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A planned life! That was exactly what he was living. The plan was to make a fortune, to turn a million into ten million. But he realized now that he had left out everything that counted; he could no longer endure it.
Then and there he vowed to give his money away and find a more satisfying reason for living. Whatever he settled on, his new life would have to mean something, to have a positive effect on others.
When he reached New York, Linda told him she wanted to keep the marriage together. That evening, as they were drinking orange juice at Radio City Music Hall, Linda broke down and began sobbing.

They left the theater clutching each other and went for a walk. Finally, they began to talk, with a rush of feeling. Millard spoke of his idea to go home, give everything away and start afresh. What did she think? Linda nodded yes and embraced him. Whatever comes next, she thought, we'll face it together.
The Fullers returned to Alabama and sold Millard's share of the company. They put their houses on the market, sold the boats and distributed the proceeds among churches, colleges and charities. Millard was feeling better — breathing came easier, his chest pain was gone — but now he needed a job. As a stopgap measure, he became a New York-based fund-raiser for a small college in Mississippi.

The Fullers moved into an apartment over a gas station in New Jersey. Millard commuted to Manhattan by bus. Their tight budget was made even tighter by the birth of their third child. But they didn't mind their scaled-down life-style. Now they were a team.
Millard found his work satisfying, but he still yearned for a mission that would summon all his energy and idealism. When the fund drive ended a year later, he wrote to his minister friend Clarence Jordan and asked if he had any ideas. Maybe, replied Jordan. He invited Millard to Georgia.
Jordan had been thinking about the dilapidated shacks that lined the red-clay roads around Americus. They often lacked heat and plumbing, and the poor families who lived in them couldn't afford repairs. Banks wouldn't give them mortgages, so they had to keep on renting. They were trapped.

参考译文
有计划的生活！这正是他如今在过的生活。那个计划就是赚大笔的钱，将100万变成1000万。但他现在意识到他已经忽略了最重要的东西，他再也无法忍受下去了。

当时当地，他发誓要捐出自己的钱，并找一个更令人满意的生存理由。无论他决定做什么，他的新生活必须有意义，必须对他人产生积极地影响。

当他来到纽约之后，琳达告诉他她想维持这段婚姻。那天晚上，他们在城市音乐广播剧院喝着橙汁，琳达控制不住自己，哭了起来。

他们相拥着离开了剧院去散步。最后他们都思绪万千，开始聊了起来。米勒德说出了他的想法：回家捐献出所有的东西，再重新开始。她怎么想？琳达点头答应了，和他拥抱在一起，她想，无论将来发生什么事情，我们都将一起面对。

富勒夫妇回到亚拉巴马，卖了米勒德在公司的股份。他们还卖了房子、快艇，并将所得款项捐给了我教堂、大学和慈善机构。米勒德的感觉好多了，呼吸顺畅了，胸闷也消失了，但现在他需要一份工作，作为权宜之计，他成了一个总部设在纽约的资金筹集者，为密西西比州的一座大学筹集资金。

富勒一家搬进新泽西一个加油站对面的公寓里。米勒德乘公共汽车去曼哈顿。由于他们第三个孩子的出生，他们本来就紧张的开支变得更紧张了。但是他们并不在意生活水平的降低。现在他们是一个共同体了。

米勒德对他的工作非常满意，但他仍然渴望能得到一个可以唤起他的活力和理想的使命。一年以后，筹款的工作结束了，他给他的朋友克拉伦斯.乔丹牧师写信，问他有没有什么好主意。乔丹回复说他有个主意也许值得考虑，他邀请他去佐治亚。

乔丹一直都在考虑亚美利克斯地区周围红土路旁边的那些破旧的房子。这些房子没有供暖和管道设施，住在里面的穷人又掏不出钱来维修，银行不给他们提供贷款，所以他们只能一直租住着。他们陷在这种困境中无法脱身。

词汇释义

1.settle on vt. 授与(决定,选定,停在,决定,确定)

例句：

We must settle on a place to meet.
咱们得把见面的地点定下来.

2.sob vi.哽咽

例句：

She broke down and sobbed aloud.
她情不自禁地大声抽泣起来。

3.clutch vt., vi.抓， 抓住， 攫住; 握紧

例句：

The girl clutched her doll to her breast.
这个女孩把她的洋娃娃紧抱在怀里。

4.yearn for v.渴望

例句：

Why do we yearn this much for the native land?
我们为什么这样怀念故乡呢？