Before we take off, we all participate in a mental roll call. Where is the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn't have much money to spare, but she always clutches an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
我们出发之前，脑子里都会默默点一次名：坐在车前面、从来不理踩我们愉快招呼的那个沉默女人在哪里？这不，她来了。她破旧的衣服表明她并没有多少余钱，但她总是会给司机带一杯咖啡。
Where is the factory security guard who comes off a long night shift and somehow makes us protected? There he is, slumping in his seat with his eyes closed until the precise moment that the driver approaches his corner. Then, reluctantly, his eyes open, and he heaves himself to the front door of the bus.
那个值完漫长夜班、让我们觉得受到保护的工厂保安又在哪儿？哦，他在那儿呢，闭着眼睛低低地坐在座位上，司机开到他要下车的街角那一瞬间他才会准时睁开眼睛。然后，睁着眼睛，不太情愿似地，朝车的前门走去。
There is the rotund fellow who comes into town, buys his Sunday newspaper, joins us for a bagel in the coffee shop, and rides back to his stop with his paper clutched under his arm. One morning, as he moved forward to board, he collapsed on the sidewalk. We all leaped to his aid. Anonymous arms cradled his head until an ambulance arrived. A prayerful silence reigned as we pulled away. Then someone spotted his newspaper in the gutter, and the driver stopped while we slipped the paper into the ambulance beside its passenger. The bus was very late that morning. The next Sunday the man was back with a fresh newspaper and an unmistakably grateful smile.
还有那个矮胖的家伙。他进城来，买一份周日报纸，和我们一起在咖啡店吃个硬面包圈，然后坐车回到他那个站，报纸夹在胳膊底下。有一天，他正往前走准备上车，突然瘫倒在人行道上。我们全都迅速施以援手。不知是谁把他的头抱在怀里直到救护车来到，我们开走时，大家都在静静地为他祈祷。这时有人看到他的报纸还在排水沟里，司机停了车，我们把报纸塞到救护车的乘客身边。那天上午，公共汽车特别迟。第二个星期天，那人带着一份新的报纸回来了，脸上挂着毋庸置疑的感激的微笑。
We also get smiles from a Mexican couple as they board the bus hand in hand. When they alight, they are still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she had delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
我们也从一对墨西哥夫妇那儿得到微笑。他们上车时手牵手，下车时还是紧握彼此的手。去年年底那女人怀孕了。有一天，她的体型变化表明她已经生下了孩子。想到这大家庭又有新的成员加人，我们甚至有点自豪的感觉。