英语故事:留意你生活中的"砖头"

 A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar¹. He was watching for kids darting² out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. 

一位年轻的总裁，以有点快的车速，开着他的新Jaguar经过住宅区的巷道。 他必须小心游戏中的孩子突然跑到路中央，所以当他觉得小孩子快跑出来时，就要减慢车速。

As his car passed, one child appeared, and a brick smashed into the Jag's side door. He slammed on the brakes and spun³ the Jag back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. 

就在他的车经过一群小朋友的时候，一个小朋友丢了一块砖头打到了他的车门，他很生气的踩了煞车并后退到砖头丢出来的地方。

He jumped out of the car, grabbed some kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, " What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?" 

他跳出车外，抓了那个小孩，把他顶在车门上说：“你为什么这样做，你知道你刚刚做了什么吗？”

Building up a head of steam, he went on" That's a new car and that brick you threw is gonna cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" 

接着又吼道：“你知不知道你要赔多少钱来修理这台新车，你到底为什么要这样做？”

"Please,mister, please,I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do!" pleaded the youngster. 

小孩子求着说：“先生，对不起，我不知道我还能怎么办？”

"It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb⁴ and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up. 

他接着说：“因为我哥哥从轮椅上掉下来，我没办法把他抬回去。”

Sobbing⁵, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." 

那男孩啜泣着说：“你可以帮我把他抬回去吗？他受伤了，而且他太重了我抱不动。”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling⁶ lump in his throat. He lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be okay. 

这些话让这位年轻的总裁深受感动，他抱起男孩受伤的哥哥，帮他坐回轮椅上。并拿出手帕擦拭他哥哥的伤口，以确定他哥哥没有什么大问题。

"Thank you, sir. And God bless you," the grateful child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother to the sidewalk toward their home. 

那个小男孩感激地说：“谢谢你，先生，上帝保佑你。”然后他看着男孩推着他哥哥回去。

It was a long walk backs to his Jaguar... a long, slow walk. He never did repair the side door. He kept the dent⁷ to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention. 

年轻总裁返回Jaguar的路变的很漫长，他也没有修他汽车的侧门。他保留着车上的凹痕就是提醒自己：

Life whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Sometimes, when you don't have the time to listen... Life throws a brick at your head. 

生活的道路不要走的太匆忙，否则需要其他人敲打自己来注意生活的真谛。

It's your choice: Listen to the whispers of your soul or wait for the brick! 

当生命想与你的心灵窃窃私语时，若你没有时间，你有两种选择：倾听你心灵的声音或让砖头来砸你！

1 jaguar   

n.美洲虎

参考例句：

• He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
• Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。

2 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

3 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

6 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

7 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。