LESSON FOURTEEN

THE GIFTS

 

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all she had saved. Three times Della counted it. Only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing left to do but drop herself onto the shabby little couch and weep. So Della did. You see, life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles – but mainly of sniffles.

When Della had finished crying she went to the window and looked out sadly at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim, her husband, a present. She had been saving every cent she could for months, but twenty dollars a week – which was the total of their income – doesn’t leave much for saving. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. And now she had only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Many happy hours she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare – something worthy of the honour of being owned by Jim.

There was a mirror between the windows of the room. Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but soon her face lost its colour. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, Della and Jim had two possessions in which they both took very great pride. One was Jim’s gold watch, which had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair. It fell about her, rippling and shining like a brown waterfall. It reached below her knees and almost made a garment for her.

She did her hair up again nervously and quickly. She hesitated for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket. On went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she ran out of the door and down the stairs into the street.

She stopped at a sign that read: “Madame Sofronie. We Buy Hair Goods of All Kinds.” One flight up Della ran, and paused for a moment, panting. She opened the door.

“Will you buy my hair?” asked Della.

“Take your hat off and let’s have a look at it,” said Madame.

Down came the long brown waves.

“Twenty dollars,” said Madame, lifting the mass of hair with a practiced hand.

“Give it to me quickly,” said Della.

The next two hours sped by in a whirl of happiness. She searched shop after shop for Jim’s present.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. It was a gold watch chain. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim’s. It was just right for him. Twenty-one dollars they took for it, and she hurried home with the remaining 87 cents.

When Della reached home she looked at what was left of her poor hair and started to work on it.

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny curls that made her look wonderfully like a naughty schoolboy. She looked at herself in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.

At 7 o’clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove, hot and ready to cook the supper.

(To be continued)

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

Cent n. 分（100 cents = 1 dollar）

Della 德拉（女名）

Count vt. & vi. 数，计数

Clearly adv. 明白地；清晰地

Shabby adj. 破旧的；蹩脚的

Couch n.睡椅；长沙发椅

Weep (wept, wept) vi. 流泪；哭泣

Make up 组成

Sob n. 呜咽；啜泣

Sniffle vi. & n. 抽鼻子（声）；抽泣

Mainly adv. 主要地；大部分

Grey adj. 灰色的；灰白色的

Back-yard n. 后院

Jim 吉姆（男名）

Income n. 所得；收入

Expense n. 消费；花费

Rare adj. 稀有的；珍贵的

Worthy adj. 有价值的；配得上的；相称的

Own vt. 所有；拥有

Whirl vt. & vi. (使)旋转；（使）急转 n.旋转；眩晕；混乱

Brilliantly adv. 灿烂地；亮闪闪地

Length n. 长；长度

Possession n. 所有，拥有；所有物；财产

Take pride in 以……自豪；对……感到得意

Ripple vt. & vi. （使）起细流；（使）起伏；（使）飘动

Brown adj.褐色的，棕色的 n.褐色，棕色

Waterfall n.瀑布

Garment n.（一件）衣服；（尤指）长袍，外套

Nervously adv. 紧张不安地，神经质地

Hesitate vi. 踌躇；犹豫

Splash vt. & vi.泼；溅

Worn adj. 用旧的；穿坏的，穿旧的

Carpet n. 毛毯；地毯

Brilliant adj. 光辉的；辉煌的

Sparkle vt. & vi.（使）发火花；（使）闪耀 n.火花；闪光

Stair n. （常用复数）楼梯

Sofronie 索芙朗妮（姓）

Flight n. 楼梯的一段

Pause vi. & n. 中止；暂停；停留

Pant vi. & vt. 喘气；气喘吁吁地说 n.喘气

Wave n.波，波浪；波动

Practiced adj.熟练的，精通的

Speed (sped, sped) vi.迅速前进 vt.促进；使加速

Chain n.链；表链

Curl n.卷毛；卷发

Naughty adj. 顽皮的；淘气的

Critically adv.批判地；吹毛求疵地

Frying-pan n. 长柄平锅；煎锅

NOTES TO THE TEXT

1.       One dollar and eighty-seven cents. 相当于Della had one dollar and eighty-seven cents.
本文第四句Only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. 也相当于Della had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents.

