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One hot and humid day, I decided to mow our extremely hilly lawn. It was threatening to turn into a jungle.
After several false starts, I got our ancient lawn mower going. Struggling to push the machine uphill, I grumbled1 under my breath.
At the top of a rise, I looked up to see my 12-year-old son standing there, a smile on his face and a glass of ice water in his hand. “Here, Mom,” he said, “have a drink. Want me to rest you? Dad lets me mow on the flat places.”
I accepted the ice water and went to sit in the shade of a tall tree. As I sipped my drink, I watched John Thomas. He didn’t seem to be following the normal mowing pattern. And he kept grinning at me as he worked. What’s he doing that makes him so happy? I thought to myself.
After a while, he stopped mowing. “Hey, Mom, could you come over here?”
I stood up grumpily2. As I walked across the lawn, I noticed that he’d missed a sizable spot. “John, you didn’t...” The irritable3 words faded. For the spot I thought he’d neglected had been carefully and meticulously4 mowed into the shape of a heart.
“Like it, Mom?” he asked with a big smile. “Now I’ll finish the job.”
一个炎热而潮湿的夏日，我打算修剪那凸凹不平的草地。因为它眼看着就要变成丛林了。
几次启动失败后，我最后终于把我们那台古董割草机发动起来了。我一边奋力推着它爬上草坡，一边气喘吁吁地埋怨着活儿太累。
在一个小草坡上，我抬起头看见我那12岁的儿子正站在那里。他脸上挂着一丝微笑，手里拿着一个装满冰水的玻璃杯。“给您，妈妈，”他说，“喝点水吧。想让我替换您休息一下吗？爸爸让我割那些平坦地方的草。”
我接过冰水，走到一棵大树底下去乘凉。我一边喝着冰水，一边注视着约翰•托马斯。他似乎没有遵循正常割草的模式。他在干活的时候一直在咧着嘴冲我笑。难道他喜欢干这活儿？我在心里暗暗地想着。
过了一会儿，他停了下来，“嗨，妈妈，您能过来一下吗？”
我烦燥地站起来。当我穿过草地向他走去时，我注意到他漏掉了相当大一片草没有割。“约翰，你没有⋯⋯”带着怒气的话渐渐弱了下去。因为我原以为被他漏割的那块草地已经被他仔细地修割成一个心形图案。
“喜欢吗，妈妈？”他脸上洋溢着一个灿烂的微笑。“现在，我要把这活儿干完。”
1.grumble[5grQmbl]v.抱怨；发牢骚；嘟囔
2.grumpily[5grQmpIlI]adv.性情乖戾地；脾气粗暴地
3.irritable[5IrItEbl]adj.易怒的；急躁的
4.meticulously[mI5tIkjElEslI]adv.小心翼翼地；谨小慎微地
After several false starts, I got our ancient lawn mower going. Struggling to push the machine uphill, I grumbled1 under my breath.
At the top of a rise, I looked up to see my 12-year-old son standing there, a smile on his face and a glass of ice water in his hand. “Here, Mom,” he said, “have a drink. Want me to rest you? Dad lets me mow on the flat places.”
I accepted the ice water and went to sit in the shade of a tall tree. As I sipped my drink, I watched John Thomas. He didn’t seem to be following the normal mowing pattern. And he kept grinning at me as he worked. What’s he doing that makes him so happy? I thought to myself.
After a while, he stopped mowing. “Hey, Mom, could you come over here?”
I stood up grumpily2. As I walked across the lawn, I noticed that he’d missed a sizable spot. “John, you didn’t...” The irritable3 words faded. For the spot I thought he’d neglected had been carefully and meticulously4 mowed into the shape of a heart.
“Like it, Mom?” he asked with a big smile. “Now I’ll finish the job.”
一个炎热而潮湿的夏日，我打算修剪那凸凹不平的草地。因为它眼看着就要变成丛林了。
几次启动失败后，我最后终于把我们那台古董割草机发动起来了。我一边奋力推着它爬上草坡，一边气喘吁吁地埋怨着活儿太累。
在一个小草坡上，我抬起头看见我那12岁的儿子正站在那里。他脸上挂着一丝微笑，手里拿着一个装满冰水的玻璃杯。“给您，妈妈，”他说，“喝点水吧。想让我替换您休息一下吗？爸爸让我割那些平坦地方的草。”
我接过冰水，走到一棵大树底下去乘凉。我一边喝着冰水，一边注视着约翰•托马斯。他似乎没有遵循正常割草的模式。他在干活的时候一直在咧着嘴冲我笑。难道他喜欢干这活儿？我在心里暗暗地想着。
过了一会儿，他停了下来，“嗨，妈妈，您能过来一下吗？”
我烦燥地站起来。当我穿过草地向他走去时，我注意到他漏掉了相当大一片草没有割。“约翰，你没有⋯⋯”带着怒气的话渐渐弱了下去。因为我原以为被他漏割的那块草地已经被他仔细地修割成一个心形图案。
“喜欢吗，妈妈？”他脸上洋溢着一个灿烂的微笑。“现在，我要把这活儿干完。”
1.grumble[5grQmbl]v.抱怨；发牢骚；嘟囔
2.grumpily[5grQmpIlI]adv.性情乖戾地；脾气粗暴地
3.irritable[5IrItEbl]adj.易怒的；急躁的
4.meticulously[mI5tIkjElEslI]adv.小心翼翼地；谨小慎微地