One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word“Poems”appeared in big, hot pink letters.
一天清晨，我走进客厅，发现我妈妈正在阅读一本厚厚的书，书名叫做《最受喜爱的诗，值得一读再读》。我对这本书产生兴趣的唯一原因是“诗”这个词用大号的亮粉色字母出现。

“Is it good?”I asked her.
“这本书好看吗？”我问她。

“Yeah,”she answered.“There’s one I really like and you’ll like it, too.”I leaned forward.
“是的，”她回答。“有一首我特别喜欢，你也会喜欢的。”我身体前倾。

“‘Patty Poem,’”she read the title. Who is Patty?I wondered. The poem began:
“《帕蒂诗》”，她读出标题。帕蒂是谁？我想知道。诗是这样开始的：

She never puts her toys away, Just leaves them scattered① where they lay, …
她从不收拾玩具，只是让它们散乱地躺在那里……①散乱的

The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:
最后一部分很快就来了：

When she grows and gathers poise②, I’ll miss her harum-scarum③noise, And look in vain④for scattered toys, And I’ll be sad.
当她长大后，举止变得优雅，我会怀念她那无拘无束的喧闹声，徒劳地寻找散落的玩具，我会感到很悲伤。②稳重③ 莽撞的④ 徒劳地

A terrible sorrow washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock.
一种可怕的悲伤涌上心头。不管帕蒂是谁，她都是个讨厌的女孩。然后是震惊。

“It’s you, honey,”my mother said sadly.
“是你，亲爱的，”我妈妈悲伤地说。

To my mother, the poem revealed a parent’s af fection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the“she”in the poem was a horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst out crying.
对我妈妈来说，这首诗揭示了一个父母在孩子长大离开时的深情。对我来说，诗中的“她”是个恐怖的存在。那是我妈妈会感到悲伤。这太可怕了，我忍不住哭了出来。
“What’s wrong?”my mother asked.

“怎么了？”我妈妈问。

“Oh Mama,”I cried.“I don’t want to grow up ever!”
“哦，妈妈，”我哭泣着。“我永远也不想长大！”

She smiled.“Honey, it’s okay. You’re not growing up anytime soon. And when you do,I’ll still love you, okay?”
她微笑着。“亲爱的，没关系。你短时间内不会长大。而且当你长大了，我还是会爱你的，好吗？”

“Okay,”I was still weeping. My panic had gone. But I could not help thinking about thatsilly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person’s world.
“好的，”我仍在哭泣。我的恐慌已经消失了。但我不禁想起了那首愚蠢的诗。经过一段看似安全的时间后，我又读了一遍那首诗，感到困惑。它所有的部分都如此契合，就像一个拼图。语言很简单，简单到我能清楚地理解它的意思，但它仍然很美。我现在对诗歌产生了浓厚的兴趣，那些有力量改变或摧毁一个人世界的文字。

I have since fallen in love with other poems, but“Patty Poem”remains my poem. After all, “Patty Poem”gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, butbecause it was the one that hurt me the most.
从那以后，我爱上了其他许多诗，但“帕蒂诗”仍然是我最喜欢的诗。毕竟，“帕蒂诗”让我爱上了诗歌，并不是因为它是那首振奋我精神的诗，而是因为它是伤害我最深的那一首。

1. Why was the writer attracted by the book Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again?
   A. It was a thick enough book.
   B. Something on its cover caught her eye.
   C. Her mother was reading it with interest.
   D. It had a meaningful title.
   答案：B

2. After her mother read the poem to her, the writer felt _ at first.
   A. sad B. excited
   C. horrified D. confused
   答案：A

3. The writer’s mother liked to read“Patty Poem”probably because _.
   A. it reflected her own childhood
   B. it was written in simple language
   C. it was composed by a famous poet
   D. it gave her a hint of what would happen
   答案：D

4. It can be concluded from the passage that“Patty Poem”leads the writer to _.
   A. discover the power of poetry
   B. recognize her love for puzzles
   C. find her eagerness to grow up
   D. experience great homesickness
   答案：A