如果在恰当的时候，恰当的季节，

在日常事务的间歇中出现在你的面前，就会改变你此后的人生道路。 Unit 2 Friendship

Part Ⅱ Text A A all The Cabbie Had Was A Letter

How do you feel when old friends are far away? Do you make an effort to keep in touch?

Sometimes it is easy to put off writing a letter, thinking that there will be plenty of time tomorrow. But

then sometimes, as this story shows, we leave it too late. Perhaps reading it will make you want to reach for your pen.

老朋友天各一方，你心有何感？你是否努力保持联系？有时候写信的事很容易会一拖再拖，总以为明天有的是

时间。然而，正如这则故事所表明的，有时我们拖得太晚了。也许读一读这个故事会让你提起笔来。

All the Cabbie Had Was a Letter Foster Furcolo

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1 He must have been completely lost in something he was reading because I had to tap on the windshield to get his attention. 出租车司机拥有的就剩一封信 福斯特·弗克洛

他准是完全沉浸在所读的东西里了，因为我不得不敲挡风玻璃来引起他的注意。 2 \cab available?\me. He nodded, then said

apologetically as I settled into the back seat, \was reading a letter.\if he had a cold or something.

他总算抬头看我了。“你出车吗？”我问道。他点点头，当我坐进后座时，他抱歉地说：“对不起，我在读一封信。” 听上去他像是得

3 \Go ahead and finish your letter.\

“我不着急，”我对他说，“你接着把信读完吧。”

4 He shook his head. \guess I almost know it by heart.\

他摇了摇头。“我已经读了好几遍了。我想我都能背出来了。”

5 \do with me because I'm on the road

so much.\estimating that he was 60 or 70 years old, I guessed: \

grandchild?\

“家书抵万金啊，”我说。“至少对我来说是这样，因为我老是在外旅行。”我估量他有六七十岁了，便猜测说：“是 孩子还是孙子写来的？”

6 \\might just as well

have been family. Old Ed was my oldest friend. In fact, we used to call each other 'Old Friend' ─

when we'd meet, that is. I'm not much of a hand at writing.\“不是家里人，”他回答说。“不过，”他接着说，“想起来，也可以算是一家人了。埃德老伙计是我最老的朋友了。

实际上，过去我俩总是以?老朋友?相称的 —— 就是说，当我俩相见时。我这人就是不大会写东西。”

7 \keep up our correspondence too well,\

it he's someone you've known quite a while?\

“我看大家写信都不那么勤快，”我说，“我自己笔头就很懒。我看，你认识他挺久了吧？”

8 \practically. We were kids together, so we go way back.\

“差不多认识了一辈子了。我俩小时候就一起玩，所以我俩的友谊确实很长了。” 9 \“一起上的学？”

10 \All the way through high school. We were in the same class, in fact, through both grade and high school.\

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“都一起上到高中呢。事实上，我俩从小学到高中都在一个班里。”

11 \friendship,\

“保持这么长久友谊的人可真不多见啊，”我说。

12 \than once or twice a year over the past

25 or 30 years because I moved away from the old neighborhood and you kind of lose touch even though you never forget. He was a great guy.\

“其实呢，”司机接着说，“近25到30年来，我跟他一年只见一两次面，因为我从原来住的老街坊搬了出来，

联系自然就少了，虽说你一直放在心上。他在的时候可真是个大好人。” 13 \─?\“你刚才说他?在的时候?。你是说 ——？”

14 He nodded. \a couple of weeks ago.\他点了点头。“前两个星期过世啦。”

15 \─ and losing a real old one is even tougher.\“真遗憾，”我说，“失去朋友真不是个滋味，失去个真正的老朋友更让人受不了。” 16 He didn't reply to that, and we rode on in silence for a few minutes. But I realized that Old Ed was

still on his mind when he spoke again, almost more to himself than to me: \

touch. Yes,\

他开着车，没有接话儿。 我们沉默了几分钟。可我知道他还在想着老埃德。他又开口时，与其说是跟我说话，

还不如说是自言自语：“我真该一直保持联系。真的，”他重复道，“我真该一直保持联系。”

17 \keep in touch with old friends more than we do. But things

come up and we just don't seem to find the time.\

“是啊，”我表示赞同，“我们都该与老朋友保持更多的联系。不过总是有事情冒出来，好像就是抽不出空来。”

18 He shrugged. \even mentioned in the letter.\handed it over to me. \

他耸了耸肩。“我们过去总能抽出空来，”他说。“信里还提到呢。”他把信递给我，“你看看吧。”

19 \pretty personal.\

“谢谢你，”我说，“不过我不想读你的信。这纯属私事。”

20 The driver shrugged. \personal now. Go ahead,%urged me.

司机耸一耸肩。“老埃德人都死了。没什么私事不私事了。念吧，”他催促说。 21 The letter was written in pencil. It began with the greeting \

reminded me of myself. I've been meaning to write for some time, but I've always postponed it. It

then went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together when they both

lived in the same neighborhood. It had references to things that probably meant something to the

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driver, such as the time Tim Shea broke the window, the Halloween that we tied Old Mr. Parker's

gate, and when Mrs. Culver used to keep us after school.

信是用铅笔写的。称呼写着“老朋友”，而开头第一句话让我想到自己。“早就想写信了，可就是一拖再拖。” 信

里接着写道，他常常回想从前两人住在一个街坊时的快乐时光。信里提到些事，

可能对司机很重要，比如“那次蒂姆·谢

打破窗子_______，那年万圣节前夕，我们把老帕克先生的大门拴了起来，还有卡尔弗太太老是在放学后把咱俩留下训斥的 那阵子”。

22 \“你们俩准是在一起度过了不少时光，”我对他说。

23 \spend in those days was time.\his head: \

“就跟信里写的那样，”他回答说，“我俩在那个时候能花的只有时间。”他摇头叹道：“时间啊。”

24 I thought the next paragraph of the letter was a little sad: I began the letter with \

because that's what we've become over the years ─ old friends. And there aren't many of us left.

信里接下来的那段我觉得有点凄凉：“信的开头我写着?老朋友?，因为这么多年来，我们这对老朋友渐渐都老了。 我们这些人当中留下的也不多了。”

25 \aren't many of us left, that's absolutely

right. Every time I go to a class reunion, for example, there are fewer and fewer still around.\“你要知道，”我对他说，“信里说我们这些人当中留下的不多了，说得一点不错。比如说，每次我去参加老同学 聚会，来的人总是越来越少。”

26 \goes by,\“时间不饶人啊，”司机说。

27 \“你们俩以前在一起工作吗？”我问他。

28 \hung out on the same corner when we were single. And then, when we were

married, we used to go to each other's house every now and then. But for the last 20 or 30 years

it's been mostly just Christmas cards. Of course there'd be always a note we'd each add to the cards

─ usually some news about our families, you know, what the kids were doing, who moved where, a

new grandchild, things like that ─ but never a real letter or anything like that.\

“不，不过没成家时我俩总在一起闲荡。后来，两人都成了家，就不时相互串门。可最近这二三十年来，主要就

是寄寄圣诞卡了。当然，我俩都总在卡上写几句 —— 通常是关于各自家里的情况，不是吗，孩子们在干些什么，