善舉 / An Act of Kindness

President Abraham Lincoln often visited hospitals to talk with wounded soldiers during the Civil War. Once, doctors pointed out a young soldier who was near death and Lincoln went over to his bedside.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked the President.

The soldier obviously didn’t recognize Lincoln, and with some effort he was able to whisper, “Would you please write a letter to my mother?”

A pen and paper were provided and the President carefully began writing down what the young man was able to say:

“My dearest mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty. I’m afraid I’m not going to recover. Don’t grieve too much for me, please. Kiss Mary and John for me. May God bless you and father.”

The soldier was too weak to continue, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and added, “Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln.”

The young man asked to see the note and was astonished when he discovered who had written it. “Are you really the President?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Lincoln replied quietly. Then he asked if there was anything else he could do.

“Would you please hold my hand?” the soldier asked. “It will help to see me through to the end.”

In the hushed room, the tall gaunt President took the boy’s hand in his and spoke warm words of encouragement until death came.

【日積月累】

grieve vi.(for, over)感到悲痛

She is still grieving over her father’s sudden death. 她還在為她父親的突然故去而悲痛。

hushed adj.寂靜的；低聲的

She stood up to address a hushed courtroom. 她站起來給寂靜的法庭作證。

They talked in hushed tones. 他們低聲交談。

gaunt adj.憔悴的，瘦削的

There we found his mother, her face gaunt from overwork and worry. 在那兒我們找到了她的母親，她的由于過度勞累和擔憂而面容憔悴。

【參考譯文】

善舉

在內戰期間，亞伯拉罕·林肯總統經常去醫院與受傷的士兵交談。有一次，醫生告訴總統，有一名年輕的士兵快死了，于是，林肯來到他的床邊。

“需要幫忙嗎？”總統問。

很顯然，士兵沒有認出是林肯總統，費了不少勁才開口小聲說話，“能替我寫封信嗎？給我媽媽。”

準備了紙和筆，總統開始認認真真地寫下年輕人說的話：

“親愛的母親，我在執行任務的時候受傷了。傷勢很嚴重，恐怕無法康復。請不要太為我悲傷，替我輕吻Mary和John。愿上帝保佑父親和您。

士兵身體太虛弱，沒法繼續說下去，于是林肯給信署了名，并在后面加上一句，“亞伯拉罕·林肯代寫”。

年輕人想看看信，當發現是誰為他寫的時候，他驚呆了。“您真的是總統？”他問。

“是的，我是。”林肯靜靜地回答道。然后，他問還可以幫上什么忙。

“請您握著我的手，好嗎？”士兵問道。“幫助我走完最后的路程。”

在這個寂靜的房間里，高高瘦瘦的總統握著這個男孩的手，說著鼓勵的話，直到死亡的到來。

【人生啟迪】

鮮花雖美卻沒有關愛純潔，彩虹雖美卻沒有關愛多彩，星星雖美卻沒有關愛閃亮。人世間需要真情關愛，有時候只你舍得將你小小的善舉奉獻出來，你會發現這世間原來是那樣的美好可愛！