一支黑色蜡笔

文/Allison Bizal（美） 译/张佳艺

我在宁夏银川一所特别的高中任教。站在学校顶楼，可见蓝天和贺兰山相映相衬，美景尽收眼底。论起这所学校的特别之处，当数每年来这里学习、生活的学生。他们来自省内各地，大多出自贫困的农庄。对其而言，在这所学校学习是他们为自己和家人开启新生活的难得机会。

I teach at a very special High School in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. From the top fl oor of the campus, you can see the Helan Mountains under a clear blue sky. The school is made special because of the students who come here every year to live and study. They come from every corner of the Province, mostly from small and often poor farming villages. Studying at this school is an amazing opportunity for them. It's their chance to begin a new life for themselves and their families.

当然，他们必须把握这个机会：必须努力学习，必须按时完成作业，必须遵循严格的课表。他们每个月都要进行月考，为高考冲刺而厉兵秣马。或许最艰难的事在于他们第一次背井离乡吧。诸此种种都会加重生活压力，至少在外国人眼中是这样的。

Of course, they must earn this chance. They must study hard. They must complete homework on time, and cope with a rigorous class schedule. And they practice for the gaokao every month thanks to exams. Perhaps the toughest thing of all is that they are away from their families and homes for the fi rst time. All this leads to a very stressful life, at least to a foreigner's eyes.

尽管日程安排很紧张，但这些出色的学生大都能保持着积极的心态。他们孜孜不倦，虽少有空暇，但待人热情，让人如沐春风。他们也许疲惫不堪，但仍积极参与课堂。肩负重担，却乐在其中。最重要的是，他们诚心实意，这让我深受触动。但教学也并非一帆风顺，难就难在学生常常害羞。

Despite their hectic schedule, most of these amazing students maintain a very positive attitude. They must work hard and have little free time, but they are warm and welcoming. They might be tired, but they stay eager to participate in class. They carry huge responsibilities on their shoulders, but are always ready to have fun. Most of all, I am impressed by their honesty. One thing makes teaching these students a little dif fi cult - they are usually very shy!

不过这倒是无可非议。大多数学生可能只在荧屏中看到过外国人，而这些电视电影节目并不能精细地勾勒出外国人的样貌。换位试想下，一个外国人走进你的教室首次教学的场景。所以，赢得学生信任在工作中至关重要。很多方法都可以做到这一点，但有些效果明显，有些效果甚微。

This is perfectly understandable, of course. Chances are, most of the students have only seen foreigners in movies or television shows,which don't always portray people well. Imagine having a foreigner come into your classroom and start teaching for the fi rst time! So of course, earning the student's trust is an important part of the job.There are many ways to do this. Some are very obvious, and other methods less so.

建立信任的最好办法是创造让学生用英语阐释中国文化的机会。这是挑战，却值得一试。

My favorite way to build trust is by developing opportunities to allow the students to express things about Chinese culture while using English. It can be challenge, but one that is well worth the trouble.

其中一个最好的例子是在被我简称为“旗帜”的课上发现的。这是我教的第一堂课，学生似乎很喜欢。课上，我们一起欣赏了世界上其他国家的国旗，探索每面国旗是如何通过颜色、形状和符号来讲述本国故事的。例如，尼泊尔的国旗以其独特的三角形讲述了喜马拉雅山的故事。

One of the best examples of this is found in a lesson I've simply titled “Flags.” It is one of the fi rst lessons I teach and the students really seem to enjoy it. During the lesson, we look at flags from countries around the world. We explore how each fl ag uses colors,shapes, and symbols to tell the story of its country. For example, the flag of Nepal tells the story of the Himalayan mountains with its unique triangular shape.

