小故事

A Good Heart to Lean On
善心可依
When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was severely crippled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. I would inwardly squirm at the unwanted attention. If he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let on.
在我成长的过程中，我一直羞于让别人看见的和父亲在一起。我的父亲身材矮小，腿上有严重的残疾。当我们一起走路时，他总是挽着我以保持身体平衡，这时总招来一些异样的目光，令我无地自容。可是如果他注意到了这些，不管他内心多么痛苦，也从不表现出来。

It was difficult to coordinate our steps--his halting, mine impatient--and because of that, we didn't say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, "You set the pace. I will try to adjust to you. "
走路时，我们很难相互协调起来----他的步子慢慢腾腾，我的步子焦燥不安。所以一路上我们交谈得很少。但是每次出行前，他总是说，“你走你的，我想法儿跟上你”。
Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and despite nasty weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. A matter of pride.
我们常常往返于从家到他上班乘坐的地铁站的那段路上。他有病也要上班，哪怕天气恶劣。他几乎从未误过一天工，就是在别人不能去的情况下，他也要设法去上班。实在值得骄傲！

重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. let on
透露；泄露；
eg. She never let on that anything was wrong.
她从来没有透露过有什么不妥。
eg. I didn't let on to the staff what my conversation was.
我没有将谈话内容向员工们透露。
2. start out
启程，出发；
eg. Mother told her son to start out early and start back early.
母亲告诉儿子早去早回。
eg. The rain will let up soon and we can start out.
雨不久就会停，咱们可以出发了。
3. adjust to
改变（行为或观点）以适应；调节；习惯；
eg. I felt I had adjusted to the idea of being a mother very well.
我感到自己已经完全接受了当妈妈的想法。
eg. After Nigel left his academic post and went into business, it took him quite a while adjust to the rat race.
奈杰尔弃学从商后，过了很长时期才使他适应于那种竞争激烈的环境。