A new easel

河北乐亭第一中学 胡金莹

“我”的妻子简从小酷爱美术。尽管父母在她生日时总会送给她一幅画架作为生日礼物，但她从来没有收到过一幅能够让她展现艺术家风采的画架。为了弥补妻子曾经的遗憾，“我”在她64岁生日时送给了她一幅世界上最大的画架。

My wife， Jane，and I have been married for 36 years so we have heard each other's stories many times.We are both artists and so many of our retellings revolve around（围绕）our challenges in becoming and sustaining our artist selves.Jane has told the story many times of her parents'birthday present of an easel（画架）for her to do her art work when she was still a child.But it wasn't an artist's easel，rather it was the kind of“easel”used typically to display a poster on foam-core（泡沫芯）board，so itisflimsy （易损坏的），unsuited forartists'work，and undeniably cheap.Jane never used it for her art work but she got the message loud and clear that her mom and dad did not support her efforts.For an artist，the work you do is closely connected with who you feel yourself to be，so the message of non-support went very deep for Jane.

Jane and I each have our own studios in an old farmhouse in Virginia and she had bought herself a plain air easel andsetitupin her studio.Though better than a poster-board display easel，it was still rather flimsy and unsuited to the larger paintings she wanted to do.

This year for Jane's 64th birthday，I bought her the world's greatest easel—the Dick Blick super heavy-duty easel.We finally got it fixed in her studio.To accommodate it，Jane needed to rearrange her studio.Now her studio looks better than ever and the easel makes it look proud!

This is a healing on many levels and makes the light in my heart shine every time I walk down the hall and glance into Jane's new and transformed workspace.My gift to her has been as much a gift to myself， which is， I guess，what we learn through loving kindness to one another.

Reading Check

1.What did Jane think of the easel given by her parents? （no more than 8 words）

2.Why did the author buy his wife a new easel?（no more than 15 words）

3.What does the underlined sentence imply according to the text？

Language Study

Difficult sentences

1.But it wasn't an artist's easel，rather it was the kind of “easel” used typically to display a poster on foam-core board.

翻译：_________________________________

【点石成金】本句中used typically to display a poster on foam-core board为过去分词作后置定语，修饰名词easel，use和easel之间构成逻辑上的动宾关系。

2.For an artist，the work you do is closely connected with who you feel yourself to be，so the message of non-support went very deep for Jane.

翻译：________________________________

【点石成金】本句中work后的you do为修饰work的定语从句，其中，you前面省略了作宾语的关系代词which或that；who you feel yourself to be放在了介词with之后，为宾语从句，who在宾语从句中作系动词be的表语。

3.My gift to her has been as much a gift to myself， which is， I guess， what we learn through loving kindness to one another.

翻译：_________________________________

【点石成金】which is， I guess， what we learn through loving kindness to one another为定语从句，修饰先行词a gift；I guess在定语从句中作插入语；what we learn through loving kindness to one another为表语从句，what在从句中作动词learn的宾语。

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important phrases in the text

1.be unsuited for不适合

2.be connected with和……有关

3.set up建立

4.every time每次

5.glance into扫视；瞥见

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the phrases given above.

1_____.__I pass the grocery store，I would like to buy something delicious from it.

2.This theatre located near the post office ______for children.

3.We don't know each other，but we _____one another's eyes and smile.

4.The island _______the mainland by a large bridge.

5.The coat seems so large and it _______such a little girl.