新奇事件簿 男子出售火柴支付亡妻医疗费

An Internet campaign has come to the rescue of an 80-year-old man in the USA who was reduced to selling firewood on the roadside to pay for his wife's medical bills.Octogenarian Kenneth Smith spent hours a day selling kindling¹ for $5 a bag. He started last year and was then helped by his wife of over 30 years, Helen, who was dying of lung cancer.Tragically², she lost her battle in October and Mr Smith was left with crippling hospital fees, which wiped out his life savings³. A local woman, Jessica Pittman, saw Mr Smith and posted a Facebook message urging people to help him. Her post has been shared over 9,000 times and motorists have stopped their car to give Mr Smith some cash.

互联网上发起了一项活动，救助美国一名80多岁的老人。他在路边出售火柴来支付妻子的医疗费。80多岁的Kenneth Smith每天连续多个小时卖火柴，每包5美元。他从去年开始在这里卖火柴，那时有他同床共枕30多年的妻子的帮助。他的妻子Helen身患肺癌，生命逐渐流逝。悲惨的是，10月份，她与这个世界永别，留给Smith先生的是高额的医疗费，花光了他平生所有的积蓄。当地女子Jessica Pittman看到了Smith先生凄凉的境况，在脸书网上发了一篇文章，呼吁人们帮助他。这篇文章被转发了9000多次，驾车者都会停下来，给Smith一些现金。

Ms Pittman's kind deed encouraged Mr Smith's son to go a step further and set up an online appeal. He created a page at the website GoFundMe and donations soon came flooding in from all corners of the Earth. The online campaign raised $20,000 in three days. Ms Pittman told the BBC that she had "no clue" her actions would prompt such generosity⁴. She said: "Although it will not lessen⁵ the heartache of losing his wife, I am thankful it will at least take a little worry off of his plate and help him make ends meet." Mr Smith said he has been "overwhelmed" with the response. He added that even though his wife wasn't by his side, he still feels her presence, "because she's looking down on me," he said.

Pittman女士的善行鼓励Smith的儿子更进一步，发起在线求助。他在GoFundMe上创建了一个页面，各地的捐赠蜂拥而至。这场在线活动三天之内筹集了2万美元。Pittman女士告诉BBC，她从来没想到她的行为会使人们慷慨解囊。她说：“尽管这样不能缓解失去妻子的痛苦，然而至少能够为他分忧解难，帮助他维持开支，我非常感激。”Smith先生表示，他对人们的反应感激涕零。他还说，尽管妻子已经离他而去，然而他仍然能感到妻子就在他身边，“她就在天堂静静地关注着我。”

1 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

2 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

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 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

5 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。