Good deeds start with one

by Jade/張新峰(譯)

□語篇導讀

善良同感冒一樣，也是一種“傳染病”，一旦接觸就會散播開來，但它傳播的是一份真情，一份溫暖。善良的人永遠帶著感恩的心，留心周圍的世界，去幫助每一個需要幫助的人。讓這種善良的“傳染”愈遠愈久!贈人玫瑰，手有余香。當世界充滿愛時，我們每一個人也都會得到幸福。

My husband Mike had been working in Florida for five months.Our 9-year-old daughter Kallie missed him very much.So Kallie and I were flying to Florida to spend a week with him.

The plane was full.Because we did not get our boarding passes until we arrived at the gate,Kallie and I could not get seats together.Kallie was nervous about the trip and had counted on my reading to her the whole way.

The passengers next to me got to their seats,and I asked if they would change places with Kallie or me.They all said no.

Meanwhile,a mother and her two children several rows ahead of us also met the same condition.The mother could hold her baby,but her 6-year-old son had to sit with strangers.And nobody offered to help her.

Then,I saw a troop of Boy Scouts (童子軍)on our flight.The Scout leader stood up and said to the woman:“Madam,I think we can help you.”He spent five minutes rearranging his group so there was space for the family to sit together.A smile came on the mother's face.

Suddenly,the man sitting next to the Scout leader turned around to me and asked,“Would you and your daughter like our seats?”I answered excitedly,“Yes.Thanks very much.”Then we changed seats and being together made our trip so much better.

Would that man have offered us his seat if the Scouts hadn't done so for the Mom and her children?I'm not sure.But I do know that kindness is contagious,and good deeds cause more good deeds!

◆詞語積淀

condition/k?n'd?∫n/n. 情況；狀況

stranger/'stre?nd??(r)/n.陌生人；外地人

flight/fla?t/n.飛行；航班

rearrange/,ri??'re?nd?/v.重新安排

contagious/k?n'te?d??s/adj.傳染性的；感染性的

turn around轉過身，轉過去

◆典句賞析

1.Because we did not get our boarding passes until we arrived at the gate,Kallie and I could not get seats together.因為我們直到到達登機口才拿到登機牌，所以凱莉和我沒能坐到一起。

not...until...作為連詞短語，意思是“直到……才……”，是一種固定用法。until后面可以接時間，也可以引導時間狀語從句。例如：

It didn't stop raining until the end of last month.在上月底之前，雨從未停止。(直到上月底雨才停下來。)

【即時嘗試】直到她回來我才開始看電視。

2.Kallie was nervous about the trip and had counted on me reading to her the whole way.凱莉對這次的旅行感到緊張，她本來指望我一路上講故事給她聽。

count on是固定詞組，意為“依靠；指望”。count on sb.(doing sth.)表示“指望某人(做某事)”。count on的近義短語為depend on。the whole way也是常見的詞組，意為“自始至終；一路上”。例如：

We walked the whole way to the station,a matter of 3 miles.我們一直走到車站,大約3英里的路程。

Children depend on their parents for food and clothing.孩子依賴他們的父母供給衣食。

【即時嘗試】這個男孩不得不依靠他的父母生活。

譯文助讀

我的丈夫邁克已經在佛羅里達州工作五個月了。我們9歲的女兒凱莉非常想念他。所以凱莉和我將飛到佛羅里達州和他一起度過一個星期。

飛機已經滿員了。因為我們直到到達登機口才拿到登機牌，所以凱莉和我沒能坐到一起。凱莉對這次的旅行感到緊張，她本來指望我一路上講故事給她聽。

我旁邊的乘客都坐到了他們的座位上，我問他們是否能與凱莉或我換一下座位。他們都說不。

與此同時，在我們前面幾排的一位母親和她的兩個孩子也遇到了同樣的情況。那位母親可以抱著她的孩子，但她6歲的兒子不得不和陌生人坐在一起。沒有人主動幫助她。

這時我在飛行中看到一群童子軍。童子軍的領袖站起來并對那個女人說：“夫人，我想我們可以幫助你。”他花了五分鐘重新安排他的團隊，這樣就有空間讓那家人坐在一起。那位母親的臉上露出了笑容。

突然，坐在童子軍領袖旁邊的那個人轉過身來問我：“你和你女兒喜歡我們的座位嗎？”我興奮地回答道：“是的。非常感謝。”然后我們換了座位。坐在一起使我們的旅行更美好。

如果童子軍沒有為那位母親和她的孩子們這樣做，那個人會不會給我們讓座呢？我不確定。但我確實知道，善良是會傳染的，良好的行為將產生（引發）更多的好事!