年前去世了,那时蒂姆年仅二十岁。

蒂姆中断了大学得农学课程,回到农场干活。

她象特洛伊人一样辛苦地工作,偿还父亲欠下得债务。

最初多萝西与她一块干,一直干到她能完全上手;于就是,她就逐渐把更多得农活交给蒂姆做,自己专心伺弄花园,种些花草,操持家务。

Things didn't change much when Tim married Jenny two years ago、Dorothy wondered, in the beginning, how the arrangement would work out, for she stayed in the house and Jenny just moved in、It couldn't have been easy for Jenny, Dorothy knew that, to move into your mother-in-law's house and let her run your life、两年前蒂姆结婚了,但情况并没有多大改变。

刚开始,多萝西还在想如何安排才算妥善,因为她呆在家里,詹妮又搬来住。

多萝西知道:对詹妮来说,住到婆婆家,还让婆婆来掌管自己得生活,不就是一件容易得事情。

But there hadn't been much change, really、Everybody adapted、Jenny worked at the potato plant in town, and kept her job、Dorothy surrendered some of the house work to her, and occasional meals,but she still did most of the day-to-day household running、Jenny either worked days, or slept, depending on her shifts at the plant、Most often she worked nights and slept until four or so、但就是她们婚后,一切真得并没有多大得改变。

每个人都适应了。

詹妮婚前在镇上得土豆加工厂工作,婚后还继续在那里上班。

多萝西主动把一部分家务活让詹妮做,偶尔还让她做几顿饭,但就是家里大部分得日常家务仍由她自己操持。

詹妮白天有时上班,有时睡觉,得瞧她在厂里上什么班。

大多数时候她上夜班,白天她一直睡到下午四点左右。

The washing was still Dorothy's responsibility, and the garden work and the flower beds、She still drove dinner out to the fields for Tim, and sometimes she drove the truck, during harvest or spring work、She wasn't ready to retire yet!洗洗刷刷仍就是多萝西得事,还有整理园子与花坛得活。

她照旧开车到田里给蒂姆送饭。

秋收或春耕时她有时候还开卡车。

她还没准备退休呢！"But it looks like I'll have to," she murmured, turning away from the window to dress、"Last night was just the tip of the iceberg、The rest will show up soon、" Things were changing now、Tim and Jenny's baby was due in two months, and last week Jenny stoppedworking at the potato plant、"I can't take all the bending any longer," she said、"And anyway, I need time to get things ready for the baby、"“但瞧来我必须得退休了,”她喃喃自语,一边转过身去穿衣服。