2.       There was clearly nothing left to do but drop herself onto the shabby little couch and weep. 显然没有别的办法，她只好倒在那破旧的长沙发椅上哭泣。
nothing left to do but … 相当于could do nothing but… 跟在这种结构后面的不定式，往往省略to.

3.       When Della had finished crying she went to the window and looked out sadly at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey back-yard. 德拉哭过了以后，走到窗前，发愁地呆瞅着灰蒙蒙的后院里正沿着一道灰色的篱笆走着一只灰猫。
此句三处出现grey一词，是描写Della当时忧郁的心情。

4.       … and she had only ＄1.87 with which to buy Jim, her husband, a present. ……而她只能用她仅有的1.87美元给吉姆——她的丈夫买一件礼物。

5.       They always are.意思是Expenses are always greater than one calculates.本句用一般现在时，说明“情况一向如此”。

6.       Something fine and rare- something worthy of the honour of being owned by Jim. 要买一件精致而珍奇的东西，一件能配得上是属于吉姆的东西。

7.       Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but soon her face lost its colour. 她两眼闪光，晶莹明亮，可是突然她脸色苍白。
colour在这里是“脸色”、“血色”的意思。

8.       Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length. 她迅速地解开头发，让它披散下来。
pull down在这里作“解开”、“拆散”讲。

9.       It fell about her, rippling and shining like a brown waterfall 头发披散在她身上，好象褐色的小瀑布，波纹起伏，光可照人。
现在分词rippling and shining用作状语，修饰fell，表示伴随情况。

10.   She did her hair up again nervously and quickly. 她紧张不安地，迅速地又把头发扎好。
do up在这里是“捆”、“扎”、（头发）“向上梳挽”的意思。如：
Please do up these books and post them for Mr. Smith. 请把这些书捆起来寄给史密基斯先生。

11.   On went her old brown jacket. On went her old brown hat. 她（一下子）穿上她那件褐色的旧上衣，（刷地）戴上她那顶褐色的旧帽子。
上述两句都是倒装句，为了表达生动。

12.   She stopped at a sign that read: “Madame Sofronie. We Buy Hair Goods of All Kinds.” 她在一块招牌前站住，招牌上写着：“索芙朗妮夫人商店。本店收购各种头发。”

13.   It was even worthy of The Watch. 它甚至配得上那只金表。
The Watch指吉姆的金表。在这里用大写，以示强调。副词even也是用来加强语气。

14.   She looked at herself in the mirror long, carefully, and critically. 她对着镜子，带着挑剔的眼光久久地，仔细地审视着自己。
long在这里是副词，与carefully和critically一起修饰looked at。

15.   At 7 o’clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove, hot and ready to cook the supper. 到了七点钟，咖啡已经煮好了，煎锅也放在炉子上，烧热了准备做晚饭。

EXERCISES

Ⅰ. Answer the following questions:

1.       Why did Della count her money on Christmas Eve?
1) How many times did Della count her money?
2) How much money did she have?
3) What did she want to buy with the money?

2.       She wept, didn’t she? Why was she feeling sad?
1) Did she have enough money to buy her husband a Christmas present?
2) What did she do when she had finished crying?
3) Can you explain why the author（作者）writes about “a grey cat walking along a grey fence in a grey back-yard”? What feeling goes with the colour grey?

3.       What kind of life did Della and Jim lead?
1) How much income did they have a week?
2) Had Della tried to save as much as she could?
3) Why couldn’t Della save more?

4.       What did Della decide to do to get enough money to buy Jim a present?
1) What did Jim and Della both take pride in? Why?
2) What was Della going to do with her hair?
3) “Her eyes were shining brilliantly but soon her face lost its colour.” What does this sentence tell us about Della’s feelings?

5.       How much was Della paid for her hair?
1) Whom did she sell her hair to?
2) What did Madame Sofronie tell Della to do?
3) How much money did she offer Della for her hair?

6.       What did Della buy for Jim?
1) Did Della quickly find Jim a present worthy of the gold watch? How long did she search the shops for the present?
2) Why did she choose the gold watch chain?
3) How much did the gold chain cost her?

7.       What did Della do when she was back at home?
1) What did she do with her hair?
2) Then she began to cook supper, didn’t she?

