星火贯通CET-4四级词汇系列之二.docVIP

一次机会One chanceThe tiny antique silver pin lay in my hand. I stared hard at the solemn face looking back at me from the oval frame. I was looking for some resemblance between my ancestor and my self. Her brow was broad and strong, the eyes kind and forgiving. She wore a stiff black bonnet, a high white collar and a coarsely woven shawl around her shoulders. In examining her face more closely, maybe I could identify some similarity around the eyes and the nose. An inner strength shone from the eyes of this diminutive lady who had helped head her family from Ireland to the New World.那枚小小的旧银别针就放在我的手上。我紧盯着那张从椭圆形镜框里反过来看着我的严肃面孔。我在寻找我的祖先和我自己之间的某些相似之处。她的眉毛宽大浓密，眼睛里温和慈祥。她戴着一顶绷紧的黑色软帽，高白领，肩上披着一条做工粗糙的披肩。再近点观察她的脸孔，或许我能在眼睛和鼻子周围辨认出一些相似的地方。从这位身材矮小的女士的眼里，透射出一种内在的力量，她曾帮助和带领她的家庭，从爱尔兰来到了新世界。 The times, in Ireland during the 1770’s, were difficult for everyone. John and Lily Love and all the tenants of the Barren’s Court Estate were suffering after terrible floods destroyed their crops. The landlord was generous in allowing the land rent to fall into arrears, due to the difficult times. However, as weather conditions continued to worsen, the little family became pessimistic and felt desperate about the direction of their lives. Nearly every family at this time had at least one member of their family who had left for the New World. The ugly face of famine was lurking everywhere. It was not possible with one acre of arable land to make a living.那时候，在18世纪70年代的爱尔兰，人人处境艰难。一场特大洪水毁掉了他们的庄稼之后，约翰和莉莉?洛夫一家像其他所有的巴伦斯宫廷庄园的佃户一样痛苦不堪。庄园主还算慷慨，鉴于这个艰难时期，允许佃户们拖欠租金。然而，天气状况持续恶化，这个小家庭变得悲观起来，对他们的生活前途感到绝望。那个时候，几乎每个家庭至少有一名家庭成员出走前往新世界。饱受饥荒之苦的憔悴面容到处都是，要靠一英亩耕地生活是不可能的。 Last one night, after the children were in bed, John and Lily discussed the possibility of making a reservation aboard a sailing ship bound for America. John had noticed a poster in the town square, that posted by a ship’s owner trying to recruit people for his ship. John knew that conditions aboard ship would not be ideal for Lily, her new infant s