Three Similar Black Umbrellas
三把一模一样的黑雨伞
Sally was a smart pupil in her third term of university. It was going to be her mother’s birthday that Thursday, September twentieth. She wanted to buy her a present that would be nice and useful but not expensive.
She had a week till her mother’s birthday, so she went shopping after a quick and simple lunch. She thought a personal mirror or a pair of tickets to the national museum might be nice, but she hadn’t the money. When she had been looking for half an hour, she found a shop that was selling cheap umbrellas, and decided to take a black one, since her mother had lost her orange one the month before. She thought, “You could carry that when you are wearing clothes of any color.” So she decided to buy a lovely black umbrella.
On her way back home in the train that evening she felt hungry because she had such a small lunch that she went along to the restaurant car and sat at a table and ate a sandwich, a plate of salad and cup of coffee. She paid her bill from the change in her purse.
She pulled the door open and shut it behind her. She had left the black umbrella above her seat, but when she got back, it was gone! When she had left her seat, it had been absent of passengers, but now there were three: a couple and a single person.
Sally went pale and began to cry when she saw that the umbrella was no longer there. She climbed a steel ladder and lifted herself to examine the upper level, but still couldn’t find it in thatposition. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. She told them that the black umbrella she had bought for her mother was gone, and that she had to get out at the next station. Nobody had seen it and her spirit was weighted down as she had lost this treasure she valued. After the three other passengers heard the story, they asked her for her mother’s address so that they could send the umbrella to her if somebody had taken it by mistake, and brought it back after Sally had got out of the train.
The next week, Sally heard from her mother. It said, “Thank you very much for your lovely presents, but why did you send me three similar black umbrellas?”
译文
萨利是一个聪明的大三学生。9月20号周四是她妈妈的生日。她想给妈妈买一件漂亮实用而又不贵的礼物。
还有一个星期就是妈妈的生日了，萨利快速地吃完了简单的午餐就去购物了。她觉得一面小镜子或者两张国家博物馆的门票都是不错的礼物，但她没有钱。在找了半个小时后，她发现一间店铺正在卖便宜的雨伞。因为她妈妈上个月刚丢了一把橙色的，所以她决定买一把黑的。她想“穿任何颜色的衣服都可以打这把雨伞”，因此她决定买一把可爱的黑雨伞。
那天晚上坐火车在回家的路上，萨利因为午餐吃得太少，觉得很饿，所以跑到餐车，坐在餐桌旁吃了一个三明治、一盘沙拉，喝了一杯咖啡。她用钱包里的零钱买单。
她拉开了门，随后关上。她把黑雨伞落在了座位上，当她返回来的时候，伞不见了！她离开座位时，那里没有客人，可是现在有三个人：一对夫妇和一个单身汉。
萨利看到自己的伞没在那里，脸都变白了，开始伤心地哭起来。她爬上铁梯子，上到高处去检查上一层，但在那个地方还是没找到。其他的乘客为她感到很难过，问她是怎么回事。她告诉他们，她给妈妈买的黑雨伞丢了，而且她在下一站就必须下车了。没有人看到雨伞，她失去了自己非常珍惜的宝贝，心事重重。当其他三名乘客听到故事后，他们问萨利要她妈妈的地址，如果她下车后，有人发现拿错了雨伞，他们还可以把伞还给她妈妈。
第二周，萨利收到了她妈妈的来信。信上说：“非常感谢你可爱的礼物，但你为什么要送我三把一样的黑雨伞呢？”
拓展训练
Kitty was a student in a small town. It was going to be her mother’s birthday. She wanted to buy her a gift that would be nice and useful but not e 【小题1】 .
She went s 【小题2】 after a quick and simple lunch. After she looked for about 40 minutes, she found a shop that was selling cheap umbrellas, and she d 【小题3】 to take a black one. She thought, “Mom can carry it when she is wearing clothes of any c 【小题4】 .” So she bought a lovely black umbrella and took it to school with her until her classes finished.
On her way home on the train she felt h 【小题5】 , so she went to the buffet car(餐车). She left her umbrella on her seat and left. But when she remembered it and r 【小题6】 for it, it was gone. Kitty began to cry. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. She told them the black umbrella she bought for her mother was gone, and she had to get off at the next station. After the three passengers h 【小题7】 this, they asked her for her mother’s a 【小题8】 so that they could send the umbrella to her if someone took it by mistake(弄错)and brought it b 【小题9】
And now a week passed. Kitty got a letter from her mother. It said, “Thank you for your lovely p 【小题10】 ,but why do you send me three black umbrellas?
答案：expensive; shopping; decided; color; hungry; returned; heard; address; back; present