打印本文 
關(guān)閉窗口 蠟燭
CANDLE
I run an online shop selling gadgets. A lot of Internet shoppers have asked me if I have a “real” store, where the products can be held, touched, turned over, or set up on a coffee table. So I rented a space at a local mall and started to face different kinds of customers.
Then one night, two days before Christmas and shortly before closing, a girl under ten and an adult came in. A candle caught the girl’s attention. She asked me the price and I told her, and she frowned, and told me that her mom really needed a new pair of slippers but she couldn’t get both on her small budget.
I asked her how much she thought she needed for the slippers and how much she had, then told her I’d let her have the candle for $2 (it was over $25). This made her happy. Then she told me how much her mom would love the candle while I wrapped it up for her.
Three days after Christmas a woman came in and asked me if I was
The adult woman who had been shopping with the girl was the mother’s sister, and she told the mother how the little girl came to get the candle. The mother just wanted to tell me how happy she was and how special this Christmas was for her, and to thank me in person. She started to cry again!
I lost money because of that candle, but I would do what I did again and again.
【日積月累】
◇gadget n. 小器具，小玩意，小配件
◇budget n. 預(yù)算
◇refund n. 退款
【參考譯文】
蠟燭
我開(kāi)了一個(gè)網(wǎng)店賣各種各樣的小玩意兒。很多網(wǎng)上的顧客都問(wèn)我有沒(méi)有一個(gè)真實(shí)的店，在那里擺著商品，可以親手摸摸，可以翻過(guò)來(lái)看看，還可以擺上一張咖啡桌。所以我在當(dāng)?shù)匾患疑虉?chǎng)里租了一個(gè)店面，開(kāi)始接觸形形色色的客人。
圣誕節(jié)前兩天的晚上，快關(guān)門(mén)了，一個(gè)不足10歲的女孩和一個(gè)大人走了進(jìn)來(lái)。一支蠟燭把小女孩吸引住了。她問(wèn)我多少錢，我報(bào)完價(jià)她便皺起了眉頭，說(shuō)她媽媽真的很需要一雙新拖鞋，而以她不多的預(yù)算，不能買下兩樣。
我問(wèn)她覺(jué)得買拖鞋會(huì)要多少錢，和她身上帶了多少。知道后告訴她我可以以兩美元的價(jià)錢把蠟燭賣給她（蠟燭至少值25美元）。她聽(tīng)了很高興。在我給她打包起來(lái)的時(shí)候，她告訴我，她媽媽會(huì)多么喜愛(ài)這支蠟燭。
圣誕節(jié)過(guò)后的第三天，一位女士走進(jìn)來(lái)問(wèn)我是不是伯克利。做好了退貨的最壞打算，我回答說(shuō)“是”。她開(kāi)始哭起來(lái)。我變得更緊張了。她說(shuō)她女兒因?yàn)槟茉谑フQ節(jié)早上送給她這么特別禮物興奮得不得了。當(dāng)她把禮物打開(kāi)，兩母女都高興地哭了。
那天陪女孩一起購(gòu)物的是她阿姨，她告訴這位母親小女孩是怎么買下這支蠟燭的。這位母親只想告訴我這年的圣誕節(jié)對(duì)她說(shuō)很特別，想當(dāng)面謝謝我。說(shuō)完她又哭了。
因?yàn)槟侵灎T讓我虧了本，但是我還會(huì)繼續(xù)這樣做。
【人生啟迪】
你是否念念不忘曾經(jīng)幫過(guò)你的人，雖然那只是個(gè)小小的舉動(dòng)，在那個(gè)時(shí)候?qū)δ銇?lái)說(shuō)卻很重要。所以當(dāng)你力所能及的時(shí)候，不要吝嗇伸出你的雙手，在你看來(lái)只是舉手之勞，在他們眼里也許意義非凡。
打印本文 關(guān)閉窗口