疯狂英语阅读：TheLanguageoftheHeart

The Language of the Heart

Written by Maureen Fredrickson

Read by Ruth Ross

Soapy Smith is a twenty-four-pound 1)calico 2)rex rabbit. People look 3)startled when they first touch him and remark how soft he is. I’ve noticed he seems to make everyone who meets him a little softer, too.

One day, Soapy Smith and I visited a shelter for 4)battered women located in a 5)bedraggled section of the city. No one smiled a greeting, and they appeared uninterested in Soapy’s 6)carrier. One little girl in particular moved like a 7)wisp 8)in the background. The staff informed me that she had been there for over a month and had not spoken the entire time. Her mother said she had talked at one time but not in recent memory. I didn’t want to imagine what could have happened to rob this little girl of the natural curiosity and enthusiasm so natural to childhood.

Spreading a blanket on the floor, I sat down and opened Soapy’s carrier. As the silent child circled past me, I told the group that Soapy would come to talk to them if they sat on his blanket. Several children did this, including the silent girl. She sat 9)rigidly at the edge of the blanket, legs held 10)stiffly out straight in front of her. She was staring hard at Soapy. It appeared that he kept making eye contact with her. She didn’t reach out to him or encourage him in any way. Rather she sat

11)tensely, just staring.

Finally Soapy came to a stop about two inches from her 12)thigh. He quietly reached out and laid his chin on her knee. I was 13)astonished. While a common behavior for dogs, this is not a behavior 14)exhibited by rabbits, especially not by this rabbit.

The child did not reach out to pet Soapy. Instead, she slowly leaned toward him. When her face was within inches of his, she carefully reached out and circled him with her arms. So softly that no one in the room could hear, she began to talk. Folded around the rabbit, she 15)pillowed her head on his back and whispered to him. Soapy remained 16)motionless.

I looked up and noticed that the shelter workers had stopped talking. Every adult in the room froze in place. Time seemed

17)suspended...

The little girl reappeared when I was preparing to leave. She reached her hands out and looked me directly in the eye. I held Soapy out to her. She wrapped him in a big hug and pressed her face against him. Suspended from my hands as he was, I was concerned that he would begin to struggle. Instead he reached out his head again and laid it on the child’s shoulder. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes. As quickly as it happened, the little girl released her hug and stepped back. As she turned away, I thought I saw the beginnings of a 18)faint smile.

The rabbit in his cloud of soft, warm fur had touched something deep in the child-something that had died from too much hard experience. Soapy’s 19)innocence and trust appeared to 20)kindle those very same qualities in the little girl. It seems the language of the heart is simple after all.

注释：

1) calico [5kAlikEu] a. （马等）有斑点的

2) rex rabbit 雷克斯兔（在我国多称为“獭兔”），原产地法国，以绒⽑平整富光泽，⼿感柔软、舒适

3) startled [5stB:tld] a. 震惊的

4) battered [5bAtEd] a. 受重创的，连续打击的

5) bedraggled [bi5drA^ld] a. 荒废的，破旧的

6) carrier [5kAriE] n. （⾃⾏车等）⾏李架，置物架

7) wisp [wisp] n. ⼩物体，纤细的东西

8) in the background 在不引⼈注⽬的地⽅，在隐蔽的地⽅

9) rigidly [5ridVidli] ad. 僵硬地，死板地

10) stiffly [5stifli] ad. 呆板地，僵硬地

11) tensely [tensli] ad. 紧张地

12) thigh [Pai] n. ⼤腿

13) astonished [Es5tCniFd] a. 惊讶的

14) exhibit [i^5zibit] v. 展出，展⽰

15) pillow [5pilEu] v. 把……枕在……上

16) motionless [5mEuFEnlis] a. 不动的，静⽌的

17) suspended [sEs5pendid] a. 暂停的，悬浮的

18) faint [feint] a. 微弱的，暗淡的

19) innocence [5inEsEns] n. 天真，单纯

20) kindle [5kindl] v. 引起，照亮

⼼灵的语⾔