subsiding

英文问题求解。。。

1、precipitate

英 [prɪˈsɪpɪteɪt]   美 [prɪˈsɪpɪˌtet] 。

vt.下掷，由高处抛下;使提前或突然发生;[气象] 使凝结而下降;[化]使沉淀。

vi.[气象]凝结;[化]沉淀;倒落，一头栽下。

adj.仓促行进的，匆促的;轻率的，冲动行事的水蒸气，降水;突然发生的。

n.[化]沉淀物;结果，产物

I don't think we should make precipitate decisions。

我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。

2、deposition

英 [ˌdepəˈzɪʃn]   美 [ˌdɛpəˈzɪʃən] 。

n.沉积（物）;[律]（在法庭上的）宣誓作证，证词;免职，革职。

复数： depositions。

The jury heard 200 pages of depositions.。

陪审团听取了长达200页的书面证词。

3、sediment

英 [ˈsedɪmənt]   美 [ˈsɛdəmənt] 。

n.[地]沉淀物;沉积物，沉渣。

复数： sediments

There is some sediment in the ink.。

墨水沉淀了。

4、deposit

英 [dɪˈpɒzɪt]   美 [dɪˈpɑ:zɪt] 。

n.保证金;储蓄，存款;沉淀物;寄存，寄存品。

vt.&vi.储蓄;寄存;放置，安置;付保证金。

vi.沉淀

The Tory candidate lost his deposit.。

这名托利党候选人连竞选保证金都搭进去了。

5、subside

英 [səbˈsaɪd]   美 [səbˈsaɪd] 。

vi.减弱，平息;（洪水）退去，（热度）消退;沉下去;坐下。

第三人称单数： subsides 现在分词： subsiding 过去式： subsided 过去分词： subsided。

The pain had subsided during the night。

晚间疼痛已经减轻了。

曾母盆地西部典型构造沉降史研究

雨逐渐小了，可以有很多说法：

The rain is letting up就可以。

The rain is relenting/lessening 也可以。

暴风雨逐渐平息了 还可以说 The storm is subsiding.。

雨下大了 也有很多种说法

The rain is getting heavier/harder/increasing/redoubling。

这些词也都可以 当然前面两个词比较常用 。

另，如楼上所说，用进行时态表示逐渐变化的趋势会显得更生动。

liquids是什么意思

白志琳　高红芳　王后金　郭依群。

（广州海洋地质调查局，广州，510760）

第一作者简介：白志琳，女，1954年生，1979年毕业于长春地质学院物探专业，教授级高级工程师，广州海洋地质调查局海洋地质矿产调查所所长，长期从事海洋地质调查与研究工作。

摘要　南沙海域新生代发生的多次构造运动既是盆地形成的主要原因，也是控制局部构造形成和发育的主要成因。本文以南沙海域曾母盆地典型构造为研究目标，分析了局部构造的沉降-剥蚀史，进一步了解了前陆盆地局部构造沉降的特点，以及在区域动力场背景上局部构造的演化特征。在研究中采用构造高点和相邻凹陷模拟井的单井沉降史对比的方法，分析了局部构造在沉降过程中的各阶段主导因素。

关键词　曾母盆地　典型构造　沉积埋藏史　构造沉降史　沉积剥蚀史。

1　前言

曾母盆地位于南海南部的南沙海域，其主体坐落在巽他大陆架，部分向北延伸到陆坡区，是南沙海域规模最大的新生代沉积盆地。曾母盆地是一个被走滑断裂复杂化的周缘剪切—前陆叠置型盆地，其构造应力场复杂多变。特殊的构造背景与沉积环境，导致了盆地的局部构造十分发育（图1）。椐地球物理资料分析，曾母盆地的局部构造多与断层相伴生，形态、规模以及分布规律与断层密切相关，断层对局部构造的形成和发育起到促进或制约的作用。

不同成因的盆地所发育的局部构造应具有不同的特征，尤其是在地质演化过程中，在不同时期，不同应力场作用下形成的构造均凸现了各种各样的特征或特点。曾母盆地是典型的前陆叠合盆地，而南乐23构造、阳明9构造和南屏8构造是位于在盆地不同部位的局部构造。本文拟重点分析三个典型构造的地质演化史，以剖析前陆盆地构造的演化特点。