Ⅱ. For each word or phrase in Column B find a word of similar meaning in Column A:

A             B

1.       Count           the distance from one end to the other

2.       Pause           rise or fall gently

3.       Chain           short stop while doing or saying something

4.       Hesitate         to say or name the numbers in order

5.       Sob             to pause in or before an action

6.       Couch           to breathe while weeping

7.       Income          very brightly

8.       Length           long bed-like seat for sitting on or lying on

9.       Ripple          money received during a given period

10.   Brilliantly        number of rings passing through one another to make a line.

Ⅲ. Try to retell the text in about 100 words. Do not use any direct speech. You may begin like this:

It was Christmas Eve and Della was unhappy because she did not have enough …
Ⅳ. Choose the appropriate words from the following list to replace the italicized words in the sentences below:

1.brilliantly 2.worthy of 3.tiny 4.take pride in 5.pause 6.whirled 7.presents 8.weep 9.searched 10.speeding

1) On my birthday I received some gifts from my friends.

2) At the sight of the jewels Mathilde’s eyes shone brightly.

3) He doesn’t think there is anything he can be proud of.

4) While reading aloud you should stop at the right places.

5) The girl was hit by a car that was going very quickly past the school.

6) I looked everywhere in the room for my watch.

7) The gold chain was good enough for Jim’s watch.

8) You can find many very small islands in the South China Sea.

9) She began to cry when the news reached her.

10) Suddenly she turned and ran out of the room.

Ⅴ. Tell the function of the infinitives, present participles and gerunds in the following sentences:

1.       Then he began to talk to us about the French language.

2.       What surprised me most was to see some women kneeling on the ground at the end of the room.

3.       We are all very happy to hear the news.

4.       I liked to wash my face with cold water when I was at school.

5.       Who are all those people standing before the bulletin board?

6.       It fell about her, rippling and shining like a brown waterfall.

7.       I could hear birds whistling at the edge of the woods, and the Prussians drilling in the meadow behind the sawmill.

8.       He stood at his bench without daring to lift his head.

9.       He saw them pulling the house down.

10.   The poor boy held his head up, and asked for something to eat.

Ⅵ. Turn the following into indirect speech:

Model: He said to me, “I am busy now.” → He told me that he was busy then.

1.       The schoolmaster said to the students, “The lesson is over.”

2.       “We are busy preparing for the examination,” the students said.

3.       “I borrowed the carpet from a friend of mine,” Helen said.

4.       Tom said, “I’m sorry I made such a bad mistake.”

5.       “Help the boy to look up the word in the dictionary,” the schoolmaster said to me.

6.       “How many pages have you read today?” Billy asked Jack.

7.       “Have you made any plans for next year?” he asked.

Ⅶ. Read the following, then answer the questions:

Soapy

Soapy was worried. The days were getting colder, and winter was near. Even now, it was very cold in the park where he slept. At night, he needed many, many newspapers to keep himself warm.

For many years, Soapy had slept in the prison during the winters. The prison was warm and he was well fed there. It was like a hotel for poor people.

Now it was time for Soapy to go to his hotel again. But in order to get in, he had to get arrested.

“Let me see,” he asked himself, “how can I get arrested?” “Well,” he answered himself, “there are many ways. The best way is to have a fine meal at an expensive restaurant. Then, because I can’t pay for it, the police will come and take me to prison.”

There was a very good restaurant across the street, so he tried to go in. But the doorman saw Soapy’s shabby, dirty clothes and wouldn’t let him in.

“Now what shall I do?” Soapy thought as he walked away from the restaurant. Then he saw a big shop window.

“If I break that window, the police will be sure to arrest me. I don’t really want to break the window, but I must have a warm place to sleep this winter,” he thought to himself. So he picked up a stone and threw it – CRASH –through the window.

Hearing the sound, a lot of people came running to see what had happened. A policeman was with them.

“Who broke this window?” the policeman shouted.

“I did it,” Soapy said happily. But the policeman did not believe him.

“Don’t bother me,” said the policeman. “People who break windows don’t wait for the police.”

Then he saw a man running to catch a bus.

“There’s the man who did it. Stop! Stop!” the policeman shouted, and he ran after that man.

“Now what shall I do?” Soapy thought as he walked away from the broken window. As he walked, he began to get hungry. After a while, he saw a very cheap restaurant.

