原版英文小故事 23. Blind and Kind

Philip is 55 and blind. He has been blind since birth. He says he does not feel like he is missing¹ anything, because he cannot imagine what sight is like. He can smell a rose, but he cannot tell if it is red, white, or blue. It does not matter to him; he enjoys the beauty of the scent² itself.

People sometimes take pity on him, but he tells them he is a contented³ man; he does not feel cheated by Mother Nature. The doctors never figured out why he was born blind.

But his life is not a bed of roses. It is difficult for him to travel. He cannot drive, of course; he travels by bus. At home, he cannot just look out of the window to see what the weather is like, and then dress appropriately⁴. He can’t look at the clock on the wall to see what time it is. He uses his Braille watch or a special radio for that.

He must always put everything in the same spot in his apartment. If he doesn’t, “I’ll spend forever looking for it,” he laughs.

Philip can look for and look at, but he cannot see. He says strangers often correct themselves when talking to him. They’ll say, “I see,” meaning “I understand.” But then they think they’ve been rude, so they’ll correct themselves and say, “I mean, I understand.”

Philip has never seen a good movie or a bad TV show. He has no idea what a sunset⁵ or a full moon looks like. He is a musician. He plays the saxophone, but not in a band. Four times a week, he travels to Old Town in Pasadena on the bus in the afternoon. He gets off at the bus stop and then finds his way across the street to The Cap, a hat store. On the sidewalk in front of The Cap is his “spot.”

He unfolds⁶ an aluminum⁷ chair and assembles⁸ his sax after taking it out of the case. He sits down and starts warming up. He puts a hat, upside⁹ down with change in it, on top of the case. “The change keeps the hat from blowing away,” he says. “It also lets people know where to put their donations¹⁰. I usually spend about four hours here. I’ll earn from $10 to $30. One evening I made almost $100. Another evening, someone stole everything. I guess he needed it more than I did.”
 

1 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

2 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

3 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

4 appropriately   

adv.适当地

参考例句：

• Appropriately, the press rode him hard. 新闻界对此严加批评是恰当的。 来自辞典例句
• Her singing of "Evening Waltz" was easy and lively, well-balanced and appropriately controlled in volume. 她唱的“晚会圆舞曲”轻松愉快，层次分明，音量的控制也恰到好处。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

5 sunset   

n.日落；衰落时期(尤指人的晚年)

参考例句：

• They'll work on till sunset.他们将继续工作，直到日落。
• The sunset was a very beautiful sight.那落日真是一幅美景。

6 unfolds   

v.显露，展现( unfold的第三人称单数 )；展开，打开

参考例句：

• The story unfolds as the film goes on. 情节随着影片的进展逐步展开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The plot of the novel unfolds in a very natural way. 这部小说的情节很自然地展开来。 来自辞典例句

7 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

8 assembles   

集合，收集( assemble的第三人称单数 )； 装配，组合

参考例句：

• Top management assembles a special committee to assess the promotability of all the employees. 总经理责成某个委员会去评价全部职员的潜力。
• Sabrina is Bob's boss at a company that assembles high-end notebook computers. 塞布丽娜是鲍勃的上司，他们公司负责生产组合高档笔记本电脑。

9 upside   

n.上侧，上段，上部

参考例句：

• The children hung the picture upside down.小孩把画挂倒了。
• If you turn the envelope upside down, the key will fall out.你如果把信封倒过来，钥匙就会掉出。

10 donations   

n.捐赠( donation的名词复数 )；赠送；捐款；捐赠物

参考例句：

• The hospital receives a good deal of money in donations. 这家医院收到捐赠来的大笔款项。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The charity is completely reliant on public donations. 这一慈善团体完全依靠公众捐款。 来自《简明英汉词典》