2　典型构造特征

2.1　阳明9构造

阳明9构造位于盆地南部的塔陶垒堑上，是一个典型的断鼻构造。该构造形态较简单，构造的发育受一条生长断层控制（图2），该断层规模较大，在上新世—第四纪仍有微弱活动。上升盘地层可见牵引现象，下降盘的上始新统—渐新统呈半背斜形态，往上构造幅度逐渐变小。在平面上该构造呈NW向展布，地层上倾方向被断层封闭。仅T3、T4和T5反射界面有圈闭显示，各层圈闭只有一个高点，垂向上基本叠合。

图1　曾母盆地构造区划和局部构造分布图。

Fig.1　The tectonic subdivision and the distribution of local structure in Zengmu Basin。

图2　阳明9构造剖面图

Fig.2　The seismic cross-section of YangMing9local structure。

2.2　南乐23构造

南乐23构造位于康西坳陷西部，是一个被断层复杂化的披覆背斜构造。地震剖面（图3）显示该构造整体呈宽缓的背斜形态，轴面近于直立，核部沉积较薄，由核部向两翼地层逐渐加厚，倾角变缓。构造主体发育两组倾向相背的正断层，这些断层形成于中中新世，大多在晚中新世停止活动。断裂活动使构造幅度进一步加大，并且由于两侧断层活动强度的差异，导致背斜两翼不对称。构造顶部发育一生物礁体，呈丘状反射，底部反射清楚。该构造沿NW向展布，在五个反射界面均形成圈闭，从下往上，圈闭面积呈逐渐减少的趋势。在平面上各层圈闭形成1～2个高点，垂向上叠合较好，显示了继承性发育的特点。该构造发育于基岩隆起上，其形成与沉积压实作用有关。后虽被断层改造，但构造未遭破坏，形态较完整。

图3　南乐23构造剖面图

Fig.3　The seismic cross-section of NanLe23local structure。

2.3　南屏8构造

南屏8构造位于康西坳陷中部，是一个被断层复杂化的断背斜构造。

地震剖面（图4）显示构造部位的不同时期、不同倾向以及不同活动强度的断层非常发育，地层被多条倾向相背的正断层夹持，褶皱隆起明显。断层的活动大致分为三期：渐新世、晚中新世和上新世—第四纪。早期的断裂活动奠定了断块构造的雏形，早－中新世时地层在应力作用下褶皱变形，呈背斜形态，晚中新世断层的活动促使构造进一步发育，构造幅度显著增加，上新世—第四纪断裂活动强度减弱，对构造无明显影响。该构造呈NW向展布，各反射界面均有圈闭显示。除T2、

外，各层圈闭均有两个或两个以上的高点，明显受断层控制。

图4　南屏8构造剖面图

Fig.4　The seismic cross-section of NanPing8local structure。

3　构造沉降史

构造沉降是由于地壳自身动力产生的主动沉降过程。非构造沉降是指沉积负荷、古水深及海平面升降等因素引起的沉降。南海发生的多次区域性沉降、抬升构造活动既是形成盆地也是控制局部构造形成和发育的主要成因，在本次的研究中采用通过构造高点和相邻凹陷模拟井的单井沉降史对比，以基底面为基准，研究构造部位沉降量的变化，以该部位的地层埋藏史、构造沉降史和沉降速率变化规律，分析构造在沉降过程中的各阶段主导因素。

3.1　阳明9构造（图5）

位于盆地南部的构造带上，构造高点和相邻凹陷单井模拟沉降史分析结果表明该构造经历了三个沉降阶段。

3.1.1　晚始新世—渐新世

成盆初期阶段，构造部位的沉积厚度约600km，该时期的总沉降速率为25m/Ma，构造沉降速率占50%，是构造与非构造因素综合影响的结果。构造区南部相邻凹陷的沉积厚度达3.2km，总沉降速率为180m/Ma，构造沉降速率为80m/Ma，以沉积负载作用为主，非构造因素的影响较大。

