文字难度：★★
I had just walked in our back door when the doorbell rang.
“1)Hon, did you ring the bell? “my wife asked.
“No, I didn’t. You’re kidding, right?” I replied.
Then the bell sounded again. Marianne was in her 2)pajamas already and didn’t want to answer the door so I headed to the front. When I opened it I found a handsome young boy standing there with newspaper in hand. 
“Yes, can I help you?” I asked.
“Here’s today’s paper,” he said as he handed me a copy. He appeared very nervous. “I’m selling 3)subscriptions so that I can get a scholarship for college,” he said quietly.
Oh I hated to stop him, but he handed me a copy of the paper I get delivered already. I didn’t want him to waste his time and energy trying to sell me something I already had.
“Excuse me. I get it already,” I told him.
“Oh.” His voice dropped an 4)octave in a disappointed 5)grumble.
Without even saying goodbye, he nervously walked down the steps and into my driveway. I started to close the door and as I turned I could see my wife standing there. She’s the logical one, the nearly 6)sane one in the family. She knows me best. I felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie 7)jar. I turned once again to see the young boy standing there, looking at his notes and up and down the street. I turned back and there was the guard on duty. She was waiting for me to do it.
我正走进后门的时候，门铃响了。
“亲爱的，是你在按门铃吗？”妻子问道。
“不，不是我。你在开玩笑吧？”我回答说。
这时，门铃又响了一次。玛丽安已经穿上了睡衣，不想去开门了，于是我朝前门走了过去。当我打开前门的时候，看见门外站着一个俊秀的少年，手里拿着一叠报纸。
“噢，我有什么可以帮你的吗？”我问。
“这是今天的报纸，”他边说边递给我一份。他看起来非常紧张。“我在争取订户，以便我可以获得一笔奖学金上大学。”他小声地说。
我不忍心阻止他，但他递给我的那份报纸我早就订了，并且今天的已经送来了。我不想让他白费时间和精力来试着卖给我我已经有的东西。
于是我对他说：“对不起，我已经有这份报纸了。”
“噢。”他失望地应了一声，声音立刻低了八度。
他甚至没有说“再见”，就紧张地到走下了门前的台阶，走到了我的车道上。我准备关门，一转身，便看见妻子站在那里。她富有逻辑思维，是家里比较理智的一个。她也最了解我。我就像一个在偷吃饼干的小孩，当场被母亲逮了个正着。我再次转身，看见那个少年依然站在那里，一边看着手中的笔记，一边朝街上左右张望。我转过头来，看到妻子仿佛执勤的警卫一般，正在等着我有所行动。
You see, the last time a young boy came by selling a newspaper subscription to a paper we didn’t need, I was so impressed with him that I ran after him and gave him ten 8)bucks. “Here, this is for you. I so admire you for doing this to make money. You’ll 9)go far in life,” I told him.
Then I had to face Marianne.
“Okay, how much did you give him?” she asked.
I was just as nervous as the young man I’d met tonight. You see, times were financially difficult back then and that ten dollars was all I had. Now it all came flashing back to me. As always in my life I think, “If I do this I’ll be in trouble. And I’ve been in trouble before. However, I’ll do it!”
I opened the door and looked to see where he was. I couldn’t see him. I closed the door behind me and as I approached the steps I found him sitting at the bottom.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” he said as he began to rise.
“No, that’s okay. How’s it going?” I asked.
“Not so good. Everyone I spoke to so far either has the paper or isn’t interested. I’ve had the door closed on me and some wouldn’t even open it. They’d 10)yell through the window. ÔI’m not interested.’”
“Are you just doing this for 11)extra money?”
“Extra money? I don’t even know what that means. You see I work after school at a local store and on weekends helping my uncle. This I have to do. You see I can’t...” He paused for a moment.
“You can’t imagine how difficult it is to do this. But I must. It’s all I have,” he said, “This will help me get some scholarship money for college. I know it’s a long way 12)off, but if I don’t start now I won’t be able to go when I’m old enough. The money I earn from the other jobs goes to help my mom. She needs the money just to feed us. This is my future.”
我曾经碰到过一个少年上门劝说我们订阅一份我们并不需要的报纸，他令我印象极为深刻，以至我跑出去追上他，给了他十美元。“拿着，这是给你的。你通过这种方式挣钱，我很钦佩。你会出人头地的，”我对他说。
然后，我不得不面对玛丽安这一关。
“告诉我，你给了他多少钱？”她问。
当时，我就像今晚碰到的这个少年一样，十分紧张。要知道，那时候我们的生活非常拮据，那十美元是我的全部。此刻，往事闪现在我的脑海里。这种情形经常出现，每次我都会这样想：“如果我伸出援手，一定会有麻烦。我已经遭遇过麻烦了。可是，我还是会这样做的！”
我打开门，想看看那个少年在哪里。但我并没有看见他。我关上身后的门，走下台阶，发现他坐在台阶底部。
“噢，不好意思！”他边说边准备起身。
“没关系。报纸卖得怎么样了？”我问。
“不算好。到目前为止，我问过的人，不是已经有了这份报纸，就是根本就不感兴趣。有的人当着我的面用力地关上门，有的人甚至连门都不开。他们隔着窗户大喊：‘没兴趣。’”
“你卖报纸是想赚点零花钱吗？”
“零花钱？我都不知道什么叫零花钱。我每天放学后在我家附近的一家小店干活，周末就去给我叔叔帮忙。我必须要做这些，因为我不能……”他沉默了一会儿。
“你无法想象做这个有多么艰难，但我必须做这个。这是我的全部，”他说，“做这个可以帮助我获得一些奖学金上大学。我知道，离我上大学还有一段很长的时间，但是如果我现在不开始努力，等到了上大学的年纪时，我就没有钱去上学了。我干其他活儿得到的收入要用来帮我妈妈。她需要钱来供养我们一家。这就是我的未来。”
You know a grown adult shouldn’t have this much 13)weight on their shoulders.
But a young child with so much burden in life already is too much. Part of me wants to make it all go away for him, but the fact is, this kind of stuff is going to make one 14)heck of a man out him. He’s facing it head on. He’s up for the challenge and ready to win the fight. Most kids his age 15)are stuck in front of a TV or 16)video game. Most have the attitude “someone’s going to take care of everything. I have nothing to worry about.”
“My friend, don’t worry about the future. I see the future in your heart. I see it in your spirit. I see it in your eyes and it’s bright and beautiful!”
With those words, I gave him ten dollars. But don’t tell Marianne. If she heard this story from this young man, she’d be mad at me. And she’d probably have given him twenty.
就算是一个成熟的成年人，肩上也不会有那么重的负担。
一个年纪这么小的孩子，却要承担如此多的生活负担，实在太残忍了。一方面，我很想为他卸掉肩上的重担，但另一方面，我明白，这种生活的压力会把他锻炼成一个真正的男子汉。他勇敢地直面生活，不畏挑战，随时准备赢取与生活抗争的胜利。大多数和他年纪相仿的孩子，此时往往正沉湎于电视或电子游戏。他们中的大多数会想着：“有人会照顾我的一切，我没有什么好担心的。”
“朋友，别担心你的未来。我从你的心里看到了你的未来。我从你的精神里看到了你的未来，从你的眼睛里看到了你的未来。你的未来充满希望、无限美好！”
说完这番话，我给了他十美元。不要告诉玛丽安。如果她听了这个少年的故事，她一定会生我气的。而且，她可能会给这个少年二十美元呢。