英文短篇故事（纽约）252 Proud of His Average Son

 　　Jerry had a son. He named him John. Jerry didn't want John to be "the best." He didn't even want John to be "better." He wanted John just to be average¹. "That way our boy won't get hurt. You get hurt if you try to climb too high. It's safer to be part of the crowd," Jerry told his wife. John went to a public school. He was an average student. When John got straight C's in school, Jerry said, "That's my boy!" John graduated from high school. He got an average job. He made an average salary². He married³ an average girl. He lived an average life. At his dad's deathbed, John said, "Dad, I never let you down. How could I? You wanted average, and you got average. You never pushed me to excel⁴. You never pushed me to reach for the stars. What might I have been?"

1 average   

n.平均数，平均水平；adj.一般的，通常的，平均的；v.取平均值，达到平均水平

参考例句：

• He spends on the average two hours a day on reading.他平均每天用两小时读书。
• The average flow of the river is 200 cubic metres per second.这条河平均流量为每秒二百立方米。

2 salary   

n.工资，薪水，薪晌，薪金

参考例句：

• The cost will be stopped out of your salary.费用将从你的工资中扣除。
• I want to speak to her in the matter of my salary.我想就我的薪水问题和她谈谈。

3 married   

adj.已婚的；与…结婚的

参考例句：

• I heard John got married.我听说约翰结婚了。
• They got married last autumn.他们在去年秋季结婚。

4 excel   

v.胜过，优于，杰出，善于，擅长于

参考例句：

• If your talent combines with diligence,you can excel in your pursuit.如果你把天赋与勤奋结合起来，你所追求的事业便会出类拔萃。
• He is working hard to excel his predecessors.他正努力超越他的前任。