雪中梅
喜歡用文字描述身邊的生活，同時用一詩一圖的形式來描述大自然的美麗。
《Little Women》--《小婦人》一書是美國作家路易莎。梅。奧爾科特（Louisa May Alcott）寫的一部長篇小說。首次出版於1868年。
《小婦人》是一本以女性角色為主，強調女權意識的半自傳體小說。文中注重表現女性意識，宣揚美好品質。
這本書以美國南北戰爭為背景，以19世紀美國新英格蘭地區的一個普通家庭四個姐妹之間的生活瑣事為藍本的帶有自轉色彩的家庭倫理小說。小說受到當時的大思想家愛默生的影響，強調了個人尊嚴與自立自律的觀念；內容平實卻細膩，結構單純而寓意深遠，富有強烈的感染力。
內容簡介：
美國內戰期間，馬奇先生遠赴戰場做了隨軍牧師，四個女兒和母親在家裏過著清苦卻堅強樂觀的生活。她們雖貧窮卻樂意幫助比她們更需要幫助的鄰居赫梅爾一家。
在書中介紹的大女兒魅格生性愛美，對戀愛充滿憧憬；二女兒喬獨立自主，想要成為作家；三女兒貝思則是個傳統女孩，很懂事；小女兒艾米則喜歡繪畫。故事追隨這四位女性由女孩成長為小女人的歲月，講述了她們不羈的愛情經曆及她們各自追尋不同理想與將來的過程。
原文摘選片段：（1）
While the snow fell quietly outside their New England home, the four March sisters stayed warm by the fire in their cozy living room.
”Christmas won't be the same without presents, ”grumbled fifteen-year-old Jo, lying on the rug.
Her old sister Meg sighed as she looked at her old dress. “It's not much fun being poor.”
”It's not fair that some girls have lots of pretty things, and other girls don't have any at all,” sniffed Amy, who at twelve was the youngest.
“But we've got a mother and a father who love us very much, and we're always got each other,”thirteen-year-old Beth said happily from her corner. Her words seemed to cheer up the others.
”Father's been gone for a long time, and we don't know when he'll be coming back,”said Jo.
Meg insisted, ”This is going to be a hard winter for everyone. We shouldn't be buying presents while so many men are suffering during the war. We should make sacrifices!" But even as she said these kind words. Meg still longed for pretty things at Christmas.
Jo said, '"We've only got a dollar each and that's not going to help the army much."She was the bookworm in the family and wanted to buy a new novel. Beth longed for music, and Amy dreamed of coloring pencils to help her draw.
Jo continued, "Mother wouldn't mind if we spent our dollars on ourselves and had a little fun. We work hard."
The chimes announced that it was six o'clock. Beth put a pair of her mother's slippers near the fire to warm. Jo noticed how old and worn they were . She said, 'We should get Marmee a new pair!'
When Beth said she was going to buy the slippers with her dollar, Jo insisted she should be the one to buy them because their father had told her to take special care of their mother while he was away. Meg thought that she should since she was the oldest.
Beth said, "I've got an idea! Let's all buy something for Marmee, and not for ourselves."
All the girls thought this was a wonderful idea. Meg said she would buy Marmee some gloves.
Jo exclaimed, "Satin slippers! The best I can get."
Beth chimed in, " Lovely hemmed handkerchiefs."
Amy thought for a minute as she pulled one of her blond curls. "I'll get Marmee a little bottle of perfume. This way I'LL still have something for myself."
Jo was excited. "I can't wait to surprise her!' She turned to her sisters. "We'll go shopping tomorrow. And remember, we've got to rehearse our Christmas play." Jo started marching around the living room. In a few minutes, the girls were laughing so hard they almost didn't hear their mother come in from the cold.
"Glad to see you girls are having so much fun,"Marmee said . "Did you all have a good day?"
As Marmee took off her wet clothes, put on her warm slippers, and sat down in front of the fire, the girls flew into action. Jo stoked the fire, Meg got dinner ready, Beth helped Meg, and Amy told everyone what to do and how to do it.
When all five of them were sitting down at the dining-room table, Marmee said, "I've got a treat for you girls after supper."
The smiles quickly spread. Jo threw her napkin in the air, crying, "It's a letter. Three cheers for Father!"
Marmee nodded. "Yes, it's a letter from your father. He's well and thinks the winter won't actually be that bad. He sends his love for Christmas, and a special message that I'll save until after dinner."
The girls hurried their meal. They couldn't wait to hear the letter. They missed their father terribly.
After dinner, the four girls cuddled with their mother near the fire. Marmee read, "Tell my girls I think of them all the time. Even though it'll be a long while before I see them, I know they'll act properly and not waste their days being silly. I know when I come home, I'll be prouder than ever of my little women."
The letter convinced the girls to be good while their father was away. Everyone was cheerful as they set about their evening sewing after Hannah had cleared away the plates. Mrs. March reminded the girls how they used to act out scenes from Pilgrim's Progress. The girls recalled running through the house with bags on their backs and escaping evil forces.
While it came time for bed, the girls sang, with Beth happily playing the piano. Each performed in her own way: Meg sounded like a flute, Am y chirped like a cricket, and Jo came in when she felt like it--bad timing and all. They had sung before bed since they were small, and even now they were never too old for familiar lullabies.
NEW WORDS:
Grumble: 發怨言
sniff：鼻子吸氣發出的聲音
long：在這裏--是渴望的意思
bookworm：書迷
Chime: 鍾敲
Chime in: 插話
hem: 滾邊，折邊
Handkerchisf: 手帕
cuddle：摟抱，擁抱
Pilgrim：朝聖者
lullaby: 催眠曲
待續
