A man hired a taxi outside the airfield. The cab had a woolen carpet with brilliant laces. On the glass partition that shielded the driver's seat was a replica of a famous painting. Its windows were all clean.
The passenger was very much surprised and said to the driver, “I've never seen a nicer cab.”
“Thank you for your praise,” the driver answered smilingly.
“How did it occur to you to decorate your car?” asked the passenger.
“The car isn't mine,” said the driver. “It belongs to the company. I used to be a cleaner of cabs. When they returned, all of them were as dirty as garbage cans with cigarette butts and rubbish scattered here and there. On the seats and door-handles could be found something sticky like peanut sauce or chewing gum. Why so? I thought if the car itself were very clean, the passengers would mostly likely be considerate and refrain from littering.”
“So when I got a license to be a taxi-driver, I began to put my idea into practice — to tidy and decorate the car. Now before a new passenger gets in my car, I'd make a check and be sure it is in good order. When my car returns after a day's work, it always remains spotless.”
一个人出了机场叫了一辆出租车。出租车上有个羊毛地毯，上面系着漂亮的丝带。司机座位的玻璃防护罩上挂着一幅高仿名画，整辆车窗明几净。
这位乘客非常吃惊，他对司机说：“我从没见过这么雅致的出租车。”
“谢谢您的鼓励。”司机笑着回答。
“您怎么会想到要装饰自己的车呢？”乘客问。
“这车不是我的，”司机说，“是公司的。我过去是个出租车清洁工。他们出车回来的时候，所有的车都脏得跟垃圾桶似的，车里还有烟蒂，垃圾扔得到处都是。座位和门把手上粘着花生酱或是口香糖之类黏糊糊的东西。为什么会这样呢？我觉得如果车自身整洁的话，乘客不太可能没眼色到处乱扔一气。”
“所以，我拿到出租车营业执照的时候，我就开始把这个想法落实到行动中来——把车打扫干净并且装饰一新。现在，新乘客上车前，我都会检查一番，确认车内整洁。拉一天活儿收车的时候，车总是一尘不染。”
-replica [ˈreplɪkə] n. 复制品
-butt [bʌt] n. 烟蒂
-refrain [rɪˈfreɪn] v. 克制
《论语·子路》中，孔子说“其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从”。