英文短篇故事（纽约）519 A "Hello" from Behind

 　　The teacher was walking near school. He heard footsteps¹ behind him. Then he heard a woman say, "Hello. How are you?" He wondered whom she was talking to. Could she have been talking to him? Maybe, but who says hello to the back of someone's head? He figured she was talking to someone on her cell² phone. Moments later, the woman repeated the greeting. He wondered some more. Had she redialed a broken connection? Had she dialed another person? Or had she, in fact, been addressing him all along? He turned his head to look. A woman had just turned left up an adjoining³ sidewalk. She looked like one of his ESL students. But he didn't call out. He waited until he saw her in class again. Then he explained why he had "ignored" her. She understood. She said, "Next time, I'll say hello to the front of your head!"

1 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

2 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

3 adjoining   

adj.毗邻的

参考例句：

• The population overflowed into the adjoining territory. 人口流向了国外。
• They stayed in adjoining rooms. 他们住的房间紧挨着。