Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Valentine's Night consonance (n) the repetition of the same sounds (particularly consonants) within words that are nearby It was when the shadows grew long and the last streak of winter sunlight sank behind the trees that Grandma was at her worst. There was something about the dying light that brought on her confusion, as if the shadows and dark corners of the house held her memories, and she couldn't quite see them anymore. They were there, but just out of reach. Evan walked into the kitchen a little after five o'clock and found Grandma in front of the open pantry. She was pulling cans and boxes off the shelves, stacking them up on the floor all around

第十五章情人节之夜的辅音（尤指辅音）在邻近的单词中重复相同的音。当阴影变得越来越长，最后一缕冬日的阳光落在树后的时候，奶奶的情况最糟了。 昏暗的光线让她感到困惑，仿佛房子里的阴影和黑暗的角落都保存着她的记忆，而她再也看不清了。 他们就在那里，只是够不着。 5点刚过，埃文走进厨房，发现奶奶站在敞开的食品储藏室前。 她把罐头和盒子从架子上拿下来，堆在地板上

her. Usually she napped until six, waking up just in time for dinner, but sometimes she had trouble settling down. Evan noticed that her shirt was untucked and her feet were bare. Not a good sign. "Hey, Grandma," said Evan. He had learned not to come too close to Grandma when she was confused without first giving her a little warning. Sometimes, it made her feel scared when Evan walked up to her too quickly. "This is bad," said Grandma. "We don't have any of the things we need." Evan wondered whether he should go upstairs and get his mother, then remembered that she had gone to the hardware store. She would be back soon. He had to keep his grandmother calm until his mother came back. "What do we need?" he asked. "Well, everything. It's going to be a very long winter. And we don't have... anything." She swept her hand in front of the pantry, which was

她的。通常她会一直睡到六点，醒来时正好赶上吃晚饭，但有时她很难静下心来。 埃文注意到她的衬衫没塞，脚也光着。 这不是一个好兆头。“嘿，奶奶，”埃文说。 他已经学会了，在奶奶糊涂的时候，不先给她一点警告，就不要走得太近。 有时，埃文走得太快会让她感到害怕。 “这太糟糕了，”奶奶说。 “我们需要的东西都没有。” 埃文不知道他是否应该上楼去叫他妈妈，然后想起她去五金店了。 她很快就会回来。他必须让祖母保持冷静，直到他母亲回来。 “我们需要什么？”他问。 “嗯,一切。这将是一个漫长的冬天。 我们没有…任何事情。” 她用手在食品储藏室前扫了一下，那是

overflowing with food. "There are no beans. No tomatoes. Squash. Corn. Peppers. Applesauce. Nothing! We're going to starve this winter! You can't live on love, you know!" Evan slowly inched his way across the room. His grandmother had grown up on a farm where they had raised most of the food they ate. And even though her farm wasn't really a "working" farm anymore, she still kept an enormous vegetable garden there through the summer and canned every fall. Evan always loved to look at the rows and rows of sealed glass jars cooling on the shelves in the canning shed when Grandma put up peaches and plums from the trees on her farm. But what would become of the garden this summer now that Grandma lived with them? Evan imagined the tangled overgrowth, the choking weeds, the fence fallen down. "We've got some tomatoes," said Evan. "See?" He opened another cupboard and pulled down a

塞满了食物。“没有豆子。 没有西红柿。南瓜。玉米。 辣椒。苹果酱。没有什么!今年冬天我们要挨饿了！你不能靠爱情生活，你知道的！”埃文慢慢地挪动身子穿过房间。 他的祖母在一个农场长大，他们吃的大部分食物都是在那里养大的。 即使她的农场不再是一个真正的“工作”农场，她仍然在那里整个夏天都有一个巨大的菜园，每年秋天都有罐头。 当奶奶从农场的树上摘下桃子和李子，埃文总是喜欢看着一排排密封的玻璃罐在罐头棚里的架子上冷却。 但是，既然奶奶和他们住在一起，这个夏天花园会变成什么样子呢？ 埃文想象着纠结的杂草，令人窒息的杂草，倒下的篱笆。 “我们有一些西红柿，”埃文说。 “看到了吗?”他打开另一个橱柜，拉下一个

store-bought can of tomatoes. Grandma walked quickly across the room and snatched up the can. She could move surprisingly fast for an eighty-year-old woman. "What is this? What is this?" She put the can on the floor and immediately started rummaging through the newly opened cupboard. Uh-oh, thought Evan. That was a mistake. He had to think of something to calm her down, something to distract her from the food in the cupboards, or else the entire floor would be covered in food and it would take hours to put everything away. "Grandma, did you know today is Valentine's Day?" It was actually the day before Valentine's Day, but Evan was betting his grandmother wouldn't know that. "It isn't day at all," said Grandma, waving absently at the window. "Well, Valentine's Night, then. Okay?" "Hmmph," said Grandma, not slowing down a bit. She had gotten into the baking stuff and was

