2009年高考英语湖北卷 - 阅读理解A

My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out , he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of his welfare, but out of fear if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.
我的外祖父来自匈牙利，是家里唯一一个在美国定居的人，其他家人留在欧洲。第一次世界大战爆发时，他似乎变成了另一个人，情绪低落。如此明显的变化并不是因为他的福利，而是出于担心他的唯一儿子，我的舅舅，如果不得不去参战，那将是表弟与表弟之间的斗争。

One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.
1918年的一天，我的舅舅米尔顿收到了他的征兵通知。我的外祖父母非常难过。但我10岁的母亲，对她的士兵哥哥要去参战感到非常高兴。我舅舅意识到他的妹妹和她所有的朋友都很尊重他，于是给她们买了所有的服务别针，这意味着她们在服务中有一个亲人。所有的小女孩都很高兴。

The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed, I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted, “The war is over.” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.
我的舅舅和其他士兵上了火车，他们没有受过任何训练，只是穿着制服。乐队演奏，人群欢呼。虽然没有人注意到，但我敢肯定我的祖母为唯一的儿子流了眼泪。火车缓缓驶出，但在不到一千码的时候突然停了下来。火车缓缓返回车站时，每个人都惊呆了。在门打开之前，一片寂静，男人们开始走出去。有人喊道：“战争结束了。”片刻间，没有人动，但人们听到有人对士兵们大声喊叫。男人们排成两行，走下台阶，随着乐队的演奏，作为归来的英雄，沿着街道游行，欢迎回家。我妈妈说这是一个很棒的日子，但她只是有点失望，因为它没有持续多久。