中學時代的一堂人生課

請不要嘲笑別人，因為也許他心中藏著難以言喻的隱痛；請不要嘲笑別人，因為也許他身上的可貴品質有一天會讓你無地自容。

In sixth grade I had a nerdy1)， homely teacher for first period—Mr. Pennington. He wore diapers2). Naturally， as 13-year-olds do， we made fun of him. Sadly， I participated. Most people whispered and giggled and some did so blatantly3) to ensure he could hear. He never flinched4).

One early morning the class had pushed all of the desks to the perimeter5) of the room and everyone sat on the floor drawing， cutting， coloring， and gluing decorations for one holiday or another. We all chatted and laughed loudly while Mr. Pennington stood precariously6) on a desk—one foot on the seat and the other on the table portion of the same desk—stapling7) our designs along the corkboard8) border above the chalk boards in the back of the class.

I was sitting with a group of girls very near to， but with my back to Mr. Pennington when someone whispered， \"Wouldn't it be funny if he fell?\" I turned my head and looked up at our teacher thinking， \"No， not really.\" But wanting to fit in， I just snickered9) and nodded.

As soon as I'd turned to look at the cheesy10) artwork in front of me， there was a crash and loud thud11) right behind me. I jumped to my feet and spun12) around all at once. Whether the action was out of sudden fear from the noise or from sensing what had just occurred and knowing something needed to be done， I can't really say.

As everyone stared and mumbled \"oh shit\" under their breath13)， I scanned the room to see who was sitting closest to the intercom14) button by the door. All at once the girls shrieked and I turned back to look at Mr. Pennington convulsing15) violently on the ground.

\"Cedric! Page16) the office， run next door， and get Mrs. Johnson!\" I shouted. He didn't hesitate.

I don't know why， instinct or watching too much ER17) with my grandparents， but I told everyone to scoot18) back. Mrs. Johnson came running in and that's when I realized the main office was talking over the intercom. I hadn't heard it. I was too busy staring in shock at Mr. Pennington—now lying on the floor motionless. Was he alive?

Mrs. Johnson barked19) into the air， \"Call an ambulance!\" Another teacher， Mr. Carson came into the room and ushered20) us next door.

After being stabilized， Mr. Pennington had refused to go to the hospital until he spoke with me. He thanked me. \"For what?\" I thought. He confided21) in me that he had epilepsy22). It dawned on me that this was the reason he wore diapers. I felt sorry that I'd ever poked fun at him.

I never found out how he knew the events that took place after he fell; whether he was still cognizant23) or if someone told him， but he knew and was grateful.

六年級的第一學期，我有一位老師，他是個書呆子，長相也很平庸——他就是彭寧頓先生。他還用紙尿褲。我們像所有13歲的孩子那樣，自然會拿他尋開心。遺憾的是，我也是其中一員。大多數同學竊竊私語，發出咯咯的笑聲，還有些同學則大聲嘲諷，故意讓他聽見。但他卻從未因此畏縮過。

一天清晨，全班同學把所有課桌都推到教室的四周，然后坐在教室中間騰出的空地上為慶祝某個節日畫畫、剪紙、上色，再用膠水把裝飾品粘好。就在我們大聲談笑的時候，彭寧頓先生正顫顫巍巍地站在一張課桌上——一只腳踩在座椅上，另一只腳踩在桌面上，用訂書釘把我們設計的那些裝飾品固定在教室后面黑板上方的軟木公告板的邊框上。

我和一些女生就坐在離彭寧頓先生非常近的地方，我背對著他。這時有人低聲說：“要是他從課桌上摔下來，那不是很有趣？”我轉過頭去，抬頭看了看老師，心想：“不，這沒什么有趣的?！辈贿^，為了讓自己顯得合群些，我便暗笑著點了點頭。

就在我扭回頭來想要看看自己面前的那件糟糕的手工藝品時，突然傳來“砰”的一聲巨響，有什么東西正好倒在了我身后。我一下子跳了起來，立刻轉過身去。我也說不清楚自己的反應究竟是因為被突如其來的聲音嚇到了，還是因為察覺到出事兒了，心里覺得必須做點兒什么。

在大家睜大眼睛盯著彭寧頓先生，低聲咕噥著“額，該死”的時候，我向教室里掃視了一圈，看看誰離教室門口的內部通話系統的按鈕最近。這時，女生們突然尖叫起來，我轉過頭去，看到彭寧頓先生躺在地上劇烈地抽搐著。

“錫德里克！呼叫辦公室，然后到隔壁叫約翰遜夫人過來！”我大聲喊道。他立刻照做了。

我不知道我為什么會這么做，是出于本能還是和祖父母一起看了太多《急診室的故事》，但我讓大家都迅速退開。直到約翰遜夫人跑進教室的時候，我才意識到主辦公室正在通過內部通話系統喊話，而我剛剛卻沒聽見，只是一直驚恐地盯著彭寧頓先生——他此刻躺在地上，一動不動。他還活著嗎？

約翰遜夫人厲聲叫道：“快叫救護車！”另一位老師卡森先生走進教室，把我們領到了隔壁的教室。

彭寧頓先生身體狀況穩定些后，堅持要和我說上幾句話才肯去醫院。他向我表達了謝意?！盀槭裁匆x我呢？”我心想。他還向我透露了一個秘密：他患有癲癇癥(編注：癲癇癥患者發病時易大小便失禁)。我這才突然明白，原來這就是他穿紙尿褲的原因。我為自己曾經取笑他的行為感到很羞愧。

我一直都沒想明白他是如何得知自己摔倒后所發生的一切的，不管是因為他當時尚有意識還是有人告訴了他，但他知道了，而且心懷感激。

1.nerdy [n??di] adj. 書呆子式的

2.diaper [?da??p?(r)] n. 紙尿褲

3.blatantly [?ble?t?ntli] adv. 吵嚷地；喧鬧地

4.flinch [fl?nt?] vi. 退縮；畏縮

5.perimeter [p??r?m?t?(r)] n. 周邊，邊緣

6.precariously [pr??ke?ri?sli] adv. 不穩地；危險地

7.staple [?ste?pl] vt. 用訂書釘訂

8.corkboard [?k??k?b??d] n. 軟木公告板

9.snicker [?sn?k?(r)] vi. 竊笑，暗笑

10.cheesy [?t?i?zi] adj. <口>質次的；粗陋的

11.thud [θ?d] n. 砰的一聲

12.spin [sp?n] vi. 旋轉，轉身

13.under one's breath: 壓著嗓子，低聲地

14.intercom [??nt?k?m] n. 【電信】內部通話系統

15.convulse [k?n?v?ls] vi. <口>抖動

16.page [pe?d?] vt. (通過尋呼機)呼叫

17.ER:《急診室的故事》，美國全國廣播公司(NBC)自1994年起播出的一部電視連續劇，于2009年播完。該劇共獲得21項艾美獎及115項提名。

18.scoot [sku?t] vi. 急速移動

19.bark [bɑ?k] vt. 喊叫著命令

20.usher [????(r)] vt. 引，領

21.confide [k?n?fa?d] vi. 吐露秘密

22.epilepsy [?ep?lepsi] n. 【醫】癲癇

23.cognizant [?k?gn?z?nt] adj. 察知的