2020英语备课资料：美文赏析 May I Sit Here

May I Sit Here 我可以坐这里吗

I look at spiders and butterflies. I watch caterpillars and moths. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who notices these things. But if it hadn't been for a crowded cafeteria, I wouldn't have ever noticed Valeri . After all, I wasn't looking for new friends.

我观察蜘蛛和蝴蝶，还研究毛毛虫和飞蛾。有时，我想我是唯一注意这些事物的人了。要不是一家拥挤的自助餐厅，我将永远不会注意到瓦莱丽。毕竟，我一直都没有找新朋友。

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Valeri was a new student. She walked to class with her books huddled against her chest and her head down . She talked only when the teacher asked her a question. After a month at our school, she hadn't made any friend . At recess , she sat on a bench and read . If you asked who she was, you'd get a response like this , "She's in my PE class , I can't remember her name ."

瓦莱丽是新来的学生。她总是将书抱在胸前，低着头走进教室。只有在老师提问她时，她才肯说话。她来我们学校一个月了，还没交到一个朋友。课间，她就坐在长椅上看书。如果你想知道她是谁，那你多半会得到这样的答复：“我和她在一起上体育课，但我不记得她叫什么。”

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One day at lunch, I had nowhere to sit. Most tables were full, my friends scattered among them. But Valeri sat alone, book in hand, I walked over to her.

一天，吃午餐时，餐桌差不多都坐满了，我没地方坐了，我的朋友们都分散开了。但瓦莱丽拿着书一个人坐在那儿。于是，我朝她走了过去。

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"May I sit here?" I asked.

"Sure," she said.

“我可以坐在这儿吗？”我问。

“当然可以。”她说。

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The cafeteria was noisy, but silence hung between us. Valeri didn't seem to mind, but it drove me crazy. I searched my mind for things to say.

餐厅里喧闹不已，而我们一直都沉默着。瓦莱丽好像并不在意，但我憋得受不了了。我绞尽脑汁，想找点话说。

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"So," I said, "is that a good book?" Valeri gave me a small nod and went back to reading. "What's it about?" I asked , after several more agonizing seconds of silence . She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

“呃，那本书很好看吧？”瓦莱丽轻轻的点了点头，又继续看书。“都写了些什么呢？”我问道。一阵令人恼火的沉默之后，她终于看着我，眼中闪出异样的光芒。

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"Well, it's called Eragon , and it's about a dragon! This boy, Eragon , finds this dragon egg when he goes hunting one day . He thinks it's a rock! The egg hatches and Eragon hides the dragon from his cousin and uncle until it gets too big."

“唔，它叫《龙骑士》，讲的是关于一条龙的故事！一天，一个名叫鄂尔根的男孩打猎时，发现了一枚龙蛋。他以为那是一块石头，但那枚龙蛋孵化出龙来，鄂尔根怕他的叔叔和堂兄发现，便把那条龙藏了起来，直到它长大。”

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"That sounds cool." I said. I was about to ask her another question, but the bell rang.

“听来真不错。”我说。我还想再问个问题，可上课铃响了。

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As I rushed out of the cafeteria, I called to Valeri , "See you later ."

我一边往餐厅外冲，一边对她大叫：“再见。”

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"Yeah," she said, “see you later." She sounded doubtful.

“好的，”她说，“再见。”她的声音若有若无。

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A couple of days later, I spotted Valeri looking for a place to sit at lunch.

几天以后，我发现瓦莱丽正在找地方坐下来吃饭。

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"Valeri , come here." I pointed to an empty chair.

“瓦莱丽，来这里。”我指着一个空座位说。

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She sat down and pulled out her book. Everyone was talking about next week's talent show. "So, what are you going to do for the show? " My friend Erin asked my friend Kelly.

她坐了下来，拿出书。当时，大家都在谈论下个星期的才艺展示会。“你打算表演什么？”我的朋友埃林和凯利交谈着。

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"Oh, I don't know, probably nothing," Kelly sighed ."What are you doing?" She pointed to Valeri.

“噢，我不知道，也许会放弃，”凯利叹着气，“你呢？”她问瓦莱丽。

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"Oh." Valeri put her book down."I don't know . Maybe nothing."

“噢，”瓦莱丽放下书，“我不知道，也许什么也不演。”

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The week flew by. Before I knew it. I was sitting in the auditorium, listening to a group of girls sing the latest pop songs at the talent show. I was bored out of my life, and I wanted it to end so I could read Eragon . I'd checked it out at the library, then a shy girl walked on stage. I recognized her immediately. Valeri clutched a violin in one hand and a bow in the other.

不知不觉中，周末就到了，我坐在会堂里，听一群女孩子唱当下最流行的歌曲，感觉却枯燥极了，真希望演唱快点结束，那样我就可以看《龙骑士》了，我在图书馆找到了这本书。这时，一个腼腆的女孩走上了舞台，我立刻认出了她------瓦莱丽。她一手抓着小提琴，一手拿着琴弓。

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She started to play. The notes formed a soft, sweet tune. Then it turned fast, then faster. The music stopped altogether before the tune retumed . Valeri ended the song with one hard, fast, loud note. The auditorium fell completely silent until we realized the music was finished. Still in a half trance, we burst into applause. Valeri took a swift bow and walked off stage.

她开始拉提琴了。一个个音符变成了柔和,优美的旋律，韵律逐渐加快，她越拉越急，音乐声戛然而止。乐曲在瓦莱丽拉出一串强硬，急速，洪亮的音符后归于沉寂。会堂里出奇的安静，过了一会儿，我们才意识到她已经演奏完了。仍陶醉于美妙中的我们对她报以雷鸣般的掌声。瓦莱丽快速地鞠了一躬，走下了舞台。

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I smiled to myself. Valeri wasn't just a "quiet girl”. She knew about wonderful books and could play the violin like nothing I'd ever heard. Like a caterpillar or butterfly, she was beautiful and amazing when you looked closely.

我暗自微笑，原来瓦莱丽不仅仅是一个“安静的女孩”，她博览奇妙的好书，能拉出我闻所未闻的小提琴曲。她就像那毛毛虫或蝴蝶，当你靠近她，仔细的观察，你会发现，她有着惊人的美。

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