In the next few frozen seconds the shame and horror of that moment penetrated,and I was sick with an intensity I had never felt before .
A blindman and a child ! Fumbling, feeling with cold, wet fingers for bolts and tools in the dark - a darkness that for him would probably never end until death .
They changed a tire for me - changed it in the rain and wind, with me sitting in snugcomfort in the car with my crutch.My handicap.I don t remember how long I sat there after they said good night and left me, but it was long enough for me to search deep within myself and find some disturbing traits .
I realized that I was filled to overflowing with self-pity, selfishness,indifference to the needs of others and thoughtlessness .
I sat there and said a prayer.In humility I prayed for strength, for a greater understanding, for keener awareness of my shortcomings and for faith to continue asking in daily prayer for spiritual help to overcome them .
I prayed for blessings upon the blind man and his granddaughter.Finally I drove away,shaken in mind ,humbled in spirit .
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets .”(Matt.7:12)To me now, months later, this scriptural admonition is more than just a passage in the Bible.It is a way of life, one that I am trying to follow.It isn t always easy.Sometimes it is frustrating, sometimes expensive in both time and money,but the value is there .
I am trying now not only to climb 14 steps each day,but in my small way to help others .
Someday,perhaps, I will change a tire for a blind man in a car -someone as blind as I had been .
Ⅰ.Words and Expressions
adversity n.misfortune.
anonymous a.匿名的。
peninsula n.半岛。
motor a.involving or relating to movements of the muscles 肌肉运动的。
split-level n.房内有不同高度地面的平房。
affair n.an object.
gauge n.a test 评估。
spent a.exhausted.
hobble v.limp 跛行。
disillusion v.to deprive of illusion 使人梦想破灭。
sanity n.soundness of mind feebly ad.无力地。
expound v.to explain in detail gusty a.阵风的。
slashing a.dashing 猛落的。
jerk v.to give a sudden quick thrust , push, pull, or twist to 猛扭。
swerve v.to turn aside.
blowout n .a sudden rupture or bursting, as of an automobile tire 突然的爆炸(如汽车轮胎的爆炸等)shoulder n.the edge or border running on either side of a roadway 路肩。
thump v.to walk with heavy steps.
honk v.to cause (a horn) to produce a honk 按响汽车喇叭。
bundle v.to tie, wrap, or gather together 扎捆在一起。
slacken v.slow down.
clank n.a kind of noise made by metals tilt v.to cause to slope (使)倾斜。
jack v.to hoist 抬起。
stoop v.to bend forward and down from the waist or the middle of the back 弯腰。
rail-looking 看上去很不结实的样子。
slicker n.[美] 宽长的雨衣。
snug a.cozy.
scriptural a.圣经的.
admonition n.cautionary advice.
San Jose 圣何塞(美国加利福尼亚西部一城市)
San Carlos 圣卡洛斯(美国加利福尼亚西部一城市)
Cor .基督教 《圣经·新约 》 中的 《哥林多书 》
Matt. 马太福音, 基督教圣经中的一卷。
Ⅱ.Notes to the Text
1.From this part of the passage we may know what a pleasant life means for the author .
2.A metaphor is used here to show how the author feels when his life is changed .
3.The 14 steps became the meaning of the author s life and supported the author to fight against his misfortune .
4.The author is bitter about his sufferings and he is not we think optimistic or courageous .
5.Severe weather furthers the difficulty of the problems .
6.The warm-hearted grandpa and the little girl vividly appear on the paper (attention to the phrase“bundled in raincoat and hat” ) .
7.The self-concerned and self-pitied author also vividly appears on the paper .
8.The author s indifference contrasted strikingly with the other two s hospitality .
9.The author describes his feelings at that moment (special attention to the three expressions“frozen” ,“penetrated”and“sick” ) .
10.The author began self-examination in his heart .
11.The expression“snug”is a much better choice than“cozy”here because it refers to the small but warm space in the car protected from the rain and cold wind outside the car in this case, which further contrasts the harsh condition in which the blind old man repaired the car for the author .
12.As a handicapped man himself, the author had a better understanding of the hardship the blind old man had experienced .
13.The author realized that he was so much concerned with himself that he became numb to other people s needs .
14.Two parallel past participle phrases are used here to emphasize his feeling after the incident .
15.The author finds the meaning of life not only in the 14 steps but also in helping others .
16.The author compares his indifference to other people s needs to blindness .
Ⅲ.Text-Related Practice
A.Questions for discussion:
1.How many lives does the author have and what are the differences between them ?
2.Why does the author contribute most part of the passage to relating the story of a flat tire on his way home one stormy day ?
3.How do you understand the saying “Adversity introduces a man to himself”?
B.Fill in the blanks with the words given below.Change the form where necessary .
1.The spokesman the intricacies of the new tax law in the press conference .
2.Every night on campus, the insistent rhythm of piano practice each room of the dormitory building .
3.As a teacher, are you able to judge other children by the same as you judge your own ?
4.He is a person of great without wishing to appear boastful .
5.On the first day of his work, the new postman through the mist ,trying to find the right house .
6.It s a matter of complete to me, so I do not care about it .
7.It s so cold in the winter in the small village that we have to a new heating system for the house .
8.What he said in the meeting me to think that he will strive to change the phenomenon of plagiarism in study .
9.In the dim light he couldn t see clearly and into a tree .
10.The climber was in a fall and had to be sent to hospital in ambulance .
11.At the airport she about in her handbag for her passport .
12.Working in the damp situation for years, when she was going to retire she found she was with arthritis .
13.Paying too much attention to the conversation between my parents, I hurt my foot while getting off the bus, so I had to home .
14.We up some old clothes for the jumble sale .
15.After listening to the student s excuse for being late for school, the teacher shook his head in .
C.Find out: