Para. 17

And of course the trimmings were from the farm too: the hickory nut cake made with nuts gathered in the grove after the first frost and hulled out by my cousins with yellowed hands; the black walnut cookies, sweeter than any taste; the fudge with butternuts crowding it. In the mornings we would be given a hammer, a flat iron, and a bowl of nuts to crack and pick out for the homemade ice cream.

1. And of course the trimmings were from the farm too: the hickory nut cake made with nuts gathered in the grove after the first frost and hulled out by my cousins with yellowed hands; the black walnut cookies, sweeter than any taste; the fudge with butternuts crowding it.

(1) trimmings: (pl. ) side dishes of a meal

(2) yellowed hands: fingers stained by working on the hickory nuts

2. In the mornings we would be given a hammer, a flat iron, and a bowl of nuts to crack and pick out for the homemade ice cream.

(1) In those days ice cream didn’t come from shops; it was also homemade

(2) (extension) a hard (or tough) nut to crack: (inf.) a person, problem, or thing difficult to understand or deal with, e. g. Painting the closet was a tough nut to crack.

Para. 18

And there was the orchard beyond the kitchen window, the Wealthy, the Russet, the Wolf with its giant-sized fruit, and an apple romantically called the Northern Spy as if it were a suspicious character out of the Civil War.

1. And there was the orchard beyond the kitchen window, the Wealthy, the Russet, the Wolf with its giant-sized fruit, and an apple called the Northern Spy, as if it were a suspicious character out of the Civil War.

(1) the Wealthy, the Russet, the Wolf, the Northern Spy, see Note Vocabulary 34-37.

(2) Some of the land was given by the government as a kind of recognition to the author’s grandfather for his service in the Civil War. The connection between the apple tree “the Northern Spy” and the Civil War reminds readers of the background of this article (It was only a few decades after the Civil War and people still thought of it from time to time); on the other hand, this also shows the interesting imagination of the boy.

Para. 19

All families had their special Christmas food. Ours was called Dutch Bread, made from a dough halfway between bread and cake, stuffed with citron and every sort of nut from the farm—hazel, black walnut, hickory, butternut. A little round one was always baked for me in a Clabber Girl baking soda can, and my last act on Christmas Eve was to put it by the tree so that Santa Clans would find it and have a snack—after all, he’d come a long, cold way to our house. And every Christmas morning, he would have eaten it. My aunt made the same Dutch Bread and we smeared over it the same butter she had been churning from their own, Jersey (highest butterfat content) milk that same morning.

1. Ours was called Dutch Bread, made from a dough halfway between bread and cake, stuffed with citron and every sort of nut from the farm－hazel, black walnut, hickory, butternut.

citron: a yellow, thick-skinned fruit resembling a lime or lemon but larger and less acid

2. A little round one was always baked for me in a Clabber Girl baking soda can, and my last act on Christmas Eve was to put it by the tree so that Santa Claus would find it and have a snack－after all, he’d come a long, cold way to our house. And every Christmas morning, he would have eaten it.

(1) Clabber Girl: a brand name

(2) baking soda: 碳酸氢钠，发酵粉

(3) Santa Claus: The personification of the spirit of Christmas, usually represented as a jolly, fat old man with a white beard and a red suit, who brings gifts to good children on Christmas Eve. Santa Claus derives from St. Nicholas, an austere-looking 4th century Christian [Catholic] bishop of Asia Minor, who was noted for his good works. The idea of gift giving associated with this saint spread from Asia Minor to Europe and was brought to the United States by early Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The American writer Washington Irving contributed to the concept of St. Nicholas as a laughing holiday figure, and in 1822, Clement Moore composed his “Visit from St. Nicholas” with its noted description. But the image of Santa in fur- trimmed dress that ultimately captured the imagination was drawn in the United States by the cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1863.(from Americana Encyclopedia)

3. My aunt made the same Dutch Bread and we smeared over it the same butter she had been churning from their own Jersey (highest butterfat content) milk that same morning.

(1) smear: to spread or daub with a sticky, greasy, or dirty substance. Smear also has the meaning of “to stain or attempt to destroy the reputation of; vilify”, e. g. political enemies who smeared his name.

