佚名/Anonymous
A man hired a taxi outside the airfield. The cab had a woolen carpet with brilliant lace edges. On the glass partition that shielded the driver's seat was a replica of a famous painting. Its windows were all, clean. The customer was very much surprised and said to the driver. "I've never seen a nicer cab." "Thank you for your praise," the driver answered smilingly.
"How did it occur to you to decorate your car?" asked the customer.
"The car isn't mine," said the driver." It belongs to the company. I used to be a cleaner of cabs. When they returned all of them were as dirty as garbage cans with cigarette butts and rubbish scattered here and there. On the seats and door-handles could be found something sticky like peanut sauce or, chewing gum. Why so? I thought if the car itself were very clean the passengers would most likely be considerate and refrain from littering."
"So when I got a license to be a taxi-driver, I began to put my idea into practice—to tidy and decorate the car. Now before a new passenger gets on my car I'd make a check and be sure it is in good order. When my car returns after a day's work it always remains spotless."
When doing a thing one makes efforts and wants to see the result. To change others one has to make twice the effort but get half the result. To change oneself is the other way round—more fruit with less effort. One had better ask oneself why one makes demands on others much more than on oneself. If you take enough care to do as best you can for other people's sake, your efforts will yield results. If you look into the inner world of your own, examine yourself and wipe out the dust and dirt, instead of fixing your eyes on other people, you will find a cheerful mood for yourself and create a pleasant environment for others.
一個人在機場叫了一輛出租車。上車後，他發現出租車的地板上鋪著羊毛地毯，地毯邊上還綴著鮮豔的花邊；玻璃隔板上鑲著一幅名畫的複製品，車窗幹幹淨淨的。客人感到十分驚訝，便對司機說：“我從沒見過這麽漂亮的出租車。”“謝謝您的誇獎。”司機笑著回答。
“你為什麽要裝飾你的出租車呢？”客人問道。
“出租車不是我的，”他說，“車是公司的。我以前是出租公司的清潔工人，每當出租車回來時，都像垃圾堆一樣。地板上全是煙蒂和垃圾，座位或車門把手上甚至還有花生醬、口香糖之類粘乎乎的東西。為什麽會這樣？我當時想，如果有一輛保持清潔的車，乘客也許會多為我們著想一點，避免弄髒。”
“所以，當我取得出租車牌照後，我便將自己的想法（打掃和裝飾車）付諸行動。每位乘客下車後，我都要檢查一下，一定要替下一位乘客把車準備得十分整潔。經過一天的工作，我的出租車回公司時仍然是一塵不染。”
有些人做事，付出一點努力，便想看到成果。改變別人是事半功倍，改變自己是事倍功半，隻知道要求他人倒不如更多地反省自己。你竭盡全力地用心珍惜，他人自然會有所感觸。我們回到自己的心靈世界，將塵埃打掃幹淨，而不是眼睛盯著別人，你會發現自己愉快的同時，也為別人創造了一個愉快的環境。
To live is to function. That is all there is in living.
—Holmes
活著就要發揮作用，這就是生活的全部內容。
——霍姆斯
shield[?i:ld]v.保護；遮蔽
Motorcyclists must wear helmets to shield them from injury.
摩托車手必須戴頭盔保護自己免受傷害。
considerate[k?n?sid?rit]adj.考慮周到的；體諒的
He is a very good and considerate husband.
他是一個非常體貼的好丈夫。
refrain[ri?frein]v.節製；避免；製止
I carefully refrained from looking at him.
我留意著避免朝他看。
yield[ji:ld]v.生產；投降；放縱；給予；回報
He never yield to enemy.
他決不向敵人屈服。
有些人做事，付出一點努力，便想看到成果。改變別人是事半功倍，改變自己是事倍功半。
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當我們回到自己的心靈世界，將塵埃打掃幹淨，而不是眼睛盯著別人。
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How did it occur to you to decorate your car?
occur to：想起
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If you look into the inner world of your own, examine yourself and wipe out the dust and dirt...
wipe out：徹底摧毀；消滅
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