3.1.2　早中新世—中中新世。

这是构造沉降最快也是地层最为发育的阶段。构造部位披覆沉积约3km，早中新世地层厚约0.9km，中中新世地层厚1.5km，该时期的最大沉降速率由上阶段25m/Ma急剧加大到160～220m/Ma，构造沉降速率随着总沉降速率的变化而增大到80～90m/Ma。造成大幅度沉降的原因是综合因素共同所致。相邻凹陷早中新世沉积厚约3.1km，中中新世沉积厚约2.3km。在该时期出现小幅度升降活动，最大沉降速率由180m/Ma急剧增大至450m/Ma，之后略有减小，为420m/Ma，其中构造沉降速率由80m/Ma加大为160m/Ma，随之减小为130m/Ma，该时期以非构造因素为主。

图5　曾母盆地阳明9构造单井沉降史图（ZM320）

Fig.5　The subsidence history of YangMing9local structure in Zengmu Basin（zm320）

3.1.3　晚中新世—第四纪

晚中新世构造部位最大沉降速率由前阶段220m/Ma锐减至60m/Ma，之后随着区域沉降开始，再次加大沉降速率达100m/Ma，构造沉降速率由20m/Ma增加到60m/Ma，表明构造因素影响逐渐加大。相邻凹陷在这一阶段沉积量小，沉降速率低，构造因素影响较小，呈稳定状态。

阳明9构造是基岩古隆起上形成的构造。构造区在初期和晚期随区域沉降活动而相应沉降，渐新世—中中新世是该构造剧烈沉降的阶段。引起沉降的主要动力是每个时期都具有一定厚度的沉积负荷，加之各时期区域构造运动产生的动力。构造区的早期沉降作用主要发生在南部地区，沉降幅度相对较小。晚期在北部地区发生的沉降活动强度明显大于南部地区，且构造南部的相对抬升也表明了曾母盆地的沉降中心由南部逐渐转向北部。

3.2　南乐23构造（图6）

位于曾母盆地西北部，构造高点和相邻坳陷的沉降史反映两处经历了不同的沉降过程，总体活动趋势也可分为三个阶段。

3.2.1　晚始新世—早中新世。

该时期基底以上的地层为稳定沉积，各时期地层的埋藏曲线显示持续稳定，总沉降速率稳定在100～150m/Ma，其中构造沉降速率基本稳定在50m/Ma上下，非构造因素的变化影响总的沉降作用。相邻坳陷的地层埋藏史持续稳定，总沉降速率由25m/Ma逐渐增加到480m/Ma，其中构造沉降速率稳定在120～140m/Ma之间，总沉降量为8km，构造沉降量为3.6km，构造动力因素较小，沉积负载作用影响较大。

3.2.2　中中新世—晚中新世。

图6　曾母盆地南乐23构造单井沉降史图（ZM200）

Fig.6　The subsidence history of NanLe23local structure in Zengmu Basin（zm200）

该阶段埋藏史曲线变化不大，构造部位总沉降量3.8km，构造沉降量为1.8km，总沉降速率由前期150m/Ma减到30m/Ma，构造影响小于沉积负载。相邻坳陷的埋藏史曲线变化稳定，总沉降量为10km，构造沉降量4km，总沉降速率加大为320m/Ma，构造沉降速率为100m/Ma，这个时期的主要动力因素还是以沉积负载作用为主。

3.2.3　晚中新世—第四纪

该时期的构造部位进入快速沉积阶段，总的沉降速率达到460m/Ma，构造沉降速率为180m/Ma，总沉降量达到6.2km，其中构造沉降量为2.8km，该阶段的沉降动力以沉积负荷为主。相邻凹陷的总沉降速率此时也达到460m/Ma，构造沉降速率为160m/Ma，总沉降量达12.8km，构造沉降量为4.5km。

该构造的沉降史表明在曾母盆地西北部的沉降过程具有以下的规律。

构造区经历了早、晚两个较长时间的沉降阶段。早期的沉降阶段时间长，沉降稳定；晚期的沉降阶段时期短，沉降快速。两个沉降阶段之间曾经历一次沉降间断或隆升剥蚀阶段。影响该构造沉降的主要动力是沉积负载和全球海平面变化等综合因素，构造动力在不同阶段有不同的贡献，相对沉积因素的影响较小。古水深的影响甚微。构造高点与相邻坳陷的沉降活动强度不等，但动力因素以及变化规律相似，表明在同一个应力场作用下的效果，只是因异地而有所差别。在两次沉降之间发生构造部位总沉降速率急剧减小，表明当时该部位大幅度抬升，是局部构造的主要形成期。

