第24章 Our Kind Landlord (1)
·Sammy·
Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University. We were all a bit afraid of our landlord，a gruff middle-aged man. He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and maintaining the house and appliances.
During the fall semester，my housemates and I threw a party. We sent invitations to many friends and told everyone to come to our house on Friday night. We drew a large crowd and everyone had a great time. The last guests left in the wee hours of the morning.
Exhausted，we decided to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning. Well，you guessed it! We were awakened about 7:00 a.m. by our landlord，who was knocking on the door. Sheepishly，we let him in，expecting to incur his wrath. Instead，he picked up a party invitation that had been laying on the sidewalk and asked，“Why didn’t you girls invite me?”He came into the house，made a minor repair，and spent a few minutes helping us pick up trash from the yard. We weren’t quite sure what to make of our unexpected luck，but we were thrilled that our landlord had been so understanding.
A few months later，I made a mathematical error while balancing my checkbook and my bank soon notified me that I had bounced a check. I was mortified when I discovered that it was my rent check and that I had to notify my landlord，I figured that he viewed my housemates and I as irresponsible after the party incident and this would prove him right. I was certain that he would evict me. Somehow，I mustered the courage to call him and explained what had happened. He said，“I have a daughter about your age，and the same thing happened to her once. Would you like to wait until next month and send a double payment then?”
I’ve never forgotten our landlord’s kindness and understanding. He also taught me an important lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I’m proud to say that I have not bounced a check since (though I have thrown a few more parties)!
我们的好房东
萨 米
在爱荷华州立大学读大三时，我和两个朋友从宿舍搬出来，租了一间房子。房东是一个粗鲁的中年人，我们都有点怕他。他交代我们要及时交房租，保护好房子和电器。
下半学期，我和室友举办了一个聚会。我们邀请了许多朋友，让他们星期五晚上都到家里来玩。我们一大群人玩得很尽兴，最后一个客人在天快要亮时才离开。
我们玩得筋疲力尽，决定先睡觉，第二天早上起来再清扫房子。噢，你猜怎么着。早上七点时，我们被房东的敲门声吵醒，我们不好意思地让他进来，料想会遭他怒骂。谁知，他拣起过道边的一张宴会请柬，问道：“你们这些女孩子怎么不邀请我呢，”他走进屋子，简单清理了一下，又帮我们把院子的垃圾清扫了。我们也不知道怎么这么走运，兴奋地发现我们的房东竟如此通情达理。
数月后，由于我计算失误，账户上没有余额了。银行很快给我发了退票。我羞愧地发现那是我给房东的月租支票，而我又不得不告诉房东。那次聚会后，我想他一定以为我和室友们都是不负责任的人，现在更证实了他的看法。我想他一定会把我们赶出去的。可不知为什么，当我鼓起勇气给他打电话解释时，他说，“我有一个女儿跟你们差不多大。她曾经也干过相同的事。你不想等到下个月给我双份月租吗？”
我永远都忘不了房东的善心和通情达理。他教给我一个重要的人生道理：切勿以貌取人。我自豪地说，从那以后我再也没收到银行的退票（尽管我又举办过几次聚会）。
实战提升篇
核心单词
campus [5kAmpEs] n. 校园，校区
junior [5dVu:njE] adj. 年纪较轻的；三年级(生)的
appliance [E5plaiEns] n. 器具；装置,设备
notify [5nEutifai] v. 通知,告知；报告
evict [i(:)5vikt] v. (房客等)逐出；收回(财产等)
实用句型
Would you like to wait until next month and send a double payment then?
你不想等到下个月给我双份月租吧？
①Would you like to...?“要不要……?”表示邀请或提出建议。这是一种很有礼貌的表达。
②double payment 双份月租，类似的表达还有double pay双倍工钱；a double room双人房；a double significance双重意义；double tongue两面派,表里不一等固定搭配。
翻译行不行
1.请你把收音机声音关小一点好吗？(a bit)
2.你昨晚在晚会上玩得开心吗？(have a great time)
3.我们两人的想法不谋而合。(happen to)
第一章 Life Throws a Brick at Your Head
· Ralph Mondy ·
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street，going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.
As his car passed，one child appeared，and a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door. He slammed on the brakes and spun the Jag back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown.
He jumped out of the car，grabbed some kid and pushed him up against a parked car，shouting，“What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?”Building up a head of steam，he went on，“That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”
“Please，mister，please，I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do!”pleaded the youngster.
“It’s my brother，”he said，“He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. Sobbing，the boy asked the executive，“Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? ”He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me. ”
Moved beyond words，the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts，checking to see that everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you，sir. And God bless you，”the grateful child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother to the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to his Jaguar... a long，slow walk. He never did repair to the side door. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.