空中天使

[精彩导读]

一位空乘人员在回顾她数百次的飞行旅程时，发现最令她记忆犹新的是被一个年轻妈妈称为“空中天使”的经历。一个是抱着孩子在飞机上手足无措，被折腾得精力憔悴，生活窘困的年轻母亲;另一个是温暖善良，且同样身为人母的空乘。她们之间会发生怎样感人至深的故事呢？让我们一起来看一看吧。

In 1978， I became a flight attendant for a major airline. Earning my wings was the childhood dream that I had set for myself after my first plane ride at the age of five.

Like so many others before me， I fell in love with the romance of airplanes， adventure and helping others. I have flown hundreds of flights since graduation， but one stands out among the many.

We were flying from Los Angeles to Washington， D.C.， when I found a young mother struggling with her infant （婴儿）. Everything was a mess and the mother， who was extremely upset， told me she had no more diapers（尿布）or other clothing on board the aircraft.

Through her tears， she informed me that they had missed their flight the previous night in Los Angeles and because she had very little money， she and her son had spent the night on the airport floor. Since she hadnt expected to miss the flight， she was forced to use up most of her supplies and money.

With the saddest eyes I have ever seen she continued. She told me she was on her way to New Hampshire to deliver her son to the family that was adopting him. She could no longer support the two of them. As she stood in front of me， crying， holding her beautiful son， I could see the despair and hopelessness on her face. And， as a mother of three beautiful daughters， I could feel her pain.

I immediately asked for assistance from the other flight attendants. They brought cloth towels （毛巾） from first class to assist in cleaning up both the mom and the infant. I ran and gave her a sweater and a pair of pants I had brought. Then I asked several families if they could spare extra diapers and clothes for the child. After the young mother and her son had changed their clothes and the baby had gone to sleep， I sat with her， holding her hand， trying to provide some support and comfort for the remainder of the flight.

As she thanked me for all I had done， she said softly， “Youre not the flight attendant， youre a sky angel.” Touching my flight attendant wings， she continued， “And those are your angel wings.” With those words she turned and walked down the jetway， her child in her arms， and boarded the plane for New Hampshire.

Though I am no longer a flight attendant， my “angel wings” are still on display in my office. And each time I see them， I am reminded of that young woman， her infant son and the gift that she gave me on that special day—that we truly are all spiritual beings traveling in human form.

Reading check

Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.

1.What does the title“A sky angel”refer to according to the text？

2.Translate the last paragraph into Chinese.

3.What does the author intend to mean by saying“we truly are all spiritual beings traveling in human form”？

Ⅱ.Vocabulary

1.extremely adv. 非常;极其

2.adopt v. 收养;领养

3.despair n.绝望

4.hopelessness n. 没有希望;绝望

5.assist v.帮助;协助

6.fall in love with 爱上;倾心

7.stand out 突出;引人注目

8.be a mess 一团糟

9.use up 用完;耗尽

10.ask for assistance 请求帮助

11.remind... of 提醒……想起……

Ⅲ.Difficult sentences

1.We were flying from Los Angeles to Washington， D.C.， when I found a young mother struggling with her infant.

【点石成金】本句中be doing... when...为常用句型，表示“当……时，正在……”。find sb doing表示“发现某人正在进行某个动作”。本句的意思是：当我发现一个因为婴儿犯难的年轻妈妈时，我们正在从洛杉矶飞往华盛顿。

2.Since she hadnt expected to miss the flight， she was forced to use up most of her supplies and money.

【点石成金】since引导的是原因状语从句，从句中的she hadnt expected是过去完成时，表示该动作发生在过去的动作she was forced to use up... 之前。过去完成时表示过去的过去。本句的意思：因为她没想到会误了那个航班，所以她不得已用完了大部分的物品和钱。