节选自安德森的短篇小说《mother》。小说描写了一位母亲内心的失败感，以心理描写为主。本段通过外貌神态描写了母亲活力的消失殆尽，也表现出她近乎病态的心理状态。

　　ELIZABETH WILLARD, the mother of George Willard, was tall and gaunt and her face was marked with smallpox scars. Although she was but forty-five, some obscure disease had taken the fire out of her figure. Listlessly she went about the disorderly old hotel looking at the faded wall-paper and the ragged carpets and, when she was able to be about, doing the work of a chambermaid among beds soiled by the slumbers of fat traveling men.

　　注释：gaunt憔悴的，be marked with sth留有sth的痕迹，obscure说不清的，take the fire out of one’s figure把某人体内的活力消耗殆尽，Listlessly无精打采地，went about四处走动，ragged粗糙的，chambermaid清理卧室的女服务员