One day, when I was a freshman¹ in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged² my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.

当我还在上高一时，有一天，我看到我们班的一个孩子正步行回家。他叫凯尔。他似乎背着所有的书。我心想：“为什么有人在周五就把所有的书都带回家呢？他肯定是个书呆子。”我的周末计划得非常详细（先是派对，在第二天下午和我的朋友踢足球）。因此我耸了耸肩，走开了。正走着，我看到一帮孩子朝他跑去。他们追上他，把他所有的书都从怀里扔到地上并把他绊倒，结果他摔在污泥里，眼镜也被打飞了，我看到它落在离他10英尺远的草地上。他抬起头时，我看到他眼里极度悲伤的表情。因此，我慢步向他跑过去。在他爬着寻找眼镜时，我看到了他眼中的泪水。 我把眼镜递给他，说道：“那些家伙都是些蠢蛋，他们真该遭到报应。”

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude³. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

他看了看我，说：“嗨，谢谢了！”笑容在他脸上展现。正是这样的笑显示出了真正的感激。我帮他捡起书，问他住在哪里。原来他住得离我很近。于是我就问他，怎么以前我从没有见过他呢，他说在来这所学校以前他上的是私立学校。

We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. The more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him.Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Dim boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

我们一路聊着回家，我帮他拿着书。他原来竟是一位非常讨人喜欢的孩子，我问他是否周六想跟我及我的朋友一起踢足球。他答应了。对凯尔了解得越多，我越是喜欢他。我的朋友也都这么认为。到了周一早晨，凯尔又要背上那个巨大的书包了。我制止他，说：“傻孩子，你每天背这么一大堆书，想练就一身强壮的肌肉呀！”他只是笑，并把一半书都递给了我。

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided⁴ on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

接下来的四年里，凯尔和我成为最好的朋友。到了高年级后，我们开始考虑上大学的事。凯尔决定去乔治敦，而我要去杜克。我知道我们永远都是朋友，距离决不会成为问题。

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

凯尔是我们班致告别词的学生代表。 我总是取笑他是一个书呆子。他必须为毕业准备一个演讲。我很庆幸不是我要站在那儿演讲。

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found themselves during high school. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

毕业日来临了——我看到了凯尔，他看起来帅极了。他是那些在高中真正把握住自己的人之一。他的约会比我还要多，几乎所有的女孩都喜欢他。 天哪，有时候我都有些嫉妒。

Today was one of those days. I can see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked⁵ him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled."Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings⁶, maybe a coach.... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

今天就是这样。我能看出他对于演讲有些紧张。因此，我拍了拍他的后背，说：“嗨，大小伙子，你会很出色的！”他看了看我，带着那样的表情（真正出于感激的那种），笑了。“谢谢，”他说。开始演讲时，他清了清喉咙，开始说：“毕业的时候，你应该感谢那些帮助你度过最困难时期的人。你的父母、老师、兄弟姐妹、也许还有教练……但主要是你的朋友。我在这儿要告诉你们，做别人的朋友是你能给予他们的最好礼物。我要给你们讲一个故事。”我不敢置信地望着我的朋友，他讲的就是我们第一天相遇的故事。他本来打算要在那个周末自杀，他谈到自己如何把课桌收拾干净，把他所有的东西都带回家，这样就不用妈妈以后再收拾了。他直直地看着我，给了我一个笑容。“谢天谢地，我获救了。我的朋友阻止了我去做那不堪设想的事情。”

I heard the gasp⁷ go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

当这位帅气的、受欢迎的男孩告诉我们有关他的最脆弱的时刻时，我听到人群中都深吸了一口气。我看到他的爸爸妈妈都看着我，带着同样感激的微笑。直到那时我才意识到它的深刻。

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

决不要低估你的行动的力量，一个简单的举止也许会改变人的一生，无论是好是坏。