1、Unit 1 Something for stevie I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasnt sure I wanted one. I wasnt sure how my customers would react. Stevie
2、 was short, a little dumpy, with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs syndrome. I wasnt worried about most of my trucker customers. Truckers dont generally care who buses tables as long as the food is good and the pies are homemade. The ones who concerned me were the mouthy c
3、ollege kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded “truck-stop germ;” and the pairs of white-shirted businessmen on expense accounts who think every truck-stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those peo
4、ple would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks. I shouldnt have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his little finger. Within a month my trucker regulars had adopted him as their official truck-stop mascot. After that I really
5、 didnt care what the rest of the customers thought. He was a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done w
6、ith the table. Our only problem was convincing him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would hurry to the empty table and carefull
7、y bus the dishes and glasses onto the cart and meticulously wipe the table with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brows would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each
8、and every person he met. Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck-stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, a
9、dmitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. Thats why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Ste
10、vie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs syndrome often have heart problems at an early age, so this wasnt unexpected. There was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good sha
11、pe and be back at work in a few months. A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, let out a war whoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer
12、, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look. 9 He grinned. “OK, Frannie, what was that all about?” he asked. 10 “We just got wor
13、d that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay.” she responded. “I was wondering where he was,” said Belle. “I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?” 12 Frannie quickly told him and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevies surgery, then sighed. “Yeah, Im glad
14、he is going to be okay,” she said, “but I dont know how he and his mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, theyre barely getting by as it is.” Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my
15、office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face. “Whats up?” I asked. “That table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting,” she said, “this was folded and tucked under a coffee cup.” She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I
16、opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed “Something For Stevie.” “Pony Pete also asked me what that dance was all about,” she said, “so I told him about Stevie and his mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this.” She hand
