第278期:改变我的那个瞬间

 　　乔布斯在2005年斯坦福大学的演讲中曾经说过这样一段话：

　　当我十七岁的时候, 我读到了一句话:"如果你把每一天都当作生命中最后一天去生活的话,那么有一天你会发现你是正确的。"这句话给我留下了一个印象。从那时开始,过了33年,我在每天早晨都会对着镜子问自己:"如果今天是我生命中的最后一天, 你会不会完成你今天想做的事情呢？"当答案连续多天是"No"的时候, 我知道自己需要改变某些事情了。

　　生活中，改变我们心情或者决定的或许就在那么一个不起眼的瞬间，今天我们就来听这样一个故事，讲述的就是关于“瞬间”的故事。

　　temperature n.温度; 气温; 体温;

　　exhaust grate n.排气

　　filthy¹ adj. 肮脏的；污秽的；猥亵的

　　ski parka n.滑雪服

　　I was living in Chicago and going through what was a particularly cold winter both in my personal life and the outside temperature. One evening I was walking home from a bar where I had been drinking alone, feeling sorry for myself, when I saw a homeless man standing² over an exhaust grate in front of a department store. He was wearing a filthy sport coat and approaching everyone who passed by for money.

　　I was too immersed³ in my own troubles to deal with him so I crossed the street. As I went by, I looked over and saw a businessman come out of the store and pull a ski parka out of a bag and hand it to the homeless man. For a moment both the man and I were frozen⁴ in time as the businessman turned and walked away. Then the man looked across the street at me. He shook his head slowly and I knew he was crying.

　　It was the last time I have ever been able to disappear into my own sorrow.

　　在芝加哥，我经历了一个特别寒冷的冬天，无论是个人生活还是室外温度。一天晚上，我独自一人喝酒, 为自己感到难过，当我从酒吧往回走的时候，我看见一个无家可归的人站在百货公司前的排气炉前。他穿着一件脏兮兮的运动衣，走近每个路过的人要钱。

　　我自怜自艾，没工夫理会他，所以我过了马路。当我走过，我看见一个商人从店里出来，从包里拿出一件滑雪外套递给那个流浪汉。那个商人转身走开的那一刻，对于我和那个流浪汉来说，时间似乎都凝固住了。然后那个流浪汉在街对面看着我。他慢慢地摇了摇头，我知道他在哭。

　　这是我最后一次为自己难过。

1 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 immersed   

浸入的，沉入的，沉思的

参考例句：

• She immersed herself in her work. 她埋头工作。
• When a body is immersed in a fluid, it apparently loses weight. 身体浸入水中就会明显减轻重量。

4 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。