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第1章 病魔来袭
In a little district west of Washington Square, the streets have run crazy and have broken the district into strange shapes. This district is called Greenwich Village. An artist once discovered a valuable feature of this district. On such streets, it is very likely that a bill collector with a bill for paints, paper, and canvas would get lost while trying to find the address of the artist who owes him money! So, artists came in large numbers to quaint, old Greenwich Village.
At the top of an ugly, three-story brick apartment building, Sue and Johnsy rented a small studio. Sue was from Maine; Johnsy was from California. They had met at a small cafe on Eighth Street and found that their tastes in art, food, and clothes were so much alike that they decided to rent a place together. That was in May.
In November, a cold, unseen stranger whom the doctors called pneumonia came to Greenwich Village, touching people here and there with his icy fingers. A small woman with blood thinned by the warm California sun was no match for the tough and deadly illness. Johnsy got pneumonia, and it made her very ill. She lay, hardly moving, on her iron–framed bed, looking through the small window at the brick wall of the building next door.
One morning, the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway. His eyes were sad under his bushy gray eyebrows.
"She has one chance in –let us say, ten," he said, as he looked at his clinical thermometer. "And that chance depends on her will to live. Sometimes when people give up trying to live, it doesn't matter what medicines I give. Your friend has decided, for some reason, that she is not going to get well."
"Is she worried about anything?" continued the doctor.
"She...she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day," said Sue.
"Paint? Nonsense! Does she have any important worries, like about a man, for instance?"
"A man?" asked Sue, with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "Is a man worth dying for? But, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind."
"Well, she is weak," said the doctor. "I will do all that science, as I understand it, can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the days until her own funeral, I subtract 50 percent from the power of medicine to cure. If you could get her to ask one question about the new winter clothing styles, I will promise you a onein-five chance for her, instead of one-in-ten."
After the doctor had gone, Sue went into the workroom and cried her eyes dry. Then she walked carelessly into Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling a popular and lively tune.
Johnsy lay, scarcely making a move under the bedsheets, with her face toward the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking she was asleep.
Sue arranged her board and began a pen-and-ink drawing to illustrate a magazine story. Young artists must find their ways to true Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors must write to find their ways to true Literature.
As Sue was sketching a pair of elegant trousers and a cowboy hat on the figure of the hero, an Idaho cowboy, she heard a low sound, several times repeated. She went quickly to the bedside.
Johnsy's eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting–counting backward.
"Twelve," she said, and a little later, "eleven"; and then "ten," and "nine"; and then "eight" and "seven,"almost together.
Sue looked curiously out the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick building eight meters away. An old, old ivy vine climbed halfway up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had blown its leaves from the branches.
"What is it, dear?" asked Sue.
"Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago, there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now."
"Five what, dear? Tell your Susie."
"Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls, I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn't the doctor tell you?"
"Oh, I've never heard of such nonsense," complained Sue, with magnificent scorn. "What do old ivy leaves have to do with your getting well? And you used to love that vine, you silly girl. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well very soon were–let's see exactly what he said–he said the chances were ten to one! Why, that's almost as good a chance as we have in New York when we ride on the subway or walk past a new building. Try to eat some soup now and let Susie go back to her drawing, so she can sell it to the editor. Then I'll buy some port wine for my sick friend, and pork chops for my own greedy self."
"You don't have to get any more wine," said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. "There goes another. No, I don't want any broth. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I'll go, too."
"Johnsy, dear," said Sue, bending over her, "will you promise me to keep your eyes closed and not to look out the window until I am done working? I must hand those drawings in by tomorrow. I need the light, or I would draw the shade down."
"Couldn't you draw in the other room?" asked Johnsy, coldly.
"I'd rather be here by you," said Sue. "Besides, I don't want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves."
"Tell me as soon as you have finished," said Johnsy, closing her eyes and lying white and still as a fallen statue, "because I want to see the last one fall. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to let go of everything and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."
"Try to sleep," said Sue. "I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old Western miner. I'll be right back. Don't move until I come back."