(2) churn: to stir, beat, or shake (milk or cream) in a container

(extension) to churn out: (a bit derog. )to produce regularly and copiously, esp. in a mechanical way, e. g. This factory churns out lots and lots of cars a day. That young writer churns out about three to four novels every year.

Para. 20

To eat in the same room where food is cooked—that is the way to thank the Lord for His abundance. The long table, with its different levels where additions had been made for the small fry, ran the length of the kitchen. The air was heavy with odors not only of food on plates but of the act of cooking itself, along with the metallic smell of heated iron from the hard-working Smoke Eater, and the whole stove offered us its yet uneaten prospects of more goose and untouched pies. To see the giblet gravy made and poured into a gravy boat, which had painted on its sides winter scenes of boys sliding and deer bounding over snow, is the surest way to overeat its swimming richness.

1. The long table, with its different levels where additions had been made for the small fry, ran the length of the kitchen.

(1) addition: a thing or part added; increase; specifically, a room or rooms added to a building

(2) small fry: small kids (originally small adult fish, esp. when in large groups)

(3)由于为孩子们不断加一些高低不等的桌面，这时长桌几乎和厨房一样长。

2. The air was heavy with odors not only of food on plates but of the act of cooking itself, along with the metallic smell of heated iron from the hardworking Smoke Eater, and the whole stove offered us its yet uneaten prospects of more goose and untouched pies.

(1) heavy with odors: 浓香四溢

(2)There were all kinds of odors in the kitchen: food, the cooking process, heated metal, etc.

(3) the hardworking Smoke Eater: Personification, as if it knew today was a special occasion and worked extra hard. The stove had probably been on from early morning, and the iron sent out a scorching smell.

(4) prospect: sth. hoped for or expected; a possibility

(5) yet uneaten prospects of more goose and untouched pies: 更多的等待上桌的烧鹅和馅饼

3. To see the giblet gravy made and poured into a gravy boat, which had painted on its sides winter scenes of boys sliding and deer bounding over snow,is the surest way to overeat its swimming richness.

(1) It’s amazing how people remember details－the author could still recall vividly how the gravy boat was painted.

(2) giblet gravy: a sauce made by thickening and seasoning the juice given off by the edible heart, liver, or gizzard of a fowl in cooking

(3) gravy boat: a boat-shaped dish for serving gravy

(4) its swimming richness: the thick, fluid, somewhat overflowing, gravy in the gravy boat

(5) 船形肉卤盘的周围描绘着一幅冬天的情景，雪地上孩子们滑着雪橇，小鹿欢快地跳跃；看着家禽的内脏制成浓香的卤汁，再倒入这样的盘中，人们一定忍不住会吃得过量。

Para. 21

The warning for Christmas dinner was always an order to go to the milk house for cream, where we skimmed From the cooling pans of fresh milk the cream which had the same golden color as the flanks of the Jersey cows which had given it. The last deed before eating was grinding the coffee beans in the little mill, adding that exotic odor to the more native ones of goose and spiced pumpkin pie. Then all would sit at the table and my uncle would ask the grace, sometimes in German, but later, for the benefit of us ignorant children, in English:

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.

Share this food that you have blessed.

1. The warning for Christmas dinner was always an order to go to the milk house for cream where we skimmed from the cooling pans of fresh milk the cream which had the same golden color as the flanks of the Jersey cows which had given it.

(1) warning: Advance notification. When the children were order to get some cream, they knew the dinner was about to begin.

(2) skim the cream from (off) the milk: or “skim the milk of its cream”, to remove floating matter from a liquid, or to take away the best or finest parts from; (extension) cream of the crop: the best of a group

(3) the cream which had the same golden color as the flanks of the Jersey cows: the color of the cream was yellowish white, similar to that of the fleshy sides of the Jersey cows, which was grayish yellow brown to light grayish or moderate reddish Brown

2. The last deed before eating was grinding the coffee beans in the little mill, adding that exotic odor to the more native ones of goose and spiced pumpkin pie.

(1) deed: action

(2) mill: a machine for grinding or pulverizing any solid material

(3) exotic: foreign, not native. Because coffee was imported, it had an exotic odor, which was contrasted with the smells of roast goose and pumpkin pies which were homemade.

(4) The author describes every detail, but it is so picturesque, humorous, and dramatic that you don’t get bored.

