善舉 / An Act of Kindness

President Abraham Lincoln often visited hospitals to talk with wounded soldiers during the Civil War. Once, doctors pointed out a young soldier who was near death and Lincoln went over to his bedside.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked the President.

The soldier obviously didn’t recognize Lincoln, and with some effort he was able to whisper, “Would you please write a letter to my mother?”

A pen and paper were provided and the President carefully began writing down what the young man was able to say:

“My dearest mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty. I’m afraid I’m not going to recover. Don’t grieve too much for me, please. Kiss Mary and John for me. May God bless you and father.”

The soldier was too weak to continue, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and added, “Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln.”

The young man asked to see the note and was astonished when he discovered who had written it. “Are you really the President?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Lincoln replied quietly. Then he asked if there was anything else he could do.

“Would you please hold my hand?” the soldier asked. “It will help to see me through to the end.”

In the hushed room, the tall gaunt President took the boy’s hand in his and spoke warm words of encouragement until death came.

【日積月累】

grieve vi.(for, over)感到悲痛

She is still grieving over her father’s sudden death. 她還在為她父親的突然故去而悲痛。

hushed adj.寂靜的；低聲的

She stood up to address a hushed courtroom. 她站起來(lái)給寂靜的法庭作證。

They talked in hushed tones. 他們低聲交談。

gaunt adj.憔悴的，瘦削的

There we found his mother, her face gaunt from overwork and worry. 在那兒我們找到了她的母親，她的由于過(guò)度勞累和擔(dān)憂(yōu)而面容憔悴。

【參考譯文】

善舉

在內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間，亞伯拉罕·林肯總統(tǒng)經(jīng)常去醫(yī)院與受傷的士兵交談。有一次，醫(yī)生告訴總統(tǒng)，有一名年輕的士兵快死了，于是，林肯來(lái)到他的床邊。

“需要幫忙嗎？”總統(tǒng)問(wèn)。

很顯然，士兵沒(méi)有認(rèn)出是林肯總統(tǒng)，費(fèi)了不少勁才開(kāi)口小聲說(shuō)話(huà)，“能替我寫(xiě)封信嗎？給我媽媽。”

準(zhǔn)備了紙和筆，總統(tǒng)開(kāi)始認(rèn)認(rèn)真真地寫(xiě)下年輕人說(shuō)的話(huà)：

“親愛(ài)的母親，我在執(zhí)行任務(wù)的時(shí)候受傷了。傷勢(shì)很?chē)?yán)重，恐怕無(wú)法康復(fù)。請(qǐng)不要太為我悲傷，替我輕吻Mary和John。愿上帝保佑父親和您。

士兵身體太虛弱，沒(méi)法繼續(xù)說(shuō)下去，于是林肯給信署了名，并在后面加上一句，“亞伯拉罕·林肯代寫(xiě)”。

年輕人想看看信，當(dāng)發(fā)現(xiàn)是誰(shuí)為他寫(xiě)的時(shí)候，他驚呆了。“您真的是總統(tǒng)？”他問(wèn)。

“是的，我是。”林肯靜靜地回答道。然后，他問(wèn)還可以幫上什么忙。

“請(qǐng)您握著我的手，好嗎？”士兵問(wèn)道。“幫助我走完最后的路程。”

在這個(gè)寂靜的房間里，高高瘦瘦的總統(tǒng)握著這個(gè)男孩的手，說(shuō)著鼓勵(lì)的話(huà)，直到死亡的到來(lái)。

【人生啟迪】

鮮花雖美卻沒(méi)有關(guān)愛(ài)純潔，彩虹雖美卻沒(méi)有關(guān)愛(ài)多彩，星星雖美卻沒(méi)有關(guān)愛(ài)閃亮。人世間需要真情關(guān)愛(ài)，有時(shí)候只你舍得將你小小的善舉奉獻(xiàn)出來(lái)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這世間原來(lái)是那樣的美好可愛(ài)！