“Well,” he said to himself, “if I can’t get arrested at an expensive restaurant, maybe I can get arrested here.” He walked into the restaurant, sat down, and ordered their best food.

“Sorry, but I don’t have any money,” he said to the waiter after he had finished eating. “Aren’t you going to call a policeman?”

“We don’t need any policeman here,” the waiter said. Then he called another waiter, and they threw Soapy out of the restaurant.

(To be continued)

Soapy 索皮（人名） arrest vt.逮捕，拘捕

1.       What was Soapy worried about?

2.       Where had Soapy spent many winters?

3.       Why did Soapy want to get himself arrested?

4.       What did he think was the best way to get arrested?

5.       Did the doorman of the expensive restaurant let him in? Why not?

6.       Soapy picked up a stone and threw it through the window of a shop, didn’t he?

7.       Did the policeman believe what Soapy said? Why not?

8.       What did the waiter of the cheap restaurant do to him?

 

LESSON FIFTEEN

THE GIFTS

(Continued)

 

Jim was never late. Della held the gold chain tightly in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door by which he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stairs, and she turned pale for just a moment.

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two – and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and his shoes were old and worn.

As soon as Jim stepped inside the door, he stood still. His eyes were fixed upon Della. There was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the emotions that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her with that peculiar expression on his face.

Della jumped off the table and went to him. “Jim!” she cried, “don’t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It’ll grow again – you don’t mind, do you? I just had to do it. My hair grows very fast, you know. Say ‘Merry Christmas!” Jim, and let’s be happy. You don’t know what a nice – what a beautiful, nice gift I’ve got for you.”

“You’ve cut off your hair?” asked Jim, slowly, as if he had not yet understood that obvious fact even after the hardest mental labour.

“I’ve cut it off and sold it,” said Della. “it’s sold, I tell you – sold and gone. It’s Christmas Eve, Jim. Be good to me, for it went for you.”

Jim seemed quickly to wake out of his trance. He drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

“Don’t make any mistake about me, Della,” he said, “I don’t think there’s anything about a haircut that could make me love you any less. But if you unwrap that package you will see why I was upset at first.”

Della’s fingers tore at the string and paper. Then came an excited scream of joy, and then, alas! A quick change to tears.

For there lay The Combs – the set of combs that Della had worshipped for many months in a shopwindow. Beautiful combs, pure tortoiseshell, with jewels set in – just the colour to wear in her beautiful hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had longed for them without the least hope of possession. And now they were hers, but with her hair gone there could be no use for them.

But she hugged them to her chest, and at last she was able to look up with tearful eyes and a smile and say: “My hair grows so fast, Jim!”

Then Della remembered something else and cried, “Oh, oh!”

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful gift. She held it out to him eagerly in her open hand.

“Isn’t it lovely, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.”

Instead of obeying, Jim dropped onto the couch, put his hands under the back of his head, and similed.

“Della,” said he, “let’s put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They’re too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs … And now, let’s have our supper.”

