Windswept money triggers morality discussion

 　　SHANGHAI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A 31-year-old migrant worker surnamed Qin is having mixed feelings of despair and gratitude¹ regarding what has happened to him in the past two days.

　　Qin, who works as a delivery man in Shanghai, was riding an electric bicycle to a bank on Sunday to deposit money saved by his father, brother and himself over the course of the past year.

　　However, he fell off from the bicycle at an intersection², with a stack of money slipping out of his pocket. A sudden gust³ of wind blew away large quantities of cash.

　　Qin did his best but recovered just 3,000 yuan (481 U.S. dollars), which was far less than the 17,600 yuan he and his relatives had saved.

　　Qin said several passersby⁴ gave about 700 yuan back to him on the spot, while several others picked up money scattered⁵ along the road and left silently.

　　Video footage from the intersection's surveillance cameras showed that people in two cars, as well as some electric bicycle riders, even stopped to pick up some of the money and drove away.

　　Sitting there helplessly, Qin did not leave until the local police came to help.

　　He said he intended to go back to his hometown in southeast China's Anhui province with his 83-year-old father after depositing the money, as the Spring Festival holiday is right around the corner.

　　However, he had to let his father go back first with an empty bank card. "I don't know how to tell him what had happened," said Qin.

　　"Xuankejiong," a news media worker in Shanghai, broke the story on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

　　His photos and pictures of Qin garnered⁶ thousands of comments within a single day. Most users voiced anger and criticized the passersby who stole Qin's money.

　　"I used to return my hometown for Spring Festival with the salary I'd earned for the whole year. The money is used to buy presents for parents, to party with friends and to give gifts to little kids," wrote one Sina Weibo user.

　　"Please give the money back to the poor man and let the family enjoy a happy Spring Festival. The money is from his father, who works as a garbage collector," wrote another user.

　　Some people have begun to offer help after learning of Qin's plight⁷. Yu Gucheng, a Shanghai resident who witnessed the accident and helped Qin collect some of his money, went to the local police station and gave 900 yuan of his own to Qin.

　　"It's very hard for migrant workers like Qin to earn this amount of money. I just want to help him in whatever way I can," Yu said.

　　Sina Weibo user "xuankejiong" said in a Monday post that nearly 300 people have offered to donate money to Qin, including Xue Manzi, a Chinese start-up investor⁸ and prolific⁹ microblogger.

　　Local police said several sanitation¹⁰ workers have returned 1,100 yuan that they collected to Qin, adding that attempts are being made to contact the owners of the two vehicles that were spotted¹¹ taking some of the money.

　　Writer Li Chengpeng wrote on Weibo that Qin had already gotten 6,600 yuan back, as well as received 2,900 yuan in donations, as of Monday.

　　Li suggested that those who do not wish to give the money back to Qin could return it in the form of an anonymous¹² donation.

1 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

2 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

3 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

4 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

7 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

8 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

9 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

10 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

11 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

12 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。