使用了过去完成时 had tried to 描述在过去某个时间点之前的动作。
When she first married into the farm, there was a rock in the corner of the yard. It wasn't particularly attractive, protruding only about a foot, which marred the neatness of the lawn. Once, a fast-moving lawnmower struck the rock and broke its blade. "Can we dig it up?" she asked her husband. "I don't think so," her husband replied. "I heard it is buried very deep; it has been there since my grandfather moved in."
And so, the rock remained.
Later, her children were born and grew up. Years passed, her father-in-law passed away, and eventually, her husband also passed. In her quiet years, while wandering through the yard, she always found the rock in the corner an eyesore—it seemed to protect a patch of weeds, looking like a scar on the green lawn.
Finally, one day, she could no longer tolerate it. She took a shovel and resolved to dig it up, even if it took all day. To her surprise, after only a few scoops, the rock loosened. It was only a foot deep, though it was about six inches wider at the bottom. She stared at the stubborn rock in astonishment: it had stood there for so long, longer than anyone's memory, and Everyone believed their ancestors had tried and failed to move it. In reality, it was only because it appeared so large and deeply rooted that people assumed it was immovable.
当她刚嫁到这个农场时，院角就躺着那块石头。它的样子并不美观，只露出不到一尺，让整齐的草坪也显得有些不协调。有一次，疾驰的割草机撞上了这块石头，撞坏了刀刃。“咱们把它挖出来好吗？”她问丈夫。“这恐怕不行，”丈夫说，“听说那块石头埋得很深，自从我祖父搬来后，它就一直待在那儿。”
就这样，石头留了下来。
后来，她的孩子们相继出生、长大。几年后，公公去世了，再后来，丈夫也离开了人世。在闲暇时光，她习惯在院子里闲逛，总觉得院角那块石头看着不顺眼——它守护着一堆杂草，宛如绿茵草地上的一道伤疤。
终于有一天，她实在无法忍受了。她拿来铁锹，鼓起勇气打算干上一整天也要把石头挖出来。谁知她才铲了几下，石头就被撬松了：它其实只埋了一尺深，底部比表面宽出六寸左右。看着这块顽石，她感到惊愕不已：这块石头矗立在地上太久，甚至超过了人们的记忆，大家都坚信前辈们曾试图移动它却无能为力。其实，仅仅是因为这块石头看上去体量巨大、根基深厚，人们才误以为它不可撼动。