That little porcelain boat keeps me in touch with mothers life， her joy and her love.
My Irreplaceable Treasure
Recently I gave a dinner party for some close friends. To add a touch of eleganceelegance n.高雅， 典雅， 优雅， 雅致 to the evening， I brought out the good stuff—my white Royal Crown Derby china with the fine blueandgold border.
这只小小的船形瓷器将我同母亲的人生、母亲的欢乐和母的慈爱永远相联。
人生珍品
最近我为几位亲密的朋友举办了一次晚宴。为了在那个夜晚增添点优雅的情调，我拿出了一件宝物——图案的精美蓝边和金边的白色王冠德比牌的瓷器。
When we were seated， one of the guests noticed the beatup gravy boat Id placed among the newer， better dinnerwaredinnerware n.整套的餐具. “Is it an heirloom？” she asked tactfully.
I admit the piece does look rather conspicuous. For one thing， it matches nothing else. Its also old and chipped. But that little gravy boat is much more than an heirloom to me. It is the one thing in this world I will never part with.
The story begins more than 50 years ago， when I was seven years old and we lived in a big house along the Ohio River in New Richmond， Ohio. All that separatedseparate vt.& vi.分开，隔离 the house from the river was the street and our wide front lawn. In anticipationanticipation n.预期， 预料 of high water， the ground floor had been built seven feet above grade.
大家就座之后，有位客人留意到了那只破旧的船形肉卤盘——我已把它放置在了转动新颖而别致的餐具中。“这是件传家宝物吗？”她巧妙地问道。
我承认这只盘子看起来的确惹眼。首先，它与其他任何东西都相称；再者，它古老且有缺口。但对我来说，这只小小的船形肉卤盘并非是一件传家之宝。它是这个世上我一生都不会放弃的一件东西。
故事发生在50多年前，当年我七岁，我们住在俄亥俄州新里士满俄亥俄河边的一幢大房子里。房子跟河水只隔着一条街道，房前还有宽阔的草坪。考虑到河水有可能上涨，一楼建得比地面高出七英尺。
Late in December the heavy rains came， and the river climbed to the tops of its banks. When the water began to rise in a serious way， my parents made plans in case the river should invadeinvade vt.侵略， 侵袭， 拥挤 our house. My mother decided she would pack our books and her fine china in a small den off the master bedroom.
The china was not nearly as good as it was old. Each piece had a gold rim and a band of roses. But the service had been her mothers and was precious to her. As she packed the china with great care， she said to me， “You must treasure the things that people you love have cherished. It keeps you in touch with them.”
I didnt understandunderstand v.懂得；明白；理解， since Id never owned anything I cared all that much about. Still， planning for disaster held considerableconsiderable adj.相当大的；重要的 fascination for me.
12月末下起了大暴雨，河水上涨到河沿上。河水开始凶猛狂涨时，我父母就做了各种应急措施，防止河水淹进我们的房子。母亲决定将我们的书籍以及她精美的瓷器搬离大卧室，放到楼上的小书房里。
这些瓷器一点也看不出年代久远的痕迹。每件上面都绘着金边和玫瑰花。这是我外婆留传下来的，对母亲而言非常珍贵。她一边细心地包好它们，一边对我说：“你必须珍爱这些你所爱的人曾经珍惜过的东西。这可以让你同他们保持联系。”
当时我并不明白她的意思，因为我从没有拥有过什么能让我这般珍爱的东西。不过，对于为防止洪灾而出谋划策，我很是感兴趣。
The plan was to move upstairs if the river reached the seventh of the steps that led to the front porch. We would keep a rowboatrowboat n.划艇， 小舟 downstairs so we could get from room to room. The one thing we would not do was leave the house. My father， the towns only doctor， had to be where sick people could find him.
I checked on the rivers rise several times a day and lived in a state of hopeful alarm that the water would climb all the way up to the house. It did not disappoint. The muddy water rose higher until， at last， the critical seventh step was reached.