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

Tightly adv. 紧地，牢固地

Step n. 脚步声

Burden n. 担子，负担 vt. 使负重担；劳累

Overcoat n. 大衣

Fix upon 注视，凝视

Read vt. 看懂，辨认；觉察

Disapproval n. 不赞成；不满意

Horror n.恐怖；厌恶

Emotion n. 感情；情绪；激动

Be prepared for … 对……作好准备

Peculiar adj. 特殊的；奇怪的；与众不同的

Merry adj. 欢乐的，愉快的 Merry Christmas! 祝圣诞节快乐！

Obvious adj. 明显的，显而易见的；显著的

Mental adj. 精神的；脑力的，智力的

Labour n. 劳动

Eve n. （节日或大事件发生的）前夕 Christmas Eve圣诞节前夕（十二月二十四日）

Trance n.恍惚；出神；发呆

Haircut n. 理发

Unwrap vt. & vi.打开；解开

Upset adj. 难过的；不安的

String n. 细绳；带子

Scream n.刺耳的声音；尖叫声

Comb n. 梳子

Set n.（一）套，（一）部 vt. 镶，嵌

Worship n., vi. & vt. 崇拜；爱慕；尊敬

Shopwindow n.商店橱窗

Pure adj. 纯的

Tortoiseshell n. 龟甲；玳瑁壳

Jewel n. 宝石

Long (for) vi.渴望，极想念

Hug vt. 紧抱；抱住

Tearful adj. 眼泪汪汪的；含泪的

Eagerly adv.渴望地，热切地

Lovely adj.可爱的；好看的，美好的

Hunt vt. 追猎，猎取；追赶，搜索 vi. 打猎；搜寻；搜索

Put away 放好，把……收起来

At present 目前，现在

NOTES TO THE TEXT

1.       Della jumped off the table and went to him. 德拉从桌边跳下来，向他走去。

2.       I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present.我把头发剪掉卖了，因为不送你一件礼物，我简直过不了圣诞节。
couldn’t have lived是虚拟语气；without giving …作状语，表示条件。

3.       … as if he had not yet understood that obvious fact even after the hardest mental labour. ……仿佛即使经过最艰苦的思索之后，还没有把那显而易见的事实弄明白似的。

4.       … for it went for you ……因为头发卖掉是为了你呀。
句中go是“给出”、“卖掉”的意思，如：That old box went cheap. 那只旧箱子卖得很便宜。

5.       Della’s fingers tore at the string and paper. 德拉的手指撕扯着绳子和包装纸。
tear at 是“撕”、“扯”的意思。Tear用作及物动词，则是“撕开”、“扯破”的意思。如：
He tore at the box, anxious to see what was inside it. 他撕着盒子，急切地想看看里面是什么。
The child tore a page out of a book.那孩子扯掉了一页书。

6.       … and her heart had longed for them without the least hope of possession. ……她对那套梳子虽然心向神往，但是心里丝毫没有存着会得到它的希望。

7.       … but with her hair gone there could be no use for them. ……但是头发已经卖掉，梳子还有什么用呢。
with her hair gone用作状语，表示原因。

EXERCISES

Ⅰ. Answer the following questions:

1.       How did Della feel when she heard Jim’s step on the stairs?
1) Did Jim come back late that evening?
2) What did Della do before her husband came back?
3) Why did she turn pale for just a moment?

2.       How did Jim feel when he saw his wife?
1) What did Jim look like?
2) Why should a man of only twenty-two look so thin and serious?
3) Had he expected to see his wife’s hair cut off?
  What kind of expression could be seen on his face?

3.       Why was Jim upset when he heard that Della had sold her hair?
1) What did Della tell him about her hair?
2) What did Jim take out of his pocket?
  What was in the package?
3) Could there be any use for the combs with Della’s hair cut off and sold?

4.       How did Della comfort her husband?
1) Can you say something about the combs?
2) Was Della glad to see the beautiful combs? Then why did she cry?
3) What did she say to comfort Jim and what did she show him?

5.       Why did Jim drop, onto the couch instead of handing his watch over to Della?
1) What did Della say as she showed Jim the gold chain?
2) Jim didn’t take out his watch, did he?
3) What had happened to his watch?

6.       How do you think Jim and Della felt on that Christmas Eve?
1) Do you think Jim and Della loved each other very much? Why do you think so?
2) Did each of them make the other happy on that Christmas Eve?
3) Do you think Jim’s was the only family who could have had such an experience?

Ⅱ. For each word or phrase in Column B find a word or phrase of similar meaning in Column A:

A           B

1.sorrow          feel or cause to feel trouble

2.emotion         regret, sadness

3.pure            closely, firmly

4.long for         strong feeling of any kind

5.tightly          not mixed with anything else

6.upset           want very much

7.string           give a loud, sharp cry of fear or pain

8.scream          fine cord for tying things

Ⅲ. Try to retell the text in about 100 words. Do not use any direct speech. You may begin like this:

When Jim got home, he was upset to see Della’s hair cut off because he had bought her …

Ⅳ. Translate the following into Chinese and tell what part of speech each of the italicized words is:

1.       My daughter has longed for this set of beautiful combs.
I knew him long before I knew you.
Winter seems to be very long here.

2.       How still everything is! There’s not a sound to be heard.
It seems he is going to fail, but he is still hopeful.

3.       Do you mind if I bring her in?
An idea has just come into my mind.
The manager asked him to keep his mind on his work.

