by Mildred Hondorf

翻译：范婕

琴声悠扬,为妈妈弹奏

Learning the Piano

by Mildred Hondorf

翻译：范婕

She was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special.

Track 6

I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. Robby was 11 years old when his mother dropped him off for his first piano lesson. Robby said that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano.

Over the months, he tried and tried while I listened and encouraged him. At the end of each weekly lesson, he’d always say, “My mom’s going to hear me play some day.” But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any1)inborn ability.

Then one day, Robby stopped coming to my lessons any more.

Several weeks later, I mailed a2)flyer to the students’ homes about the3)upcoming4)recital. To my surprise, Robby asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that he really did not5)qualify, but he said that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons. “Please...I’ve just got to play!” he insisted.

The night for the recital came and it

1) inborn [5InbC:n] adj. 天赋的，天生的

2) flyer [5flaIE] n. 宣传单

3) upcoming [Qp5kQmIN] adj. 即将到来的

4) recital [rI5saItl] n. 音乐演奏会

5) qualify [5kwɒlIfaI] v. 取得资格，合格

词组加油站

elementary school 小学

drop off 让……下车was going well at the beginning. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then, Robby came up on stage. He pulled out the piano6)bench and started to play. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart’s7)concerto.

His fingers were light on the piano keys. I had never heard it played so well by someone his age! After six minutes, he ended and everyone was in wild applause.

Through the microphone, Robby said, “Well, Miss...remember I told you that my mom was sick? Actually, she had cancer and passed away this morning. She was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house that evening.

That night, I became a student...of Robby’s. He was the teacher. It is him that taught me the meaning of8)perseverance and love and believing in yourself.

词组加油站

go well 进展顺利

pull out 拉出，抽出

pass away 逝世

6) bench [bentF] n. 长凳

7) concerto [kEn5tFeEtEJ] n. 协奏曲

8) perseverance [7pE:sI5vIErEns] n. 毅力，坚持不懈

我从前是艾奥瓦州得梅因市的一名小学音乐教师。罗比的妈妈第一次带他来上钢琴课的时候，他11岁。罗比说，他妈妈一直以来的梦想就是听他弹钢琴。

几个月来，罗比不断地练习。而我一边听着，一边也在鼓励着他。每个星期上完课后，他总会说：“终有一天，妈妈一定会听到我弹奏钢琴的。”但这似乎不大可能，因为他没有一点儿弹琴的天赋。

后来有一天，罗比再也没有来上课了。

几个星期后，我向学生们的家里各寄去了一张宣传单，是关于即将举行的音乐演奏会的。让我吃惊的是，罗比问了我他能否在演奏会上弹奏。我告诉他，他现在技术欠佳，实在不够资格。但罗比说，之前因为他妈妈生病了，所以无法带他来上钢琴课。“拜托您了……我必须要弹！”罗比坚持着。

演奏会之夜到来了，开始时都进行得挺顺利的。学生们早前一直在为此勤加练习，所以都表现得十分出色。后来，罗比走上了舞台。他把琴凳拉了出来，坐下后便开始弹奏。当他说出他所要演奏的是莫扎特的协奏曲时，我很是惊讶。

他的手指在琴键上很轻盈。我真的从未听说过哪个像他这般年纪的孩子能把莫扎特的音乐演奏得如此之好。他总共弹了六分钟，结束后，全场掌声雷动。

站在麦克风前，罗比说：“嗯，老师……还记得我跟您说过我妈妈生病了吗？其实，她得了癌症，就在今天早上去世了。妈妈的耳朵天生就听不见，所以今夜，天堂里的她第一次能够听到我的演奏。这首曲子是特别为妈妈弹的。”

那一晚，在场的所有人都感动落泪了。

那一晚，我变成了……罗比的学生。他才是老师。是他让我懂得了坚持、爱与相信自己的含义。