UnitEight: YoeGoYourWay，I'llGoMine

Ayoungboyfacestheimpossibletaskoftryingtosoftentheblowoftragicmews.

YouGoYourWay, I'llGoMine

ThemessengergotoffhisbicycleinfrontofthehouseofMrs. RosaSandoval. Hewenttothedoorandknockedgently. Heknewalmostimmediatelythatsomeonewasinsidethehouse. Hecouldnothearanything, buthewassuretheknockwasbringingsomeonetothedoorandhewasmosteagertoseewhothispersonwouldbe-- hiswomannamedRosaSandovalwhowasnowtoheatofmurderintheworldandtofeelitinherself. Thedoorwasnotalongtimeopening, buttherewasnohurryinthewayitmovedonitshinges. Themovementofthedoorwasasif, whoevershewas, sheandnothingintheworldtofear. Thenthedoorwasopen, andthereshewas.
ToHomertheMexicanwomanwasbeautiful. Hecouldseethatshehadbeenpatientallherlife, sothatnow, afteryearsofit, herlipsweresetinagentleandsaintlysmile. Butlikeallpeoplewhoneverreceivetelegramstheappearanceofamessengeratthefrontdoorisfullofterribleimplication. HomerknewthatMrs. RosaSandovalwasshockedtoseehim. Herfirstwordwasthefirstwordofallsurprise. Shesaid"Oh," asifinsteadofamessengershehadthoughtofopeningthedoortosomeoneshehadknowalongtimeandwouldbepleasedtositdownwith. BeforeshespokeagainshestudiedHomer'seyesandHomerKnewthatsheknewthemessagewasnotawelcomeone.
"Youhaveatelegram?" shesaid.
Itwasn'tHomer'sfault. Hisworkwastodelivertelegrams. Evenso, itseemedtohimthathewaspartofthewholemistake. Hefeltawkwardandalmostasifhealonewereresponsibleforwhathadhappened. Atthesametimehewantedtocomerightoutandsay, "I'monlyamessenger, Mrs. Sandoval, I'mverysorryImustbringyouatelegramlikethis, butitisonlybecauseitismyworktodoso."
"Whoisitfor?" theMexicanwomansaid.
"Mrs. RosaSandoval, 1129 GStreet." Homersaid. HeextendedthetelegramtotheMexicanwoman, butshewouldnottouchit.
"AreyouMrs. Sandoval?" Homersaid.
"Please," thewomansaid. "Pleasecomein. IcannotreadEnglish. IamMexican. IreadonlyLaPrensawhichcomesfromMexicoCity." Shepausedamomentandlookedattheboystandingawkwardlyasnearthedoorashecouldbeandstillbeinsidethehouse.
"Please," shesaid, "whatdoesthetelegramsay?"
"Mrs. Sandoval," themessengersaid, "thetelegramsays--"
Butnowthewomaninterruptedhim. "Butyoumustopenthetelegramandreadittome," shesaid. "Youhavenotopenedit."
"Yes, ma'am," Homersaidasifhewerespeakingtoaschoolteacherwhohadjustcorrectedhim.
Heopenedthetelegramwithnervousfingers. TheMexicanwomanstoopedtopickupthetornenvelope, andtriedtosmoothitout. Asshedidsoshesaid, "Whosentthetelegram-- mysonJuanDomingo?"
"No, ma'am." Homersaid. "ThetelegramisfromtheWarDepartment."
"WarDepartment?" theMexicanwomansaid.
"Mrs. Sandoval," Homersaidswiftly, "yoursonisdead. Maybeit'samistake, Everybodymakesamistake, Mrs. Sandoval. Maybeitwasn'tyourson. Maybeitwassomebodyelse. ThetelegramsaysitwasJuanDomingo. Butmaybethetelegramiswrong,"
TheMexicanwomanpretendednottohear.
"Oh, donotbeafraid," shesaid. "Comeinside. Comeinside. Iwillbringyoucandy." Shetooktheboy'sarmandbroughthimtothetableatthecenteroftheroomandthereshemadehimsit.
"Allboyslikecandy," shesaid. "Iwillbringyoucandy." Shewentintoanotherroomandsoonreturnedwithanoldchocolatecandybox. SheopenedtheboxatthetableandinitHomersawastrangekindofcandy.
"Here," shesaid. "Eatthiscandy. Allboyslikecandy."
Homertookapieceofthecandyfromthebox, putitintohismouth, andtriedtochew.
"Youwouldnotbringmeabadtelegram," shesaid. "Youareagoodboy-- likemylittleJuanitowhenhewasalittleboy. Eatanotherpiece." Andshemadethemessengertakeanotherpieceofthecandy.
HomersatchewingthedrycandywhiletheMexicanwomantalked. "Itisourowncandy," shesaid, "fromcactus. ImadeitformyJuanitowhenhecomehome, butyoueatit. Youaremyboy, too."
Nowsuddenlyshebegantosob, holdingherselfinasifweepingwereadisgrace. Homerwantedtogetupandrun, butheknewhewouldstay. Heeventhoughthemightstaytherestofhislife. Hejustdidn'tknowwhatelsetodototrytomakethewomanlessunhappy, andifshehadaskedhimtotaketheplaceofherson, hewouldnothavebeenabletorefuse, becausehewouldnothaveknownhow. Hegottohisfeet, asifbystandinghemeanttobegincorrectingwhatcouldnotbecorrectedandthenheknewthefoolishnessofthisintentionandbecamemoreawkwardthanever. Inhishearthewassayingoverandoveragain, "WhatcanIdo? WhatthehellcanIdo? I'monlythemessenger."