4.       The wind has changed from north to east.
She used to be shy, but has changed since she went to college.
Will you change a ten-dollar bill into ten one-dollar bills for me?

5.       The weather shows no sign of getting better.
The sign reads: “Keep off the grass.”
The policeman signed for us to stop.

Ⅴ. Add dis-, un- or im- to the beginning of the words in brackets, then use them to complete the following sentences:

Model: He is nearsighted. He is     to see things far away. (able) →
         He is nearsighted. He is unable to see thins far away.

1.       There was a lot of noise outside the room. It was       for me to have a good rest. (possible)

2.       The poor old Minister couldn’t see anything on the looms. He thought he must be        for his office.(fit)

3.       It is almost 500 years since Christopher Columbus（克里斯托弗.哥伦布）      the continent of America. (covered)

4.       The fisherman set the Genie free from the jar. But the Genie wanted to kill the fisherman. That was      , don’t you think? (fair)

5.       The snowman        soon after the sun came out. (appeared)

6.       He was so tired that he lay down and went to sleep without      .(dressing)

Ⅵ. Put the following into direct speech:

Model: She said that she was very happy. → She said, “I am very happy.”

1.       The father told his daughter he was quite pleased with her work.

2.       My father told him his name was Albert Borden.

3.       She said she had been away from home for over ten years.

4.       Ann said she was expecting a letter from her grandma.

5.       Jack said that was the finest film he had ever seen.

6.       The head of the department told him to sit down and keep quiet.

7.       Mr. Crossett told the boy not to think any more about it.

8.       My mother asked whether Aunt Li would be at the party the next evening.

9.       Father told us to come back soon.

10.   He asked if Helen lived there.

Ⅶ. Read the following, then answer the questions:

Soapy

(Continued)

“If I don’t get arrested, I can’t go to prison for the winter. I have to get myself arrested.” Soapy though, “but how?”

Then he saw a young lady who was window-shopping. There was a big policeman standing near her.

“If I bother her, the policeman will arrest me,” Soapy thought, “Excuse me, Miss,” he asked the lady, “but wouldn’t you like to go for a walk with me?”

“Sure,” the woman said happily. “Will you buy me something to drink?”

This was not what Soapy had expected her to say. He had expected her to call the policeman. Soapy was very surprised, and he ran away as fast as he could. He ran for many blocks. When he stopped, he was on a crowded street.

“Maybe,” he thought, “I can get myself arrested if I bother all of these people.” And he began to make a lot of noise. There were two policemen standing on the corner, but they didn’t pay any attention to Soapy.

Again Soapy failed to get himself arrested. Disappointed, he walked away. “What shall I do now?” he thought, Then he saw a man with an umbrella. The man set his umbrella down to light a cigarette. Soapy quickly picked up the man’s umbrella and began to walk away with it.

“Stop,” the man said, “that’s my umbrella.”

“Is it?” replied Soapy. “Call a policeman then.”

“Well,” the man answered, “if you really think it’s yours … I picked it up in a restaurant this morning and … if it’s yours …” Then the man began to run away.

“I’ve tried and tried, still I can’t get myself arrested,” thought Soapy. And, leaving the umbrella there, he walked away.

He came to a little church on a quiet street. Inside the church, some people were practicing some songs for Sunday. Soapy stopped outside and listened to the songs. They reminded him of his childhood, and Soapy began to think.

“I’ve been bad. But I’m still young. I’ll get a job tomorrow. I’ll stop living in the park. I’ll stop going to prison every winter. I’ll …” Just then, a policeman came up to Soapy.

“What are you doing here?” the policeman asked.

“Nothing,” Soapy replied.

“Nothing? You must be up to something. I know people like you,” the policeman said roughly. “Come along with me.”

And so Soapy was sent to prison.

Window-shop vi.观看橱窗（而不买） in that case 既然是那样 up to 从事；正在于 crowded adj.拥挤 remind vt.使想起 roughly adv.粗暴地；粗糙地

1.       Why did Soapy want to go to prison for the winter?

2.       What did Soapy expect the young woman to do?

3.       Why did he begin to make a lot of noise?

4.       Did the policemen pay any attention to him?

5.       What did he do next? Did the umbrella belong to the man? How do you know?

6.       Where was Soapy finally arrested? What was he thinking at that time?

What do you think of the story?