首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for
I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for
admin
2022-11-10
40
问题
I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me; it is the reality I took with me into sleep. I try to think of something else.
Immediately, the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind.
I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her. She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and loveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling. In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue, green, and white. They reminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our hair.
I don’t know the word for "ribbons", so I put my hand to my own hair and, with three fingers against my head, I looked at her ribbons and said "Beautiful". She lowered her eyes and said nothing. I wasn’t sure if she understood me (I don’t speak Laotian very well).
I looked back down at the skirts. They had designs on them: squares and triangles and circles of pink and green silk. They were very pretty. I decided to buy one of those skirts, and I began to bargain with her over the price. It is the custom to bargain in Asia. In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices and easy moves with the sort of quiet peacefulness.
She smiled, more with her eyes than with her lips. She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language, although they were mostly numbers, and she saw that I understood something about the soft playfulness of bargaining. We shook our heads in disagreement over the price; then, immediately, we made another offer and then another shake of the head. She was so pleased that unexpectedly, she accepted the last offer I made. But it was too soon. The price was too low. She was being too generous and wouldn’t make enough money. I moved quickly and picked up two more skirts and paid for all three at the price set; that way I was able to pay her three times as much before she had a chance to lower the price for the larger purchase. She smiled openly then, and, for the first time in months, my spirit lifted. I almost felt happy.
The feeling stayed with me while she wrapped the skirts in a newspaper and handed them to me. When I left, though, the feeling left, too. It was as though it stayed behind in the marketplace. I felt tears in my throat. I wanted to cry. I didn’t, of course.
I have learned to defend myself against what is hard; without knowing it, I have also learned to defend myself against what is soft and what should be easy.
I get up, light a candle and want to look at the skirts. They are still in the newspaper that the woman wrapped them in. I remove the paper, and raise the skirts up to look at them again before I pack them. Something falls to the floor. I reach down and feel something cool in my hand. I move close to the candlelight to see what I have. There are five long silk ribbons in my hand, all different colours. The woman in the marketplace! She has given these ribbons to me!
There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry, and very hard, as if I could make up for all the months that I didn’t cry.
Which of the following is NOT correct?
选项
A、The writer was not used to bargaining.
B、People in Asia always bargain when buying things.
C、Bargaining in Laos was quiet and peaceful.
D、The writer was ready to bargain with the woman.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/ThdMFFFM
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Buyasecondhandtextbook.B、ListentoDr.Forsythe’slecture.C、Writeanemailtotheprofessor.D、Putupsomenotesontheb
A.equippingB.exploreC.presentD.realisticE.noticeablyF.growingupG.interactingH.readyI.monitorJ.cautiously
HewasoneofNewcastle’smost_______medicalmen,aworldauthorityonheartdiseases.
_______ifIhadattendedyourhomepartyyesterdaywithoutinformingyoubeforehand?
PreparingFishforDryingandSmoking1.Driedfish■cutofftheheadifthefishislong■【T1】_______inside,rubsal
ANewApproachtoDebateI.Teachers’hesitation:debateisbeyondstudents’【T1】______【T1】______II.SuggestionsfromProf.Cha
AboutTrainTickets1.Whatisatrainticket■A【T1】______validforasinglejourney【T1】______■Therearetwo
Someofhersuggestionshavebeenadopted,butothershavebeenturned______astheyarenotpracticalenough.
A、Theticketsaretooexpensive.B、Thestageistoofaraway.C、Itistoonoisy.D、Therearealwaystoomanypeople.B由原文可知,男士不喜
It’sunfairthatshewasoverlookedanddidn’tget______forheraccomplishments.
随机试题
伸直型肱骨髁上骨折多见于
保税货物的稽查期限为海关监管期内。()
关于基金管理公司监察稽核制度的表述,错误的是()。
费里德曼的货币需求函数强调的是()。
数字摄像机的主要优点有()。
为促进混合所有制经济发展,A省于2018年6月召开专家研讨会,向与会专家征求意见和建议。在现行经济社会条件下,下列建议具有可行性和针对性的是()。①探索国有企业公司制改革的有效途径,坚持因企施策②完善股份制形式,促进公有资本与非公有资本交叉持股
请认真阅读下列材料,并按要求作答。低年级美术课堂教学中,如何培养学生的想象力?
当国家公务员认为自己受到单位的不公平待遇时,可以向哪个部门提出申诉?()
认为教育并不能提高人的能力,只是区别不同人的能力的理论是()
Thewordhorsepowerwasfirstusedtwohundredyearsago.JamesWatthadmadetheworld’sfirstwidelyused(11).Hehadnow
最新回复
(
0
)