02 That’s What Friends Do（Ⅱ） 朋友就该这么做（Ⅱ）
One year after our “talk,” I discovered I had breast cancer. I was thirty-two, the mother of three beautiful young children, and scared. The cancer had metastasized to my lymph nodes and the statistics were not great for long-term survival. After my surgery, friends and loved ones visited and tried to find the right words. No one knew what to say, and many said the wrong things. Others wept, and I tried to encourage them. I clung to hope myself.
我们的谈话过去一年后，我32岁，是三个漂亮孩子的母亲，但我被确诊为乳腺癌，这让我极端恐惧。癌细胞已经扩散到我的淋巴结。从统计数据来看，我的时间不多了。手术后，亲朋好友来看望我，他们尽量宽慰我，但都不知道说些什么好，有些人反而说错了话，另外一些人则为我难过，还得我去安慰他们。我始终没有放弃希望。
One day, Jack stood awkwardly in the doorway of my small, darkened hospital room. I waved him in with a smile. He walked over to my bed and without a word placed a bundle beside me. Inside the package lay several bulbs.
一天，我看到门外有个人影，是杰克，他尴尬地站在门口。我微笑着招呼他进来，他走到我床边，默默地把一包东西放在我旁边，那里边是几个球茎。
“Tulips,” he said.
I grinned, not understanding.
“这是郁金香。”他说。
我笑着，不明白他的用意。
他清了清嗓子说，“回家后把它们种下，到明年春天就长出来了。”他挪挪脚，“我希望你知道，你一定看得到它们发芽开花。”
He shuffled his feet, then cleared his throat, “If you plant them when you get home, they’ll come up next spring. I just wanted you to know that I think you’ll be there to see them when they come up.”
Tears clouded my eyes and I reached out my hand.“Thank you,” I
我泪眼蒙眬地伸出手。“谢谢你。”我低声说。杰克抓住我的手，生硬地答道：
whispered. Jack grasped my hand and gruffly replied, “You’re welcome. You can’t see it now, but next spring you’ll see the colors I picked out for you. I think you’ll like them.” He turned and left without another word.
“不必客气。到明年长出来后，你就能看到我为你挑的是什么颜色的郁金香了。我想你一定会喜欢。”之后，他没说一句话便转身离开了。
For ten years, I have watched those red-and-white striped tulips push their way through the soil every spring.
转眼间，十多年过去了，每年春天，我都会看着这些红白相间的郁金香破土而出。
In a moment when I prayed for just the right word, a man with very few words said all the right things.
在那绝望的时刻，我祈求他人的安慰，而这个男人寥寥数语，却情真意切，温暖着我脆弱的心。
After all, that’s what friends do.
毕竟，朋友之间就该这么做
单词解析 Word Analysis
metastasize[mɪˈtæstəsaɪz]v.转移
例 Cancer cells metastasize through the body.
癌细胞蔓延全身。
survival[səˈvaɪvl]n.幸存，生存
例 An animal’s sense of smell is still crucial to its survival.
动物的嗅觉对其生存仍然至关重要。
weep[wiːp]v.哭泣，流泪
例 The weeping family hugged and comforted each other.
哭泣着的一家人相互拥抱并彼此安慰。
awkwardly[ˈɔːkwədlɪ]adv.笨拙地，尴尬地
例 He fell awkwardly and went down in agony clutching his right knee.
他笨拙地摔倒了，痛苦地抱住右膝倒在地上。
darkened[ˈdaːkənd]adj.黑暗的，漆黑的
例 He drove past darkened houses.
他开车经过黑着灯的房子。
shuffle[ˈʃʌfl]v.拖着脚走
例 They shuffled along somewhat reluctantly.
他们有些不情愿地拖着脚走着。
cloud[klaʊd]v.使……朦胧不清
例 I run the water very hot, clouding the mirror.
我把水开得很热，水汽模糊了镜面。
gruffly[ɡrʌflɪ]adv.粗暴地，粗声地
例 When he left he cut short the father’s nervous thanks gruffly.
临走时，他很粗鲁地打断了父亲紧张的道谢的话。
语法知识点 Grammar Points
这是一个倒装句，为完全倒装，正常语序应为：Several bulbs lay inside the package.
英语中完全倒装主要有三种类型：
表示地点的副词here, there置于句首，且主语是名词（不是代词），需用完全倒装，其形式为：There/Here+谓语+主语。常用于此句型的谓语动词为be, go, come, exist, follow, remain, lie等，时态要用一般现在时。
例 Here is the address of your hotel.
这里就是你宾馆的地址。
表示时间的副词（如：now, then等）、运动方向的副词（如：out, in, up, down, away等）及表示地点的介词短语置于句首，且主语是名词（不是代词），需用完全倒装，其形式为：副词或介词短语+谓语+主语。常用于此句型的谓语动词为come, fall, follow, exist, lie, go, remain, run等，时态为一般现在时或一般过去时。
例 Under the table sleeps a white cat.
桌子下面睡着一只白色的猫。
为了保持句子平衡或强调表语部分等，将作表语的形容词、分词、介词短语、such置于句首时，需使用完全倒装，其形式为：形容词/现在分词/过去分词/介词短语/such+be+主语。
例 Seated on the ground are a group of young people.
席地而坐的是一群年轻人。
watch是感官动词，英语中感官动词还有see, hear, listen to, notice等词，这些词有共同的用法：后接宾语，再接动词原形或ing形式。前者表全过程，后者表正在进行。句中有频率词时，以上的词也常跟动词原形。
例 I heard someone knocking at the door when I fell asleep.
我入睡时有人正敲门。
例 I often watch my classmates play volleyball after school.
我常常看见我的同学们放学后打排球。
若以上词用于被动语态，后面原有动词原形改为带to的动词不定式。
例 He was seen to go into the restaurant.
他被看见进了饭店。
with very few words话特别少
few是否定意义的词，表示“几乎没有”, a few表示肯定，译为“一些，少量的”。
few和a few后面要接可数名词的复数形式；从意义上看，few用来强调小数目的否定意义，相当于说“很少”或“几乎没有”，它的含义是该数目令人失望或令人吃惊的少。
例 Few people like snakes.
很少有人喜欢蛇。
a few的意思与few不同，它没有否定含义，它表示“有几个”，有时甚至还表示“一些”。
例 After a few tries they gave up.
试过几次之后他们就放弃了。
当要与一段时间连用时，我们总是用a few，不用few。
例 We need a place where we can stay for a few days.
我们需要一个能住几天的地方。
经典名句 Famous Classics
1. The success is nothing more than doing well whatever you do without a thought of fame.
成功就是好好工作而不计较名利。
2. The world more frequently recommends the appearance of merit than merit itself.
世人往往推崇表面的功绩，而不是推崇真正的功绩。
3. There are two ways of rising in the world, either by your own industry or by the folly of others.
成功之路有两条：靠自己的努力或靠他人的愚蠢。
4. There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.
成功只有一个——能依自己的方式去度过人生。
5. To conquer we need to dare, to dare again, ever to dare!
为了胜利，我们需要勇敢，更勇敢！永远勇敢冲杀！
6. To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labor.
怀着希望去旅行比抵达目的地更愉快；而真正的成功在于工作。
7. Victory won’t come to me unless I go to it.
胜利是不会向我走来的，我必须自己走向胜利。
8. Will, work and wait are the pyramidal cornerstones for success.
意志、工作和等待是成功的金字塔的基石。