Every Day is a Lucky Day

 　　I teach economics¹ at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully² asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then proceeded³ to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.

　　His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day," I said. "I choose to be cheerful."

　　"Let me give you an example," I continued, addressing all sixty students in the class. "In addition to teaching⁴ here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed⁵ my books, and marched down the road to the college."

　　"As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow⁶ truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what has happened. 'This is my lucky day,' I replied, smiling."

　　" 'Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?' She was puzzled. 'What do you mean?'"

　　" 'I live 17 miles from here.' I replied. 'My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.'"

　　"The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class." So ended my story.

　　I scanned⁷ the sixty faces in my economics class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful.

1 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

2 cheerfully   

adv.高兴地，愉快地

参考例句：

• The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
• He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。

3 proceeded   

v.进行( proceed的过去式和过去分词 )；前进；（沿特定路线）行进；（尤指打断后）继续说

参考例句：

• The lawyer proceeded to tackle him on this subject. 律师在这一问题上继续与他交涉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The horse proceeded at a walk. 马儿慢慢前进。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

5 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

6 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。

7 scanned   

经（擦伤仪）仔细检查的

参考例句：

• He scanned the horizon for any sign of land. 他仔细眺望地平线，找寻陆地的踪影。
• She scanned his face to see if he was telling the truth. 她审视着他的脸，看他讲的是否是真话。