下课前，我请学生设计一面代表宁夏的旗帜，让他们以一种独特的方式自己编排故事。学生积极“应战”，作品让人叹为观止：湛蓝的天空，赤红的枸杞。他们沿着中国国旗上的五颗星星绘制了宁夏五宝。汉语、阿拉伯语和英语的单词和口号相衬得毫不违和。这些旗帜真实地讲述了宁夏故事，呈现出宁夏辉煌绝伦的历史、文化和多样性。

For the final of this lesson, I ask the students to design a flag for Ningxia. This allows them to tell their stories in a unique way. The students really do rise to the challenge and create amazing flags.You can see the blue of the sky and the red of goji berries. They show off Ningxia's Five Treasures alongside the five stars of the People's Republic of China's flag. Words and slogans written in Chinese, Arabic, and English come together in harmony. The fl ags truly do tell the story of Ningxia and re fl ect the incredible history,diversity, and culture of the province.

大多数的普通教室都不配备美术用品，所以我自己带了一些给学生使用。我有一大包记号笔、彩色铅笔和蜡笔。那盒蜡笔最为特别，是几年前一位老师从美国带来的。学生们兴奋不已，在设计旗帜时很好地利用了这些物资。

Most regular classrooms are not equipped with art supplies, so I bring my own for the students to use. I have a big bag of markers,colored pencils, and crayons. One box of crayons is special, it was brought from America years ago by a previous teacher. The students are very excited and use the supplies well while designing their fl ags.

我在那一周向800多名学生讲授课程。因此，这些美术用品难免有丢失或损坏现象。可能是记号笔丢了笔盖，可能是蜡笔断成两截，也有极少的物件完全失踪。

I teach this lesson to over 800 students during the week. So,inevitably, a few of the art supplies go missing or are damaged.Maybe a marker loses its cap, or a crayon breaks in half. Very rarely,and item disappears entirely.

有一天，丢失情况比以往严重。美国进口的那盒蜡笔中，黑色的一支失踪了。我猜想可能是从桌子上掉下去了，也可能是被误装进铅笔盒中了，或者是掉进敞口的背包里了。即使我翻找过了背包、钱包和其他物件，仍然足有一百万种原因可以解释它的失踪。

On day, a loss hit me a little harder than usual. The black crayon from my special box of crayons from America went missing. I imagined that it had fallen off a desk, disappeared into a pencil case, or found its way into an open backpack. About a million different things could have explained why it was gone, even after searching my bag, purse, and other items.

接下来的一周开了新课，我的学生继续互相了解。我已经忘记了遗失黑色蜡笔的事。然而在一天的课程结束后，我竟然在钱包中找到了那支蜡笔，当时我格外惊讶。这是一个全新的钱包，所以蜡笔是不可能在过了一个周末后仍然藏在那里的。

The next week lead to a new lesson. My students continued to learn about each other. I'd forgotten about the missing black crayon. You can imagine my surprise then, when I found the crayon in my purse after a day of classes. It was a brand new purse, so it would have been impossible the crayon had hidden there over the weekend.

找到蜡笔似乎是件小事，但对我来说却意义重大。我的一位学生找到了遗失的蜡笔，念念不忘，把它交还给我。其实他大可不必归还的，我根本记不起是在何时何地遗失的。可这名学生找到蜡笔后，保管了一个星期，然后以一种简单又低调的方式将其归还。

Finding that crayon seems like a very small thing, but it means a lot to me. One of my students, having found the missing crayon, cared enough to return it to me. They didn't have to return it. I had no idea where or when during the day it had gotten lost. The student had found the crayon, kept it safe for a week, then returned it in a simple and unassuming way.

这些学生很特别，但这件小事让我尤为触动。我学校里的这些学生善良诚实，未来会是一片坦途。在中国期间，我的经历颇丰，但黑色蜡笔的故事始终是我最愿意与人分享的。

I knew the students were special, but this simple incident hit things home for me. The students at my school have bright and promising futures, but for now they are kind and honest children. I have had much grander experiences during my time in China, but the story of the Black Crayon is my favorite to tell.