您好,欢迎来到武汉新航道!
武汉新航道听说读写官网
武汉分校 >> SAT频道 >> 学习园地 >> 文章正文
Being Happy after Losing Money
2013年07月17日 08:49
供稿单位:互联网  责编:本站编辑 浏览: 0 次

 

也许你曾因挤不上公交,眼巴巴地看着它离你越走越远,而上班时间离你越来越近而心急如焚;
也许你曾因终于挤上公交,可一只陌生的大脚却无情地落在你崭新的Nike鞋尖上而无奈不已;
也许你曾有幸找到一个座位,可屁股还没坐稳就听见售票员说“急着上班的同志请在这里下车,前面堵车极其严重”,为此你觉得生活总和你过不去;
……
也许,接下来的这个故事可以帮你抚慰心灵的创伤,驱除内心的不满,让公交变得不再可怕,让你爱上这种快乐。

 

 

Five years ago, when I had a nine-to-five job, I commuted to work — two to three hours to the office, four to five hours home. I did that every day for three full years. I’ve got the stubs from the bus companies to prove it.

I no longer schlep1 to an office like a regularworking Sally, and these days I rarely take the bus anywhere. Although those long, grueling2 hours of traveling are far behind me, I still carry with me the priceless gift of one complete stranger.

It was a warm March evening, and I’d just taken a seat on the bus that would take me home. I sat in the third row, by the window, on the driver’s side. It was nearly 6:00 PM, but the bus was not yet full and the driver gave no indication3 that he intended to get the bus on the road anytime soon.
A middle-aged woman took a seat opposite me. She was crying. Not speaking to anyone in particular, she tearfully narrated4 her story.

She had come to the city to visit her daughter. On the way to the terminal, a thief had snatched5 one of her hags. It had contained half of the money she’d brought with her. The other half was rolled in a hankie and hidden under her blouse, so she fortunately still had some money left.

The bus conductor, driver, and other passengers listened to her tale. After a few minutes, she stopped crying, removed some cheese bread from her bag, and began to eat, worry still knitting her brow.

An old man in tattered6 clothes got on the bus. He sat in the seat directly in front of the woman.
After a few minutes, all seats were taken. The driver got behind the wheel and started the engine. The bus conductor collected tickets and began asking us where we were getting off. When he came to the old man’s seat, he became suspicious and asked the old man whether he had any money. The old man admitted that he did not. He explained that he had spent all his money this morning when he’d accidentally got on the wrong bus and now he was trying to go home.

Upon hearing this, the bus conductor ordered the old man to get off the bus. The old man didn’t budge. He was almost in tears as he begged the bus conductor to let him take that bus so he could get home before dark. The bus driver, who had been listening to exchange, stood up, approached the old man, and repeated the conductor’s command to get off the bus.

The woman seated behind the old man was also listening and observing the incident. When the bus driver and conductor raised their voices at the old man, she interfered.
“Stop harassing7 him! Can’t you see he’s only trying to get home?”
“He doesn’t have any money! ” the driver shouted.
“Well, that’s no reason to throw him off the bus,” she insisted.
Then she said, “How much is his fare?”
The bus conductor mumbled8 the amount.
“Fine,” said the woman. She reached inside her blouse, took out her remaining money, and handed the fares to the bus conductor. “Here’s his fare and mine. Just stop giving him a hard time.”

All eyes turned to the woman, who, just minutes before, had been crying over the money she’d lost.
“It’s only money,” she shrugged.

By the time the bus rolled out of the terminal, she had given the old man bread and a dollar. She rode the rest of the way home wearing a Mona Lisa smile of peace and grace, and the money she’d lost earlier was forgotten.

On the road of life, the chivalry9 and smiles of strangers can lighten our loads and lift our spirits. How much sweeter the journey when we make it a little smoother and richer for others!

  五年前,我做着一份朝九晚五的工作,每天乘车上下班——早上花两三个小时到办公室,晚上再花四五个小时回家。整整三年,天天如此。至今,那些留下来的公交公司的票根足以为证。

  现在,我已经不再像个按部就班工作的姑娘一样天天往办公室赶了。这些天来,我很少乘公交车去什么地方。那些长时间乘车令人身心交瘁的日子已经离我很遥远了,但是一名素不相识的乘客馈赠给我的珍贵礼物却一直珍藏在我身边。

  那是3月一个温暖的傍晚,我刚上车坐下,准备回家。我坐在第三排,在司机那一侧靠窗的位置。当时已经快6点钟了,但是汽车还没坐满,看不出司机有很快发车上路的意思。
一个中年妇女坐到我对面的位子上。她正在哭泣,没有特意跟哪个乘客说话,只是一把鼻涕一把泪地诉说自己的遭遇。

  她是进城来看望女儿的。在去终点站的路上,一个小偷抢了她一个包,里面装着她随身带的一半的钱。另一半卷着包在一个手帕里,藏在衬衣里面。她还剩下一些钱没被抢走,也算幸运。

  汽车售票员、司机和乘客都在听她讲述。几分钟后,她不再哭了,从包里拿出一些奶酪面包吃了起来,但是仍然愁眉不展。

  这时,上来了一位衣衫褴褛的老人。他坐在紧靠那位妇女前面的座位上。

  几分钟后,车坐满了。司机坐到方向盘后面,发动了引擎。售票员开始一边售票,一边问我们在哪里下车。她走到老人的座位旁边时,有些怀疑,便问他有没有钱。老人承认身上没钱。他解释说他早上不巧坐错了车,把所有的钱全部花光了,现在正想办法回家。

  售票员一听他这样说,就呵斥他下车。老人身子没动,只是恳求售票员允许他乘这趟车,好赶在天黑之前到家,说这话时他差不多要流泪了。驾驶员一直在听他们说话,这时也站了起来,走到老人跟前,把售票员的话说又了一遍,命令老人下车。

  坐在老人背后的那位妇女也一直在听,并且观察着事态的发展。就在司机和售票员都对老人大声呵斥时,她插话了。

“别找他的麻烦了!你们不明白他只是想回家吗?”
“他没有车票钱!”司机嚷道。
“喔,那也不能把他赶下车去啊!”她强调说。
她又接着问:“他的车票钱多少?”
售票员咕哝着说出了钱数。
“好吧。”妇女说着,手伸进衬衫里把剩下的钱都掏了出来,把票钱递给了售票员。“这是我俩的票钱。别再为难他了。”

  所有人的目光都投向了这位妇女,就在几分钟前,她还在为自己丢了钱而失声痛哭呢。
“不就是钱嘛。”她耸了耸肩。

  汽车还没驶出总站,她分给了老人一些面包,还给了他1美元。接下来,一路上她脸上都挂着蒙娜丽莎般的微笑,平静而不失优雅,丢钱的事早已忘得一干二净。

  在人生旅途中,碰到陌生人对我们以礼相待,或随心一笑,会让我们心情舒畅、精神振奋。如果我们也让别人的旅途顺利一些、精彩一些,那么人生之旅会平添多少温馨啊!

 

 

 

 

武汉新航道英语培训学校开设:雅思培训托福培训GRE培训SAT培训全封闭学习中心口语听说读写优加中学剑桥青少派乐多少儿英语团体培训

 

课程推荐

课程名称 上课地点 上课时间 查看课程
在线客服