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Unit 1

Something for stevie

I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally

handicapped employee and wasn’t sure I wanted one. I wasn’t sure how my customers would react. Stevie was short, a little dumpy, with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Down’s syndrome.

I wasn’t worried about most of my trucker customers. Truckers don’t generally care who buses tables as long as the food is good and the pies are homemade. The ones who concerned me were the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded “truck-stop germ;” and the pairs of white-shirted businessmen on expense accounts who think every truck-stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.

I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his little finger. Within a month my trucker regulars had adopted him as their official truck-stop mascot. After that I really didn’t care what the rest of the customers thought.

He was a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table.

Our only problem was convincing him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would hurry to the empty table and carefully bus the dishes and glasses onto the cart and meticulously wipe the table with a

practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brows would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met.

Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck-stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often,

admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.

That’s why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Down’s syndrome often have heart problems at an early age, so this wasn’t unexpected. There was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.

A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, let out a war whoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering

look.

9 He grinned. “OK, Frannie, what was that all about?” he asked.

10 “We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay.” she responded.

“I was wondering where he was,” said Belle. “I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?”

12 Frannie quickly told him and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie’s surgery, then sighed. “Yeah, I’m glad he is going to be okay,” she said, “but I don’t know how he and his mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they’re barely getting by

as it is.” Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.

After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face. “What’s up?” I asked. “That table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting,” she said, “this was folded and tucked under a coffee cup.” She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed “Something For Stevie.”

“Pony Pete also asked me what that dance was all about,” she said, “so I told him about Stevie and his mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this.” She handed me another paper napkin that had “Something For Stevie” scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply, “Truckers.”

15 That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he’s been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn’t matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. We met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.

Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn’t stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting. “Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast,” I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. “Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you two is on me.” I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession.

We stopped in front of the big table, its surface covered with a mess of coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. “First thing you have to do, Stevie, is to clean up this mess,” I said, trying to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had “Something for Stevie” written on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at dozens of napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it.

I turned to his mother. “There’s over $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!” Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody shouting, and there were a few tears, too. But you know what’s funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other,

Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table — the best worker I ever hired.

送给史蒂维的一点心意

1 我力求不存偏见，不过在雇用史蒂维时我有理由心存疑虑。他的就业顾问向我保证，说他会成为出色、可靠的餐馆杂工。我从未雇过智障的员工，是否要招收一位，我举棋不定。我的顾客会有什么反应，我没有把握。史蒂维是个矮个儿，胖墩墩的，如其他唐氏综合症患者一样，面部光滑，口齿不清。

2 对大多数来就餐的卡车司机们，我还是很放心的。只要食物好，馅饼地道，他们基本不在

乎谁收碗碟。真正让我担心的是那些高谈阔论的大学走读生，那些因惧怕”路边餐馆的细菌”而用餐巾悄悄擦拭银餐具的雅皮士势利眼儿们，还有那些穿白色衬衫、使用公款消费、认为餐馆里每个女服务员都渴望调情的商务人员。我知道，史蒂维在这里工作，他们会感到别扭，所以开头几个星期我密切地关注着他。

3 我的担心是多余的。第一周过后，史蒂维就抓住了我每位员工的心。不足一个月，我的老顾客 ? 那些卡车司机们 ? 就正式认定史蒂维为卡车司机休息站的吉祥人物。自此以后，我不再介意其他顾客的看法了。

4 史蒂维21岁，蓝色牛仔裤，耐克运动鞋，满面笑容，讨人喜爱，极端地敬业。他收拾好一张餐桌后，盐瓶和胡椒瓶归于原位，丝毫不差，桌面不见一点面包屑、一滴咖啡液。 5 我们唯一的问题是得说服他等待客人用餐完毕再去收拾桌子。他总是在不起眼的地方守候，左右脚替换着支撑体重，眼睛巡视整个餐厅。一看见哪张餐桌边的客人都离去，他立即赶过去，仔细地把碗碟收拾到餐车上，拿起抹布细密地擦桌子，动作娴熟、夸张。若他觉得有顾客正在看他，他就会眉头紧锁，更加专注。工作一丝不苟，这是他自豪的源泉。他取悦面前的每一个人，那煞费苦心的劲头真是惹人喜爱。

6 后来，我们得知史蒂维和母亲一起生活。他母亲是个寡妇，因患癌症多次经历手术而落下残疾。母子俩靠社会保险金生活，住在离餐馆两英里以外的廉租房里。社工人员偶尔登门看望，说他们母子生活着实艰辛贫困。他们手头拮据，我所付的工资仅能保证母子俩相依为命，史蒂维才不至于沦落到被”集体之家”（为残障人士提供护理的机构）收容。 7 到了去年八月的一个早上，就是三年里史蒂维没能来上班的第一个早上，整个餐馆气氛忧伤。他在罗切斯特的梅奥诊所接受一个心脏手术，大概要置入新的心脏膜瓣。社工人员说，有唐氏综合症的人常会在年轻时犯心脏病，所以史蒂维做手术不足为奇；几个月后，他有望从手术中恢复健康，重返工作岗位。

8 有一天接近中午时，有消息传来，说史蒂维手术结束，正在恢复，状况良好。员工当中激动的情绪如涟漪荡漾。领班弗兰妮听到消息，一声欢呼，旋即在过道上跳了一阵舞。经常光顾我们餐馆的一位卡车司机贝尔·林格，此时诧异地看着年届五十、已有四个孙儿的弗兰妮在他桌边晃动身体，跳起祝贺胜利的希米舞。弗兰妮窘得红了脸，用手抹平围裙，朝着贝尔狠狠地瞪了一眼。

9 贝尔咧嘴一笑。”好了，弗兰妮，什么事那么高兴啊?”他问。 10 “我们刚得到消息，史蒂维做完了手术，平安无事。”她回答。

11 “我还一直在纳闷，怎么今天不见他呢?”贝尔问。”本来有个笑话要讲给他听呢。做的是什么手术呢?”

