Flowers on the bus 巴士上的鮮花

袁丹純

從沉默到交流，從冷漠到熱情，老人用他的善舉打開了乘客們封閉的心靈，讓人們感受到一路同行的美好。

1 33 years ago， we took the bus every day that summer. During the early morning ride from the suburb， we sat sleepily with our collars up to our ears， usually cheerless and word-less.

2 One of the passengers was a small grey man. He walked with a stoop （駝背） and a sad look on his face when he， with some difficulty， boarded the bus and sat down alone be - hind the driver. No one ever paid much attention to him.

3Then one July morning， he said good morning to the driver and smiled before he sat down. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent. The next day， the old man boarded the bus energetically， smiled and said in a loud voice，“A very good morning to you all！”Some of us looked up， amazed， and murmured“Good morning！”in reply.

4The following weeks he said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.

5 One morning， he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked，“Have you got yourself a girlfriend， Charlie？”He nodded shyly and said yes. The other passengers whistled and clapped for him.

6 Every morning after that， Charlie always brought a bunch of flowers. Some of the regularpassengersbeganbringinghimflowersforhisbouquet. Everyonesmiled.We started to talk to each other and share the newspaper.

7The summer went by， and autumn was closing in. One morning， Charlie wasn，t wait-ing at his usual stop. When he wasn ， t there the next day and the day after that， we started wondering if he was sick， or hopefully， on holiday somewhere. One day， when we came nearer to the centre for senior citizens， one of the passengers asked the driver to wait. Yes， the staff said， they knew who we were waiting for. The gentleman was fine， butone of his very close friends had died at the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work！

8The next Monday， Charlie was waiting at the stop. He seemed to have shrunk again. Inside the bus was a silence. Even though no one had talked about it， all of us sat with our eyesfilled with tears and a bunch of wildflowers in our hands.

1. Which word can be used to describe the atmosphere on the bus accord - ing to paragraph 1？

A. Calm. B. Relaxing. C. Delightful. D. Silent.

2. How did the old man change the atmosphere on the bus？

A. By talking with the driver and his neighbor.

B. By sharing his story with the passengers.

C. By greeting the passengers and bringing flowers.

D. By encouraging the passengers to share newspapers.

3. What could be the passengers， reaction to the old man，s absence？

A. Feeling lost and looking forward to his return.

B. Inquiring about his health and recent condition.

C. Leaving the seat he previously took unoccupied.

D. Taking the bus and talking to each other as usual.

4. What does the last paragraph imply？

A. The old man remained positive despite his friend，s death.

B. The passengers would no longer open their hearts to each other.

C. The passengers were able to deeply relate to the old man，s suffering.

D. The old man would spend a long period recovering from his sorrow.

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences in the text

1. When he wasn，t there the next day and the day after that， we started wondering if he was sick， or hopefully， on holiday somewhere. 當他第二天和第三天都沒來時，我們開始 懷疑他是不是生病了，或者希望他是去什么地方度假了。

【點石成金】本句中，when 引導的是一個時間狀語從句，we started wondering 為主 句，后面 if 引導的是一個賓語從句。

2. Even though no one had talked about it， all of us sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands. 盡管沒有人談論這件事，但坐在車上的人眼睛 里都泛著淚花，手里拿著一束野花。

【點石成金】本句中，even though 引導的是一個讓步狀語從句，all of us sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands 為主句部分;with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands 為 with 的復合結構，在句中作伴隨狀語。

Ⅱ. Text-centered chunks

pay attention to 注意;留心

a bunch of flowers 一束花

turn around （使）轉身;翻身

go by 流逝;過去

talk about 談論;討論

be filled with 裝滿;充滿