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Theysaythatbloodisthickerthanwater,thatourrelativesaremoreimportanttousthanothers.Everyonewassokindtotheoldladyonherbirthday.Surelyherdaughterwouldmakeanevenbiggerefforttopleasehe?ThePresentItwastheoldlady'sbirthday.Shegotupearlytobereadyforthepost.Fromthesecondfloorflatshecouldseethepostmanwhenhecamedownthestreet,andthelittleboyfromthegroundfloorbroughtupherlettersontherareoccasionswhenanythingcame.Todayshewassurethewouldbesomething.Myrawouldn'tforgethermother'sbirthday,evenifsheseldomwroteatothertimes.OfcourseMyrawasbusy.HerhusbandhadbeenmadeMayor,andMyraherselfhadgotamedalforherworktheaged.TheoldladywasproudofMyra,butEnidwasthedaughtersheloved.Enidhadnevermarried,buthadseemedcontenttolivewithhermother,andteachinaprimaryschoolroundthecorner.Oneevening,however,Enidsaid,I'vearrangedforMrs.Morrisontolookafteryouforafewdays,Mother.TomorrowIhavetogointohospital--justaminoroperation,I'llsoonbehome.Inthemorningshewent,butnevercameback--shediedontheoperatingtable.Myracametothefuneral,andinherefficientwayarrangedforMrs.Morrisontocomeinandlightthefireandgivetheoldladyherbreakfast.Twoyearsagothatwas,andsincethenMyrahadbeentoseehermotherthreetimes,butherhusbandnever.Theoldladywaseighttoday.Shehadputonherbestdress.Perhaps--perhapsMyramightcome.Afterall,eightywasaspecialbirthday,anotherdecadelinedorenduredjustasyouchosetolookatit.EvenifMyradidnotcome,shewouldsendapresent.Theoldladywassureofthat.Twospotsofcolourbrightenedhercheeks.Shewasexcited--likeachild.Shewouldenjoyherday.YesterdayMrs.Morrisonhadgiventheflatanextraclean,andtodayshehadbroughtacardandabunchofmarigoldswhenshecametodothebreakfast.Mrs.Grantdownstairshadmadeacake,andintheafternoonshewasgoingdowntheretotea.Thelittleboy,Johnnie,hadbeenupwithapacketofmints,andsaidhewouldn'tgoouttoplayuntiltheposthadcome.Iguessyou'llgetlotsandlotsofpresents,hesaid,IdidlastwerewhenIwassix.Whatwouldshelike?Apairofslippersperhaps.Oranewcardigan.Acardiganwouldbelovely.Blue'ssuchaprettycolour.Jimhadalwayslikedherinblue.Oratablelamp.Orabook,atravelbook,withpictures,oralittleclock,withclearblacknumbers.Somanylovelythings.Shestoodbythewindow,watching.Thepostmanturnedroundthecorneronhisbicycle.Herheartbeatfast.Johnniehadseenhimtooandrantothegate.Thenclatter,clatterupthestairs.Johnnieknockedatherdoor.Granny,granny,heshouted,I'vegotyourpost.Hegaveherfourenvelopes.Threewereunsealedcardsfromoldfriends.Thefourthwassealed,inMyra'swriting.Theoldladyfeltapangofdisappointment.Noparcel,Johnnie?No,granny.Maybetheparcelwastoolargetocomebyletterpost.Thatwasit.Itwouldcomelaterbyparcelpost.Shemustbepatient.Almostreluctantlyshetoretheenvelopeopen.Foldedinthecardwasapieceofpaper.WrittenonthecardwasamessageundertheprintedHappyBirthday--Buyyourselfsomethingnicewiththecheque,MyraandHarold.Thechequeflutteredtothefloorlikeabirdwithabrokenwing.Slowlytheoldladystoopedtopickitup.Herpresent,herlovelypresent.Withtremblingfingersshetoreitintolittlebits.NEWWORDSrelativen.亲属，亲戚presentn.gift礼物，赠品postmann.邮递员rarea.nothappeningoften罕见的；不常发生的occasionn.specialtime;timewhensth.happens时刻，时机；场合mayorn.chiefofficialofacityortown市长medaln.奖章ageda.oldcontenta.satisfied;pleased满意的；高兴的primarya.first;earliest首要的；最初的arrangevi.makepreparations;plan作安排，筹划minora.notseriousorimportant较小的；次要的operatevi.cutthebodyinordertosetrightorremoveadiseasedpart开刀，动手术operatingtablen.aspecialtableinahospital,whereoperationsaredone手术台funeraln.葬礼efficienta.abletoplanandworkwell效率高的decaden.tenyearsendurevt.bear(pain,suffering,etc.)忍受，忍耐spotn.aroundareathatisdifferentfromthemainsurface点，斑点brightenvt.makebrightorbrighter使发光；使发亮cheekn.eithersideofthefacebelowtheeye面颊extraa.additional额加的，外加的cleann.cleaningbunchn.thingsofthesamekindthataretiedtogether（一）束，（一）串marigoldn.万寿菊（花）packetn.smallparcelbox小包（裹）mintn.薄荷糖slippern.拖鞋cardigann.（羊毛）开衫clattern.anumberofrapidshortknockingsounds咔嗒声grannyn.(colloq.for)grandmotherenvelopen.apapercoverforaletter信封unsealeda.未密封的sealvt.sealeda.密封的writingn.handwriting书法；笔迹pangn.sudden,sharppain剧痛disappointmentn.sadnessbecauseonedoesnotgetwhatonehopesfor失望disappointvt.parceln.包裹reluctantlyad.unwillingly不情愿地，勉强地reluctanta.foldvt.bendintotwoormoreparts折叠chequen.支票fluttervt.movequicklytoandfrointheair飘动stoopvi.bendthebodyforwardsanddownwards弯腰tremblevi.shakeuncontrollablywithquickshortmovements颤抖PHRASES&EXPRESSIONSatothertimesonotheroccasions在别的时候；平时round/aroundthecornerverynearindistanceortime在附近；即将来临afterallinspiteofeverything;itmustberemembered毕竟；终究besureof对...有把握，确信pickuptakeholdofandliftupfromasurface拿起，捡起PROPERNAMESMyra迈拉（女子名）Enid伊妮德（女子名）Morrison莫里森（姓氏）Grant格兰特（姓氏及男子名）Johnnie约翰尼（John的昵称）Jim吉姆（James的昵称）Harold哈罗德(男子名)