正文
Mr. Dawson was an old grouch（坏脾气的） , and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious apple, even off the ground, because old Dawson, they said, would come after you with his ball bullet gun（球弹枪）.
全镇的人都知道，道森先生是个脾气糟糕的老头子。就连孩子们都清楚不可以到他的院子里去摘苹果，就算是掉在地上的也不可以去捡。因为人们说，要不然道森先生就会提着球弹枪一直追着你。
One Friday，12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson’s house on the way to Amy’s house, but as they got close Janet saw him sitting on his front porch（前廊） and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street.
一个星期五，12岁的珍妮特准备去她的朋友艾米家过夜。在去艾米家的路上，她们要经过道森先生家。当她们走近时，珍妮特看见道森先生正坐在他家的前廊上，于是她提议说她们俩可以走到路对面去。
Like most of the children, she was scared of the old man because of the stories she’d heard about him.
因为听说过关于道森先生的种种故事，所以像大多数孩子一样，她害怕那个老人。
Amy said not to worry, Mr. Dawson wouldn’t hurt anyone. Still, Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man’s house.
可艾米却说不用担心，因为道森先生不会伤害任何人。可是越接近那个老人的房子，珍妮特就越紧张。
When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown , but when he saw it was Amy, a broad smile changed his entire face as he said, “Hello Miss Amy. I see you’ve got a little friend with you today.”
当她们走到道森先生跟前时，他抬起头来，一如往常地皱着眉头。但当他看到是艾米时，他的脸上马上出现了灿烂的笑容。他说：“你好，艾米小姐。你今天和朋友一起啊！”
Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted. Dawson had the best apples in town.
艾米也对他笑了笑，告诉他珍妮特要留在她家过夜。她们打算一起听音乐和玩游戏。道森先生说这安排听起来很有趣，并给她们一人摘了一个苹果。她们高兴地收下了苹果。道森先生的苹果可是镇上最好吃的苹果。
When they got out of Dawson’s earshot（听力所及之范围）, Janet asked Amy, “Everyone says he’s the meanest man in town. How come was he so nice to us?”
走出一段距离后，珍妮特确定道森先生听不到她们的谈话，便问艾米：“大家都说他是镇上最吝啬的人，他为什么对我们这么好？”
Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn’t very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.
艾米解释说，当她第一次经过道森先生家时，他也不太友好。她很怕他，但她想象他脸上带着看不见的微笑，所以每次经过他家时，她总是对他微笑。后来有一天，道森先生终于朝她勉强笑了一下。
After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a“hello” at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.
过了一段时间，他开始露出真正的微笑，还和她说起了话。一开始只是一句“你好”，后来就越说越多了。她说道森先生每次见到她都会送她一个苹果，对她很和善。
“An invisible smile?” questioned Janet.
“看不见的笑容？”珍妮特不解地问。
“Yes,” answered Amy. “My grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn’t afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious（会蔓延的） .”
“是的。”艾米回答说，“我奶奶告诉我，如果我假装不害怕，想象他的脸上有我看不见的微笑并朝他微笑，他迟早也会对我微笑的。奶奶说微笑是会传染的。”
If we remember what Amy’s grandma said, that everyone wears an invisible smile, we too will find that most people can’t resist our smile after a while.
艾米的奶奶说每个人脸上都挂着看不见的微笑。如果我们记住她的话，很快我们就会发现，只要我们面带笑容，大多数人也会对我们报以微笑。
若要得到别人的接纳，就要先学会接纳别人。
我是阁香书院，如果你喜欢看我的英语文章，想看更多的英语文章的话，欢迎关注我，让我们一起学习英语，一起进步吧！
网友评论