据外媒报道，近日，英国一位名叫Ken Watson的87岁老人一直将邻居家的2岁小女孩Cadi视为自己的小孙女，在他去世前为小女孩准备了整整14件圣诞礼物，希望她快乐长大，每年可以收到1件，直到16岁。

A dying man bought 14 years worth of Christmas gifts for his 2-year-old neighbor

Owen Williams and his wife befriended their octogenarian neighbor when they moved into their home in Wales three years ago.

befriend

作动词，表示“和…交朋友；友好对待”，英文解释为“If you befriend someone, especially someone who is lonely or far from home, you make friends with them.  ”举个🌰：

The film's about an elderly woman and a young nurse who befriends her. 

该电影是关于一名年迈的妇女和一个待她友善的年轻护士的故事。

octogenarian

/ˌɒktəʊdʒɪˈnɛərɪən/ 

表示“八旬老人”，英文解释为“An octogenarian is a person who is between eighty and eighty-nine years old. ”

When their daughter, Cadi, came along two years ago, their neighbor in the town of Barry, Ken Watson, became a grandfather figure, taking the time to drop off Christmas presents for her. Then Watson died in October.

come along

表示“偶然出现; 不期而至”，英文解释为“When something or someone comes along, they occur or arrive by chance. ”，举个🌰：

I waited a long time until a script came along that I thought was genuinely funny. 

我等了很久才碰巧拿到一个我认为着实滑稽的剧本。

grandfather figure

father/mother/authority+figure 表示“父亲/母亲/权威者形象”，英文解释为“someone who is considered to be like a father etc, or to represent authority, because of their character or behaviour”

figure本身可以表示“（重要的或有名的）人物，人士”，英文解释为：someone who is important or famous in some way. 如：a leading/key/central figure，the outstanding political figure of his time 他那个时代杰出的政治人物。

drop off

表示“将…送到并放下”，英文解释为“If you drop someone or something somewhere, you take them somewhere and leave them there, usually in a car or other vehicle.”，举个🌰：

He dropped me outside the hotel. 

他让我在旅店外下了车。

Drop off 将…送到并放下，举个🌰：

Just drop me off at the airport. 

把我送到飞机场下车就行。

On Monday, Watson's daughter stopped by the Williams home with a large bag, and Owen thought perhaps she was on the way to take out the trash. It turns out, she was dropping off 14 wrapped Christmas presents her father had bought and wrapped for Cadi.

Ken Watson去世后，他的女儿收拾父亲遗物时发现了一袋圣诞礼物。

小女孩的父亲Owen Williams说，当看到Ken的女儿拿着一大包东西，还以为是要扔的垃圾，没想到却是她的父亲为Cadi准备的圣诞礼物。

“I kept reaching into the bag and pulling out more presents,” Williams said. “You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was quite something.”

reach

表示“伸；伸手（以碰触或提起某物）”，英文解释为“to move your arm in order to touch or lift something with your hand”，举个🌰：

She reached into her bag and produced a business card.

她伸手从包里取出一张名片。

He reached down to help her to her feet.

他俯身扶她站起来。

knock (someone) over with a feather

表示“极度吃惊，震惊”，英文解释为“To shock, confuse, or astonish someone to a point of complete bewilderment; throw someone for a loop. More often phrased as "You could have knocked me over with a feather," expressing great bewilderment or surprise.”相当于 I was completely surprised.

quite something

表示“不一般的，异常好的，非同寻常，十分了不起的”，英文解释为“used for saying that someone or something is very interesting or impressive”，举个🌰：

I'll have to introduce you to her – she's quite something.

He posted on Twitter to spread some Christmas spirit. He wrote that he wasn't sure whether he should open them, check them out and re-wrap them for Cadi – in an effort to give her an age-appropriate one each year – or hold onto them as is and give her one mystery present a year. Twitter responded in a big way, with many saying Watson's kindness brought them to tears. So many people weighed in about the gifts, in fact, that Williams made a Twitter poll. So far, more than 67,000 people have voted.

age-appropriate

表示“适合某个年龄段的”，英文解释为“suitable or right for people of a particular age”，如：age-appropriate clothing 适合某个年龄段的服装；以及“年龄合适的，年龄相称的”，英文解释为“of a suitable age”，举个🌰：

The actors all look age-appropriate for their characters.

所有的演员看起来都跟他们饰演的角色年龄相称。

weigh in

表示“积极参与（辩论或讨论）”，英文解释为“to become involved in an argument or discussion in a forceful way”，举个🌰：

Several leading architects weighed in with criticisms regarding the design of the new museum.

几位著名的建筑师加入讨论，对新博物馆的设计方案提出了批评意见。

Williams, who is a social media consultant, said the majority of people voted for a “lucky dip,” meaning not opening them ahead of time, just giving Cadi one mystery present a year. He said he has no idea what is in the packages, but he's leaning toward listening to the will of the voters.

lucky dip

表示“摸彩游戏”，英文解释为“a game in which you put your hand into a container filled with small objects, and choose one without looking ”以及“由运气/机遇来决定的情况”，英文解释为“a situation in which what happens depends on chance”。

lean toward

表示“倾向于，向…倾斜”，英文解释为“to tend to support, or begin to support, a particular set of opinions, beliefs etc”，举个🌰：

Canada, the UK and Japan leant towards the US view.

加拿大、英国和日本都倾向于支持美国的看法。

“I think we're going to turn it into a Christmas story for our daughter,” he said. “We'll do one a year for the next 14 years. It feels like the right thing to do now. If she opens a box of Lego when she's 16 then so be it.”

He said he was struck by how many people have responded by saying their neighbors are virtual strangers to them.

virtual

virtual有两个含义，常听说的VR (Virtual Reality)虚拟现实的virtual表示“虚拟的，模拟的”，英文解释为“made, done, seen etc on the Internet or on a computer, rather than in the real world”；此处意思是“几乎…的；实质上的，事实上的”，英文解释为“almost a particular thing or quality”，举个🌰：

Car ownership is a virtual necessity when you live in the country.

住在乡下，拥有汽车几乎是必需的。

“The thing that stands out to me is how few people know their neighbors,” Williams said. “People are saying, ‘That's so lovely. I don't even know my neighbors.’ This Christmas, take your neighbors a bottle of wine or a small gift, a token. Just say, ‘Hi.’ You can open a new world like we did.”

来源：Washington Post

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