A story For Valentine's Day (２)
为情人节作的故事（2） 　

　　 "Jo Ann, that was a great dinner," he said one evening. "I appreciate all your effort. Why, in the past 15 years I'll bet you've fixed over 14,000 meals for me and the kids." 　
　　 Then "Gee, Jo Ann, the house looks spiffy. You've really worked hard to get it looking so good." And even "Thanks, Jo Ann, for just being you. I really enjoy your company." 　
　　 Jo Ann was growing worried. "Where's the sarcasm, the criticism?" she wondered.

* fix：fix有很多意思，其中我们最常见的是“修理”。另外还有“安排”、“决定”等，在这里，fix表示“准备餐食”、“调制食物”的意思。作饭对于家庭妇女来说，是责无旁贷的事情，Larry却因此感谢他的妻子，是不是有些奇怪呀！
* spiffy：“漂亮的”、“整洁的”等意思。
* sarcasm：挖苦、讽刺。对于丈夫的夸奖，Jo Ann有点奇怪，因为以前他们经常互相挖苦。现在丈夫掉转头来不断的夸奖她，让她觉得有点琢磨不透。 　

　　 Her fears that something peculiar was happening to her husband were confirmed by 16-year-old Shelly, who complained, "Dad's gone bonkers, Mon. He just told me I looked nice. With all this makeup and these sloppy clothes, he still said it. That's not Dad, Mom. What's wrong with him?"

* go bonkers：发疯。不仅妻子，连女儿都觉得Larry不大对劲，因为他不管他们作什么都要夸奖一番。 　

　　 Whatever was wrong, Larry didn't get over it. Day in and day out he continued focusing on the positive. 　
　　 Over the weeks, Jo Ann grew more accustomed to her mate's unusual behavior and occasionally even gave him a grudging "Thank you." She prided herself on taking it all in stride, until one day something so peculiar happened, she became completely discombobulated:

* grudging：勉强的。这里含有“应付的”的意思，因为Jo Ann对丈夫的言行渐渐习惯了，甚至有时还开始回报说声“谢谢”，但仍然觉得有点不习惯，所以说“谢谢”还是有些勉强的。
* take in stride：stride是“大步”的意思，take in stride是固定词组，表示“轻而易举”的意思，在这里则表示“从容应付”。
* discombobulate：“使困惑”、“挫败”的意思。终于有一天，Jo Ann发现自己也变了，被丈夫改变了。 　

　　 "I want you to take a break," Larry said. "I am going to do the dishes. So please take your hands off that frying pan and leave the kitchen." 　(Long, long pause.) "Thank you, Larry. Thank you very much!" 　
　　Jo Ann's step was now a little lighter, her self-confidence higher and once in a while she hummed. She didn't seem to have as many blue moods anymore. "I rather like Larry's new behavior," she thought.

* hum：“发出嗡嗡的叫声”。这里指Jo Ann开始变得快活起来，还不时低声哼唱歌曲。
* blue：blue除了表示“蓝色”外，还表示“悲伤的”、“沮丧的”等意思。Blue moods就是“不好的心情”的意思。 　

　　 That would be the end of the story except one day another most extraordinary event took place. This time it was Jo Ann who spoke. 　
　　 "Larry," she said, "I want to thank you for going to work and providing for us all these years. I don't think I've ever told you how much I appreciate it." 　　 Larry has never revealed the reason for his dramatic change of behavior no matter how hard Jo Ann has pushed for an answer, and so it will likely remain one of life's mysteries. But it's one I'm thankful to live with.

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