The power of a few kind words

良言一句三冬暖，惡語傷人六月寒。偶然的一次店員體驗，讓她明白，不經意間的言語鼓勵對一個人的影響是很大的。

題材 體裁 篇幅 建議用時生活 記敘文445詞 8分鐘

難詞探意

1.buzz/b?z/v.發出嗡嗡聲

2.figurine/?f?ɡj??ri?n/n.小雕像；小塑像

3.pro/pr??/n.老手；行家

The sun was practically setting when my cell phonebuzzed.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,I'd love to,”I said.I stopped by the store on Friday so Faye could teach me the ropes (訣竅).“It's really just learning how to work the cash register and credit card machine,and what to do if someone writes a check.It's easy,”she assured me.It certainly sounded like it as I wrote down step-by-step 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. “Faye's not here today,”I said. “And I can't seem to get it together.”I searched for my notes.“I've 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 she'd be here today.”The man with the coffee appeared at my side.“Just read over your notes,”he said. “And take a deep breath.There's no rush here.I'll 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! It's 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 school's band dinner and an old lady find a stylish jacket for a friend's memorial.

When I locked the door at four o'clock 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 store's regular customers.

3.How did the author feel after a day's 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，我正在整理狹窄窗戶上的天使雕像，這時店門開了。

【信息提取】“過去進行時+when+一般過去時”意為“正在做某事，這時突然……”。

【句式仿寫】電話鈴響的時候，他正在看報紙。