你身体最重要的部位是什么？

 My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body.Through the years I would guess at what I thought was the correct answer.

When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy."

She said, "No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated¹ the correct answer.

So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes."

She looked at me and told me, "You are learning² fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind."

Over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No, but you are getting smarter every year, my child."

Then last year, my Grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying.My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa. She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?"

I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a gamebetween her and me. She saw the confusion³ on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived your life." I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder."

I asked, "Is it because it holds up your head?"

She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometimes in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."

Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish⁴ one. It is sympathetic⁵ to the pain of others.

我母亲以前常常问我，身体中什么部位最重要。许多年来，我一直在猜测我所认为正

确的答案。

在我很小的时候，我认为声音对人类而言很重要，因此回答：“是耳朵，妈妈。”

她说：“不对，世界上有许多人是聋子。不过你还要继续想这个问题，以后我再问你。”

当她再次问我时，已经是好几年以后了。自从第一次没有回答正确之后，我就一直在琢磨答案。

于是，这次我对她说：“妈妈，视觉对每个人都很重要，所以应该是眼睛。”

她看着我，说：“你学的很快，但答案还是不对，因为有很多人是盲人。”

以后的几年里，她又问了我几次，但她总是回答：“不对，不过，孩子，你一年比一年聪明了。”

去年我祖父去世，大家都悲痛不已。每一个人都在哭泣。轮到我们向祖父做最后的告别时，妈妈看着我，问我：“孩子，你知道身体最重要的部位了吗？”

她在这时候问我这个问题，吓了我一大跳。我一直以为这是我和她之间的小游戏。她看我一脸迷惑，对我说：“这个问题很重要，它是你真正开始生活的标志。”我看她热泪盈眶。她说：“亲爱的，你身体最重要的部位是你的肩膀。”

 我问道：“是因为它能支撑头吗？”

她回答道：“不，是因为我们的朋友、我们所爱的人哭泣的时候，它可以让他们把头靠在那儿。亲爱的，每个人在一生中都会有需要一个可以靠着哭泣的肩膀的时候。我只是希望你有足够的爱心和朋友，这样在你需要的时候，你总可以找到一个倚靠着哭泣的肩膀。”

从那时起，我知道身体最重要的部位不是利己的部位，而是能感受得到别人的痛苦的部位。

1 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

4 selfish   

adj.自私的，利己主义的，自我中心的

参考例句：

• You must learn to share and not be so selfish.你一定要学会与他人分享，不要那么自私。
• She is a selfish person.她是一个自私自利的人。

5 sympathetic   

adj.有同情心的；表示好感或赞同的

参考例句：

• He is a sympathetic person.他是一个有同情心的人。
• They were quite sympathetic to our proposals.他们很赞同我们的建议。