佚名/Anonymous
I teach economics at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.
His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before:"Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day," I said. "I choose to be cheerful."
"Let me give you an example," I continued, addressing all sixty students in the class. "In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.
"As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what has happened. 'This is my lucky day.' I replied, smile.
"'Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day? 'She was puzzled.' What do you mean?"
"'I live 17 miles from here,' I replied, 'My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.'
"The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class." So ended my story.
I scanned the sixty faces in my economics class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started
with a student's observation that I was cheerful.
我在內華達大學拉斯維加斯分校任經濟學的老師，每個星期上三次課。上周一，剛一上課，我便興高采烈地詢問學生們周末過得如何。一個男生說，由於被拔掉了智齒，他的周末過得很痛苦，接著他又問我為何總能保持如此愉悅的心情。
他的問題使我想起了一句曾經在哪裏看到過的一句話：“每天早上起床時，你可以為如何麵對這一天的生活作出選擇。”我說：“選擇快樂。”
“舉例來說，”我對著全班六十個學生繼續說道，“我不但在這裏授課，還在漢德森的一所社區大學任教，那裏距離我家有17英裏的路程。幾個星期之前，有一天我開車前往那所學校，從高速公路上下來之後，我駛入了校園區。在離學校隻有400多米的地方，我的車拋錨了。我試著重新發動引擎，然而不起任何作用。因此我隻好打亮指示燈，抓起課本向學校衝去。”
“到了學校，我立刻打電話給汽車協會，請他們在我下課之後開一輛拖車過來。院長辦公室的秘書問我發生了什麽事情。‘我今天運氣真好呀。’我笑著回答。”
“‘你的車壞了，你卻還說今天運氣真好？’她滿臉疑惑，‘你在說什麽啊？’”
“‘我的家距離這裏有17英裏。’我回答說，‘我的車沒準會在高速公路的某個地方拋錨。然而幸運的是，它沒有。相反，汽車是在駛離高速公路之後才拋錨的，恰巧在步行區之內。我仍然來得及去上課，還能安排拖車在我上完課之後來處理。假如我的汽車注定要在今天拋錨的話，我感覺自己已經相當幸運了。’”
“那個秘書聽得目瞪口呆，然後她笑了。我也衝她笑了笑，便上課去了。”這就是我所經曆的一件事。
我環視了全班六十張麵孔。盡管是大清早，可沒有一個學生在打瞌睡。不知是什麽原因，我的經曆觸動了他們。或者觸動他們的並非故事本身。事實上，最初有學生看到我興致勃勃的時候，他們就已經被我的快樂感染了。
engine[?end?in]n.發動機；引擎；機車；火車頭
There was a puff of steam from the engine before it stopped.
機車噴出一股蒸氣後就停了下來。
grab[gr?b]v.抓取；搶去；掠奪
The thief grabed the purse suddenly and escaped.
賊猛地一把抓住錢包逃跑了。
arrange[??reind?]v.安排；整理；排列
I have arranged with him to meet at the restaurant.
我和他約好在飯館見麵。
observation[??bz?:?vei??n]n.觀察
He was taken into hospital for observation.
他被送進醫院觀察。
每天早上起床時，你可以為如何麵對這一天的生活作出選擇。
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院長辦公室的秘書問我發生了什麽事情。
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盡管是大清早，可沒有一個學生在打瞌睡。
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I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't turn over.
turn over：滾動；（使）顛倒；翻身；（使）發動
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Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?
break down：（機器等）發生故障；失靈；崩潰
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