中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
對陌生人愛的回報卻讓愛從一個心靈到另一個心靈傳遞了下去。愛與快樂同在，付出一份愛，就會得到一份快樂的恩賜——
By Wayne Rice
卓言 選譯
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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，我出差到達賓館的時候已經很晚了，所以決定就在賓館里吃晚餐。就在快吃完的時候，一對年長的夫婦走進來用餐。他們手牽著手，笑意融融，坐在離我三個桌子遠的位子上。我對他們展現出的對彼此的愛意感到很驚訝。這情景更加擊中了我的要害，因為我剛剛結束一段維持了20年的婚姻，心中的痛仍未散去。 我這桌的侍者也服務他們那桌。我在買單的時候，問侍者那對夫婦的賬單是多少錢，他告訴了我，然后我替他們付了40美元。侍者問我是不是認識他們，我說：“不認識，我只是想回報他們對彼此的愛，”說完我離開了餐廳。 第二天，我參加的商務會議在回休斯頓的航班起飛前的兩個小時就結束了。我又走進了那家餐廳，想在離開前吃點東西。坐下之后，前一晚服務過我的那個侍者走到我的桌旁，跟我說那晚離開餐廳后，發生了件頂奇怪的事。 （昨晚）當那對年長的夫婦用完餐要付賬的時候，卻被告知另外一位客人已經替他們付過了。他們又問那客人是誰，旅館女老板說他們以前從未見過我，并告訴他們我還說：“我只是想回報他們對彼此的愛”，之后就離開了餐廳。 那對夫婦很詫異，他們環顧四周，然后詢問了兩對坐在一起的年輕夫婦的賬單（他們都是二三十歲的樣子），替他們付了錢，說了句“讓愛生愛”，然后就離開了，女老板和男侍者皆是一臉驚異。 我笑著說：“真好，”接著繼續點餐。 大約四十五分鐘后，我用完餐，準備出發前往機場，這時卻發現我這桌的侍者不見了。我等了又等，最后只好走到前臺，對女老板解釋說我需要付賬，然后趕緊去機場。她笑了笑，對我說不用付錢了。 她和那位侍者都覺得必須要替我付賬，因著那晚（我替）年長夫婦（付錢）讓他們臉上綻放的喜悅，還有那兩對年輕夫婦臉上的驚訝。 當我告訴她說他倆不必非要這么做時，她微笑著說：“讓愛生愛”。 （來源：英語學習雜志） |
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Vocabulary: 1. strike home: 擊中要害，被深刻領會；all the more: 更加，越發，格外。 2. tab:〈主美口〉待付賬單，費用。 3. Houston: 休斯頓，位于美國南部得克薩斯州東南沿海，是美國最大的石油工業中心和第三大港。 |