17、ed me another paper napkin that had “Something For Stevie” scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply, “Truckers.” 15 That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed
18、 to be back to work. His placement worker said hes been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didnt matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy.
19、I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. We met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldnt stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting. “Hold up
20、there, Stevie, not so fast,” I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. “Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you two is on me.” I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we
21、 marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table, its surface covered with a mess of coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting crooked on dozens of folded paper napk
22、ins. “First thing you have to do, Stevie, is to clean up this mess,” I said, trying to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had “Something for Stevie” written on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie sta
23、red at the money, then at dozens of napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother. “Theres over $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!” W
24、ell, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody shouting, and there were a few tears, too. But you know whats funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table the best
25、 worker I ever hired. 送给史蒂维的一点心意 1 我力求不存偏见，不过在雇用史蒂维时我有理由心存疑虑。他的就业顾问向我保证， 说他会成为出色、可靠的餐馆杂工。我从未雇过智障的员工，是否要招收一位，我举棋不 定。我的顾客会有什么反应，我没有把握。史蒂维是个矮个儿，胖墩墩的，如其他唐氏综 合症患者一样，面部光滑，口齿不清。 2 对大多数来就餐的卡车司机们，我还是很放心的。只要食物好，馅饼地道，他们基本 不在 乎谁收碗碟。真正让我担心的是那些高谈阔论的大学走读生，那些因惧怕”路边餐馆的细 菌”而用餐巾悄悄擦拭银餐具的雅皮士势利眼儿们，还有那些穿白色衬衫、使用公款消费、 认为餐馆里
26、每个女服务员都渴望调情的商务人员。我知道，史蒂维在这里工作，他们会感 到别扭，所以开头几个星期我密切地关注着他。 3 我的担心是多余的。第一周过后，史蒂维就抓住了我每位员工的心。不足一个月，我 的老顾客 那些卡车司机们 就正式认定史蒂维为卡车司机休息站的吉祥人物。自此以 后，我不再介意其他顾客的看法了。 4 史蒂维 21 岁，蓝色牛仔裤，耐克运动鞋，满面笑容，讨人喜爱，极端地敬业。他收拾 好一张餐桌后，盐瓶和胡椒瓶归于原位，丝毫不差，桌面不见一点面包屑、一滴咖啡液。 5 我们唯一的问题是得说服他等待客人用餐完毕再去收拾桌子。他总是在不起眼的地方 守候，左右脚替换着支撑体重，眼睛巡视整个餐厅。一
27、看见哪张餐桌边的客人都离去，他 立即赶过去，仔细地把碗碟收拾到餐车上，拿起抹布细密地擦桌子，动作娴熟、夸张。若 他觉得有顾客正在看他，他就会眉头紧锁，更加专注。工作一丝不苟，这是他自豪的源泉。 他取悦面前的每一个人，那煞费苦心的劲头真是惹人喜爱。 6 后来，我们得知史蒂维和母亲一起生活。他母亲是个寡妇，因患癌症多次经历手术而 落下残疾。母子俩靠社会保险金生活，住在离餐馆两英里以外的廉租房里。社工人员偶尔 登门看望，说他们母子生活着实艰辛贫困。他们手头拮据，我所付的工资仅能保证母子俩 相依为命，史蒂维才不至于沦落到被”集体之家”（为残障人士提供护理的机构）收容。 7 到了去年八月的一个早上，就是
28、三年里史蒂维没能来上班的第一个早上，整个餐馆气 氛忧伤。他在罗切斯特的梅奥诊所接受一个心脏手术，大概要置入新的心脏膜瓣。社工人 员说，有唐氏综合症的人常会在年轻时犯心脏病，所以史蒂维做手术不足为奇；几个月后， 他有望从手术中恢复健康，重返工作岗位。 8 有一天接近中午时，有消息传来，说史蒂维手术结束，正在恢复，状况良好。员工当 中激动的情绪如涟漪荡漾。领班弗兰妮听到消息，一声欢呼，旋即在过道上跳了一阵舞。 经常光顾我们餐馆的一位卡车司机贝尔林格，此时诧异地看着年届五十、已有四个孙儿 的弗兰妮在他桌边晃动身体，跳起祝贺胜利的希米舞。弗兰妮窘得红了脸，用手抹平围裙， 朝着贝尔狠狠地瞪了一眼。 9
29、贝尔咧嘴一笑。”好了，弗兰妮，什么事那么高兴啊?”他问。 10 “我们刚得到消息，史蒂维做完了手术，平安无事。”她回答。 11 “我还一直在纳闷，怎么今天不见他呢?”贝尔问。”本来有个笑话要讲给他听呢。做 的是什么手术呢?” 12 弗兰妮快言快语，把史蒂维的手术情况告诉贝尔和他旁边坐着的两个司机。”唉!”弗 兰妮叹息着说：”他平安无事，我很开心，但是我不知道他和他妈妈怎样支付所有的费用。 我听说，他们的日子一直过得紧巴巴的。” 贝尔林格点点头，若有所思。弗兰妮匆匆离 开，去招待其它桌的客人了。 13 上午的客流高峰一过，弗兰妮走进我的办公室。她手上拿着几张纸餐巾，表情诡异。 ”怎么了?”我问。
