更美的世界14-友善的话语

[00:00.00]A Kind Word 友善的话语
[00:09.22]A successful businessman,
[00:12.42]addressing the commercial club of his city,
[00:15.98]told a story of an orphan¹ named Jim,
[00:17.95]who was the laughing stock of the whole town.
[00:20.74]Jim was 12,
[00:22.03]and he never remembered having a kind word spoken to him in his whole life.
[00:27.83]One day as Jim walked down the street,
[00:31.13]he saw a bundle slip from the overloaded² arms of a little lady just in front of him.
[00:37.14]As she stooped to pick it up,
[00:39.65]the others rolled down.
[00:41.30]Jim sprang to her assistance,
[00:43.80]gathering up the bundles and replacing them in her arms.
[00:47.62]“Thank you, dear;
[00:49.82]you are a nice little boy,”
[00:51.58]she said kindly,
[00:52.87]and went on her way after giving him a bright smile.
[00:56.50]Jim was amazed;
[00:58.24]a queer choky feeling passed over him.
[01:01.31]These were the first kind words
[01:04.25]he had ever heard in his whole twelve years of existence.
[01:08.30]He stood and stared after her.
[01:10.82]He knew that she was the busy little dressmaker
[01:13.98]who lived in a small cottage on the outskirts³ of town.
[01:17.39]He watched her until she was out of sight,
[01:20.66]then he made straight for the woods and a stream that wound around the town.
[01:25.04]He sat down on the bank of the stream and did some thinking.
[01:29.63]“Thank you, dear; you are a nice little boy,”
[01:33.12]he pondered.
[01:34.55]Finally the boy pulled from his pockets
[01:37.30]a piece of broken mirror and looked at himself.
[01:40.13]He saw nothing but grime and dirt.
[01:43.51]He went down to the water’s edge and scrubbed it off carefully,
[01:47.69]almost painfully.
[01:49.31]Then he looked again.
[01:50.74]He scarcely recognized himself.
[01:53.38]He stood erect⁴ and looked up instead of down for the first time since he could remember.
[02:00.15]He distinctly liked the sensation.
[02:03.22]A feeling of self-respect awoke within his being.
[02:07.70]Ambition sprang full-grown into life.
[02:10.97]At that moment the course of his life was changed;
[02:14.47]a determination to be worthy⁵ of the kind words spoken to him by the little dress maker,
[02:21.25]and to pass them on, took possession of his soul.
[02:24.52]After telling this story of Jim,
[02:27.60]the speaker paused;
[02:29.58]and then he electrified⁶ the audience by saying,
[02:32.00]“Gentlemen, I was that boy.
[02:35.27]That gentle woman implanted in my life the first seed of kindness.
[02:40.85]As a tribute to her memory I have told you this story.”
[02:44.56]Oh, if all of us would learn the lesson:
[02:48.19]“Say kind words to others.”
[02:50.80]What transforming power it has!

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

5 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》