汤姆偷偷地回家了

Mark Twain

湯姆在岛上和他两个小伙伴过着自由自在的生活。然而，闲下来的时候，汤姆却隐约有点失落。他似乎有点想家了……

难词探意

Earlier that day， Tom had found where the river had carried their boat. It wasnt too far down from where they staying. It was a little hard to find it this evening， due to the darkness， but now he was pulling it out into the river. As soon as the water started to carry the boat without his help， Tom jumped inside. He let the water take him toward the big riverboat that had been looking for them earlier. Once he arrived， he quietly tied his boat to a tree near the shore and then climbed up a rope hanging from the big riverboat. As soon as he was on the top floor， he heard the bell ring， indicating that the boat was now heading one last time for his village. He hid in the little boat hanging from the side of the large one， and when the riverboat arrived at the village twelve minutes later， Tom climbed back down the rope， into the water， and swam to the shore.

Within minutes， he was back in his aunts garden， looking through the window into a room where people seemed to be talking. Inside were his Aunt Polly， his brother Sid， Mary and Joe Harpers mother.  They were all talking， but Tom couldnt hear them very clearly， so he went quietly to the front door and entered the house. He was crawling on his hands and knees.

“I suddenly feel a little cool. Did someone forget to close the front door？” asked Aunt Polly. “Sid， be a good boy and close the door.”

Hearing Sid coming closer， Tom quickly hid under the table near the door. Luckily， Sid didnt see him.

“I know I yelled at Tom a lot，” Tom heard his aunt saying， “but he wasnt really a bad child. He just had a lot of energy， like any young child. I dont think he tried to be bad. In fact， I dont know a sweeter boy in the whole world than Tom.”

“And my son， Joe， was no different. He was always a good boy too. I was too hard on him. I wish Id been more kind. Now Ill never get to tell him Im sorry，” cried Joes mother.

Tom could hear his aunt start to cry. “I feel so terrible. Just yesterday I yelled at Tom for something he did to the cat.” Tom felt tears coming to his eyes as Aunt Polly told this story to Joes mother. Everyone in the house was crying now.

He was surprised to hear how good a boy hed been. He wanted to run into the room and give his aunt a big hug， but he stayed where he was and listened some more. It seemed that one of Joes hats had been found a few miles down the river， so the whole village assumed theyd drowned. There was going to be a prayer service for the boys in church on Sunday.

After Joes mother had left and Sid and Mary had gone to bed， Tom could hear his aunt praying for him. He loved her more than ever at this moment， because he now knew how much she loved him. He cried again as he listened to her. And she prayed herself to sleep. When he was sure she was sleeping， he carefully walked into her room and looked at her for a while. He felt guilty and wanted to make her feel better. He thought about leaving a note for her， so she would find it when she woke up the next day， but then he changed his mind. An idea suddenly came to him. He kissed his aunt and then started back for the river.

He found another small boat tied to the shore and got into it. He took it across the river， close enough so that he could swim to the island. He had wanted to keep the boat， but he realized that people would look for it the following day， so he left it on the shore， hoping theyd think that it just came untied and drifted across the river by itself.

He then swam to the island. By the time he arrived， the sun had begun to rise. He walked through the trees for a while until he could hear the boys talking. He heard Joe say to Huckleberry： “Dont worry. Tom will be back. He wouldnt just forget about us.”

Then Tom surprised them by coming from behind a tree and saying： “Thats right， Joe！ I could never forget my fellow pirates！”

They all made breakfast， and as they ate， Tom told them what hed seen and heard.

—From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Reading Check

1. Why did the whole villagers assume that the three boys had drowned？

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2. How did Tom feel after he went to his aunts room？

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Language Study

Sentence for writing

By the time he arrived， the sun had begun to rise.  當他回到岛上的时候，太阳已经开始升起。

【信息提取】by the time...意为“到什么时候……”，引导时间状语从句。当从句中的谓语动词为一般过去时时，主句中的谓语动词则通常使用过去完成时。

【句式仿写】等他到家时，雨已经停了。