高中英语美文：天赐我耳？Who gave me the ears?

高中英语美文：天赐我耳？Who gave me the ears?
 

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked.
    When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
    Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
    He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy...called me a freak."
    He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
    "But you might mingle with other young people," his mother reproved him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
    The boy's father had a session with the family physician... "Could nothing be done?"
    "I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured," the doctor decided. Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, "You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret."
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. One day, he asked his father, "Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her."
"I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know...not yet."
The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come. One of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother's casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal the mother had no outer ears.
"Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," his father whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?"

 “能看看我的宝贝儿吗？”她问道，刚做母亲是那么的幸福。
当她把那小包裹抱在怀里，展开那张小包被并注视着那张小脸蛋时，她的心都凉了。抱孩子来的医生迅速地转过头，望向医院高高的窗外。这个初生的婴孩没有耳朵。
时间证明，小孩儿的听力一点问题都没有，只是对他的外貌造成了一些损伤。直到有一天，他从学校飞奔回家，一头扎进她的怀里，她叹息着，深知他的一生注定是一个失望的悲伤的延续。
他急急地向母亲倾诉自己的不幸：“一个男孩儿，一个大块头男孩儿……说我是个怪物……”
他逐渐成长，就他的不幸来说，他长得挺帅的。除了那个不幸之外，对于同龄人来说，在学校，他是个宠儿，好像还当过级长。他还在文学和音乐方面充分发挥了自己的天赋。
 “你也应该和别的年轻人打成一片。”尽管他妈妈为这事责备他，她对他却是发自内心的关爱。
男孩儿的父亲请来家庭医师举行了一个家庭会议，他向医师咨询：“难道就没有一点办法了吗？”
 “要是我能弄到一双外耳的话，我可以给你儿子做个移植手术。”，医师很肯定地告诉他们。因此，一场找寻这样一个肯为一个年轻人做出如此牺牲的人的行动开始了。
两年很快就过去了。一天，父亲对儿子说：“孩子，你能去做手术了。你妈和我找到了一个愿意为你捐赠耳朵的人。但一定得保密。”
手术相当成功，也造就了一个全新的他。他的才能成就了一个天才，他在学业上取得了一系列成功。
不久后他结婚了，并且进了外交部。一天，他问父亲：“谁给了我这双耳朵？谁为我做了这么大的牺牲？无论为这个人做什么，我都觉得不足以为报。”
 “我不认为你能做到，”父亲说，“只是协议上说不能告诉你……至少现在不能。”
他们那有些玄奥的秘密完美地被日子掩藏，但真相大白的一天终究还是到了。那是儿子经历过的最阴郁的日子中的一天。它同父亲一道，站在那具母亲安睡的匣子旁边。父亲很慢，很温柔地向前伸出手，掀起母亲浓密的，红棕色的头发，原来母亲没有了外耳。
 “妈妈说她很高兴没把头发剪短，”父亲亲柔地耳语道，“也没有人觉得你妈妈不美了，不是吗？”