3.3　南屏8构造（图7）

位于曾母盆地康西坳陷中部的正向构造带上，是典型的凹间隆构造。构造高点及南北相邻两个凹陷的沉降史曲线的总趋势均呈均衡沉降，各时期地层稳定发育。沉降历史也存在阶段性，且不同部位有所不同，大致可分为三个阶段。

图7　曾母盆地南屏8构造单井沉降史图（ZM272）

Fig.7The subsidence history of NanPing8local structure in Zengmu Basin（zm272）

3.3.1　晚始新世—渐新世

沉降史曲线表明该时期构造高点及相邻凹陷沉降稳定，高点处的总沉降速率为170m/Ma，凹陷的总沉降速率为240m/Ma。其中高点和凹陷的构造沉降量、构造速率均为总沉降量和总沉降速率的一半，说明构造区在成盆初期的区域应力场作用下整体逐渐沉降。

3.3.2　早中新世—晚中新世。

早中新世初，构造高点总沉降量由3km增加到7km，构造沉隆量由1.6km增加到3km。总沉降速率在早中新世期间达到300m/Ma，到晚中新世逐渐降低至210m/Ma，构造沉降速率由110m/Ma降为60m/Ma。该阶段的特点是沉积速率相对提高、沉降速率降低。

构造以北的凹陷以最大沉降速率为460m/Ma持续沉降到中中新世，随之减小为300m/Ma。其中构造沉降速率由160m/Ma逐渐减小至80m/Ma，总沉降量达到3～10km，构造沉降量为2～4km。构造以南的凹陷在中中新世沉降速率达到600m/Ma，至上新世降为280m/Ma，构造沉降速率由180m/Ma降为100m/Ma，总沉降量由4km增加到12.5km，构造沉降量由2km加大至4.8km。

3.3.3　上新世一第四纪

构造区发生沉降，最大沉降速率达340m/Ma，其中构造沉降速率为120m/Ma，总沉降量为9km，构造沉降量为3.5km。南凹的沉降速率持续不变，北凹也发生了大幅度沉降活动，最大沉降速率由350m/Ma增大为740m/Ma，构造沉降速率240m/Ma。最大沉降量达14km，其中构造沉降量为5km。

南屏8构造发育在曾母盆地的沉积中心部位——康西坳陷，形成初期与相邻凹陷均为均衡沉降。渐新世—晚中新世期间，康西坳陷整体下沉，成为曾母盆地的沉降沉积中心，构造高点部位最大沉降量达到7km，构造以南的相邻凹陷最大沉降量12.5km，以北的凹陷最大沉降量10km。该时期在构造周围发生不均衡沉降活动，南部成为该时期的沉降沉积中心。上新世一第四纪期间，随着区域性整体沉降，盆地沉降中心向北迁移，北部凹陷大幅度沉降，成为新的沉降沉积中心。构造高点部位也随之发生较大幅度的沉降活动。构造的南凹均速缓慢沉降，在沉积压实作用下逐渐呈抬升之势。在三个沉降阶段中，早期是构造因素与沉积因素共同作用的结果，中晚期引起沉降的原因主要是沉积负荷和全球海平面变化以及其他因素的综合作用。在沉降全过程中，古水深影响不明显。

4　沉积剥蚀史

沉积与剥蚀过程是沉积盆地分析的基本内容之一，也是石油地质勘探首要解决的问题之一。它决定生、储、盖层在空间上的分布，决定勘探对象的含油气远景。很多地质工作者为解决这一问题作了多方面的努力，主要方法有：地层对比法、沉积速率法、测井曲线法、成熟度剖面法、密度法、波动分析法等。

