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英语原文故事阅读

通过阅读，能检测到英语学习者的词汇量，对句子的理解、分析能力。下面是我整理的英语原文故事，希望能帮到大家!

wind song

It was a day like the day before and the day after. The wind wrapped itself around the sod cabin in gusting moans as the pioneer family within carried out their tasks pretending not to hear. They heard the wind, however. It had been their constant companion on the open plains since their journey from Philadelphia two years before in the spring of 1865. Following the covered wagon train of ten, the wind had lifted the drab landscape into billows of dust falling on everyone and everything until there seemed but one color and one sound.

Now Rachel sat on the bed hand-stitching a quilt while her mother hunched over a sewing machine across the room rocking her feet backwards and forwards on a foot treadle that turned the shaft that moved the needle. The thumping counter pointed the wind outside. Laughter and giggling erupted from Rachel's younger brother and sister playing jacks on the floor and it brought a smile to their sister's face, but when she glanced back at their mother she stopped smiling.

Rachel felt that her parents worked too hard. They rarely had fun or relaxation like they had enjoyed in Philadelphia. Now her father was always in the fields. Her mother prepared meals on a wood-stoked stove, did the laundry on a washboard, baked flatbread and sewed clothes to trade for goods in town. Rachel remembered her mother singing and telling stories at one time but that was before she had begun complaining about the wind and the dirt and the mud. Eventually she had stopped complaining, but she had stopped singing, too.

The door swung open and it was Rachel's father. Entering in a puff of dust, he coughed and wiped his forehead. "Mighty hot day out there."

"Well, I've got ale for you and flatbread too," replied his wife. She rose from the sewing machine and began setting the table as her husband eased himself into a chair.

"I know. I could smell it from outside. Smelled so good I came in early. What else have you all been up to while I was clearing rows with Molly and Bell?"

"Rachel's done with her quilt."

"Oh?" Rachel's father turned to look as his older daughter proudly showed off her masterpiece. It was a cheerful blooming of color with stitches outlining the squares.

"That's a mighty fine piece of work." He nodded. "How 'bout us going into town this Saturday. You can show off your quilt, your mother can take her flatbread, and I've got a bushel of onions ready."

The young children whooped excitedly and Michael, the boy, began dancing around the room, lifting his knees and clapping. There was reason for jubilation. The 20-mile trip to t

own in the buckboard was a once-a-month affair to which everyone in the family looked forward.

The town of Wausa, Nebraska was not unlike other little towns that had sprung up to welcome the pioneers. It was a mix of old and new buildings with wood plank sidewalks and a wide main street of dirt to accommodate trains of oxen. In one of the newer buildings was the general store. Guarding the door was a wooden Indian and next to it hung a bird cage. The family stopped for a moment to look at the yellow bird inside.

When they stepped into the store it was a universe all its own. There was the scent of wood and soap and spice. The walls were lined with racks of crates and mason jars, and along the aisles were bushel barrels of potatoes and apples. In the back neatly propped against the wall were bolts of fabric. While her brother and sister explored the store and her parents spoke with the grocer about their bread and onions, Rachel wandered back outside to look at the bird.

So bright a yellow it was a miniature piece of the sun in that dusty place. It hopped from perch to perch rarely standing still and as it hopped it kept its eyes on Rachel. Suddenly a shadow passed over the girl and startled, she looked up to see a Sioux Indian brave. Her heart beat faster. Indians sometimes came to town to barter although it was discouraged by the shopkeepers. Such a history of warfare existed between Indians and white settlers that no one felt safe. But this Indian was as fascinated by the bird as Rachel. He stared intently and then said something she couldn't understand. Seeing her puzzled face he repeated in English, "It listens to the wind."

Before Rachel could think about what he had said, the Indian turned and walked away. Her parents appeared a moment later, having seen him through the window.

"Are you all right?" asked her father.

Rachel nodded. "He w

as just looking at the canary."

At that moment the little bird lifted its head, swelled its chest, and sang out a joyous trill. Rachel saw her mother's face light up with delight.

Rachel traded her quilt for the canary and never regretted it because the little bird entertained them endlessly. Sir Gallant, they called him because he did battle with the wind. The louder the wind the more loudly he sang, competition so fierce that sometimes everyone burst out laughing. Sir Gallant lifted their spirits turning dust days back into sunshine days.

