读后感

Unit7 The pickle jar

1 As far back as I can remember, the large pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.

2 When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully.\going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back.\across the counter at the bank towards the cashier, he would grin proudly. \son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me.\

3 We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice-cream cone. I always got

chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice-cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. \jar again.\

4 He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. \quarters,\

5 The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. 6 When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable,

he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. \son,\ 7 The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. \probably needs to be changed,\her.

8 When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She

handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and quietly leading me into the room. \she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins.

9 I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.

爸爸的泡菜坛

自从我记事起，那个大大的泡菜坛就放在父母卧室里五斗橱旁边的地板上。每当准备上床睡觉的时候，爸爸都会把他的衣兜倒空，将里边的硬币投进坛子里。小时候，我对那些硬币落在坛子里发出的声响总是很着迷。当坛子几乎还是空着的时候，硬币落进去时发出的是欢快的叮当声。等到坛子快要装满的时候，叮当声便渐渐变成了沉闷的砰砰声。每当太阳透过卧室的窗户照进来的时候，坛子里圆圆的铜币和银币会像海盗的珍宝一样闪闪发光，而我便蹲在坛子前的地板上欣赏它们。

坛子装满后，爸爸会坐在厨房的餐桌旁，将那些硬币用纸卷起来，然后再拿到银行去把它们存起来。把硬币存入银行可是件大事。那些硬币整整齐齐地码在一个小纸盒里，放在爸爸那辆旧卡车的车座上，放在我和爸爸之间。每一次，在我们开车去银行的路上，爸爸都满怀希望地看着我，对我说：“那些硬币会让你远离纺织厂的，儿子。你会比我强。这个古老的纺织城是留不住你的。”每一次，当他把那盒卷好的硬币推过银行柜台交给收银员时，他都会骄傲地咧着嘴笑个不停。“这些钱是我儿子将来上大学的基金，他绝不会像我一样在纺织厂干一辈子的。”

每次存完钱，我们都会在冷饮店旁停下来，买两个蛋筒冰淇淋庆贺一下。我的那一份总是巧克力味的，而爸爸的总是香草味的。当冷饮店的服务员把找回的零钱递给爸爸时，他总会把那几个硬币摊在手心里给我瞧，“回家以后，我们就又要开始往坛子里存硬币了。”

他总是让我把第一把硬币投进空空的坛子里。当它们发出清脆欢快的叮当声时，我们就相对咧嘴一笑。“你上大学就要靠这些1分、5分、10分和25分的硬币了，”他说，“不过，你会上大学的，我一定会让你上大学的。”

许多年过去了，我完成了大学学业，在另一座城市找到了工作。有一次，我去看望父母。我到他们的卧室打电话，注意到那个泡菜坛不见了。它已经完成了自己的使命，被移走了。我凝视着五斗橱旁那个放过泡菜坛的地方，心潮起伏，不由得一阵哽咽。爸爸是一个沉默寡言的人，从来没有对我讲过决心、毅力和信仰等价值观的重要性。但是这个泡菜坛却教给了我这些美德，它的说服力远远胜过了华丽的词藻。

结婚以后，我跟妻子苏珊说起这个不起眼的泡菜坛在我的童年生活中扮演的重要角色。在我看来，它比任何一件事都更充分地体现了爸爸对我的爱。不管家里的日子多么艰难，爸爸总是坚持不懈地往那个坛子里扔硬币。爸爸被工厂解雇的那个夏天，妈妈不得不每星期做上几顿干豆子，可他们却没有从那个坛子里拿出过一分钱。相反，爸爸为我寻找出路的决心反而比任何时候都更加坚定。他看着坐在餐桌对面的我，把蕃茄酱倒在我的豆子上，让它们吃起来味道更好些。“大学毕业后，儿子，”他对我说，眼睛里闪着光，“你再也不必吃豆子了，除非你自己想吃。”

我的女儿杰西卡出生后的第一个圣诞节，我们一家与父母一起过节。吃过晚饭后，妈妈和爸爸挨着坐在沙发上，轮流抱他们的第一个孙女。后来，杰西卡开始轻声地哭起来，苏珊便从爸爸的怀里接过她。“大概要换尿布了，”她说着，就抱着孩子到父母的卧室里去了。

苏珊回到客厅后，眼睛令人奇怪地有些潮湿。她把杰西卡递给爸爸，然后拉着我的手，一言不发地领着我来到卧室。“你瞧，”她轻轻地说，我顺着她的目光向五斗橱旁边的地板上看去。令我感到惊讶的是，那儿放着那个旧泡菜坛，坛底已经铺满了硬币，就好像从来不曾被拿走过。

我走近泡菜坛，把手伸进口袋，掏出了一把硬币。我百感交集，默默地把硬币投进了坛子里。我抬起头来，看见爸爸抱着杰西卡悄悄地走进了卧室。我们四目相对，我知道他此时的心情和我完全一样，我们都激动得说不出话来。

Relative values: Venus and Serena Williams, sisters and tennis

legends

Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most famous tennis players in the world.

Between them they have won more than 50 singles titles, and over 20 doubles titles. Venus won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2000, aged 19. Serena won the US Open in 1999, aged 17. They have three older sisters.

1 SERENA: Venus and I have always been determined to do well, to succeed, to do the best we possibly can. You could say that we're perfectionists. It's definitely something that's innate. I can't remember not ever thinking that way. I can think back to a time — I couldn't have been more than five or six — when I had this piece of homework to do. And I was so determined to get an \was perfect. I guess it was a bit like playing tennis. I wasn't going to give up until my paper was the best in the class. So there were plenty of early signs. I'm sure my sister was the same.

2 Of course our parents played a pivotal role in our success. My mum would say that if Dad was the body, she was the spine. And that's true: She really was that important. I know a lot of people think of Dad as the one who pushed us, and sure, if I didn't want to practise one day, Mum might be the one to say: \me I'd have to get myself together and get out there again. It wasn't like she was the soft one at all, and that's what you really need. You can't have one parent pulling in one

direction and the other one pulling in the other. They both wanted the same thing for us, so in a way that was perfect.

3 Venus and I weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths. We didn't have a line of Mercedes outside the house. But we weren't what we'd call poor either: We were never hungry, we never went without — and that's what I consider true poor. I suppose the main thing is that, growing up, nothing was handed to us on a plate. And, like Dad, Mum was out working to keep things going. So when it came to us, we pretty much had to earn anything that came our way. And I'm thankful for that because, even though we're still relatively young, I can already see how it's been an important building block in both our characters.

4 I'd probably say that I'm a little bit more outgoing than Venus, a little bit more

prepared to take risks. I'll probably be the one to try things out. But on the other hand I'm more private, more likely to store things up inside, whereas Venus is more outspoken, more likely to tell it how it is. If we had a squabble — not that we do, really — she'd be more likely to get things off her chest, for sure. But she doesn't even need to open her mouth: I can tell what kind of mood she's in. And I'm sure she'd say the same about me. Although she's only slightly older than me, Venus has always been the protective older sister. In fact, she's not only like that with me, but with her older sisters too! I guess it's just in her nature to think like that.

5 VENUS: My earliest memory of Serena is pushing her around in her stroller. Not being that much older, though, that probably meant I'd just be wheeling her around the house a hundred times. I always seemed to be taking care of her. And then, really, it wasn't long before the tennis came along. I probably started playing when I was five. We