My Irreplaceable Treasure
[1]Recently I gave a dinner party for some close friends. To add a touch of elegance to the evening, I brought out the good stuff--my white Royal Crown Derby china with the fine blue-and-gold border. When we were seated, one of the guests noticed the beat-up gravy boat I'd placed among the newer, better dinnerware. "Is it an heirloom?" she asked tactfully. [2] I admit the piece does look rather conspicuous. For one thing, it matches nothing else. It's also old and chipped. But that little gravy boat is much more than an heirloom to me. It is the one thing in this world I will never part with.
[3] The story begins more than 50 years ago, when I was seven years old and we lived in a big house along the Ohio River in New Richmond, Ohio. All that separated the house from the river was the street and our wide front lawn. In anticipation of high water, the ground floor had been built seven feet above grade.
[4] Late in December the heavy rains came, and the river climbed to the tops of its banks. When the water began to rise in a serious way, my parents made plans in case the river should invade our house. My mother decided she would pack our books and her fine china in a small den off the master bedroom.
[5] The china was not nearly as good as it was old. Each piece had a gold rim and a band of roses. But the service had been her mother's and was precious to her. As she packed the china with great care, she said to me, "You must treasure the things that people you love have cherished. It keeps you in touch with them."
[1]最近我舉辦了一次晚宴，招待幾位親密的朋友。為了給那個晚上增添一點優雅的情趣，我擺出了一件奇珍異寶——繪有精美藍邊和金邊的白色王冠德比牌的瓷器。大伙兒就座後，其中一位客人注意到了這隻殘破的船形肉鹵盤——我已把它放在了滿桌新穎而別致的餐具當中。「這是一件傳家寶麼?」她機敏地問道。
我承認這隻盤子看起來確實惹人注目。首先，它跟其他任何東西都不相匹配;再者，它古老而且傷痕累累。但對我而言，這隻小小的船形肉鹵盤絕不只是一件傳家之寶。它是這個世界上我一生都不會放棄的珍愛之物。
故事發生在50多年前，當時我才七歲，我們家住在俄亥俄州新里奇蒙俄亥俄河邊的一幢大房子裡。房子跟河水只隔著一條街道和房前寬闊的草坪。考慮到河水有上漲的可能，房子一樓的地板安裝得比地面高出七英尺。
12月下旬下起了大暴雨，河水漲到河沿上。河水剛開始猛漲時，我爸媽就作出了各種應急方案，以防河水淹進我們的房子。媽媽決定將我們所有的書籍以及她的精美瓷器搬出大臥室，放在樓上的小書齋里。
這些瓷器絲毫也顯不出年代久遠的痕跡。每一件都繪有金邊和玫瑰花束。這套餐具是我外婆遺留下來的，對我媽來說十分珍貴。她一邊小心翼翼地把它們包好，一邊對我說：「你必須珍惜這些你所愛的人曾經珍惜過的東西。這可以保持你同他們的聯繫。」
[1]Recently I gave a dinner party for some close friends. To add a touch of elegance to the evening, I brought out the good stuff--my white Royal Crown Derby china with the fine blue-and-gold border. When we were seated, one of the guests noticed the beat-up gravy boat I'd placed among the newer, better dinnerware. "Is it an heirloom?" she asked tactfully. [2] I admit the piece does look rather conspicuous. For one thing, it matches nothing else. It's also old and chipped. But that little gravy boat is much more than an heirloom to me. It is the one thing in this world I will never part with.
[3] The story begins more than 50 years ago, when I was seven years old and we lived in a big house along the Ohio River in New Richmond, Ohio. All that separated the house from the river was the street and our wide front lawn. In anticipation of high water, the ground floor had been built seven feet above grade.
[4] Late in December the heavy rains came, and the river climbed to the tops of its banks. When the water began to rise in a serious way, my parents made plans in case the river should invade our house. My mother decided she would pack our books and her fine china in a small den off the master bedroom.
[5] The china was not nearly as good as it was old. Each piece had a gold rim and a band of roses. But the service had been her mother's and was precious to her. As she packed the china with great care, she said to me, "You must treasure the things that people you love have cherished. It keeps you in touch with them."
[1]最近我舉辦了一次晚宴，招待幾位親密的朋友。為了給那個晚上增添一點優雅的情趣，我擺出了一件奇珍異寶——繪有精美藍邊和金邊的白色王冠德比牌的瓷器。大伙兒就座後，其中一位客人注意到了這隻殘破的船形肉鹵盤——我已把它放在了滿桌新穎而別致的餐具當中。「這是一件傳家寶麼?」她機敏地問道。
我承認這隻盤子看起來確實惹人注目。首先，它跟其他任何東西都不相匹配;再者，它古老而且傷痕累累。但對我而言，這隻小小的船形肉鹵盤絕不只是一件傳家之寶。它是這個世界上我一生都不會放棄的珍愛之物。
故事發生在50多年前，當時我才七歲，我們家住在俄亥俄州新里奇蒙俄亥俄河邊的一幢大房子裡。房子跟河水只隔著一條街道和房前寬闊的草坪。考慮到河水有上漲的可能，房子一樓的地板安裝得比地面高出七英尺。
12月下旬下起了大暴雨，河水漲到河沿上。河水剛開始猛漲時，我爸媽就作出了各種應急方案，以防河水淹進我們的房子。媽媽決定將我們所有的書籍以及她的精美瓷器搬出大臥室，放在樓上的小書齋里。
這些瓷器絲毫也顯不出年代久遠的痕跡。每一件都繪有金邊和玫瑰花束。這套餐具是我外婆遺留下來的，對我媽來說十分珍貴。她一邊小心翼翼地把它們包好，一邊對我說：「你必須珍惜這些你所愛的人曾經珍惜過的東西。這可以保持你同他們的聯繫。」
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