We worked for days carrying things upstairs， until， late one afternoon， the water edged over the thresholdthreshold n.门槛， 开始， 开端， 极限 and rushed into the house. I watched， amazed at how rapidly it rose.
计划是这样的，只要河水涨到通往前廊的第七个台阶时，我们就搬上楼去。我们将在楼下系一只小舟，以便能从一个房间划向另一个房间。我们要做的一件事就是守住自己的家园。父亲是镇上惟一的大夫，他得留在病人能找到他的地方。
每天我都要查看河水上涨的情况几次，并且预料河水将漫到房屋。结果不出所料，洪水不断地高涨，终于淹到了至关重要的第七个台阶。
一连几天，我们都忙于把东西搬到楼上，有天一直忙到黄昏，河水还是漫过门槛，冲进屋里。我注视着河水上涨的速度快得令人吃惊。
After the water got about a foot deep inside the house， it was hard to sleep at night. The sound of the river moving about downstairs was frightening. Debris had broken windows， so every once in a while some floating battering ram—a log or perhaps a table—would bang into the walls and make a sound like a distant drum.
Every day I sat on the landing and watched the river rise. Mother cooked simple meals in a spare bedroom she had turned into a makeshift kitchen. She was worried， I could tell， about what would happen to us. Father came and went in a small fishing boat. He was concerned about his patients and possible outbreaksoutbreak n.(战争的)爆发， (疾病的)发作 of dysentery， pneumonia or typhoid.
Before long， the Red Cross began to pitch tents on high ground north of town. “We are staying right here，” my father said.
当屋里的积水达到一英尺时，晚上难以入睡。河水撞击楼梯的声音让人感到恐怖。随着洪水冲进来的碎石打碎了窗户玻璃，有时，飘在水面上的撞击物——一根圆木，或者可能是一张桌子——会猛撞到墙上，发出的声响像是从远方传来的鼓声。
我每天都坐在楼梯平台上，注视着河水上涨的情况。母亲把一间空出来的卧室临时当作厨房，简单地做些饭菜。我能看出，她对我们将要面临的境况忧虑重重。父亲在一条小渔船上走来走去。他担心他的病人还有可能突然传播开的痢疾、肺炎和伤寒等多种疾病。
不久以后，红十字会开始将帐篷搭设在小镇北部。“我们就呆在这儿，”父亲说。
As the water continued to rise， I kept busy rowing through the house and looking at the furniture that had been too big to move upstairs. I liked to row around the great cozycozy adj.舒适的， 安逸的， 惬意的 couch， now almost submerged， and pretend it was an island in a lake.
One night very late I was awakened by a tearing noise， like timbers creaking. Then there was the rumbling sound of heavy things falling. I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway. My parents were standing in the doorway to the den， where we had stored the books and my mothers belovedbeloved adj.心爱的n.所爱的人， 爱人 china.
The floor of the den had fallen through， and all the treasures we had tried to save were now on the first floor， under the stealthilystealthily adv.暗地里， 悄悄地 rising river. My father lit our camp light， and we went to the landing to look. We could see nothing except the books bobbing like little rafts on the water.
河水不断上涨，我划船，来回穿梭于屋里，看看那些由于太大而无法搬到楼上去的家具。我喜欢划到那张舒适的睡椅的四周转悠，现在它几乎被淹没了，我设想它是一座湖心岛。
一天夜里，我被一阵撕裂的声响惊醒，像是木头在断裂的声音。然后是重物倒塌时的轰隆声。我从床上跳下来，冲进过道。父母两人正站在小书房的门口，那里存放着我们的书籍以及母亲珍爱的瓷器。
书房的地板已经往下塌陷，我们设法保全的珍贵瓷器都掉到楼下的地板上了，淹没在不断暗涨的河水里。父亲点亮营灯，借着光亮我们来到楼梯平台上察看。书籍像小木筏漂在水面上一样，除此之外，什么也看不见。
