Today I was at the mall waiting for friends,
when a lady wearing a knit hat and a sweater came up to me and, shivering,
said, “I’m homeless. Would you mind buying me some food?”
In that split second,
everything I’d learned since kindergarten flashed through my mind. Don’t talk
to strangers … Be a good citizen … People will take advantage of you … Treat
others as you wish to be treated … The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just
to love and be loved in return … I guess love won the debate. “Sure,” I said.
“What would you like?”
She thought and then said,
“I’d like to get Chinese food.” We headed upstairs. On the way she told me
about when she was a teenager. She remembers taking pictures for the yearbook
with her best friend. She was in the band and played basketball. She got good
grades and was a good student.
She ordered soup, an egg
roll, white rice, and pepper chicken. I would normally think that was a lot,
but she had probably barely eaten in the last few days. I got my usual – lo
mein and General Tso’s chicken.
As we ate, we got to know
each other. She asked if I played any instruments. I replied that I played the
violin, cello, and guitar. She told me she played the flute, piano, guitar, and
violin. In the middle of our meal, I realized something. And she thought of it
at exactly the same time.
“So, what’s your name?”
she asked.
“I’m Claire,” I said,
startled at our exact same thought. “What’s yours?”
“Joyce,” she said with a
smile.
We continued talking, and
she asked my favorite subjects in school and if I wanted to go to college.
“Hopefully,” I replied. “I’m interested in nursing.”
“I went to college for
nursing,” she said.
I was taken aback. How
could we have so much in common? Was she pretending so I’d feel sympathy for
her? But her eyes were genuine as she said this.
Meanwhile I was eating my
lo mein, picking around the cabbage and the other vegetables. Joyce said, “If
you don’t like it you can take it back.” I told her that I liked it, but was
not fond of the vegetables. She broke into a big grin. “You don’t like
vegetables, huh? Neither did I. But now I do.” I immediately felt guilty. How
could I be picking at my food across from someone who barely gets to eat at
all?
I tried my best to finish,
but she seemed to sense my guilt and said, “You don’t have to eat it if you
don’t want it.” How could she know what I was feeling? I told her the dish was
my favorite, but I just eat slowly.
She replied, “I used to
like lo mein, but pepper chicken was my dad’s favorite, so I get that now.”
Noticing that she used the word “was,” I assumed her dad had passed away. I
found it sweet that she gave up her favorite in order to honor her dad.
She asked why I was at the
mall.
“I’m waiting for friends.
We’re going to see ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’” I replied, stumbling
over the words a bit.
“‘The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button,’” she echoed in awe. “What’s that about?” I realized that she
didn’t see commercials for movies.
I explained the basic plot
and she chuckled. “A man who is born 80 years old and ages backwards! That
sounds interesting.”
She got up to get a to-go
box. “Would you like one?” she asked, but I refused. I realized that this food
would probably last her for a few days, and I was glad she had ordered a lot.
“Would you like these?” I
asked, gesturing at the food I had left untouched. “Oh, no, thank you,” she
said. “This is enough.” I got up to throw my tray away, feeling guilty about
wasting so much.
“I need to meet my friends
now,” I explained. “It was so nice to meet you, Joyce.”
“You too, Claire,” she
replied with a smile. “Thank you.”
I headed to the theater,
and she went back downstairs. It sounds like a perfect coincidence, but I can’t
help but think that some force compelled us to meet. I kept puzzling, Why is
Joyce homeless? It seems so unfair. She shouldn’t need people to buy her
dinner. She was a nurse. She got good grades. She took pictures for her
yearbook. She was the person I hope to be in the future. What went wrong? How
could such a good life be rewarded with horrible luck?
I feel lucky to have run
into Joyce. She changed my outlook. She is still a wonderful person, despite
what the world has done to her. I wish her the best, and can only hope that the
force that brought us together will help her find what she deserves in life.
1.From the second paragraph we know that the
writer _________.
A. debated with the girl over
moral issues
B. hates having to make a quick decision
C. hesitated before she decided
to reach out
D. fell in love with the girl at the first
sight
2.The writer felt guilty for a moment because
________.
A. she was particular about food
and also wasted so much
B. she was a strict vegetarian
who ate very little
C. she didn’t order enough food
for the girl
D. she urged the girl to take
her share of food
3.Why did Joyce end up unemployed and
homeless?
A. She was a victim of high education
B. She actually had some kind of mental
disorder
C. She graduated with average
grades
D. The reason is not yet given.
4.Which detail doesn’t show the coincidence
in the story?
A. They both took interest in
nursing.
B. They were about to ask names
of each other at the same time.
C. When Claire headed to the
theater, Joyce went back downstairs.
D. They were both musical lovers.
5.The writer was very happy to have met Joyce
because______.
A. she didn’t know what she was
going to be until then.
B. this chance meeting changed
her attitudes towards life in a way.
C. she was glad to be able to
pay for someone in need.
D. hopefully the force that
brought them together may bring good luck to Joyce.
6.The passage is intended to _______.
A. arouse readers’ curiosity
B. explore social problems
C. teach readers a lesson
D. share a sweet personal story
that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．
once．