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A Father, a Son and an Answer
添加时间:2014-07-25 14:35:52 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile1 and impersonal2, the trains run back and forth3 all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.

    At the front of the first car – looking out the window at the track that lay ahead – were a man and his son.

    We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer4 delight.

    I know we’re supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations – and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.

    “Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.

    As I got off, I remembered some thing I’d wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided5 to go back.

    I did – and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn’t been heading for a flight, but had just bee riding the shuttle.

    “I want to ride some more!”

    “More?” the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. “You’re not tired?”

    “This is fun!” his son said.

    “All right,” the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.

    There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.

    “Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

    “All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.

    So many troubles in this country – crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile6 obscenities in public, the disappearance7 of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

    The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

    The train picked up speed, and the father pointed8 something out, and the boy laughed again, and the answer is so simple.

     6级    美文 
     单词标签: sterile  impersonal  forth  sheer  decided  vile  disappearance  pointed 


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    1 sterile [ˈsteraɪl] orNyQ   第9级
    adj.不毛的,不孕的,无菌的,枯燥的,贫瘠的
    参考例句:
    • This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile. 这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上,保持奶嘴无菌。
    • The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields. 农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。
    2 impersonal [ɪmˈpɜ:sənl] Ck6yp   第8级
    adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的
    参考例句:
    • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal. 他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
    • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal. 他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
    3 forth [fɔ:θ] Hzdz2   第7级
    adv.向前;向外,往外
    参考例句:
    • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth. 风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
    • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession. 他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
    4 sheer [ʃɪə(r)] REDzm   第6级
    adj.绝对的,全然的,峻峭的;v.躲开,躲避,使...避开; adv.完全,全然,峻峭
    参考例句:
    • He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will. 他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
    • I guess it's sheer waste of time arguing about it. 看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。
    5 decided [dɪˈsaɪdɪd] lvqzZd   第7级
    adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
    参考例句:
    • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents. 这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
    • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting. 英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
    6 vile [vaɪl] YLWz0   第10级
    adj.卑鄙的,可耻的,邪恶的;坏透的
    参考例句:
    • Who could have carried out such a vile attack? 会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢?
    • Her talk was full of vile curses. 她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。
    7 disappearance [ˌdɪsə'pɪərəns] ouEx5   第8级
    n.消失,消散,失踪
    参考例句:
    • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance. 他难以说明她为什么不见了。
    • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours. 她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
    8 pointed [ˈpɔɪntɪd] Il8zB4   第7级
    adj.尖的,直截了当的
    参考例句:
    • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil. 他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
    • A safety pin has a metal covering over the pointed end. 安全别针在尖端有一个金属套。

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