30、”在贝尔林格和他朋友坐过的那张餐桌上，”她说，”这张折叠的餐 巾纸就塞在一个咖啡杯下”。她把那张餐巾递给我。我抖开它，三张 20 元的钞票跌落在我 的桌面上。纸巾外面工整地写着：”送给史蒂维的一点心意”，字母很大很粗。 14 “波尼皮特也问我为何跳那支舞，”她说。”我把史蒂维和他母亲的一切都告诉他 了。皮特看看托尼，托尼看看皮特，他们最后把这个给了我。” 她递给我另一张纸餐巾， 只见外面潦草地写着：”送给史蒂维的一点心意”。折叠的餐巾中夹着两张 50 元的钞票。 弗兰妮看着我，眼睛闪着泪花，摇摇头，只说一句话，”这些卡车司机啊。” 15 那是三个月前的事了。今天是感恩节，是史蒂维重返工作岗位的
31、第一天。他的就业顾 问说，史蒂维一直数算着日子，直到医生告诉他可以上班了。就算这天是假日也没有关系。 他在过去一周内打了十次电话，确保我们知道他要回来了，担心我们忘记他，担心丢掉这 份工作。我经过筹划，让他母亲陪他来上班。我们在停车场迎接他们，邀请母子二人一起 庆祝他归来。 16 史蒂维面色苍白，人也瘦了，但是总咧着嘴笑。 他用力推开门，径直走向工作间，他 的围裙和餐车正在那儿等着他呢。”等一下，史蒂维，别着急，”我说。我挽着他们母子 的手臂说，”等会儿再开工。我请二位吃早餐，庆祝史蒂维归来。”我带他们向餐厅后面 角落里一个大隔间走去。我们穿过餐厅的时候，我能感觉到、也能听到其他员工紧紧跟着。
32、 我回头望去，看见笑容满面的卡车司机们走出一个个隔间，融入员工的队伍中。 17 我们来到那张大餐桌前。桌面上凌乱的咖啡杯、小碟、餐盘，横七竖八地摆放在一堆 折叠的纸餐巾上。”史蒂维，你要做的第一件事是，把这堆东西清理干净，”我佯装严肃 地说。史蒂维看看我，又看看母亲，从那堆餐巾纸中抽出一张。那餐巾外面写着：”送给 史蒂维的一点心意”。他拿起餐巾，两张 10 元钞票掉在桌子上。史蒂维看看钞票，又看看 餐具下面露出的几十张餐巾，每一张都或工整或潦草地写着他的名字。 18 我转身对他母亲说：”这张桌上，有一万多元现金和支票，是卡车司机、卡车公司听 说你们的家庭状况后送来的。感恩节快乐!”天哪，此时一
33、片欢腾，人们大声地叫着，也有 流泪的。但是你知道此刻最有意思的是什么吗?就在大家都忙着握手、拥抱的时候，史蒂维 笑容绽放，正忙着清理桌上的杯盘 他真是我手下最好的员工。 UNIT 2： How Deep Is Your Love? |你的爱有多深| Mansi Bhatia Love to some is like a cloud To some as strong as steel For some a way of living For some a way to feel And some say love is holding on And some say let it go And
34、 some say love is everything Some say they dont know 1 有人认为爱如浮云 有人认为爱坚强如铁 有人认为爱是一种生活方式 有人认为爱是一种感觉 有人说爱要执着 有人说爱不要约束 有人说爱是生命的全部 有人说不知道爱为何物 At some stage or the other in our lives we experience an emotion which defies definition. Its a feeling that can only be felt and not described. An overwhelming jo
35、y that comes together with its share of sadness. Love. 2 在我们生命中的某个阶段，我们会经历难以名状的情 感。这种情感只能体会，无法用 语言描述。莫大的喜悦伴随着丝丝的伤感一同降临，这就是爱。 Given the busy nature of our lives, its to be appreciated that we even find the time to indulge in matters of the heart. But at the same time I wonder if we even understand it
36、s true depth. I remember having countless crushes while in school. My math teacher, our neighbours son, my best friends brother and lots of others whom I fancied for the colour of their eyes, the shape of their moustaches or just the way they walked. Harmless puppy loves that are as brief as soap bu
37、bbles. I can laugh about all those silly and adventurous thoughts and acts now but at that time nothing could be more serious an affair for me. Then came the stage of real relationships. 3 在紧张忙碌的生活中，我们竟能找到时间，沉湎于感情之中，这的确令人感佩。然而， 此时我想知道：我们是否懂得爱到底有多么深刻。记得上学的时候，我迷恋的对象真是数 不清：我的数学老师、邻居的儿子、好朋友的弟弟，还有另外一些因为眼
38、睛的颜色、胡子 的形状或走路的姿势而让我倾慕的人。年少时的爱慕，不会带来伤害，如肥皂泡一样转瞬 即逝。那些稚气、大胆的想法和行为，现在想来大可一笑了之。但是，在那时，对我来说， 没有比恋爱更重要的事 了。接着就进入了真正“谈”情“说”爱的阶段。 Being in an all girls school I hardly had the opportunity to interact with members of the opposite gender. Socials between our school and the boys college, therefore, would be a
39、waited anxiously. Those three hours of unhesitant attention by a group of well-groomed young gentlemen provided us with enough content to talk and feel excited about for the next four weeks. 4 我在女子学校学习，和男孩子交往的机会寥寥无几，因此，我热切地期待着我们学校 和男子学校举办的交谊会。交谊会上，一群精心打扮的年轻男子毫无顾忌地盯着我们。这 三个小时中的点点滴滴，成了我们在以后四个星期中足够的谈资，