Rachel thought about what the Indian had said. She'd heard the wind but unlike the canary she'd never listened to it. Now when she tried she could hear music in the moaning. Of course the music was faint and hidden in the background and she needed her imagination, but it was there if she truly listened. She began humming the sounds she heard. "That's a pretty tune" her mother commented one day, "what song is that?" Rachel didn't reply, unsure how to explain, and her mother didn't press the question. Soon she, too, began humming.

Occasionally bachelor cowpokes stopped by the cabin to buy flatbread or to have their clothes mended. They were always welcomed, not for the money in their pocket but for their company. With no neighbors for twenty miles, it was lonely on the plains. The family and guests traded news, shared a meal, and were serenaded by Sir Gallant who was often the center of conversation.

One afternoon the younger daughter Mary noticed the canary sitting motionless on his perch. "Is Sir Gallant sick?" she asked in alarm.

"No. It's just a dark day outside," her mother reassured her. "It'll be raining soon and he probably doesn't feel like singing."

The younger children accepted this explanation but not Rachel. She knew that while Sir Gallant stopped singing from time to time, he had always hopped about his cage. She went to the door and looked outside. It was deathly quiet, no wind or sounds of birds or prairie dogs. She saw the outline of her father with the two oxen in the north field and at the same time she saw black thunderclouds stacked high into the sky. There was a heaviness to the air and a prickly feeling.

The Indian's words echoed in her mind. "It listens to the wind."

Rachel thought about Sir Gallant's odd behavior and the angry thunderclouds and how strange it felt. Straining to hear, she caught a faint rumbling and it was the sound of thunder.

Suddenly Rachel knew. She absolutely knew they were in danger. "Mom," she shouted. "It's a tornado!"

Immediately Mary and Michael began screaming as their mother gathered them up and, along with Sir Gallant, rushed outside. The safest place was the root cellar at the side of the house. Throwing open the cellar doors, the mother yelled to Rachel t

o warn her father.

Rachel took off running across the field shouting and waving her arms, but not until she was halfway across did she get his attention.

"What's wrong?" he yelled.

It was another moment before she reached him. "Tornado."

His eyes searched the horizon. "I don't see anything, but I can bring in Molly and Bell anyway. I'll come back to the house."

"No! There's no time. Listen!" Rachel was close to hysterical and because she never lied or played tricks, he did as she asked. Finally able to hear the rumbling he jumped to action. Releasing the yoke from the harnesses on the oxen he turned them free and then grabbed Rachel's arm and they began to run. By the time they reached the sod cabin, the tornado was visible, rain drenched their bodies and a thunderous roaring pounded the air.

The tornado lasted only minutes although it felt like hours. When the family emerged from their shelter they were relieved to find their sod cabin intact. Fortunately the oxen, too, had escaped although the scarred earth proved the north field had been in the center of t

he tornado's path. The loss of crops would make things more difficult, but they felt blessed to be alive. They also felt divine intervention had come in the form of a little yellow bird.

The woman stood in the door of the attic and sighed. Gray and dusty in the half light, the room was filled with old furniture, boxes and a thousand forgotten memories. She had inherited its contents from her grandmother and now faced the chore of deciding the fate of each piece. Attracted to an old sewing machine, so old that it had a foot treadle, she opened the top drawer. Amidst the buttons and needles and scissors was a tiny bundle of lace neatly tied with ribbon. Curious she picked it up and unwrapped it. To her surprise she found she was unfolding the burial cloth of a canary, its body long ago dried up but carefully preserved. Holding it in her right hand she stared, perplexed, and quite unconsciously put her left hand over her heart.

Epilog

This story was inspired by an article I read in a magazine years ago. Inheriting her grandmother's sewing machine (who had been a pioneer in one of the plains states), the author of that article found the wrapped body of a canary in one of its drawers. Intrigued she had done research, discovering just how much the pioneers had loved these little birds. The article included the photograph of a prairie cabin with three cages of canaries hanging from its eaves.

