英文短篇故事（纽约）71 Plenty to Say to No One

 　　In his final years, he rarely talked to anyone. As a boy, he had talked to everyone. He was curious about everything. He asked everyone questions about everything. As he got older, he began to notice something. People didn't answer his questions as often as they used to. Sometimes people didn't answer his questions at all. Many times they answered his question with their own questions: Who knows? Who cares? Are you writing a book? So he gradually stopped asking questions of people. Then he gradually stopped talking to people. After he died, his brother collected his belongings¹, including his computer. One of his computer files was his journal². It was over 4,500 pages long. The first sentences were: Why bother talking? People are just too busy to listen. I write because my computer accepts my every word. It never ignores me. It never patronizes me. It never interrupts me.

1 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

2 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。