NEWWORDS

soften
v. (causeto) becomesoft(er) orgentle（使）软化；（使）温和
tragic
a. verysad, unfortunate; oforrelatedtotragedy悲惨的；悲剧的
messenger
n. apersonemployedtodelivertelegrams, lettersorparcels送信人，电报投递员
gently
ad. softly轻轻地
immediately
a. atonce
immediate
a.
eager
a. markedbystronginterestorimpatientdesire热切的，渴望的
hinge
n. 铰链
whoever
pron. nomatterwho无论谁，不管谁
saintly
a. likeasaint; veryholy像圣徒一样的；圣洁的
implication
n. 含义
imply
vt.
shock
vt. causeunpleasantorangrysurpriseto(sb.) 使（某人）震惊
deliver
vt. take(sth.) totheplacewhereitesp. sth. bad交付，递送
awkward
a. uncomfortable尴尬的
responsible
a. havingdoneorbeenthecauseofesp. sth. bad（应）负责的
Mexican
n& a. 墨西哥人；墨西哥（人）的
extend
vt. holdout伸出
pause
vi. stopforashorttime　暂停，中止
interrupt
vt. stop(sb. speaking) bybreakingin打断（某人讲话）
nervous　　　　　　
a. 神经质的；紧张的
ma'am
madam(usedindirectaddress)　夫人，太太，小姐
smooth
vt. makesmoothorsmoother　把...弄平
department
n. 部门；系
swiftly
ad. rapidly, quickly　快速地；敏捷地
swift
a.
chocolate　　　　
n. 巧克力（糖）
chew
vt. crush(food) withtheteeth咀嚼
cactus
n. 仙人掌
sob
vi. crywithshort, quickbreaths啜泣；呜咽
disgrace
n. shame耻辱；丢脸的人（或事）
unhappy
a. nothappy
hell
n. 地狱

PHRASES& EXPRESSIONS

hearof
haveknowledgeoforreceiveinformationabout听到，听说
beresponsiblefor
bethecauseof应对...负责的
comeout(with)
speakout大声地说，清楚地说
smoothout
makesmooth(er)
holdoneselfin
controlone'sfeelings
taketheplaceof
actorbeusedinsteadof, replace代替，取代
gettoone'sfeel
standup
overandoveragain
veryoften, repeatedly反复地，再三地

PROPERNAMES

RosaSandoval
罗莎.桑多瓦尔
Homer
霍默
MexicoCity
墨西哥城（墨西哥首都）
JuanDomingo
胡安 多明哥
theWarDepartment
　（美国）陆军部（旧称）
Juanito　　　　　
　 胡安尼特（Juan的昵称）