‘Why did it happen to him？’I asked my mother．‘Why do the best people die？Jake Rosso．My father．’

为什么这事让他碰上了呢？我问妈妈，为什么总是最好的人死呢？杰克·罗索。我爸爸。

‘I… I don't know， Carol，'my mother said．She was unhappy，too．

我……我不知道，卡罗尔。我妈妈说。她也不愉快。

At the time of the plane crash， I was a student at college．I enjoyed the college work and life very much， but after my father's death I stopped doing my work at the college．I began to go out with some new friends．They were different from my other friends，and my mother didn't like them．

飞机失事的时候，我正是个大学学生。我当时很喜欢大学的学习和生活，但我父亲去世后我在大学不学习了。我开始和一些新结识的朋友出去玩。他们和我的其他朋友不一样，而且我妈妈不喜欢他们。

‘ They're bad people，Carol，'she told me．‘They do dangerous things．’

他们不是正经人，卡罗尔。她告诉我，他们在干一些危险的事情。

‘They're exciting，’I said．‘And I like them．’

他们令人感到兴奋。我说，而且我喜欢他们。

I knew she was angry but I didn't care． But then I learned my new friends took drugs，and I began to take drugs，too．It was wrong and stupid，I know that now， but I was unhappy and angry．

我知道她生气了，可我不在乎。后来我得知我新结识的朋友们在吸毒，我也开始吸毒了。我现在知道那样做既错又蠢，可那时候我心情郁闷。

The police came to the college to arrest some of the students．They didn't arrest me， but I had to leave the college．It was a bad time．

警察来到大学抓了一些学生。他们没抓我，可我不得不离开那个大学。那段日子可真糟糕。

My mother was very unhappy with me．‘What am I going to do with you，Carol？ she said．

我妈妈对我很不高兴。我拿你可怎么办呢，卡罗尔？她说。

‘I'm sorry，’I told her．

对不起，我告诉她说。

‘We'll go back to England，'she said．‘You can find a college there．Perhaps you can be happier in England．’

我们回英格兰吧。她说，在那儿你可以找所大学上。在英格兰也许你会高兴些。

‘All right，’I said．‘I want to forget what's happened．I want to forget what I've done and begin a new life， be a new person．’

好吧。我说，我想把过去发生的事忘掉。我想把我所干的事忘掉，开始新生活，成为一个新人。

A month later， we came back to England．We lived in London，in a hotel．It was strange，at first， with all the red buses and everybody speaking English．It was the beginning of the summer，three months before college began in the autumn．London was full of tourists．

一个月后，我们回到了英格兰。我们住在伦敦，呆在一家饭店里。起初，一切都很新奇：公共汽车是红色的，人人都说英语。时值初夏，离秋季开学还有三个月。伦敦到处都是观光客。

We looked at all the famous buildings—Buckingham Palace，the Tower of London．And we went to restaurants and theatres in the evenings．It was interesting and exciting and I began to forget the bad times in Hong Kong．

我们参观了所有著名的建筑物——白金汉宫、伦敦塔。而且晚上我们去餐馆和剧院。这令人感兴趣、令人激动，我开始忘掉在香港的那些令人难受的时光。

‘I'm pleased we came to London，’I told my mother．

我真为我们来到了伦敦而高兴，我对妈妈说。

But after a few weeks，she said，‘You need to find a college，Carol．You must go on studying． And I need a job．’

但是过了几周之后，她说：你得找所大学上，卡罗尔。你必须继续你的学业。我也需要个工作。

That evening， we looked in the newspapers．

那天傍晚，我们翻看了一下报纸。

‘What about this？’I said．I showed my mother a job in the newspaper．

这工作怎么样？我说。我给妈妈看了看报上登的一条招工的消息。