一个名叫劳伦斯的人 A MAN NAMED LAWRENCE

This is an act of kindness that happened to me one Sunday morning.

It was at two o'clock in the morning. We had just come out of a club and were trying to find our way back to Berkeley. As we were trying to find the bus stop, a man came to us and said he would show us where it was. Although we were a little worried, we had no choice but to follow him. He told us he was a homeless man and that his name was Lawrence.

When we passed some city workers washing the streets, they sprayed the homeless man. Lawrence told us that they always sprayed the homeless if they were “in the way”. I didn't know why they would do that. They were human beings, after all, not cattle or objects.

This man had just gotten wet in the middle of a cold night, but instead of shouting at the workers, he asked them, “How would you feel if your father or grandfather were treated like this?” He then told us, “It's no use shouting at them, because they just get angry. You're better off saying something from the heart.”

It is true! The world could be so different if only we put our anger aside, lowered our voices and tried to speak from our hearts.

He took us safely to the stop and on the way we talked about everything. We thanked him and told him that we could have never found the place on our own. He said, “I have a son of your age, and I hope that if he were lost, someone would help him.”

Not only did Lawrence clear out all the fear and distrust in our hearts, he helped us find our way, in more than one way. What's more, this man taught us kindness. There was nothing we could really do to repay him. The only thing I hope to do is to help other people out.

【日积月累】

spray v. 喷洒，喷涂，溅散

【参考译文】

一个名叫劳伦斯的人

这是一个星期天早上发生在我身上的一件助人为乐的好事。

那是凌晨两点。我们刚从一家酒吧出来，想回伯克利市去。在找车站牌的时候，一个男人走了过来，说他能带我们去。虽然有点不安，但是除了跟他走我们没有别的选择。他告诉我们他是流浪汉，叫劳伦斯。

当我们经过几个冲洗街道的工人时，他们把水洒在这个流浪汉身上。劳伦斯告诉我们，如果碰到流浪汉，这些工人总是朝他们洒水。我不知道为什么他们要这样做。毕竟流浪汉也是人，不是牲畜或东西。

这个在寒冷深夜弄得一身湿的男人没有朝那些工人叫嚷，而是问：“如果你们的爸爸或爷爷遭到这样的对待，你们会作何感想？”他告诉我们：“对他们叫喊一点用都没有，因为只会惹火他们。最好是说出心底的话。”

没错！如果我们能把愤怒搁置一边，降低说话的音量，说出真心话，这个世界将会不一样。

他把我们安全地送到了车站，在路上我们无话不谈。我们跟他道谢，告诉他说，要不是他的帮助我们自己永远找不到这个地方。他说：“我有个儿子，和你们一般大，我只希望如果他迷路了，有人会帮他。”

劳伦斯不仅消除了我们心中的恐惧和怀疑，他还让我们找到了方向，不仅仅是车站的方向。此外，他会教会了我们善良。我们做不了什么来报答他。我唯一能做的就是帮助其他人。

【人生启迪】

每个人都希望过上体面的生活，没有实现这个愿望并不一定是他们的错。我们不应该因为别人境遇不好，而歧视他们，因为就算贫民窟里也不乏心底善良的人。而且我们应该记住，回报帮助我们的人的最好方式就是把这善举传播出去。