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对陌生人爱的回报却让爱从一个心灵到另一个心灵传递了下去。爱与快乐同在，付出一份爱，就会得到一份快乐的恩赐——
By Wayne Rice
卓言 选译
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I arrived late one night, on a business trip, so I decided to have dinner in the hotel. As I was finishing my meal, an older couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had lovely smiles on their faces. They sat three tables from me. I was amazed at the love they showed for one another. It seemed to strike home, all the more, because this was shortly after ending a 20-year marriage and I still had pain in my heart.[1] My waiter was also their waiter. As I paid my bill, I inquired as to what their bill was, he informed me, and I gave him the $40 to pay their tab[2]. He asked if I knew them and I told him, “No, I just wanted to repay them for the love that they were showing to each other,” and then I departed. The next day, my business meeting ended two hours before the flight back to Houston[3]. I entered the restaurant to dine prior to my departure. After I had been seated, the waiter from the night before came up to my table. The waiter said the strangest thing happened after I left the restaurant. When the older couple went to pay for their meal, they were informed that another guest had paid for it. When they inquired as to whom it was, the hostess told them they had never seen me before, and that I had said, “I just wanted to pay them back for the love that they were showing towards each other” and that I had then left the restaurant. The couple were amazed, they looked around, and asked for the bill of two young couples, who were seated together (in their 20’s or 30’s), paid their bill and departed saying “Love begets Love” to the amazement of the hostess and waiter. I smiled and said, “That’s nice,” and proceeded to order my meal. About 45 minutes later, I had finished my meal and was getting ready to head out to the airport, my waiter was no where to be found. I waited and waited and finally walked over to the hostess stand and explained that I needed to pay for my meal and hurry and get to the airport. She smiled and explained that I would not have to pay for my meal. The waiter and she felt compelled to pay my bill, she said, due to the joy that was brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement of the young couples from the night before. When I told her that they didn’t have to do that she said with a smile “Love begets Love.” |
一天夜里，我出差到达宾馆的时候已经很晚了，所以决定就在宾馆里吃晚餐。就在快吃完的时候，一对年长的夫妇走进来用餐。他们手牵着手，笑意融融，坐在离我三个桌子远的位子上。我对他们展现出的对彼此的爱意感到很惊讶。这情景更加击中了我的要害，因为我刚刚结束一段维持了20年的婚姻，心中的痛仍未散去。 我这桌的侍者也服务他们那桌。我在买单的时候，问侍者那对夫妇的账单是多少钱，他告诉了我，然后我替他们付了40美元。侍者问我是不是认识他们，我说：“不认识，我只是想回报他们对彼此的爱，”说完我离开了餐厅。 第二天，我参加的商务会议在回休斯顿的航班起飞前的两个小时就结束了。我又走进了那家餐厅，想在离开前吃点东西。坐下之后，前一晚服务过我的那个侍者走到我的桌旁，跟我说那晚离开餐厅后，发生了件顶奇怪的事。 （昨晚）当那对年长的夫妇用完餐要付账的时候，却被告知另外一位客人已经替他们付过了。他们又问那客人是谁，旅馆女老板说他们以前从未见过我，并告诉他们我还说：“我只是想回报他们对彼此的爱”，之后就离开了餐厅。 那对夫妇很诧异，他们环顾四周，然后询问了两对坐在一起的年轻夫妇的账单（他们都是二三十岁的样子），替他们付了钱，说了句“让爱生爱”，然后就离开了，女老板和男侍者皆是一脸惊异。 我笑着说：“真好，”接着继续点餐。 大约四十五分钟后，我用完餐，准备出发前往机场，这时却发现我这桌的侍者不见了。我等了又等，最后只好走到前台，对女老板解释说我需要付账，然后赶紧去机场。她笑了笑，对我说不用付钱了。 她和那位侍者都觉得必须要替我付账，因着那晚（我替）年长夫妇（付钱）让他们脸上绽放的喜悦，还有那两对年轻夫妇脸上的惊讶。 当我告诉她说他俩不必非要这么做时，她微笑着说：“让爱生爱”。 （来源：英语学习杂志） |
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Vocabulary: 1. strike home: 击中要害，被深刻领会；all the more: 更加，越发，格外。 2. tab:〈主美口〉待付账单，费用。 3. Houston: 休斯顿，位于美国南部得克萨斯州东南沿海，是美国最大的石油工业中心和第三大港。 |
