張倩

I was about 12 years old when my neighbor asked me to help her out. She was an elderly woman， too frail1） and sick to be living on her own. I agreed， but was not exactly excited， considering that I have a hard time being around new people for long periods of time.

On my first day， I was nervous and awkward； I didnt know where to start. I even stuttered2） when I greeted her. She welcomed me with a warm hug and directed me to the living room， not seeming to notice how nervous I was. We made idle3） chat for a little bit about the weather and school.

Eventually she had me begin cleaning. I scrubbed4） walls， dusted shelves， vacuumed5） stairs. When I was in the same room with her she talked to me about her younger days， and it was nice. I learned interesting things about the 1930s， and it was really neat6） to hear them from someone directly， rather than a history book or website.

When I was finished I was tired， and my body felt painful. My hands were scrubbed raw and I had managed to stub7） my toe while moving a couch. Still during those three hours I learned an important trait8）： patience. I learned to focus on what I was doing， and to go slow rather than rush it.

Her house sparkled and I felt so proud. She offered me money， and even though she insisted， I didnt take it. Instead I pulled her into a warm embrace， like she had with me， and thanked her.

Im 15 now and were the best of friends. Shes almost like another grandmother to me， and Im glad to have her in my life.

鄰居找我幫忙時，我大概12歲。她是一位上了年紀的女士，體弱多病，生活難以自理。我答應了，但是考慮到我很難長時間與剛認識的人相處，我并不是太高興。

頭一天去她家時，我感到局促不安，不知從哪開始，甚至連問候她時都結結巴巴的。而她用溫暖的擁抱向我表示歡迎，并將我領進客廳，似乎并未注意到我有多么緊張。我們閑聊了一會兒天氣、學校之類的。

終于，她讓我開始打掃衛生了。我擦了墻壁，除掉了書架上的灰塵，用真空吸塵器清理了樓梯。當我打掃到她所在的房間時，她就跟我講起她自己年輕時的事情。那感覺很好。我了解了20世紀30年代的一些趣聞。直接從一個人嘴里聽到而非從歷史書上或者網頁上看到這些趣聞，這種感覺真的很爽。

打掃完屋子，我全身酸痛，覺得很累。我的雙手磨得生疼，搬動沙發時我還弄得踢到了腳趾。盡管如此，我卻從那三小時中收獲了一個重要品質：耐心。我學會了專注眼前事，學會了放慢節奏，而不是急于求成。

看著她的房間煥然一新，我內心無比自豪。她主動付我工錢，盡管她再三堅持，我還是沒有接受。相反，我給了她一個溫暖的擁抱，就像她擁抱我那樣，并向她道謝。

現在我15歲了，我們成了至交好友。對我來說，她幾乎就像我的另一個奶奶。有她在我的生命中，我很開心。

1. frail [fre?l] adj. 虛弱的；體弱的

2. stutter [?st?t?（r）] vi. 口吃；結結巴巴地說話

3. idle [?a?dl] adj. 瑣碎無聊的；毫無意義的

4. scrub [skr?b] vt. 擦掉（灰塵、污漬）

5. vacuum [?v?kju?m] vt. 用真空吸塵器打掃

6. neat [ni?t] adj. 很好的；很棒的

7. stub [st?b] vt. 使腳趾碰傷

8. trait [tre?t] n. （個人的）特征；特性；品質