-
It was early December 2003, my first season
as a Salvation Army bell ringer,
when I
was confronted with the question. I was standing
just outside the
doorway of a Wal-Mart,
offering a
“
thank
you
”
and a smile
to each person
who dropped a donation
into my red kettle. A neatly dressed woman and her
young son walked up to the kettle
stand. While she searched her purse for
some cash, the boy looked up at me.I
can still see the confusion and
curiosity in his eyes as he asked, “Are
you poor?”
“
Well,
”
I stammered, trying to
think,
“
I have more than
some people, but not as much as
others.
”
His mother scolded him for
the social no-no, and they hurried off
to do their shopping. His question,
however, did not leave me.
?
这是
2003
年
12
月初，当我面临这个问题的时候，我的作为
救世军第一个时期的敲钟人。我站在沃尔玛门口外面，给每一个
把钱放到我
的红色水壶里的人微笑地说句谢谢。一个穿戴整齐的
女人和她年幼的儿子走到的水壶前面
。当她在她的钱包里找现金
的时候，男孩看着我．我可以看出他的眼睛中的疑惑和好奇，
他
问，
“
你穷么？
”
“
嗯，
”
我结结巴巴的说，并试着去想，
“
我比一些人有钱，但是也
没有别人那么多。
”
< br>他的妈妈批评他不应该问像这样不该问的事
情，他们很开离开去购物。然而他的问
题，并没有离开我。
I
’
ve
never thought of myself as
“
poor,
”
but I
can
’
t deny certain
facts. Every time I fill out my 1040
form, I fall into one of the lowest
income brackets. In the past 35 years,
I
’
ve taken just one vacation
trip. My
TV is a black-and-white set
that someone gave me eight years ago.
?
我从来没有把自己
想作
“
穷人
”
，但我不能否认某些事实。每当我
填写我的
1040
表格，我是收入最低的阶层之一。在过去的
35
年
里，我只有一个假期旅行。我的电视是八年前别人给我的黑白电
视．
Yet I feel nothing more than a passing
whim to attain the
material things so
many other people have. My 1999 car shows the wear
and
tear of 105,000 miles. But it is
still dependable. My apartment is modest, but
quiet and relaxing. My clothes are well
suited to my work, which is
primarily
outdoors. My minimal computer needs can be met at
the library.
但我觉得仅仅一个突然的想法能得
到别人有的物质财富。
我的
1999
年
的汽车显示
105,000
公里的磨损。
但它仍然是可靠的。
我的公寓
是普通的，但让我觉得宁静和放
松。我的衣服很适合我主要在室外的工
作。我的迷你电脑能在图书馆使用。
In spite of what I
don
’
t have, I
don
’
t feel poor. Why?
I
’
ve
enjoyed
exceptionally good health for 53 years.
It
’
s not just that
I
’
ve been
illness-free,
it
’
s that I feel vigorous
and spirited. Exercising is actually fun
for me. I look forward to long,
energizing walks.
And I love the
“
can
do
”
attitude that follows.
?
尽管有很多我没有，
我也没有觉得贫
穷。
这是为什么呢？我
享受了５３年的健康。这不只是我一直没
有什么疾病，而是我觉
得精力充沛。运动确实是一件让我觉得快乐的事情。我期待长长<
/p>
的，
使我精力充沛的散步。
我也热爱自我
身上的
“
我可以
”
的态度。
I also cherish the gift of
creativity. When I write a beautiful line
of poetry, or fabricate a joke that
tickles someone, I feel rich inside.
I
’
m
continually
surprised at the insights that come through my
writing process.
And talking with so
many interesting writer friends is one of my main
sources of enjoyment.
?
But there is one vital area
of my life where I am not so well off.
In a society that spends so much
emotional energy on the pursuit of
possessions, I feel out of
place.
?
我也珍惜我拥有的创造力的天赋，
当我写出一行美丽的诗
句，或者编一个使人开心的笑话，我内心感到很富有。我对在写<
/p>
作过程中得到的见识保持持续的惊喜。和那么多有趣的作者朋友
谈
话是我快乐的一个重要来源。但是在我的生活中有一个重要的
地方我并不是那么富裕。在
一个使用这么多感情力量追求财富的
社会中我感到很不自在。
?
When I was
younger, there was an exceptionally interesting
person I dated. What was most important
to her, she told me, was
“
what’s on the inside.” I
thought I had found someone special to
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