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Read and Explore
閱讀與探究
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There are times in our lives when we are confronted by challenging situations. These are moments which may have implications for our principles and value systems. Read the following account of the predicament faced by Morton, as observed through the eyes of his wife.
有時，生活中我們會遇到一些具有挑戰性的情況。這時，我們的原則和價值觀可能會受到挑戰。閱讀下面的故事，在妻子眼中，莫頓所面臨的困境。
Sunday in the Park
星期天在公園
Bel Kaufman
貝爾·考夫曼
It was still warm in the late afternoon sun, and the city noises came muffled through the trees in the park. She put her book down on the bench, removed her sunglasses, and sighed contentedly. Morton was reading the Times Magazine section, one arm flung around her shoulder, their three-year-old son, Larry, was playing in the sandbox: a faint breeze fanned her hair softly against her cheek. It was five-thirty of a Sunday afternoon, and the small playground, tucked away in a corner of the park, was all but deserted. The swings and seesaws stood motionless and abandoned, the slides were empty, and only in the sandbox two little boys squatted diligently side by side. How good this is, she thought, and almost smiled at her sense of well-being. They must go out in the sun more often; Morton was so city-pale, cooped up all week in the little cube of the company. She squeezed his arm affectionately and glanced at Larry, delighting in the pointed little face frowning in concentration over the tunnel he was digging. The other boy suddenly stood up and with a quick, deliberate swing of his chubby arm threw a spadeful of sand at Larry. It just missed his head. Larry continued digging; the boy remained standing, shovel raised, stolid and impassive.
傍晚，夕陽余溫猶存，城市的喧囂消弭于公園樹林。她把書放在長椅上，摘下太陽鏡，心滿意足地輕嘆一聲。莫頓正在讀《時報》周日專欄，一只胳膊環繞在她的肩上。他們三歲的兒子拉里正在沙箱里玩耍。一縷清風迎面拂過，溫柔地掠過她的發絲。現在是星期天下午五點半。這個小游樂場隱在公園的一角，幾乎廢棄。秋千和蹺蹺板靜靜地佇立著，無人問津，滑梯上也空無一人，只見沙箱里蹲著兩個小男孩，挨在一起玩得正起勁。她心中想：一切是多么美好啊，臉上幾乎展現出了幸福的笑容。他們得多曬太陽，莫頓整個星期都窩在公司狹小的辦公隔間里，這樣的城市生活把他折磨得蒼白無力。她深情地握著莫頓的胳膊，高興地看著拉里聚精會神地挖隧道，他那尖俏的小臉此刻正眉頭緊鎖。另一個孩子突然站起來，飛快地抬起胖乎乎的胳膊，故意把滿滿一鏟沙子朝拉里揚過來。幸好沒有揚到他頭上。拉里繼續挖。那個男孩仍舊站在那里，舉著鏟子，面無表情，無動于衷。