图8　地层横剖面对比求剥蚀厚度。

Fig.8　The profile of calculating erosion thickness by contrast method。

南沙海域的地质构造演化历史复杂，大量的地球物理资料反映了各沉积盆地在发育发展的过程中，都经历了多次的抬升和沉降，存在着普遍的地层被不同程度剥蚀的现象，尤其在局部构造顶部，各种不整合接触关系即是构造被抬升、剥蚀、夷平的痕迹。但隆升与剥蚀量分析是古构造恢复的难点，尽管恢复的方法很多，由于资料欠缺未能满足研究需要，仅分析了构造经历的剥蚀期次，利用自然延伸（相当于地层趋势法）法对构造高点的剥蚀量进行粗略的估算（图8）。

分析重点构造沉降曲线和平衡剖面提供的信息，认为在这几个主要盆地范围内发生过三期规模较大的隆升－剥蚀或沉积间断过程，期间的各盆地局部构造被剥蚀的程度和时间有所不同。

第一期次：渐新世期间（T4），是由于南海中央海盆海底扩张引起的一次区域性抬升。曾母盆地在经历第一次区域隆升时，发育在西部斜坡一带的局部构造受到影响随之隆升，而发育在中部的局部构造没有明显反映。

第二期次：中中新世末（T3），是由于南沙海域在该时期构造运动十分活跃，区域应力场的性质和作用方向的转换，引起了在区域均衡沉降背景下发生的隆升剥蚀过程。曾母盆地中部的局部构造在此期间发生了隆升和剥蚀（或沉积间断）过程，西部的构造也遭受了剥蚀。

第三期次：晚中新世末（T2），是在张性应力场的控制下，强烈的差异沉降作用引起局部的挤压和隆升而导致的剥蚀，也有一些构造区因为长期处在高部位而继续接受剥蚀，或者是因为长期隆起而形成了沉积间断。这个时期盆地的大部分局部构造都被侵蚀，只是剥蚀量比前两期明显减小。

综合各个部位重点构造沉降史的活动规律，局部构造遭受剥蚀的时序从西往东逐渐变新，这与区域上构造运动的活动期次相符合。从地层变形和构造顶部被削蚀的程度，认为第二期次是在南沙海域东南部一带影响最大、剥蚀量最大的一次隆升－剥蚀期。

5　典型构造沉降特点

曾母盆地具有早期周缘前陆性质和后期走滑性质，是叠合的复合型盆地。前陆盆地的沉降曲线特征往往是初始斜率平缓，显示沉降速率较慢，而后斜率陡然增大，表明沉降速率急剧增加，随着距离造山带越远，下沉幅度越小，沉降中心和边缘尖灭体向克拉通方向迁移。因为前陆盆地为构造负荷引起的挠曲沉降，其沉降曲线主体为迅速下沉。局部构造的沉降曲线反映了这种特征，而且体现了由于构造冲断作用的多次性，常以斜率较大和相对较小的两段式交替的形式出现。前陆盆地的埋藏史曲线一般呈上凹型，每个上凸点代表了一次沉降阶段的开始，也表明沉降速率由此开始加速。

分布在盆地不同部位的局部构造的沉降史曲线均具有典型的前陆盆地沉降特征，且沉降规律具有一定的相似性。曾母盆地局部构造埋藏史曲线在23.3Ma和5.2Ma出现两个特征明显上凸点：早/晚渐新世的分界面（T4）、中中新世/上新世的分界面（T2），表明局部构造与盆地共同经历的两次区域性的沉降变形阶段。在10.4Ma，即中中新世/晚中新世的分界面（T3）出现特征不太明显的下凸点，表明在该时期随着盆地的隆升，经历了一个沉积间断期。在大的沉降阶段期间出现不太明显的凹凸变化反映了局部沉降活动的变化。