3. Then all would sit at the table and my uncle would ask the grace, sometimes in German, but later, for the benefit of us ignorant children, in English:...

(1) grace: a short prayer in which blessing is asked, or thanks are given, for a meal, usually for god’s kindness

(2) sometimes in German: A hint that they were probably of German origin.

According to the U. S. Bureau of the Census, more than 7 million German immigrants came to the United States between 1820 and 1990, accounting for 14. 1% of the total immigration. By 1850, Germany was the leading country of origin of immigrants to the United States. The Germans largely settled in farm communities, with the majority in southern Pennsylvania. Because of political, economic and religious reasons, the second half of the 19th century witnessed the largest number of German immigrants to the U.S., close to 4. 5 million in all. (http://www-lib. iupui.edu/kade/adams/chap2. html)

Para. 22

There are no blessings like that any more: every scrap of food for which my uncle had asked the blessing was the result of his own hard work. What he took to the Lord for Him to make holy was the plain substance that an Iowa farm could produce in an average year with decent rainfall and proper plowing and manure.

1. There are no blessings like that any more: every scrap of food for which my uncle had asked the blessing was the result of his own hard work.

My uncle thanked God for kindly giving them the food that he produced on his farm.

2. What he took to the Lord for Him to make holy was the plain substance that an Iowa farm could produce in an average year with decent rainfall and proper plowing and manure.

(1) plain: not elaborate or complicated; simple

(2) decent: reasonably good; adequate

(3)我叔叔敬献给上帝、请他赐福的所有食物都出自一个爱荷华州农场在一般年景中，雨水充足时，通过勤劳耕作、适当施肥所获得的普通收成。

Para. 23

The first act of dedication on such a Christmas was to the occasion which had begun it, thanks to the Child of a pastoral couple who no doubt knew a good deal about rainfall and grass and the fattening of animals. The second act of dedication was to the ceremony of eating. My aunt kept a turmoil of food circulating, and to refuse any of it was somehow to violate the elevated nature of the day. We were there not only to celebrate a fortunate event for mankind, but also to recognize that suffering is the natural lot of men—and to consume the length and breadth of that meal was to suffer! But we all faced the ordeal with courage. Uncle Ben would let out his belt—a fancy Western belt with steer heads and silver buckle—with a snap and a sigh. The women managed better by always getting up from the table and trotting to the kitchen sink or the Smoke Eater or outdoors for some item left in the cold. The men sat there grimly enduring the glory of their appetites.

1. The first act of dedication on such a Christmas was to the occasion which had begun it, thanks to the Child of a pastoral couple who no doubt knew a great deal about rainfall and grass and the fattening of animals.

(1) the occasion which had begun it: the birth of Jesus Christ

(2) the Child of a pastoral couple: Jesus Christ was born from humble beginnings. His mother Mary and her husband Joseph were a couple living in a town called Nazareth in Galillee.

(3)A lot of farmers believe that they are god’s chosen few, because, among other reasons, they are closer to nature and depend more on their honest labor; whereas Businessmen are just the opposite. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers,very much wanted a republic of small farmers: “Those who labor in the earth, ” he wrote, “are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts He has made His peculiar deposit for genuine and substantial virtue.” ( George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America: A Narrative History, 3rd ed, Vol. I, p. 306)

2. My aunt kept a turmoil of food circulating, and to refuse any of it was somehow to violate the elevated nature of the day.

(1) turmoil: tumult; commotion: uproar: confusion. It was a state of confusion because various dishes were kept going.

(2) elevated: exalted, dignified, lofty; high-spirited, exhilarated

(3) It would be against the holy purpose and elated mood of Christmas to refuse any food passed to you. It is expressed in a humorous way.

3. We were there not only to celebrate a fortunate event for mankind, but also to recognize that suffering is the natural lot of men－and to consume the length and breadth of that meal was to suffer!

(1) a fortunate event of mankind: According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was the messiah of the Christian world, the god of those who followed the Christian faith.

(2) lot: one’s portion in life, fortune; fate

(3) to consume the length and breath of that meal was to suffer: The author humorously points out that it was difficult to eat up all the food on the table, but they had to, in a sense, cram down as much as possible as if fulfilling E religious duty.

