佚名/Anonymous

　　Linda was depressed. It was Valentine’s Day and she was all alone. Her boyfriend had dumped her two weeks ago. After going steady for three years he had suddenly called it quits. Linda hadn’t recovered yet. All of her friends were excited about Valentine’s Day. They all still had serious boyfriends. Even Linda’s sister Anna had plans.

　　She’d felt sorry for Linda and had invited her to come out on Valentine’s Day for supper and a movie.“No.”Linda told her.“I don’ t want to be a spare wheel.”

　　Linda turned on the TV. As she flipped channels she could see that all of the shows were about Valentine’s Day. This made her feel even more morose. Linda decided to go for a walk. She gathered up her wallet and keys. Maybe she would go to the corner store and get a magazine to read. Linda walked downstairs to the front door of her apartment building. A delivery person with flowers was just walking up the steps to the door.

　　Linda opened the door to let him in.“Thanks,”he said.“What floor is apartment 401 on?”Linda stared at the delivery man.“401 is my apartment.”she said.“Then these must be for you.”said the delivery man.“Oh—I—they can’t be for me,”Linda stuttered.“There must be some kind of mistake.”The man read the card through the plastic bag.“Are you Linda?”he asked.“Yes, I am.”Linda said as she blushed. The man handed the flowers to her.“Happy Valentine’s Day.”he said.

　　Linda took the flowers up to her apartment. She took off the plastic wrap and read the card.“Linda”it read.“Happy Valentine’s Day. Love from your secret admirer.”Linda was shocked. Who could have sent these flowers? She didn’t recognize the writing. She phoned the florist’s shop. The man who answered the phone didn’t remember anything.“We’ve had so many orders today. You must understand,”the said.“Of course,”said Linda.“How were they paid for? If they were paid for by a credit card, perhaps you could tell me the name.”“They were paid for by cash.”the man told her.“Sorry.”Linda stared at the flowers. They were beautiful.

　　In the entire three years that Linda had been with her boyfriend he had never bought her flowers. Why would he now he’d dumped her? Was it a man she didn’t know? Was it someone who was interested in her but was too shy to tell her? What if it was a creepy guy? Someone she didn’t like? The phone rang. It was her sister Anna.“Happy Valentine’s Day.”she said to Linda.“How are you doing?”“I don’t know,”Linda replied.“I got flowers. They’re from a secret admirer. I have no clue who they’re from. The florist doesn’t remember. I don’t know if I should be happy or worried.”Anna was quiet for a minute.“It was me,”she said.“I’m your secret admirer.”“Really?”Linda said.“Are you mad?”Anna asked.“Not at all!”said Linda. Anna was relieved.“You’re my big sister Linda. You’re the only sister I have and I love you. And I wanted you to have a good Valentine’s Day.”“Anna, thank you.”Linda said.“This is the best Valentine’s Day present I’ve ever received.”

　　琳达感到沮丧极了，情人节快到了，而她却是孤孤单单一个人。两个星期之前，男朋友甩了她。三年以来，他们的感情一直很好。突然之间，他提出要结束他们之间的关系，琳达还没有恢复过来。她身边的每个朋友都在热切期待情人节的到来，她们也都有正在认真交往的男友，就连妹妹安娜也有了情人节的安排。

　　安娜为琳达感到伤心，于是她邀请琳达在情人节那天共进晚餐，然后再看场电影。“不，我不去，”琳达告诉她，“我才不想当电灯泡呢。”

　　琳达打开电视机，转到的每个台播的都是有关情人节的节目，这使她更加郁闷。琳达打算出去走一走，她拿起皮包和钥匙，想去街边的小店买本杂志看看。琳达刚下楼梯走到她所住的公寓前门的时候，一个手捧鲜花的递送人员正好走上台阶来到门口。

　　琳达打开门，让他进来。“谢谢，”他说，“请问401号单元在哪层楼上？”琳达看着那个送货员，说道：“我住的单元就是401号。”“那么，这些花肯定是送给你的。”送货员说。“嗯……我……不会是我的。”琳达结结巴巴地说，“肯定是什么地方出错了。”这个人看了看塑料袋里的卡片，问道：“你是不是琳达呀？”“是的，我就是琳达。”琳达满脸通红地说。递送员将花交给她，说道：“情人节快乐。”

　　琳达捧着花回到了房间，她把塑料包装袋取了下来，只见上面写着：“琳达，情人节快乐。爱你的神秘仰慕者。”琳达很吃惊，是谁送这些花给她的呢？她辨认不出这是谁的笔迹。她给花店打电话，但是接电话的人也记不清了。“今天买花的人太多了，你应该也了解。”他说。“那是自然，”琳达说，“那么，这些花是怎么付款的？假如是刷卡的话，没准儿你能够告诉我他的名字。”“这些花是用现金支付的，”接电话的人告诉她，“不好意思。”琳达看着这些花，简直太漂亮了。

　　在与前任男友交往的整整三年之中，他从没有给她送过花，又怎么会在分手之后送花给她呢？难道是她不认识的某一个男人？或者是一个对她痴迷却因害羞不敢告诉她的人？假如是一个让人恐惧的家伙，又该怎么办？或者是她不喜欢的某个人？正在这个时候，电话铃响了，是安娜。“情人节快乐！”她对琳达说，“今天过得怎么样？”“我不知道，”琳达说，“我收到一束花，署名却是神秘仰慕者，我不知道是谁送的，花店的人也不记得，我不知道该高兴还是忧虑。”安娜有一会儿没有说话。“是我，”她说，“我就是所谓的神秘仰慕者。”“你说的是真的吗？”琳达说。“你不会生气吧？”安娜问她。“一点儿都不会！”琳达说。安娜这才放下心来，“你是我的姐姐，琳达。你是我唯一的姐姐。我爱你，我想让你有个快乐的情人节。”“安娜，谢谢你。”琳达说，“这是我收到的最好的情人节礼物。”

　　spare adj.多余的；少量的

　　例 I have no spare cash to lend you.

　　我没有多余的现款可以借给你。

　　morose adj.孤僻的；郁闷的

　　例 Beethoven could not hear it, and this made him very morose.

　　贝多芬听不到笛声，这件事使他闷闷不乐。

　　stutter v.结结巴巴地说话

　　例 His regrets was stuttering to the girl.

　　他结结巴巴地向这个女孩道了歉。relieved adj.放心的；宽慰的

　　例 When he saw me, she looked relieved.

　　当他看到我的时候，表情放松了下来。

　　我才不想当电灯泡呢。

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　　我不知道是谁送的，花店的人也不记得。

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　　我不知道该高兴还是忧虑。

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　　She gathered up her wallet and keys.

　　gather up：收集；拾起

　　造___________________________________________________________________

　　How were they paid for？

　　pay for：为……而付钱

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