晚始新世—早渐新世时，盆地内的各构造部位沉降缓慢，沉降速率与沉积速率大致相等，与成盆初期前陆坳陷沉降阶段的特点相符。从晚渐新世开始，直至中中新世，盆地出现了不均衡沉降，分布在不同部位的局部构造以不同的沉降速率开始活动，表现为南部发育的局部构造在这个阶段快速沉降，沉降速率大于沉积速率。西北部的构造保持原有的速率持续沉降，沉降速率与沉积速率大致相等。中部的构造在此期间出现了短时期的沉降—抬升过程。晚中新世末至上新世初，由于廷贾断裂再次走滑活动引起盆地的差异沉降，盆地沉积中心迅速北移，从而导致了南部的构造部位急剧抬升，西北部和中部的构造经短期抬升之后快速沉降、沉降幅度增大。此时，西北部的构造部位沉降速率和沉积速率相等，而南部和中部的构造部位沉降速率均大于沉积速率，这是盆地的沉降中心和沉积中心向克拉通方向迁移的过程中直接加剧的沉降速率，形成局部构造在南部不断抬升、北部快速下降、西部相对均衡沉降的沉降格局。

主要参考文献及资料

陈玲等.1997.南沙海域曾母盆地西部综合地球物理区域普查报告.地矿部广州海洋地质调查局第二海洋地质调查大队（内部资料）

龚铭等.2001.南沙海域构造特征与盆地演化.武汉：中国地质大学出版社。

吴进民等.1994.中国南海西南部大气田勘探方向研究.地矿部广州海洋地质调查局研究所（内部资料）

吴奇之等.1997.中国油气盆地构造演化与油气聚集.北京：石油工业出版社。

The Study of Subsiding History of Local Structures in the West of Zengmu Basin，South China Sea。

Bai Zhilin，Gao Hongfang，Wang Houjin，Guo Yiqun。

（Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey，Guangzhou，510760）

Abstract:There are several construct movements at the southern part of South China Sea that are the main reason of basin formation and Local Structures forming and developing.The studying goal of this article is keystone local structures in the west of Zengmu Basin.The writers analyze the history of subsiding-erosion about local structures，find out the subsiding characteristic of local structures on foreland basins，and realize their evolution feature.Contrast method of subsiding history of single well at the top of local structures and adjoining depression is adapted to research the subsiding dominant factors of each stage at the course of studying.。

Key Words:Zengmu Basin　Typical Structures　Subsiding-burial history　Structural Subsiding history　Subsiding-erosion history。

有谁知道这篇英语短文？是关于送礼物的文章

liquids的意思是：液体。

liquids音标是[ˈlɪkwɪdz]。

liquids 用法和例句：

1、The molecules in such liquids are closely packed , but loosely arranged .。

这种液体分子紧密地挤压在一起，但是又排列松散。

2、The way gases and liquids mix and move is a surprisingly complex topic .。

液体和气体混合与移动的方式是个出乎意料的复杂的话题。

3、Companies are also pursuing conversion technologies that transform coal or gas into liquids .。

各家公司还在寻求可将煤炭或天然气变为液体的转化技术。

4、Nrel uses syrupy liquids which contain salty desiccants to soak up the humidity .。

nrel使用一种含盐干燥剂的糖浆式液体吸走湿气。

5、When the liquids have almost evaporated , you can see the foam subsiding .。

等液体几乎全部蒸发完时，你会看到泡沫渐渐消退。

of home中文是什么意思

欧亨利的《麦琪的礼物》

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI 。

by O. Henry

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. 。

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. 。

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad. 。

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young." 。

The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good. 。

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim. 。

There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art. 。

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length. 。

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. 。

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet. 。

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street. 。

Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie." 。

"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. 。

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it." 。

Down rippled the brown cascade. 。

"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand. 。

"Give it to me quick," said Della. 。

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. 。

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain. 。

When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task. 。

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically. 。

"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?" 。

At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops. 。

Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty." 。

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves. 。

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face. 。

Della wriggled off the table and went for him. 。

"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you." 。

"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor. 。

"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?" 。

Jim looked about the room curiously. 。

"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy. 。

"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?" 。

Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on. 。

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table. 。

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first." 。

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat. 。

For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone. 。

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!" 。

And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!" 。

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit. 。

"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it." 。

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. 。

"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on." 。

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. 。

如是需要其他原著,请看以下网站：

http://www.online-literature.com/。

精简不就是从中截取一两段嘛，别偷懒，把原文意思理解透了还怕什么。实在看不懂就中文，这应该是英语四级的水平。

原文地址：http://www.qianchusai.com/subsiding.html