亲爱的爸爸妈妈

我知道自己每天都会说我爱你们，但有时候光说“我爱你们”对我来说远远不够。有时“我爱你们”不能完全道出我有多爱你们，至少我是这样想的。但我总是避免谈论起与此相关的个人情感或话题，我想你们肯定早就察觉到这件事了。我猜这也是为什么我总是能够在写作中找到安慰。所以，在我像往常一样突然偏离正题之前，我要写出自己一直以来想要说的一切。

我明白过去这些年对我们来说绝不容易。我想你们可以说1991年4月的一个早晨切切实实地让我们的人生轨迹发生了巨变。你们那天害怕吗？当听到医生说我活不过两岁半时你们是什么感觉？或者，当得知我患了某种罕见的遗传性疾病，而当时又无人真正了解这种病时，你们又是什么心情？我甚至无法开始去想象这件事带给你们的痛苦有多深。你们不得不去经历这些，我真的很抱歉。但你们看，现在事情变得多么美好，就像一个奇迹。尽管我人生之路的最初是那么痛苦和不可预知，但我不会让疾病主宰我的命运。

我都记不清我们的生活经历过多少次考验了，但是从没有哪种难关是我们闯不过去的。这就是我们共享的亲情之美所在。我们一直是一个团队，永远都是；我们曾克服了生活丢给我们的每一个困难，并肩作战。因为这些，我必须说一声谢谢你们。谢谢你们一直在黑暗中做我的指路明灯。谢谢你们在我质疑自己是否有能力击退一场又一场苦难和疾病时，拥着我度过每一个流泪而徘徊的时刻。谢谢你们做了你们能做的一切，给予我太多太多，远超我所应得。谢谢你们让我拥有尽可能最充实的人生。

请相信我说的这句话——如果不是你们无条件地给予我永恒的爱和支持，我将不会走到今天。我在过去23年里取得的成功完全归功于你们的努力——是你们一直赋予我展翅翱翔的勇气和动力。你们教我追求梦想要无所畏惧。在我脆弱的时候，你们赋予我力量。你们总是无私地将我的需求置于你们自己的需求之前，是你们让我取得如此大的进步，不断茁壮成长。尽管我们在人生道路上遇到了太多的困难，但是我们拥有彼此，我这辈子别无所求。

爸爸妈妈，在这一天即将结束，我迷迷糊糊入睡之际，我想我的生命中能拥有你们，我简直幸运得不可思议。每一天，我都感谢上帝赐予我的福分。我感谢他赐予我一个兄弟，赐予我健康，更重要的是，赐予我你们两个。我知道事情看上去可能并不是一直如此，尤其是当我陷入那些可怕的坏情绪中时。那只是因为有时候我让身体中的恶魔占了上风，变得倾向于自我封闭。就像我以前说过的，我还没有真正找到管理自己情绪的有效方法。但对于我曾一次次对你们发泄怒火和挫败情绪的行为，我负有全部的责任。所以，请你们原谅我。我想我这么做时一定不会令人开心，但请答应我，你们会永远记得我本意是好的。因为我爱你们。而且，我希望我在这封信里对你们说的话能够真切地表达出我的本意。

永远爱你们，

你们的宝贝女儿 200383.png

1. go off at a tangent： 突然偏离正题。tangent [?t?nd??nt] n. 突兀的转向；离题

2. grievous [?ɡri?v?s] adj. 使人痛苦的；令人悲伤的

3. be about to： 将要做某事

4. throw a curve ball at sb.： 给某人设置困难（或障碍）让某人惊讶

5. solely [?s??lli] adv. 只；仅仅；完全

6. thrive [θra?v] vi. 欣欣向荣；茁壮成长；兴旺发达

7. have ones fair share of （sth.）： 遭遇许多（或过多）坏事情

8. drift off to sleep： 迷迷糊糊地睡去；逐渐入睡

9. get the best of sb.： 打败某人

10. shut down： 关闭，停止运作

11. accountability [??ka?nt??b?l?ti] n. （对某事）负有责任；能做出解释

p50-51.psd

2016-10%e6%9c%88%e5%b0%81%e9%9d%a2%e9%9f%b3%e9%a2%91%e4%ba%8c%e7%bb%b4%e7%a0%81.jpg

扫码听音频

The corner of 71st Street and Prospect is my corner. Most folks look at it and find theres nothing there， just an empty lot. But theyre not looking hard enough. My corner is like a wide-open treasure box.

My name is Tia. I live on the third floor of the apartment building next-door. Some days when my sisters and brothers are chasing each other and yelling， and I feel like the walls of our apartment are about to burst， I run down to my corner. My sneakers pound1） the pavement， and then take me on a flying leap into a sea of green. I wade2） through the tall grass. Butterflies gather at my feet. Im careful not to step on the flowers that grow here. Theyre beautiful， even though theyre probably just weeds. The grass smells clean and fresh. The sun warms my skin， and I wonder why Im the only one whos thankful for this place.