HOST:Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.(MUSIC)I'm Doug Johnson.Today, we play music from a new album by Animal Collective ...And answer a question about funeral traditions in the United States ...But first, we tell about a new organization that is finding homes for animals and helping American soldiers at the same time.(MUSIC)HOST:The United States military is dealing with more cases of post traumatic stress disorder among is soldiers than ever before. People with the condition often suffer continual frightening thoughts, feelings of anger and unease. They also may feel disconnected from people, especially family and close friends. PTSD often causes severe sleep problems.One soldier with PTSD recently found an unlikely source of healing for his condition -- his dog Cheyenne. So he started an organization to share his hope with other veterans. Mario Ritter has our story on the group Pets2Vets.MARIO RITTER:The Washington Animal Rescue League center is modern, clean and bright. Classical music plays throughout the building. Water streams down the windows on the roof over every dog's room. The water and music are supposed to calm the dogs. But they still bark and jump up happily as people pass by.(SOUND)The center seems to have almost every kind of dog imaginable. There is even a dog that is half-wolf. She and about one hundred other dogs were rescued from a dog sled operation in Quebec, Canada. The center in Washington took in thirteen of them.But today at the shelter, there is one very little dog with a big job ahead of her. Xena is a Jack Russell mix puppy. She is recovering from a broken leg. 还有后文。。原文地址: 转载自快乐英语网 满意的话不要忘记采纳！谢谢！

But first we tell about a new organization that is finding homes for animals and helping American soldiers at the same time.The United States military is dealing with more cases of post traumatic stress disorder among its soldiers than ever before. People with the condition often suffer continual frightening thoughts, feelings of anger and unease. They also may feel disconnected from people, especially family and close friends. PTSD often causes severe sleep problems.One soldier with PTSD recently found an unlikely source of healing for his condition -- his dog Cheyenne. So he started an organization to share his hope with other veterans. Mario Ritter has our story on the group Pets2Vets.MARIO RITTER:The Washington Animal Rescue League center is modern, clean and bright. Classical music plays throughout the building. Water streams down the windows on the roof over every dog's room. The water and music are supposed to calm the dogs. But they still bark and jump up happily as people pass by.The center seems to have almost every kind of dog imaginable. There is even a dog that is half-wolf. She and about 100 other dogs were rescued from a dog sled operation in Quebec, Canada. The center in Washington took in 13 of them.But today at the shelter, there is one very little dog with a big job ahead of her. Xena is a Jack Russell mix puppy. She is recovering from a broken leg.Will Acevedo, or Ace, is a retired United States Army veteran from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was identified as having post traumatic stress disorder when he returned from service in Iraq. A new organization called Pets2Vets has brought these two together. Will Acevedo will give Xena a home and help heal her leg. Xena will help heal Will Acevedo's heart and mind.WILL ACEVEDO: "Interacting with the puppy's going to be great. I guess, you know, it will give me that feeling of closeness. And, sometimes animals can fill that void that human beings can't fill. Like the dog will love you unconditionally no matter what. You know, people, we judge each other because we're human. But pets, they don't judge you. They love their masters."Dave Sharpe is the founder of Pets2Vets. He had a terrifying experience serving in the United States Air Force in Saudi Arabia and suffered PTSD in silence for years after. His friends and family noticed the change in him. He had trouble controlling his anger. His easy going personality disappeared. He would have terrible experiences at night. He would wake up scared or angry and get out of bed. He would start hitting and kicking the walls or furniture.But then he got a puppy, Cheyenne. He had to take care of her. He says he woke up in the middle of the night as usual. He felt angry. He started hitting and kicking the refrigerator.DAVE SHARPE: "And then I turn around and I see this little puppy dog looking up at me, wagging her tail, and uh, you know, everything just left. I got calm. So I picked her up and I took her to the couch and I just started talking to her about what happened. Playing it in my head. Did I do enough, or did I not do enough? Should I have shot the guy?I know I wasn't being judged. So, talking to Cheyenne, I got a lot of this out. And I cried in front of her. Didn't feel any type of vulnerability. I started getting better. My friends noticed a change in my attitude. My leadership noticed a change in my attitude at work. She's done a lot for me."Dave Sharpe established Pets2Vets as a result of his experience with his own dog. The organization is based in Arlington, Virginia. It has been hugely popular. It officially opened in October. Already it is connecting pets with two to three veterans each week. The Washington Animal Rescue League does not charge the usual adoption fees for the vets. And Pets2Vets provides a start-up kit of pet equipment.Dave Sharpe sees even bigger things for the group. There are Veterans Affairs hospitals and animal rescue centers in every state. He also thinks the group could be expanded to include other victims of post traumatic stress disorder.But right now just taking care of his fellow soldiers is a lot. Dave Sharpe says the veterans have sacrificed so much. And, the dogs and cats have so much to give. So everybody wins.是这一段吗？我不得不告诉你，我是从google 上面搜出来的，但希望能帮助到你.