难忘的晚餐约会

吴爱华

作者在妻子的建议下邀请了他母亲吃饭，并从中感悟到：爱要及时说出口。

难词探意

1. widow /?w?d??/ n. 寡妇

2. suspect /s??spekt/ v. 怀疑

3. haste /he?st/ n. 匆忙

4. extraordinary /?k?str??dnri/ adj. 特别的;非凡的

After 21 years of marriage， my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner. She said calmly， “I love you but I know this woman loves you too and would love to spend some time with you.” The woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my mother， who had been a widow for 19 years， but I visited her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.

“Whats wrong， are you well？” she asked nervously. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invi?tation is a sign of bad news. “It would be plea?

sant to be with you. Just the two of us.” I responded with haste. She thought about it for a moment， and then said excitedly， “I would like that very much.”

That Friday night after work， as I drove over to pick her up I felt a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house， I noticed that she， too， seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. My mother took my arm gently as if she had been the First Lady and we entered a nice restaurant.

After we sat down， I had to read the menu. Half way through the entry， I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. What I did reached something deep inside her. A sweet smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small，” she said sweetly. “Then its time that you relaxed and let me return the favor，” I responded generously.

During the dinner， we had a pleasant conversation—nothing extraordinary， but catching up on recent events of each others life. Bathed in the warm atmosphere， we talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later， she said with a mysterious expression， “Ill go out with you again， but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

Language Study

[Language][Study]

Useful expressions for creating a novel

1. expressions for describing emotions

say calmly 平靜地说

ask nervously 紧张地问

say excitedly 兴奋地说

feel a bit nervous 感到有些紧张

Bathed in the warm atmosphere， we talked so much that we missed the movie. 沐浴在温暖的气氛中，我们相聊甚欢以至于错过了电影。

What I did reached something deep inside her. 我所做的事情触动了她内心深处的某个地方。

2. expressions for describing behaviour

respond with haste 赶紧回答

take ones arm gently 轻轻地挽住某人的胳膊

lift ones eyes 抬起眼睛

stare at 凝视

say sweetly 甜甜地说

respond generously 慷慨地回应

3. expressions for describing expressions

A sweet smile was on her lips. 她的唇上挂着甜蜜的微笑。

with a mysterious expression 表情神秘

[Reading][Check]

阅读上面的短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

注意：

1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;

2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Paragraph 1：

“How was your dinner date？” asked my wife when I got home.

____________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2：

At that moment， I understood the importance of saying “I LOVE YOU！” in time.

_____________________________________________________________________________

写作导引

一、语篇分析

要想续写内容与所给材料内容连贯、衔接紧密，就必须充分了解所给材料的大意。仔细阅读所给材料，充分理解阅读材料的内容，掌握作者想要通过材料所传达的意思。

本文是一篇记叙文，文章分析如下：

二、情节构思

我们可以基于原文和续写段落首句提供的信息，围绕中心进行提问构思，构思要续写的故事情节。这一构思分为四步：

第一步，根据原文判断文章的立意。

根据本文第一段的内容——作者妻子要作者抽空陪伴他母亲，可推断出本文的立意很可能是要告诉我们，做子女的，工作再忙也要抽出时间陪伴父母，否则等到“子欲养而亲不待”时，就悔之晚矣了。

第二步，围绕续写第一段所给出的段首句进行提问构思。

1. How would the author answer his wifes question？

2. What would happen after he answered his wifes question？

第三步，根据续写第二段所给出的段首句倒推续写第一段一定要写什么。

分析一下第二段所给出的段首句“At that moment， I understood the importance of saying ‘I LOVE YOU！ in time.”可知，续写第一段肯定要写作者母亲突然离他而去，如此构思才能确保续写的两段是相互衔接的。

第四步，围绕续写第二段所给出的段首句进行提问构思。

1. What time does “that moment” refer to？

2. Why did the author understand the importance of saying “I LOVE YOU！” in time？

3. To whom did the author feel the need to say “I LOVE YOU！” in time？

三、潤色成篇

在续写的过程中要注意衔接的问题，做到情节连贯，语言风格一致。从衔接的部位来分有三种：1. 两段的续写与原文之间的衔接;2. 每段的续写与续写段落首句之间的衔接;3. 续写的两段之间的衔接。同时要注意语法、句型，以及所用词的准确性。例如，刻画人物形象时要选用恰当的动词使其栩栩如生;描写人物心理活动时要善于使用一些形容词或副词使其细微、深入。