40、我们在议论时，心情澎 湃。 And even then there was no real need of having a boyfriend. 5 即使是在那个时候，我也没有真正交男朋友的需要。 I somehow grew up believing that love would happen when it had to. And sure enough it did. It came at an age when I had a career, a long-term plan and a more or less settled life (and now I am not yet
41、 25!). I was mature enough to enter a relationship which demands a lot of give and not so much of take. 6 在我的成长岁月中，不知何故，我相信爱情该来的时候自然会来。事实果真如此。当 我有了稳定的工作，有了长期的计划和比较安定的生活（我现在还不到 25 岁呢！）时，爱 情降临了。我也比较成熟了，能够步入不贪图许多回报而需要大量付出的感情关系。 Love was a magnificent building I built on the foundation of friendship. It
42、 took time to blossom. It took a lot of understanding, loads of sharing and caring, and plenty of affection to become what it is today. And it meant a meeting of minds. You might say that I belong to the traditional school of romance. But in my opinion, love needs to be nurtured. And it has to be di
43、stinguished from the intense but short-lived love or the pleasures of the flesh. 7 我的爱情是在友谊这块地基上建起的高楼大厦。爱情经过旷日持久的培养才开花。我 和我的恋人相互理解、同甘共苦、相互关心，投入了丰富的感情，才使爱情发展到今天。 爱情意味着情投意合。你也许会说，我属于浪漫的传统派。但是，依我看，爱情需要培养。 我们必须把爱情同强烈而短暂的激情或身体的愉悦区别开来。 Our parents generation was fed lavishly with ideals. It was an era of
44、constraints, restraints, respect, admiration, and plenty of romance. The long skirts, the quiet and unpretentious looks, the curled long hair, the calmness, the shy glance 鈥?these are all so frequently remindful of a bygone era. An age when the distance between the sexes somehow managed to help pres
45、erve the holiness of love and relationships. 8 我们的父辈，接受了理想爱情的灌输。那是一个约束、压抑、崇敬、仰慕和十足浪漫 的年代。长裙、娴静质朴的外表、卷曲的长发、恬静的气质、羞怯的目光这一切常使 人想起一个消逝久远的年代。那个年代，男女之间的距离无论如何都有助于维持爱情以及 恋爱关系的神圣性。 The younger generation, with its openness and fading lines of proximity, has jumped on the bandwagon of love with so much haste
46、 that it is difficult for them to distinguish between physical attraction and mental compatibilities. What we have been exposed to via the media have fast paced our sensibilities so much that taking things slow requires effort on our parts. 9 年轻的一代人，由于观念开放，随着男女之间交往界线的消退，他们便急于赶浪头， 匆忙恋爱，以至于难以区分身体的互相吸引
47、与心灵的相投。我们从媒体中接触到的人和 事， 使我们的感情历程大大加速，要想慢慢地体会自己的感受，确实需要付出努力。 I am sorry to learn about the kind of emotional baggage school kids are carrying in what are purely unemotional relationships. Some might blame the current state of affairs on peer pressure. But has anyone ever stopped to figure out where th
48、is peer pressure originates? Do any of us try and understand who is responsible for this shift? Does anyone bother to study the state of mind of the teenagers? 10 学校里的青少年在全然没有感情的关系中所背负的感情包袱，令我深感难过。也许有 些人会把他们目前的感情状况归结为同龄人之间所施加的压力。但是，可曾有任何人停下 来想一想同龄人之间的压力来自何处？我们是否尝试着弄清楚是谁造成了这样的转变？可 曾有人费神去研究青少年的心理呢？ Th
49、e mindset of this generation is all too evident in the way it handles its personal life. There are more relationships being distorted under the pressures of lust than ever before. There is more focus on physical beauty than on inner charm. There is more of closeness and less of intimacy. There is more of passion and less of emotion. There is more of acquiring and less of sharing. There is more of opportunism and less of selflessness. In short, there is more of ME and less of US. 11 从这一代人处理个人生活的方式上，我们很容易看出他们的思想倾向。跟从前相比， 现在有更多的情感在欲望的压力下扭曲。他们更注重