从商店买的一罐西红柿。 奶奶迅速穿过房间，抓起罐头。 对于一个八十岁的女人来说，她的行动速度快得惊人。 “这是什么？”这是什么？”她把罐头放在地板上，立即开始在新打开的橱柜里翻找。 哦哦，埃文想。这是一个错误。 他必须想办法让她平静下来，让她不去看橱柜里的食物，否则整个地板都会被食物覆盖，要花好几个小时才能把东西收拾好。 “奶奶，你知道今天是情人节吗？”那是情人节的前一天，但埃文打赌他的祖母不会知道。 “根本就不是白天，”奶奶说着，心不在焉地朝窗户挥了挥手。 “好吧，那就过情人节吧。 没事吧?”“嗯，”奶奶说，丝毫没有放慢脚步。 她已经开始做烘焙材料了

hauling out bags of flour and cornmeal. "We can use this," she said, setting aside the five-pound bag of sugar. "I have a valentine for you. Do you want to see it?" Evan was starting to feel a little desperate. When Grandma got like this, there was no telling what direction she might go in. He looked at the clock: five fifteen. When would his mother get back from her errand? "Come on," he said, gently taking her hand and pulling her away from the cupboard. "I'll show you your valentine." Luckily, she came along without a fight. His grandmother might be old, but she was still strong, and Evan was glad he didn't have to tussle with her. Halfway up the stairs, she asked, "Where are we going?" Evan said, "I have a valentine for you. Today is Valentine's Day." His grandmother smiled. "I love Valentine's Day." Then a few steps later she asked, "Where

拖出一袋袋面粉和玉米粉。 “我们可以用这个，”她一边说，一边把那袋五磅重的糖放在一边。 “我有一个情人节礼物要送给你。 你想看看吗？”埃文开始感到有点绝望了。 奶奶这样的时候，谁也不知道她会往哪个方向走。 他看了看钟：五点十五分。 他母亲什么时候出差回来？ “来吧，”他说着，轻轻地拉着她的手，把她从碗柜边拉开。 “我给你看你的情人节礼物。” 幸运的是，她来的时候没有打架。 他的祖母可能老了，但她仍然很强壮，埃文很高兴他不必和她搏斗。 上了一半楼梯，她问：“我们要去哪儿？”艾凡说：“我有一个情人节礼物要送给你。 今天是情人节。” 他的祖母笑了。“我爱情人节。” 过了几步，她又问：“在哪儿

are we going?" In his room, Evan gently seated his grandmother on the edge of his bed. He was glad Jessie's door was closed and had the Locked sign up. She had been working all day on her newspaper, and Evan hoped she'd stay in there until their mother got home. Jessie didn't like seeing Grandma confused. It made her anxious, and then she'd start to shout, which made the situation worse. Evan would have to handle this alone. "See?" he said. "I wrapped it and everything." He handed the package to his grandmother, wondering if she would open it. You could never be sure with Grandma these days. "For me?" She giggled. "I love surprises. Thank you!" Quickly she tore off the paper, then read aloud the framed poem that Evan had copied over five times until he got it just right. a tree(doesn't have)

我们走吗？”在他的房间里，埃文轻轻地让他的祖母坐在他的床边。 他很高兴杰西的门是关着的，而且挂着上锁的牌子。 她一整天都在做报纸，埃文希望她能呆在那里，直到他们的母亲回家。 杰西不喜欢看到奶奶困惑。 这让她感到焦虑，然后她开始大喊大叫，这让情况变得更糟。 埃文必须独自处理这件事。 “看到了吗?”他说。“我把它包起来了。” 他把包裹递给祖母，不知道她是否会打开。 这些日子，你对奶奶的看法永远都不确定。 “给我的?”她咯咯笑了。“我喜欢惊喜。 谢谢你!”她迅速撕下那张纸，然后大声朗读那首装在镜框里的诗，埃文已经抄了五遍，直到他写对为止。 一棵树（没有）