Some folks dont respect this corner. Ive seen them throw trash from their car windows as they speed down 71st. There is junk here too： old chairs， a broken bicycle wheel， someones rusty mailbox ...

One evening， Mama says， "Tia， the city wants to pave over3） that corner of yours， turn it into a parking lot." I stop in my tracks4）. "Not my corner， Mama！ They cant do that！" "They can and they will，" says Mama， "unless somebody comes up with a better idea." "It just needs some cleaning up， thats all. How come they cant see that？" I run to my room and slam5） the door. Out my window I can see my corner. Mama knocks softly at the door and steps in.

"Tia， you see something in that corner that most folks dont. You have to make them see what you see. Make some noise about6） it. No one ever got anyplace by sitting back7） and staying quiet."

That night， I lie awake for a long time. Im thinking about what Mama said to me. In my heart， I know shes right. Ive got to do something.

Early the next morning I drag a chair down to the corner. On a big scrap of cardboard Ive painted "No Parking Lot！ Save Our Nature！" in large letters. I sit down and wait. Most people pass by and dont pay any attention to me. A few people ask me what Im doing， and I tell them.

Across the street， Mrs. DiRisio steps out of her beauty shop. Shes angry， I can tell. She marches across 71st without even looking， sending cars screeching8） to a stop. Her eyes are fixed on me. "What is this？" Mrs. DiRisio asks， waving her hand at my sign. My heart is racing. "My customers need a place to park，" she says. "You go home， little girl." She glares9） at me. I swallow10） hard. I feel my sign drop to the ground. I dont stand a chance against angry Mrs. DiRisio.

Then I see Mama and my brothers and sisters coming down the street. Theyre carrying chairs and theyve painted signs. Theyre here to help me！ "Thank you，" I say. Six people are going to get a lot more attention than just one.

The afternoon sun is hot and as I fan myself， I look down the street and notice a woman taking pictures of my corner. She smiles and walks over to me.

"Im Sara Bennett. Can I talk to you？" I look to Mama， but she nods her head in my direction. Im the one who needs to make some noise. I start talking， and Ms. Bennett scribbles11） on a small notepad. "A walking path would be nice，" I say， "and maybe a vegetable garden. And a bench， so people could sit down and listen to the birds singing." Im surprised at myself， at how many ideas Ive got for this corner.

When were done， Ms. Bennett takes a few more pictures and thanks me for my time. I cant believe it！ A real newspaper story about my corner！ Mama hugs me and says， "Im real proud of you， Tia. Youre making things happen. I have a feeling tomorrows going be a big day."

Mama was right. My brothers burst12） into my room the next morning， waving a copy of the morning paper. "Fighting for Nature on the Corner of 71st and Prospect" was the title of the article， and along with it was a picture of me！ We were all jumping up and down and shouting when Mama said， "Hey， dont be throwing a party just yet. Youve got a corner to save."

After breakfast we drag our chairs and signs back to the corner. Im just settling in for a long day when all of a sudden I see my friend Tanya and her family coming down the street. Theyve got chairs and theyre joining us！ "That was quite an article in the paper， Tia，" says Tanyas father. "Youve got some good ideas for this corner." Then Mr. and Mrs. Choi from the second floor show up. "Tia， I think youre right. We need a little nature around here，" Mrs. Choi says.

This isnt just my corner anymore. This is our corner.

A week later weve got people all up and down 71st Street and Prospect waving signs and making noise. Im asked to speak to a group of people from the city. Mama says theyre the ones who will vote on what to do with our corner. My hands start shaking when I spot Mrs. DiRisio in the audience， but I keep my eyes on Mama and I speak in my loudest voice， just like she told me to. "If this is the last little bit of nature in our neighborhood，" I say， "doesnt it make sense to try and save it？" At the end of my speech， everyone applauds and Sara Bennett gives me a big smile. I think secretly shes on our side.

...

Im almost asleep that night when the phone rings. When Mama hangs up the phone， she lets out a whoop13） that probably wakes the entire building！ "You did it， Tia！ The city voted against the parking lot！ You got your nature preserve14）！" Mama hugs me so hard that she lifts me off the ground. Its a night Ill never forget as long as I live.

A year later， the sign on the corner makes it official. Now weve got a walking path that curves and winds its way through the 71st Street Nature Preserve. Weve got a stone bench and plans for a vegetable garden. School groups come here to collect leaves and study the insects and birds. Folks come here to walk， run or just sit. My corner isnt just mine anymore， but Im more than happy to share it.