金玉良言三冬暖

张文怡

良言一句三冬暖，恶语伤人六月寒。偶然的一次店员体验，让她明白，不经意间的言语鼓励对一个人的影响是很大的。

The sun was practically setting when my cell phone buzzed. It was my friend Faye， who ran one of my favorite local clothing shops. “Roberta，” she said， “I was hoping you could help me out this Saturday. Ed and I have a chance to take a weekend trip. You were the first person who came to my mind.”

How could I say no？ Faye had done so much for me. When I lost weight a few years ago， she built me a new wardrobe practically and helped me sell my old clothes for extra cash. “Sure， Id love to，” I said. I stopped by the store on Friday so Faye could teach me the ropes （诀窍）. “Its really just learning how to work the cash register and credit card machine， and what to do if someone writes a check. Its easy，” she assured me. It certainly sounded like it as I wrote down stepbystep notes just in case.

Saturday morning I was adjusting some of the angel figurines that lined the narrow window when the door opened. A man entered with a Starbucks cup. “What do you think of this one？” his wife asked him. “I saw this same outfit at the mall last week.” “Of course Faye would have it too，” one of the other customers said. It seemed the whole crowd were Saturday morning regulars. I felt a bit nervous. “Fayes not here today，” I said. “And I cant seem to get it together.” I searched for my notes. “Ive got all the instructions down here...”

An awkward silence followed， broken by one of the customers. “This is Roberta，” she said， like I was a special treat. “Faye told me shed be here today.” The man with the coffee appeared at my side. “Just read over your notes，” he said. “And take a deep breath. Theres no rush here. Ill be right back.” Then he went out. The ladies went on with their shopping. I studied my instructions again. Bing！ The door popped open as promised. I tried it again. Bing！ Its the power of a few kind words. By the time the man came back， I was ringing up sales like a pro. I helped a teenager choose something to wear to her schools band dinner and an old lady find a stylish jacket for a friends memorial.

When I locked the door at four oclock I caught sight of those angel figurines in the window. “Well done，” I said to them. I got into my car， feeling accomplished. Practice and a few kind words made me a better clerk.

Reading Check

1. Why did Faye call the author？

A. She wanted to turn to the author for help.

B. She wanted to plan for a trip with the author.

C. She wanted to introduce the author to her customers.

D. She wanted to instruct the author to work the cash register.

2. Why did the author go to the store on Friday？

A. To buy some ropes in the store.

B. To learn some practical skills as a store clerk.

C. To adjust some of the angel figurines in the store.

D. To know more about the stores regular customers.

3. How did the author feel after a days work as a clerk？

A. Confused. B. Embarrassed.

C. Satisfied. D. Energetic.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

Saturday morning I was adjusting some of the angel figurines that lined the narrow window when the door opened. 星期六早上，我正在整理狹窄窗户上的天使雕像，这时店门开了。

【信息提取】“过去进行时+when+一般过去时”意为“正在做某事，这时突然……”。

【句式仿写】电话铃响的时候，他正在看报纸。