隔壁的歌声

马春蕾

Leading：

隔壁不优美的歌声总是干扰我的写作思路，但是当得知这个女孩是通过唱歌来减轻癌症带来的痛苦后，我开始慢慢喜欢并欣赏她的歌声。然而好景不长，当出差一段时间回来后，我再也听不到这“美妙”的歌声了……

I had been in a bad mood since my new neighbor moved in. I often typed articles by computer as a holiday. But no sooner had I become inspired to write than I could hear a girl singing next door. She didnt sing well，and even out of tune. So it is a sheer noise pollution for me. Sometimes when I was about to write，she started singing. Such a thing happened over and over. So how could I keep my spirits up and go on writing？

One day，soon after I sat down behind the computer，I heard the girl singing once again. I felt it was too noisy and disturbed my thoughts. Beyond my endurance，I had my husband go next door to complain about the noise.

Ten minutes later，my husband came back with a sad look，saying，“That girl is only 17 but she had bone cancer.”

Immediately I was taken aback by his words. On many occasions，if something didnt arise around me，I felt it is a drama on TV. However，when I knew it is a real occurrence，I found it incredible.

“Her mother said that the more painful it is，the louder her daughter sings. The singing helped reduce her pains. The poor mother begged our pardon again and again for her daughter interrupting us，”my husband continued.“Heaven treats her with awful cruelty！”

I said to my husband，“Please tell her mother that the girl can sing as she likes. We dont mind it at all.”

From that day on，I no longer thought the girl did anything wrong，and even got used to her singing. I felt as if it were like sniffing the smell of sunbeams and watching the dew flowers and plants.

Afterwards I left home on business. My husband phoned me that the girl became bald after receiving chemotherapy treatment① and had been hospitalized. I returned home in late summer or early autumn. Sitting at home，I couldnt help feeling something wanting. Suddenly I understood that I could no longer hear the next-door girl sing.

She always sang like this，“However hard the winds blow，you will stray no more with my company. We watch the meteor shower② pouring down together. Your tears drop onto my shoulder. You shall believe that I am brave only for you，my dear. You will see a time of good cheer...”

The girls singing rose in my mind. I hope the voice is everlasting for you，me and everyone.

Notes：

①chemotherapy treatment 化疗

②meteor shower 流星雨

1. Why did the writer think the girls singing completely different？

A. Because the girl improved her skill of singing.

B. Because the writer got used to the girls singing.

C. Because the writer knew the singing could relieve the girls pain.

D. Because the girls mother made an apology to them.

2. When the writer returned home from business，_________.

A. the girl had died

B. the girl was still singing loudly

C. the girl was in hospital

D. the girl gave up singing and took up reciting poems

3. The writer and her husband _________ when knowing the girls illness.

A. were proud of her

B. showed sympathy for her

C. were optimistic about her

D. showed respect for her

4. The underlined word“stray” in the ninth paragraph most probably means “_________”.

A. disappear B. get lost

C. imagine D. get away

参考答案与解析

1. 答案为C。细节理解题。根据第五、六段的描述，可见这位女孩是通过唱歌来减轻癌症的痛苦和鼓励自己，因此答案为C。

2. 答案为A。推理判断题。根据第八段的最后一句，可知这个女孩已经不在人世。

3. 答案为B。细节理解题。根据第五、六段的描述，可见这对夫妇对女孩深表同情。

4. 答案为B。词义猜测题。该词所在句是这个女孩歌中的歌词，歌词意为：风再大又怎样，你有了我，再也不会“______”。根据这段话的意思，结合四个选项，get lost最恰当。

【语法点拨】

1. But no sooner had I become inspired to write than I could hear a girl singing next door.

句意：可是在我刚好有点灵感的时候，一个女孩的歌声就从隔壁传过来。

分析：no sooner... than... 表示“一……就……”，相当于hardly...when...。如果时间为过去，那么no sooner所在句用过去完成时，than所在句用一般过去时。同时，由于否定词no sooner前置，句子要部分倒装。

2. Beyond my endurance，I had my husband go next door to complain about the noise.

句意：忍无可忍之下，我让丈夫过去提意见。

分析：have作为使役动词，构成“have+宾语+do/doing/done”结构。

3. Her mother said that the more painful it is，the louder her daughter sings.

句意：她的母亲说女儿越是痛，就越要大声唱歌。

分析：这是“the more... the more...”句型，表示“越是……就越……”。该句型常常把状语、表语和宾语前置。

4. I felt as if it were like sniffing the smell of sunbeams and watching the dew flowers and plants.

句意：我觉得我好像从歌声里闻到了阳光的气息，看到了花草的雨露。

分析：as if引导表语从句时，如果句子所述的情况与事实不符，常用虚拟语气表达，即时态在原来的基础上退后一步。如果是be，常用were表达。

（责任编校/彭益）