【轻松英文阅读】一个浪漫的故事

 In 2012, Andy Collett was flying in a hot air balloon over the countryside in southwestern England when he saw a perfectly¹ heart-shaped meadow² in the middle of an oak³ forest. He had to take a photo. “I have my own balloon and am quite a regular flyer — but this was the most amazing sight I have ever seen from the sky,” he told a reporter from the Daily Telegraph.

 

The meadow is hidden behind oak trees and is not visible from the ground. Until Mr. Collet’s discovery, it was a secret only known to its maker⁴ and his close family members.

 

heart-shaped meadow2

 

Winston Howes, a local farmer, is the man who made the meadow. 17 years ago, after the sudden death of his wife of 33 years, he wanted to do something to express his love for her. He started planting oak saplings in a field near his home. In all, he planted 6,000 trees. In the middle, he left a perfect heart shape. The bottom of the heart points in the direction of his wife’s childhood home.

 

The forest has matured now and the meadow has become a quiet oasis⁵ where Winston likes to go to sit and reflect.

 

Winston’s grand romantic gesture can even be seen from satellites (Here is the link!) and I am sure from heaven as well.

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 meadow   

n.草地，牧草地

参考例句：

• The children ran free across the meadow.孩子们在草地里自由地奔跑。
• The meadow is peopled with wild flowers.草地长满了野花。

3 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。