第 42 题

1I looked through the window of the charming little violin shop, and my heart began to race.

2I'd been out to dinner that evening. Since it wasn't dark yet after the meal, I decided to walk home from the restaurant. I had traveled that way before, yet I had never noticed that old little shop. But there it was, with a violin displayed in the window.

3I wiped the dirt from the window to get a better look inside. Several violins hung from the dark walls, quietly waiting to be chosen. As my eyes rested on them, I felt as though I were looking through a window into my own past.

4My childhood was all about the pursuits I had attempted, most of which had been chosen by Mom. She was like, "Join the swim team, Tara. Your sister is a good swimmer; surely you will be, too." What she didn't understand was that I didn't want to be like my sister. I wanted to find my own passion.

5Every Saturday I begged Mom not to make me go to the swim meet, but had little chance of success. That said, with a bang of the starting gun, I would dive into the cold water with all my strength and swim as fast as I could. Dad would stand at the edge of the pool, cheering me on. He never pushed me to win; he just wanted me to do my best.

6Then came a turning point in my life the day our school orchestra (管弦乐队) visited my class, and gave a demonstration. The drums annoyed me. The flutes (笛子) bored me. But the violin…ah, the violin. It made my heart sing.

7Tightly holding the permission slip from the orchestra director, I ran all the way home after school, and shakily handed it to my parents with a fear that they might dismiss my desire. They didn't. Mom signed it immediately, and Dad promised to buy me a violin.

8I began practicing the violin with great passion, and rose quickly in ability. Before long I had won the first seat in the community orchestra…