读者文摘:不是谁的一美元

Jake Braniecki, another senior, says everyone understood that the eventual¹ plan for the dollars would be for "something good"

另一位高三学生杰克·布兰尼埃基表示，所有人都明白，最终的美元计划将是为了“一件好事”

and that their teacher "wasn't going to do anything stupid with the money."

他们的老师“不会拿这些钱做任何蠢事”。

The students, among themselves, decided² Mattison had some unspoken goal, some mysterious threshold at which she would reveal the secret.

学生们，包括他们自己在内，认为马蒂森有某种无法言说的目标，某种神秘的界限，在那里她可以揭露秘密。

They figured bigger donations could only help them get there faster. Braniecki taped a $20 bill and a $10 bill to the whiteboard.

他们认为更多的捐赠能更快的实现目标。布兰尼埃基往白板上贴了一张20美元和一张10美元的钞票。

Megan Makowski dug into her Christmas and birthday savings³ and taped up another $20.

梅根·马克维斯奇动用了自己的圣诞和生日储蓄，往白板上贴了另一张20美元。

"I kept pestering⁴ her the whole time," she said of her teacher.

“我一直在缠着她，”她说她的老师。

The amount continued to grow over several weeks, until it reached $175.76.

这个数字在几周内继续增长，直到它涨到175.76美元。

As for the original dollar, the person who lost it never came looking. That left Mattison to decide upon the best resolution.

至于那一块钱，丢了的人从来没有来找过。这就使马蒂森不得不决定最好的解决办法。

She kept thinking about her brother-in-law, Jack⁵ Hains, a guy she describes as a wonderful human being who had been godfather to Mattison's daughter, Tess.

她一直在想她的姐夫杰克·海恩斯，她说他是一个很棒的人，是马蒂森的女儿苔丝的干爹。

Eight years earlier, Jack had died of amyotrophic lateral⁶ sclerosis (ALS), a rare and devastating⁷ neurological disease.

八年前，杰克死于肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症(ALS)。

Three years after that, his sister, Jean Hains Grant, died of the same condition.

三年后，他的妹妹吉恩·海恩斯·格兰特也死于同样的病症。

Mattison told that story to all her classes. She explained that Jack had been married to her sister, Terry Stephan Hains,

马蒂森把这个故事讲给全班同学听。她解释说杰克娶了她的姐姐特里·斯蒂芬·海恩斯，

and that Terry raises money every spring for the ALS Therapy Development Institute, established to seek a cure for the disease.

每年春天，特里都会为肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症治疗发展研究所筹集资金。

She asked the teens whether they minded if she donated the dollars in their names in honor of Jack.

她问这些孩子们是否介意她以他们的名义捐出这些钱来纪念杰克。

Their answer was to tape enough money to the whiteboard over the next few days to push the amount to $321.06.

他们的答案是在接下来的几天里把足够多的钱贴在白板上，把金额提高到321.06美元。

Mattison, choking back tears as she recalls the moment, says she carefully peeled the cash off the board

马蒂森哽咽着回忆起当时的情景，她表示自己很小心的把钱从板子上取下来。

and made the donation just before the beginning of May, which is National ALS Awareness⁸ Month.

并在5月初捐了款，5月初是全国肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症宣传月。

That was Saturday. By Monday afternoon, eight more dollars had been taped to the board.

这是星期六。到星期一下午，又有八美元粘在了白板上。

1 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 pestering   

使烦恼，纠缠( pester的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's always pestering me to help him with his homework. 他总是泡蘑菇要我帮他做作业。
• I'm telling you once and for all, if you don't stop pestering me you'll be sorry. 我这是最后一次警告你。如果你不停止纠缠我，你将来会后悔的。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 lateral   

adj.侧面的，旁边的

参考例句：

• An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
• Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。