(4) 此刻，我们不仅要庆祝人类的一件幸事，还要意识到受苦受难是人类的天命—享用整整一桌子的美食的确是件苦差事！

4. But we all faced the ordeal with courage.

(1) ordeal: any difficult, painful, or trying experience. In other words, we all began to attack the meal with courage.

(2) 但我们都勇敢地面对这一苦差事。

5. Uncle Ben would let out his belt－a fancy Western belt with steer heads and silver buckle－with a snap and a sigh.

(1) let out: release

(2) The telling details of Uncle Ben’s belt－fancy-looking, cowboy style, steer heads, silver buckle－all help bring out his romantic and adventurous disposition.

(3) steer: any castrated male cattle raised for beef

(4) with a snap and a sigh: Alliteration. Uncle Ben released his belt with a sudden, loud clicking sound and meanwhile he let out a long, deep, audible breath in satisfaction.

6. The women managed better by always getting up from the table and trotting to the kitchen sink or the Smoke Eater or outdoors for some item left in the cold.

What did the women do?

The women kept removing empty plates from the table, getting more dishes from the range, or bringing in something from outside. By walking around, they managed to shake down the food in their stomach and eat more

7. The men sat there grimly enduring the glory of their appetites.

(1) grimly: seriously, earnestly, relentlessly, resolutely

(2) glory:a height of achievement, enjoyment, or prosperity, used here in a humorous way

(3)enduring the glory of their appetites: suffering from eating to the full capacity of their stomachs

(4) The men overate themselves to such a degree that they could not move about and had to sit there.

Para. 24

After dinner, late in the afternoon, the women would make despairing gestures toward the dirty dishes and scoop up hot water from the reservoir at the side of the range. The men would go to the barn and look after the livestock. My older cousin would take his new .22 rifle and stalk out across the pasture with the remark, “I saw that fox just now looking for his Christmas goose.” Or sleds would be dragged out and we would slide in a long snake, feet hooked into the sled behind, down the hill and across the westward-sloping fields into the sunset. Bones would be thrown to dogs, suet tied in the oak trees for the juncos and winter-defying chickadees, a saucer of skimmed milk set out for the cats, daintily and disgustedly picking their padded feet through the snow, and crumbs scattered on a bird feeder where already the crimson cardinals would be dropping out of the sky like blood. Then back to the house for a final warming-up before leaving.There was usually a song around the tree before we were all bundled up, many thanks all around for gifts, the basket as loaded as when it came, more so, for left-over food had been piled in it. My father and uncle would have brought up the team from the barn and hooked them into the double shafts of the bobsled, and we would all go out into the freezing air of early evening.

1. After dinner, late in the afternoon, the women would make despairing gestures toward the dirty dishes and scoop up hot water from the reservoir at the side of the range.

Why did the women make despairing gestures?

Because there were too many dirty dishes.

2. The men would go to the barn and look after the livestock. My older cousin would take his new 22 rifle and stalk out across the pasture with the remark, “I saw that fox just now looking for his Christmas goose.”

(1) stalk: to pursue or approach game, an enemy, etc., stealthily, as from cover

(2) Why did the older cousin make the remark? Did he really see a fox? No, it’s said in a humorous way.

3. Or sleds would be dragged out and we would slide in a long snake, feet hooked up into the sled behind, down the hill and across the westward-sloping fields into the sunset.

(1) slide in a long snake: move on their sleds over snow in a sinuous manner

(2)into the sunset: Christmas dinner used to be held at noon and it probably lasted a few hours. When the kids went out playing, it was approaching dusk.

3. Bones would be thrown to dogs, suet tied in the oak trees for the juncos and winter-defying chickadees, a saucer of skimmed milk set out for the cats, daintily and disgustedly picking their padded feet through the snow, and crumbs scattered on a bird feeder where already the crimson cardinals would be dropping out of the sky like blood.

(1) Dogs, cats, birds, etc. all had their share of Christmas dinner.

(2) daintily and disgustedly: alliteration. The cats moved cautiously over the snow, which made them appear delicate and graceful, but they didn’t seem to like the snow very much, therefore looking a bit irritated and impatient.

(3)padded feet: Cats have some cushion-like flesh on the underpart of their toes and feet.

