2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十月-Peace Begins with One Person

Welcome to "This I believe", an NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life.

I believe in honor, faith and service
I believe that a little outrage² can take you a long way.
I believe in freedom of speech.
I believe in empathy.
I believe in truth.
I believe in the ingredients of love.
This I believe.

It's Monday when we bring you our series "this I Believe" and today our essay comes from 24-year-old Ivory Harlow. She served in the air force and then began working as a waitress in the San Antonio diner to put herself through college. Here's our series curator, independent producer Jay Allison.

When Ivory Harlow heard our series on the air, she liked the honest way people spoke³ about their personal convictions and she was happy for the opportunity to listen. This led her pretty much directly to the principle that guides her life. Here's Ivory Harlow with her essay for this I Believe.

I serve coffee at a counter-style diner in Texas. I often see a look of isolation⁴ in my customers' eyes. They come in the front door, wander to the counter, pick up the menu and look around the diner for something they can't short-order: a connection. In an age of online chat, online shopping and even online school, it's no wonder people come into the diner starving for human connection. Most of my customers can remember a time when the milkman came to their front door. As I serve up their eggs and bacon, they offer updates on their grandchildren. They ask me about the happenings in my life.



One day, I walked to the back of the smoking section to pass around a fresh pot of coffee. There was a woman who had been sitting in a corner booth for at least three hours. She asked me "how much is just one breakfast taco?" I told her I didn't know that I'd never served just one by itself. Going back to the kitchen, I thought about her rotted teeth and tired eyes and how she'd consumed enough caffeine for three people already. I offered her free pancake breakfast. I fibbed that it was a leftover⁵ from an order I'd messed up. She asked to borrow bus fare and promised to return and pay me back. I handed over tip money from my apron⁶ pocket. She smiled a ragged⁷ grin on her way out the front door.

Three weeks later, she returned my two dollars. She'd gotten a job and a friend's couch to sleep on. She offered to buy me breakfast on my break. This kind of thing gets me wondering: if something as simple as a short stack of pancakes can bring about a small shift in society. I'll go even further. Can one act of friendliness⁸ start to generate peace? I believe it can. Peace begins with one person but spreads like warmed syrup⁹. When I connect with my neighbors, they return it in kind. So I believe in friendliness and an open ear. For me, it starts with making eye contact when I pour coffee and ask my customers "how are you doing" and then listen to their answer. My job is to take care of customers at the counter in a small Texas diner, but I also believe we're in this world to take care of each other.

Ivory Harlow with her essay for this I believe. If you're inspired to write of your beliefs as Ivory was, please visit our website at npr.org where you can also browse¹⁰ through the thousands of essays that have been submitted to this series by others. For this I believe, I'm Jay Allison.

Next Monday, on Morning Edition, a This I Believe essay from Yolanda O'Bannon a secretary in Richmond, California.

Support for This I believe comes from CalPoly University.
"This I believe" is produced for NPR by This I Believe Incorporated Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit npr.org/thisibelieve.

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Vocabulary
1. taco n. pl tacos : a usu. fried tortilla rolled up with or folded over a filling.
2. caffeine n: a stimulating¹¹ alkaloid found esp. in coffee and tea.
3. fib n. a trivial or childish lie. V. to tell a fib
4. leftover n. something that remains unused or unconsumed

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

5 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

6 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

7 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

8 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

9 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

10 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

11 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。