“阳光市长”

2022-11-29CathyFree

疯狂英语·新悦读 2022年11期

Cathy Free

如果天气允许的话，艾尔每天早上4：30起床，开车行驶10余公里到海滨，在那里待2个小时。

主题语境：人与社会篇幅：331词建议用时：6分钟

1Almost eight years ago, Al Nixon decided to begin each day from a bench with a wonderful view of the St. Pe⁃tersburg, Florida waterfront (海滨).“I call it‘life rising’,because watching a sunrise makes me feel centered before starting my day,”said Nixon,who works for the city's water department.

2A year later, a woman stopped to say hello, and she said something that changed his view on his daily ritual.“She said,‘You know, every morning when I see you sit⁃ting here,I know that everything is going to be OK,’”Nixon recalled.“That's when I knew I needed to pay attention to the people walking past.I needed to make eye contact and let people know that we mattered to each other.”

3Instead of staring (凝视) straight ahead at the waterfront, Nixon started smiling at people and making conversations. And pretty soon, more than a few early risers began joining him on the bench, sometimes unburdening themselves and sometimes asking him for advice about relationships,careers,and other personal problems.

4“I was happy to listen,”Nixon said.“I wanted them to walk away knowing they didn't have to feel alone.”So, every morning, weather permitting, Nixon, who has two sons, rises at 4：30 am and drives seven miles to the waterfront, where he'll stay for two hours. His openness to listen has led some to nickname him“the Sunshine Mayor”. No matter what problem a person wants to air, Nixon lends an ear.“Every person who stops by the bench deserves my attention,”Nixon said.

5Some people sit down and don't want to talk at all. They simply want to sit next to someone and share the silence.“A woman stopped once and said,‘I just want to sit here with you,’”Nixon recalled.“We stared at the water for an hour, and then she said thank you and walked away. She just wanted a moment of peace and to know she wasn't alone.

And in that moment,she truly wasn't.”