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Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University.
在愛荷華州大學讀大三時，我和兩個朋友從宿舍搬出來，租了一間房子。
We were all a bit afraid of our landlord, a gruff middle aged man who was "all business" when we signed the lease.
房東是一個粗魯的中年人，我們都有點怕他。
He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and maintaining the house and appliances. We weren't really supposed to, but during the fall semester, my housemates and I threw a party.
他交代我們要及時交房租，好好愛護房子和電器。下半學期，我和室友舉辦了一個聚會。
We sent invitations to many friends and told everyone that we knew 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.
我們邀請許多朋友，讓他們星期五晚上都到家里來玩。我們一大群人玩得很盡興，最后一個客人在天快要亮時才離開。
Exhausted, we decided to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning. Well, you guessed it!
玩得筋疲力盡的我們決定先睡覺，第二天早上起來再清掃房子。噢，你猜怎么著。
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?"
早上七點時，房東的敲門聲把我們吵醒，我們不好意思地讓他進來，料想會遭他怒罵。誰知，他撿起道邊的一張宴會請柬，問道：“你們這些女孩子怎么不邀請我呢?”
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.
他走進屋子，簡單清理了一下，又幫我們把院子里的垃圾清掃了。我們也不知道怎么這么走運，興奮地發現我們的房東竟如此通情達理。
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.
數月后，由于計算失誤，賬戶上沒有余額了。銀行很快給我發了退票。我羞愧地發現那是我給房東的月租支票，而我又不得不告訴房東.
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.
那次聚會后，我想他一定以為我的室友們都是不負責任的人，現在更證實了他的看法。他一定會把我們趕出去的。可不知為什么，當我鼓起勇氣給他打電話解釋時，他說：“我有一個女兒，跟你們差不多大，她曾經也干過同樣的事。你不想等級到下個月給我雙份月租嗎?”我永遠都忘不了房東的善心和通情達理。
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)!
他教給我一個重要的人生道理：不要以書皮來判斷書的好壞(切勿以貌取人)。我自豪地說，從那以后銀行再也沒給我發過退票(盡管我又舉辦過幾次聚會)。
