What Else Are We Short of？

A few months ago， Father bought a refrigerator made in Japan. Very soon it became the top news in our village. Many of our folks came to visit us. Some came just to see what the refrigerator was like； others wanted to know its price and its uses. Father looked especially active [looked excited ready to answer any questions about the refrigerator] （1）， as if he were a warmhearted salesman.

　　Ours is a village far away from the town， so it is not easy to buy food and vegetables [fresh food such as vegetables] （2）。 Too much will cause a waste while too little won't satisfy us [Moreover， buying too much food at one time often results in waste while too little won't satisfy us] （3）。 That's what Mother used to be worried about. Now we can get great benefit from the refrigerator.

　　Last Sunday， during the lunch time， we were talking about our refrigerator when Father raised a pleasant question， “What else are we short of？” “A color TV set，” my brother cried. “I'm tired of the black and white.” “That's all right. We'll buy one this winter，” Father answered calmly. “A washing machine，” grandfather said， with a pipe in his mouth. Yes， we were all clear that it was too much for Mother to wash so many clothes every day. Father nodded， and then turned to me. “What about you？” “I need a pocket radio. I want to listen to English courses.” “O.K.” Father promised. “These years，” he said happily， “We are quite rich. We have got a radio， three electric fans， a sewing-machine， three bikes， a refrigerator， and we'll have a washing-machine， a color TV set … What else are we short of in our family？” What else？ We are much richer than before. We four sat in silence， looking at each other.Brother was busy scratching his head. With a deep sigh， Father continued， “You know， grandfather knows little culture [can hardly read or write] （4） and I had little schooling. How I wish I could read and write as well as you young people. To tell you the truth， we have become really rich these years， but I find culture and knowledge are [scientific knowledge is] （5） becoming more and more important. Without knowledge we could do nothing.” Father stopped， looking direct at me. “Tell me what else our family is short of？” “University students” I suddenly realized what my father had in mind. “I want to be the first … ” “I ， too.” Before I f finished my words， my brother cut in.

　　Hearing this， Father laughed. We laughed， too. The whole room was filled with joy.

　　江囌省海門中學 張健

　　評 語

　　文章從一個側麪反映了改革給辳村生活帶來的可喜變化，讀來真實可信。語言運用得也較好，尤其是家人要求父親同意購買各種商品時用的一連串動詞，變化多，生動活潑。文章中某些語言上的不足之処點評脩改如下：

　　（1）原句中active常用來表示一般狀態，較少用於某一特定場郃。

　　（2）vegetable是一種food，再與food竝列不妥，故改之。

　　（3）原句語義不清楚。

　　（4）、（5）原句爲中國式英語，故改之。