英语专业晨读美文-人生篇 4 How I've Been Enriched

[00:01.73]How I've Been Enriched by Beggars
[00:05.66]Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
[00:11.13]a seemingly ancient woman on crutches¹ waited beside the door
[00:15.18]with her hand outstretched.
[00:16.82]Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met.
[00:20.32]She never failed to return my smile, my grasp, and my greeting.
[00:25.13]On the last day of our visit,
[00:27.10]I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel.
[00:31.37] Bicycles and motorbikes careened in front of me.
[00:34.76] We had been advised to walk straight through the teeming² traffic
[00:38.47]without looking right or left. Let them avoid us
[00:41.64]But tonight I was by myself and felt inadequate³ to face the torrent⁴ of vehicles.
[00:47.66]As I hesitated on the curb⁵,
[00:49.84]I felt a hand on my elbow and
[00:52.14] looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend looking up at me.
[00:56.41] She nodded her head toward the street,
[00:58.38] indicating that she would take me across.
[01:00.45]Together, we moved slowly into the chaos⁶ as she gently prodded⁷ me forward.
[01:05.49]When we reached the center of the crossing,
[01:08.00]I looked down at her again, and couldn't resist exclaiming,
[01:11.28]"You have the most beautiful smile."
[01:14.12]She obviously knew little English,
[01:16.53]but must have recognized the tone,
[01:18.28]for she threw both arms and crutches around me in a big hug,
[01:22.22] while the traffic streamed by us on both sides.
[01:25.18]Then we precariously⁸ moved on toward the sidewalk,
[01:28.88] where she pulled my face down to hers, kissed me on both cheeks,
[01:33.14]and then limped away, still smiling and waving back to me.
[01:36.75]I had not given her a single coin.
[01:39.92]We had shared something vastly more important—
[01:42.98]a warming of hearts in friendship.
[01:45.61]This experience remained me of something Mother Teresa once said:
[01:49.88] "If you cannot do great things, you can do small things with great love."
[01:54.79]To look beggars in the eye and smile,
[01:57.64]thus acknowledging their existence, is a small thing.
[02:01.03]Putting your hand into another's outstretched hand
[02:04.09]and grasping it firmly for a moment is also a small thing.
[02:08.58] Learning to use a greeting in the local language is not too difficult.
[02:13.39]But these are important.
[02:15.69]Traveling in poorer nations,
[02:17.54]I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars.
[02:21.26] The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken
[02:25.42]is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere.
[02:28.81]I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance⁹.
[02:33.51]A few may hastily drop a few coins into a beseeching¹⁰ palm,
[02:37.78]and then execute a quick getaway in hopes that
[02:40.73] another 20 ragged¹¹ pursuers won't immediately appear on the scene.
[02:44.67]But I feel it's worthwhile to try to live
[02:47.51] by the words of English author John Cowper Powys:
[02:51.23]"No one can consider himself wholly civilized¹²
[02:54.62]who does not look upon every individual,
[02:57.57]without a single exception, as of deep and startling interest."
[03:02.27]I've learned that those considered the world's most hopeless
[03:05.78]are so often rich in humanity,
[03:08.29]with hearts yearning¹³ to be affirmed—and ready to respond.
[03:12.45]My life continues to be enriched by connecting with everyday humanity.
[03:17.69]Each time I do this,
[03:19.23]I rediscover that what I have been given is far beyond monetary¹⁴ value.
[03:24.15]And I reaffirm that everyone is worthy—and worth knowing.

 

 

1 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

2 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

10 beseeching   

adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She clung to her father, beseeching him for consent. 她紧紧挨着父亲，恳求他答应。 来自辞典例句
• He casts a beseeching glance at his son. 他用恳求的眼光望着儿子。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

13 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

14 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。