英語夜讀美文：A Simple Gesture舉手之勞

考研英語來源：文都教育 2017-06-26　

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed that the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles.

Mark從學校步行回家，一天他注意到他面前的男孩絆倒了他自己攜帶的所有書籍，還有兩件毛衣，棒球球棍，手套和一個小磁帶錄音機。Mark跪了下來，并幫助孩子撿起散落的書。

Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered that the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girl friend.

由于他們同路，他幫助那個男孩帶些東西。在路上Mark得知，男孩的名字叫Bill，他喜歡視頻游戲，棒球和歷史，他的其他科目很差，還有他剛剛和他的女朋友分手了。

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came, and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

他們首先到比爾的家，Mark被邀請留下吃飯和看電視。這個下午在歡聲笑語中度過，然后Mark就回家了。他們在學校保持著聯系，偶爾共進午餐，然后一起初中畢業。在過去幾年短暫的接觸，他們度過了高中生活。最后，期待已久的高年級生活到來了，畢業前三個星期，比爾問馬克，他們是否可以再聊聊。 “

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You save my life."

Bill使他想起幾年前的那一天，當他們第一次見面。“你有沒有好奇我那天回家為什么帶這么多的東西呢?”Bill。“我在清理我的衣柜，因為我不想留下一個爛攤子給其他任何人。我收集了我母親的一些安眠藥，我要回家自殺。但是當我們在歡笑中度過一段時間后，我意識到，如果我自殺了，我會錯過那段美好時光，還有很多美好的事情將會錯過。所以你現在明白了吧，馬克，當你幫我撿起我的書的那一天，你做了很多。你拯救了我的生命。

Every little hello, every little smile, every helping hand saves a hurting heart. There's a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the heart. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their heart to us.

每一個小小的問候，每一個微笑，每一個伸出的援助之手救了受傷害的心靈。友誼是一個奇跡，它住在我們的心里。朋友好比罕見的寶石，確實如此。他們讓你微笑，鼓勵你成功。他們傾聽我們的心聲，他們用贊美的話和我們分享，他們總是向我們展開自己的心扉。

Show your friends how much you care.....

告訴你的朋友你有多在乎他們……