12 弗兰妮快言快语，把史蒂维的手术情况告诉贝尔和他旁边坐着的两个司机。”唉!”弗兰妮叹息着说：”他平安无事，我很开心，但是我不知道他和他妈妈怎样支付所有的费用。我听说，他们的日子一直过得紧巴巴的。” 贝尔·林格点点头，若有所思。弗兰妮匆匆离

开，去招待其它桌的客人了。

13 上午的客流高峰一过，弗兰妮走进我的办公室。她手上拿着几张纸餐巾，表情诡异。”怎么了?”我问。”在贝尔·林格和他朋友坐过的那张餐桌上，”她说，”这张折叠的餐巾纸就塞在一个咖啡杯下”。她把那张餐巾递给我。我抖开它，三张20元的钞票跌落在我的桌面上。纸巾外面工整地写着：”送给史蒂维的一点心意”，字母很大很粗。

14 “波尼·皮特也问我为何跳那支舞，”她说。”我把史蒂维和他母亲的一切都告诉他了。皮特看看托尼，托尼看看皮特，他们最后把这个给了我。” 她递给我另一张纸餐巾，只见外面潦草地写着：”送给史蒂维的一点心意”。折叠的餐巾中夹着两张50元的钞票。弗兰妮看着我，眼睛闪着泪花，摇摇头，只说一句话，”这些卡车司机啊。”

15 那是三个月前的事了。今天是感恩节，是史蒂维重返工作岗位的第一天。他的就业顾问说，史蒂维一直数算着日子，直到医生告诉他可以上班了。就算这天是假日也没有关系。他在过去一周内打了十次电话，确保我们知道他要回来了，担心我们忘记他，担心丢掉这份工作。我经过筹划，让他母亲陪他来上班。我们在停车场迎接他们，邀请母子二人一起庆祝他归来。

16 史蒂维面色苍白，人也瘦了，但是总咧着嘴笑。 他用力推开门，径直走向工作间，他的围裙和餐车正在那儿等着他呢。”等一下，史蒂维，别着急，”我说。我挽着他们母子的手臂说，”等会儿再开工。我请二位吃早餐，庆祝史蒂维归来。”我带他们向餐厅后面角落里一个大隔间走去。我们穿过餐厅的时候，我能感觉到、也能听到其他员工紧紧跟着。我回头望去，看见笑容满面的卡车司机们走出一个个隔间，融入员工的队伍中。

17 我们来到那张大餐桌前。桌面上凌乱的咖啡杯、小碟、餐盘，横七竖八地摆放在一堆折叠的纸餐巾上。”史蒂维，你要做的第一件事是，把这堆东西清理干净，”我佯装严肃地说。史蒂维看看我，又看看母亲，从那堆餐巾纸中抽出一张。那餐巾外面写着：”送给史蒂维的一点心意”。他拿起餐巾，两张10元钞票掉在桌子上。史蒂维看看钞票，又看看餐具下面露出的几十张餐巾，每一张都或工整或潦草地写着他的名字。

18 我转身对他母亲说：”这张桌上，有一万多元现金和支票，是卡车司机、卡车公司听说你们的家庭状况后送来的。感恩节快乐!”天哪，此时一片欢腾，人们大声地叫着，也有流泪的。但是你知道此刻最有意思的是什么吗?就在大家都忙着握手、拥抱的时候，史蒂维笑容绽放，正忙着清理桌上的杯盘 — 他真是我手下最好的员工。

UNIT 2：

How Deep Is Your Love? |你的爱有多深|

Mansi Bhatia

Love to some is like a cloud

To some as strong as steel

For some a way of living

For some a way to feel

And some say love is holding on

And some say let it go

And some say love is everything

Some say they don't know

1 有人认为爱如浮云 有人认为爱坚强如铁

有人认为爱是一种生活方式 有人认为爱是一种感觉 有人说爱要执着 有人说爱不要约束 有人说爱是生命的全部 有人说不知道爱为何物

At some stage or the other in our lives we experience an emotion which defies definition. It's a feeling that can only be felt and not described. An overwhelming joy that comes together with its share of sadness. Love.

2 在我们生命中的某个阶段，我们会经历难以名状的情 感。这种情感只能体会，无法用语言描述。莫大的喜悦伴随着丝丝的伤感一同降临，这就是爱。

Given the busy nature of our lives, it's to be appreciated that we even find the time to indulge in matters of the heart. But at the same time I wonder if we even understand its true depth. I remember having countless crushes while in school. My math teacher, our neighbour's son, my best friend's brother and lots of others whom I fancied for the colour of their eyes, the