为你读书：《奇迹的价格》The Price of a Miracle
原文文本
Tess was eight-year-old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew.
听爸爸妈妈谈起小弟安德鲁的事情时，苔丝还是个8岁的小女孩。
All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money.
她只知道弟弟病得很厉害，父母却无钱给他医治。
They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the money for both the doctor’s bills and the house payment.
下个月他们要搬到一个公寓房，因为爸爸已经无力支付医药费和房款。
Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money.
“现在唯一可以救他的办法就是做手术，但手术费用非常昂贵，没有人肯借钱给我们。”
She heard her Dad say to her Mother, “Only a miracle can save him now.”
她听到爸爸对妈妈说：“现在只有奇迹可以救他了。”
单词点津
短语：apartment complex 公寓大楼
例句：...the 10-storey apartment complex where the jet crashed.
...飞机撞上的那座10层公寓大楼。
原文文本
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
苔丝回到房间，从壁橱一个隐藏的地方拿出一个玻璃瓶子。
She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. She counted it three times. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.
把里面所有的零钱倒在地上并仔细数了3次，直到确定无误。
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out from the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
她仔细地把硬币放回瓶子并把盖子拧好，悄悄地从后门溜出去，穿过六条街区，来到门上有红色印地安语大标志的Rexall药店。
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too intently talking to another man to be bother by an eight-year old at this moment.
她耐心地等待着药剂师，可是药剂师正专心和另一个人在说话，无暇顾及这个八岁的小女孩。
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.
苔丝扭动着双脚发出声音，但没有用，她清了清嗓子，尽她所能的发出让人讨厌的声音，也没有成功引起药剂师的注意。
单词点津
单词：scuffing ['skʌfiŋ] adj. 磨损的；摩擦地面的
例句：Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.
苔丝缠绕着她的两只脚发出摩擦的声音。
原文文本
Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
最后，她从瓶子里拿出个2角5分的硬币摔在玻璃柜台上，弄出清脆的响声。成功了！
“And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.”
“你需要点什么？”药剂师不耐烦地问，“我正和我的弟弟聊天，他从芝加哥来，我们很多年没见了。”他没等苔丝说话就接着说起来。
“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle.”
“好吧，是关于我的弟弟。”苔丝也不耐烦的回答道：“他现在真的非常虚弱……我想要给他买一个奇迹。”
“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist. “His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”
“你说什么？”药剂师问到，“他叫安德鲁，他病得很厉害，爸爸说现在只有奇迹能救他。所以，请问奇迹多少钱？”
“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.
“我们这里不卖奇迹，小女孩，很抱歉不能帮助你，”药剂师稍带温和地说。
“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”
“听着，我有很多钱，如果这里的不够，我就回去取剩下的，请告诉我奇迹多少钱？”
单词点津
单词：pharmacist ['fɑːməsɪst] n. 药剂师
例句：Ask your pharmacist for advice.
向你的药剂师征询意见吧。
原文文本
The pharmacist’s brother stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
药剂师的弟弟问小女孩，“你弟弟需要什么样的奇迹呢？”
“I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up.
“我不知道，”苔丝的眼泪涌了上来。
“I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
“我只知道他病得非常厉害，妈妈说他需要做手术，但是爸爸支付不起手术费，所以我想用我自己的钱。”
“How much do you have?” asked the the pharmacist’s brother.
“你有多少钱？”药剂师的弟弟问。
“One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly.
“一美元十一美分，”苔丝用很勉强才能听到的声音回答。
“And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”
“这是我所有的钱，但是如果不够的话我再想办法。”
“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents - the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.”
“刚刚好，”男人笑着说，“一美元十一美分——正好可以为你弟弟买个奇迹。”
Then he said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
他接着说：“带我去你住的地方，我想去看看你弟弟和你的父母，看看我是不是有你们需要的奇迹。”
That pharmacist’s brother was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon from Chicago, specializing in neurosurgery.
药剂师的弟弟就是卡尔顿·阿姆斯壮，著名的神经外科医生。
单词点津
单词：neurosurgery [njʊərəʊ'sɜːdʒərɪ] n. [外科] 神经外科
例句：Chamberlain is also a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
张伯伦同时也是华盛顿大学医学院的神经病学与神经外科的教授。
原文文本
The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
手术没有支付任何费用，安德鲁回家后不久就康复了。
Later, Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
爸爸和妈妈高兴地谈论着这件事情。
Her mum said, “That surgery was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”
“这个手术真的是个奇迹，奇迹到底需要多少钱呢？”母亲低声自语。
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child.
苔丝笑了，她知道奇迹的真正价值：一美元十一美分，加上一个小女孩的信念。
单词点津
单词：miracle ['mɪrək(ə)l] n. 奇迹
例句：It is a miracle no one was killed.
没有人死亡真是个奇迹。