(4) feeder: sth. with which you feed a bird

(5) cardinal: any of the various passerine birds, esp. a bright-red crested American species with a red bill

(6) dropping out of the sky like blood: The cardinals were deeply and vividly red, so when they swooped down on the feeder, they were like drops of blood out of the sky.

5. There was usually a song around the tree before we were bundled up, many thanks all around for gifts, the basket as loaded as when it came, more so, for left-over food had been piled in it.

bundle up: to put on plenty of warm clothing; in this case for the cold journey back home.

Para. 25

And now those bells again, as the horses, impatient from their long standing in the barn, stamped and shook their harness, my lather holding them hack with a soft clucking in his throat and a hard pull on the reins. The smell of wood smoke flavoring the air in our noses, the cousins shivering with cold, “Goodbye, good-bye,” called out from everyone, and the bobsled would move off, creaking over the frost-brittle snow. All of us, my mother included, would dig down in the straw and pull the buffalo robes up to our chins. As the horses settled into a steady trot, the bells gently chiming in their rhythmical beat, we would fall half asleep, the hiss of the runners comforting. As we looked up at the night sky through half-closed eyelids, the constant bounce and swerve of the runners would seem to shake the little stars as if they would fall into our laps. But that one great star in the East never wavered. Nothing could shake it from the sky as we drifted home on Christmas.

1. How does the author end the essay? In what way does the ending echo the beginning and how does it rise above the beginning?

The article begins and ends with the sound of bells. In the beginning, bells are used to evoke the memory of Christmas celebration for most Americans and to introduce the special Christmas of the author’s family. Their bells also reveal when and where the event took place. In the ending, after sharing with us all the activities on that day,the author again describes the sound of bells, this time on their way back home, and by then they had done whatever they could to honor this holy occasion and appreciated better the meaning of Christmas.

2.And now those bells again, as the horses, impatient from their long standing in the bar, stamped and shook their harness, my father holding them back with a soft clucking in his throat and a hard pull on the reins.

(1) The horses were eager to go home, even on such a special occasions; after all,there was no place like home.

(2) clucking: a low, sharp, clicking sound as of a hen, sometimes used in coaxing a horse

3. The smell of wood smoke flavoring the air in our noses, the cousins shivering with cold, “Good-bye, goodbye, ” called out from everyone, and the bobsled would move off, creaking over the frost-brittle snow.

frost-brittle: the surface of the snow being as crisp and crunchy as icy crystals

4. As the horses settled into a steady trot, the bells gently chiming in their rhythmical beat, we fall half asleep, the hiss of the runners comforting.

(1) chime: to sound in harmony, as bells.

(2) beat: repeated stroke or blow

rhythmical beat, we fall half asleep, the hiss of the runners comforting.

(1) chime: to sound in harmony, as bells.

(2) beat: repeated stroke or blow

(3)fall half asleep: They were deliciously tired after so much traveling, laughing, talking,working, eating and drinking that day.

4. As we looked up at the night sky through half-closed eyelids, the constant bounce and swerve of the runners would seem to shake the little stars as if they would fall into our laps.

(1) half-closed eyelids: Echoing the above sentence; they were half asleep.

(2) swerve: to turn aside or cause to turn aside sharply or suddenly from a straight line, course, etc.

(3) deviate, swerve, veer

Deviate suggests a turning aside, often to only a slight degree, from the correct or prescribed course, standard, doctrine, etc., e. g. to deviate from the truth.

Swerve implies a sudden or sharp turning from a path, course, etc., e. g. The car swerved to avoid hitting us.

Veer, originally used of ships and wind, suggests a turning or series of turnings so as to change direction.

(4) as if they would fall into our laps: The starry sky seemed so low and our sleds bumped over snow so much that it seemed the twinkling stars would fall from the sky into the place where we lay.

5. But that one great star in the East never wavered. Nothing could shake it from the sky as we drifted home on Christmas.

(1) waver: to swing and sway to and fro, flutter

(2) drift: to proceed or move unhurriedly and smoothly; in this case moving smoothly on their sleds over snow.

(3) the great star in the East: See Note 5. The very star, which the wise men and the shepherds followed in their long journey to the inn in Bethlehem to find their Lord, now guided us on our way back home. Today being Christmas, that star also seemed unusual: it not only lit up the road, but it kindled the light in our heart as well so that we would feel warm and wouldn’t be lost.