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在生活中，我们的行为说明了我们的为人。我们的行为留下了一道真实的印记，让别人知道我们是谁、会成为怎样的人。“空说不值钱”这句话似乎早就过时了，但它的确有道理。行为的分量远远超过了语言！

I teach economics at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.

His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day," I said. "I choose to be cheerful."

"Let me give you an example," I continued. "In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.

"As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what had happened.'This is my lucky day,' I replied, smiling.

"'Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?' She was puzzled.'What do you mean?'

'I live 17 miles from here.' I replied.'My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.'

The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class." So ended my story.

I scanned the sixty faces in my economics class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful.

An Indian wise man once said,"Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say." I suppose it must be so.

参考译文

行胜于言

我在内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校教经济学，每周上三次课。上周一，在刚开始上课的时候，我兴致勃勃地问学生们周末过得怎么样。一个男生说，他的周末不太愉快。然后，他又问我为何我总能保持那么快乐的心情。

他的问题使我想起了一句不知在哪里读过的话：“每天早上，当你起床的时候，你可以选择如何面对一天的生活。”我说：“我选择快乐。”

“我给你们举个例子吧，”我继续说道，“除了在这儿上课，我还在亨德森市的一所社区大学任教，那儿离我家有17英里的高速公路。一天，我驾车前往那所学校，驶离高速公路后，我转入了校园区。

在只差400多米就到学校的时候，我的汽车抛锚了。我只好把指示灯打亮，然后抓起课本直奔学校。”

“我一到学校就马上打电话给汽车协会，让他们在我下课后开辆拖车到我的汽车抛锚处。院长办公室的秘书问我发生了什么事。’今天我真走运。’我笑着答道。”

“‘你的车坏了，你还说今天走运？’她一脸的困惑。‘你什么意思啊？’”

“我回答道：‘我住在离这儿17英里的地方。其实我的车有可能在高速公路上的任何一个地方就坏掉了的，但庆幸的是，没有。相反，汽车是在离开了高速公路后才抛锚，而且步行就可到学校。这是一个比较理想的抛锚位置，我还赶得及上课，还能够安排拖车在课后来处理。如果我的汽车是注定了要在今天抛锚的，那在这个位置抛锚已经是非常省劲儿了。’”

“那个秘书听得目瞪口呆地，然后她笑了。我也冲她笑了一下，便上课去了。”这就是我的故事。

我扫视了一下拉斯维加斯分校我经济学课堂上的这六十张面孔。虽然是在大清早，但没有一个学生在打盹儿。不知道为什么，他们好象被我的故事触动了。也许触动他们的并不是故事本身。其实，从一开始有学生发现我兴致高昂的时候，他们便已经被我的快乐感染了。

一位印度智者曾说过：“你为人行事的本身，比你的语言更具有说服力。”我认为这的确是真理。

词汇释义

1.freeway 高速公路

His new car certainly did ball the jack on the freeway.
他的新车在快车道上确实开得快极了。

2.flasher 使灯光忽明忽灭的装置；事故灯

3.grab 匆匆拿走

Let's grab a sandwich and go to see the film.
让我们赶快吃个三明治就去看电影吧。

4.AAA:American Automobile Association 美国汽车协会

5.tow truck 拖车

6.provost 学院院长

相关格言

The most effective way to do it, is to do it.

做事最有效的方法就是去做。

Narrative is linear, but action has breadth and depth as well as height and is solid.

叙述只能算一条线，而行动却是立体的、实实在在的。

We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.

我们总是说得夸夸其谈，却很少有与之相一致的行动。