pneumonia n. 肺炎
district n. 地区，区域
square n. 广场
shape n. 形状
discover v. 发现
valuable adj. 有价值的
feature n. 特点
bill n. 账单
canvas n. 画布
get lost 迷路
owe v. 欠（钱）
quaint adj. 奇异的，古怪的
ugly adj. 难看的
three-story adj. 三层楼的
brick n. 砖
rent v. 租，租住
studio n. 工作室
cafe n. 小餐馆，咖啡馆
taste n. 品味，鉴赏力
alike adj. 相同的，相似的
unseen adj. 看不见的
icy adj. 冰冷的
thin v. 使变淡
match n. 对手
tough adj. 严酷的
deadly adj. 致命的
illness n. 疾病
lie v. 躺
(lie-lay-lain)
hallway n. 走廊
bushy adj. 浓密的
eyebrow n. 眉毛
clinical thermometer 体温计
depend on 依靠，依赖
will n. 意志，决心
give up 放弃
matter v. 要紧，有重要性
medicine n. 药物
get well 恢复
the Bay of Naples 那不勒斯湾（意大利南部旅游胜地）
for instance 比如，例如
a touch of 有一点
sarcasm n. 讽刺，挖苦
be worth doing sth. 值得做某事
accomplish v. 完成，实现
patient n. 病人
count v. 数，计数
funeral n. 葬礼
subtract v. 减去，扣除
cure v. 治疗
instead of 而不是
workroom n. 工作室
cry one's eyes dry 痛哭
drawing board 画板
whistle v. 吹口哨
lively adj. 欢快的
tune n. 曲子
scarcely adv. 几乎不
make a move 动弹
bedsheet n. 被单
asleep adj. 睡着的，熟睡的
arrange v. 安排，摆设
pen-and-ink adj. 钢笔画的
illustrate v. 配插图
magazine n. 杂志
author n. 作者
literature n. 文学
sketch v. 绘略图，勾画
elegant adj. 优美的
figure n. 轮廓，体形
hero n. （男）主角
repeat v. 重复
bedside n. 床边
curiously adv. 好奇地
bare adj. 光秃的，荒凉的
dreary adj. 阴沉的
yard n. 庭院，院子
blank adj. 空白的
ivy vine 常春藤
climb v. 爬
halfway adv. 在半路
breath n. 气息，呼吸
autumn n. 秋季
blow v. 吹，刮
(blow-blew-blown)
in a whisper 小声地
ache v. 疼，痛
complain v. 埋怨
magnificent adj. 夸张的
scorn n. 讽刺
have to do with 与……有关
silly adj. 愚蠢的
exactly adj. 确切地
ride v. 乘坐，搭乘
(ride-rode-ridden)
subway n. 地铁
soup n. 汤
editor n. 编辑
port wine 波尔图葡萄酒
pork chop 猪排
greedy adj. 贪吃的
fix v. 固定
broth n. （鱼、肉或蔬菜）原汤
bend over 俯身
hand in 上交
draw down 拉下来
shade n. 百叶窗
would rather 宁可
besides adv. 此外
still adj. 不动的
statue n. 塑像，雕像
be tired of 厌倦
let go of 放开
miner n. 矿工
It made my head ache to count them.
数得我头都疼了。
make＋sb. / sth.＋ 动词原形：让……做……
e.g. My father made me give up marrying her.
我父亲让我放弃了娶她的念头。
And you used to love that vine, you silly girl.
傻姑娘，你过去那么喜欢那棵藤。
used to＋ 动词原形：过去（经常）做……
e.g. I used to enjoy climbing mountains.
我过去很喜欢爬山。
Tell me as soon as you have finished.
那你一画完就马上告诉我。
as soon as ：一……就……
e.g. We will leave this country as soon as we get married.
我们一结婚就离开这个国家。
A 根据故事内容判断正误，正确的选T，错误的选F。
① Greenwich Village was perfect for artists who wanted to escape from bill collectors.
T F
② Johnsy was from the cold north; Sue was from the warm south.
T F
③ Johnsy and Sue met in college as roommates.
T F
④ Sue made money by drawing advertisements for magazines.
T F
B 用所给词语的适当形式填空。
whistle sketch get well count look
① As Sue was _____________ a cowboy, she heard a low moaning sound.
② Johnsy lay on her bed _____________ through her window at a brick wall.
③ What do old ivy leaves have to do with your _____________?
④ Sue came into Johnsy's room, _____________ a popular tune.
⑤ Johnsy was _____________ backward: "Eight-seven-six..."
C 选择正确的答案。
① What does Johnsy believe?
(a) She believes she will die when the night falls.
(b) She believes she will die when the first snowflake falls.
(c) She believes she will die when the last leaf falls from the ivy.
② What does the doctor tell Sue?
(a) That Johnsy's chances of survival will increase if she becomes interested in fashion.
(b) That Johnsy must find the will to live.
(c) That Johnsy should move to a warmer apartment.
D 选择适当的词填空。
unseen climbed breath touching blown
1. In November, a cold, ①_____________ stranger whom the doctors called pneumonia came to Greenwich Village, ②_____________ people here and there with his icy fingers.
2. An old, old ivy vine ③_____________ halfway up the brick wall. The cold ④_____________ of autumn had ⑤_____________ its leaves from the branches.
答案
A ① T
② F
③ F
④ F
B ① sketching
② looking
③ getting well
④ whistling
⑤ counting
C ① (c)
② (b)
D ① unseen
② touching
③ climbed
④ breath
⑤ blown