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【英文原文2】
Back in East LA the years passed slowly. The generous man kept to life much as usual――taking evening strolls, whistling rap tunes, answering his door.
One day in particular, his doorbell rang, and there stood a finely dressed gentleman in a three piece suit. Uh oh, the man thought. Donation. But before he could do anything, his guest spoke.
“You’re the rich man, aren’t you？”his guest asked.
“What can I do for you？”the man responded automatically, so accustomed to being asked for things.
“It is not what you can do for me, ”answered his guest. “But what you have already done. ”
“What have I done for you？”the man asked in surprise.
“You’ve given me a second chance at life. Why, with your generous gift, I was able to invest the money and pull myself out of my poverty. I no longer wallow7) in the grime and gutters8), but I walk along crowded sidewalks with my head held high. I have you to thank for that.” Suddenly, the man recognized his guest. It was the old bum who’d been lying in the street. The man replied, “What I gave you, you did not ask for. I gave it simply because I saw you there and loved you. I would have given it to anyone in your position.”
“All the more reason to come and thank you, ”his guest said.
“But I am rich, ”replied the man. “I have many gifts to give. I don’t expect anything in return. ”
“Good, ”his guest said with a nod. “Because I don’t have anything to offer in return――whatever I have, you gave to me. All I wanted to do was come and thank you.”
The man stared as his guest reached out and took him into an embrace. It was the same gesture the man had so often offered to those at his door, yet this was the first time someone had offered it back. Tears filled the man’s eyes as his guest, a lowly bum off the street, held him in the most satisfying embrace he had ever received.
