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1、A Walk in the Woods 林中漫步Source: 2007-03-30 我要投稿 恒星英语学习论坛 Favorite I was puzzled! Why was this old woman making such a fuss about an old copse which was of no use to anybody? She had written letters to the local paper, even to a national, protesting about a projected by-pass to her village, and, look
2、ing at a map, the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasnt as if the area was attractive. I was more than puzzled, I was intrigued. The enquiry into the route of the new by-pass to the village was due to take place shortly, and I wanted to know what it was that motivated her. So it was th
3、at I found myself knocking on a cottage door, being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods. Ive always loved this place, she said, it has a lot of memories for me, and for others. We all used it. They called it Lovers lane. Its not much of a lane, and it doesnt go anywhe
4、re important, but thats why we all came here. To be away from people, to be by ourselves she added. It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard. Squirrels gazed from the branches, quite bold in their movements, obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing
5、to fear. I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by-pass was built, so I felt that she probably had something there but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over-riding the opinions of private individuals, I said nothing. The village
6、was quite a dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children, their safety was more important to me than an old womans whims. Take this tree, she said pausing after a short while. To you it is just that, a tree. Not unlike many others here. She gently touched the bark. L
7、ook here, under this branch, what can you see? It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife I said after a cursory inspection. Yes, thats what it is! she said softly. There are letters and a lovers heart. I looked again, this time more carefully. The heart was still there and there
8、was a suggestion of an arrow through it. The letters on one side were indistinct, but on the other an R was clearly visible with what looked like an I after it. Some budding romance? I asked, did you know who they were? Oh yes, I knew them, said Mary Smith, it says RH loves MS. I realised that I cou
9、ld be getting out of my depth, and longed to be in my office, away from here and this old lady, snug, and with a mug of tea in my hand. She went on He had a penknife with a spike for getting stones from a horses hoof, and I helped him to carve my initials. We were very much in love, but he was going
10、 away, and could not tell me what he was involved in the army. I had guessed of course. It was the last evening we ever spent together，because he went away the next day, back to his Unit. Mary Smith was quiet for a while, then she sobbed. His mother showed me the telegram. Sergeant R Holmes . Killed
11、 in action in the 9)invasion of France. I had hoped that you and Robin would one day get married she said, He was my only child, and I would have loved to be a Granny, they would have been such lovely babies- she was like that! Two years later she too was dead. Pneumonia, following a chill on the ch
12、est was what the doctor said, but I think it was an old fashioned broken heart. A child would have helped both of us. There was a further pause. Mary Smith gently caressed the wounded tree, just as she would have caressed him. And now they want to take our tree away from me. Another quiet sob, then
13、she turned to me. I was young and pretty then, I could have had anybody, I wasnt always the old woman you see here now. I had everything I wanted in life, a lovely man, health and a future to look forwards to. She paused again and looked around. The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sigh
14、ing sound. There were others, of course, but not a patch on my Robin! she said strongly. And now I have nothing - except the memories this tree holds. If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now,
15、 I would tell him. Has he never loved, has he never lived, does he not know anything about memories? We were not the only ones, you know, I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did. Yes, I would tell him! I turned away, sick at heart. 我实在不明白！为什么这个年老女士会对一片毫无用处的老灌木林如此紧张呢？她给当地报纸写了信，甚至给全国性的报纸也写了信，对拟将在她们村子里修建小路的方案表示抗议。但从地图上看，这条拟建的小路离她家并不近，那一带也并非风景优美。这不仅使我感到迷惑，还激起了我的好奇心。 很快就要进行对新小路的调查了，我想了解一下她反对的原因。于是我敲响了小屋的门，一位叫玛丽史密斯的女士接待了我，然后她带我去树林中走走。 “我一直深爱这个地方，”她说，“这里珍藏了我和其他许多人的回忆。我们都曾在这个地方呆过。人们称它为情人路。它其实并不能算是什么路，也不通往什么重要的地方，但这正是我们来这里的原因。远离他人，只有我们自己。”她补充说道。 那天林间实在迷人，小鸟唱着歌，松鼠在树枝间张望，很自在地活动，显然这里人迹
