Can You Help Others

林锋

在人生的旅程中，每个人的生活都离不开别人的帮助，因为自然界的任何事物都是一个普遍联系的整体，没有谁能够脱离周围的事物而孤立地存在。但在接受别人帮助的同时，我们也要学会去帮助他人，不因善小而不为。

It was a cold evening. An old man had been standing by the river for hours. His beard（胡须）was frozen while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. Anxiously， he watched as several horsemen came around the corner.

He let the first one pass by without trying to get his attention. Then another passed by， and another. Finally， the last rider came near. As this one drew near， the old man said， “Sir， would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side？”

The rider replied， “Sure thing. Get on.” The horseman took the old man not just across the river， but to his home， which was a few miles away.

As they neared the man’s village， the horseman asked， “Sir， I noticed that you let several other riders pass by without trying to ask for a ride. Then I came up and you asked me for a ride at once. Why？ What if I had refused and left you there？”

The old man replied， “I know people pretty well. I looked into the eyes of the other riders and saw that they didn’t care about me. It would have been useless to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes， your kindness and compassion（憐悯） were clear. I knew that you would help me.”

These heartwarming comments（暖心的话） touched the horseman. “I’m so thankful for what you said，” he told the old man.

“I hope I never get too busy to help others.” With that， Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.

Choose the answer：

1. What was the situation like for the old man in Paragraph 1？

A. He was cold and alone in the dark.            B. He had been refused several times.

C. He couldn’t wait for help any longer.        D. He planned to swim across the river.

2. Why didn’t the old man ask the first few horsemen for help？

A. Because he was nearly frozen to death.

B. Because he was too anxious to speak.

C. Because they rode too fast to notice him.

D. Because he didn’t think they would help.

Keys： AD