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In sixth grade I had a nerdy , homely teacher for first period - Mr. Pennington. He wore diapers. Naturally, as 13-year-olds do, we made fun of him. Sadly, I participated. Most people whispered and giggled and some did so blatantly to ensure he could hear. He never flinched . 六年级的第一学期，我有一位老师，他是个书呆子，长相也很平庸——他就是彭宁顿先生。他还用纸尿裤。我们像所有13岁的孩子那样，自然会拿他寻开心。遗憾的是，我也是其中一员。大多数同学窃窃私语，发出咯咯的笑声，还有些同学则毫不掩饰，故意让他听见。但他却从未回避过。 One early morning the class had pushed all of the desks to the perimeter of the room and everyone sat on the floor drawing, cutting, coloring, and gluing decorations for one holiday or another. We all chatted and laughed loudly while Mr. Pennington stood precariously on a desk - one foot on the seat and the other on the table portion of the same desk - stapling our designs along the corkboard border above the chalk boards in the back of the class. 一天清晨，全班同学把所有课桌都推到教室的四周，然后坐在教室中间腾出的空地上为庆祝某个节日画画、剪纸、上色，再用胶水把装饰品粘好。就在我们大声谈笑的时候，彭宁顿先生正颤颤巍巍地站在一张课桌上——一只脚踩在座椅上，另一只脚踩在桌面上，把我们设计的那些装饰品沿着教室后面黑板上方的软木公告板的边框固定住。 I was sitting with a group of girls very near to, but with my back to Mr. Pennington when someone whispered, 'Wouldn't it be funny if he fell?' I turned my head and looked up at our teacher thinking, 'No, not really.' But wanting to fit in, I just snickered and nodded. 我和一些女生就坐在离彭宁顿先生非常近的地方，我背对着他。这时有人低声说：“要是他从课桌上摔下来，那不是很有趣？”我转过头去，抬头看了看老师，心想：“不，这没什么有趣的。”不过，为了让自己显得合群些，我便暗笑着点了点头。 As soon as I'd turned to look at the cheesy artwork in front of me, there was a crash and loud thud right behind me. I jumped to my feet and spun around all at once. Whether the action was out of sudden fear from the noise or from sensing what had just occurred and knowing something needed to be done, I can't really say. 就在我扭回头来想要看看自己面前的那件糟糕的手工艺品时，突然传来“砰”的一声巨响，有什么东西正好倒在了我身后。我一下子跳了起来，立刻转过身去。我也说不清楚自己的反应究竟是因为被突如其来的声音吓到了，还是因为察觉到出事儿了，我心里觉得必须做点儿什么。 As everyone stared and mumbled 'Oh, shit' under their breath , I scanned the room to see who was sitting closest to the intercom button by the door. All at once the girls shrieked and I turned back to look at Mr.Pennington convulsing violently on the ground. 在大家睁大眼睛盯着彭宁顿先生，低声咕哝着“额，该死”的时候，我向教室里扫视了一圈，看看谁离教室门口的内部通话系统的按钮最近。这时，女生们突然尖叫起来，我转过头去，看到彭宁顿先生躺在地上剧烈地抽搐着。 Cedric! Page the office, run next door, and get Mrs. Johnson! I shouted. He didn't hesitate. “塞德里克！呼叫办公室，然后到隔壁叫约翰逊夫人过来！”我大声喊道。他立刻照做了。 I don't know why, instinct or watching too much ER with my grandparents, but I told everyone to scoot back. Mrs. Johnson came running in and that's when I realized the main office was talking over the intercom. I hadn't heard it. I was too busy staring in shock at Mr. Pennington - now lying on the floor motionless. Was he alive? 我不知道我为什么会这么做，是出于本能还是和祖父母一起看了太多《急诊室的故事》，但我让大家都迅速退开。直到约翰逊夫人跑进教室的时候，我才意识到主办公室正在通过内部通话系统喊话，而我刚刚却没听见，只是一直惊恐地盯着彭宁顿先生——他此刻躺在地上，一动不动。他还活着吗？ Mrs. Johnson barked into the air 'Call an ambulance!' Another teacher, Mr. Carson came into the room and ushered us next door. 约翰逊夫人厉声叫道：“快叫救护车！”另一位老师卡森先生走进教室，把我们领到了隔壁的教室。 After being stabilized, Mr. Pennington had refused to go to the hospital until he spoke with me. He thanked me. 'For what?' I thought. He confided in me that he had epilepsy . It dawned on me that this was the reason he wore diapers. I felt sorry that I'd ever poked fun at him. 彭宁顿先生身体状况稳定些后，坚持要和我说上几句话才肯去医院。他向我表达了谢意。“为什么要谢我呢？”我心想。他还向我透露了一个秘密：他患有癫痫症(编注：癫痫症患者发病时易大小便失禁)。我这才突然明白，原来这就是他穿纸尿裤的原因。我为自己曾经取笑他的行为感到很羞愧。 I never found out how he knew the events that took place after he fell;whether he was still cognizant or if someone told him, but he knew and was grateful. 我一直都没想明白他是如何得知自己摔倒后所发生的一切的，不管是因为他当时尚有意识还是有人告诉了他，但他知道了，并且心怀感激。 |
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