Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One
time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pickup at a building that was except
for a single light in a ground floor window. I walked to the door and knocked.
A small woman in her 80’s opened the door. I took her suitcase to the cab then returned to her into the cab. She thanked me for my kindness. When we got in the
taxi, she gave me a(n) , then asked,
“Could you drive through downtown ?”
“It’s not the way,”
I answered.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on
my way to a hospice (临终关怀医院).”
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were
glistening.
“The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and the
meter (计程器). “What would
you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She
showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We
drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived. Sometimes
she’d ask me to in front of a
particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying
nothing.
As the sun was ,
she suddenly said: “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in to
the address she had given me. There were people waiting for her and they put
her in a wheelchair.
“How much do I have to pay you?” she asked, reaching
into her purse.
“Nothing,” I said.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
She held onto me tightly.
“You gave an old woman a little moment of ,”
she said.
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning
light. Behind me, a door shut.
I didn’t any
more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. We tend to
think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often 47
us unconsciously.
1.A. ancient B.
dark C.
dirty D.
remote
2.A. invite B.
watch C.
help D.
receive
3.A. address B.
letter C.
speech D.
present
4.A. wrong B.
funniest C.
safest D.
shortest
5.A. cut out B.
showed off C.
switched off D. turned on
6.A. direction B.
order C.
role D.
route
7.A. break down B.
get off C.
speed up D.
slow down
8.A. changing B.
moving C.
rising D.
Setting
9.A. darkness B.
noise C.
silence D.
sadness
10.A. joy B.
interest C.
trouble D.
surprise
11.A. talk with B.
call up C.
pick up D.
take away
12.A. catch B.
drive C.
improve D.
puzzle