CHAPTER FOUR
My New Friend
I could not understand Helen's ideas, but I had a feeling she
was right. I looked at her in amazement.
"You say you have faults, Helen. What are they? To me you seem
very good."
"You are wrong," she answered. "I am careless, and I forget
the rules of the school. I read when I should be doing my
homework. So, Miss Scatcherd is right to scold me."
"Is Miss Temple as [-----1-----] as that?" I asked.
A soft smile passed over Helen's normally serious face.
"Miss Temple is very kind. She is full of goodness. She gently
tells me my mistakes, and is always happy when I do well. But
even when she helps me, I am always dreaming, and thinking
about other things. Then I can't answer the teacher's
questions."
"But today in history class you knew all the answers!" I said.
"I thought it was an interesting [-----2-----], tha's all,"
she replied.
"You must think Miss Temple's lessons are interesting, because
you like her and she is good to you. I'm like that. I love
those who love me, and I hate those who punish me unfairly."
"You should read the Bible, Jane. People who believe in [----
-3-----] should love their enemies," said Helen.
"Then I would love the Reed family, which is impossible." I
cried.
Helen listened carefully to the long story of my life at
Gateshead.
"Well," I asked at the end, "Mrs. Reed is a bad woman, isn't
she? Don't you agree with me?"
"It's true she is unkind, but only because she dislikes your
faults. Look how angrily you remember every word! You would be
happier if you tried to forget her scolding. Life is too short
to hate other people, Jane. We all have faults, but when we
die, only the pure flame of the spirit will be left. That's
why I never think of revenge, I never consider life unfair. I
live in calm, looking forward to the end."
For a momnet we both stayed silent. Then one of the big girls
came up, calling,"Helen Burns! You go and put away your work
immediately or I'll tell Miss Scatcherd!"
Helen sighed, but stood up and silently obeyed her.
Vocabulary Focus
looking forward to……：期待于……，此处为现在分词短语做主语“
I”的补语。 look forward to后面接名词或动名词形式。例如：I'm
looking forward to the weekend.(我盼望周末的来临。)
答案：
1.strict
2.subject
3.Jesus Christ
