李现宝

这是一篇由美国作家Bob Greene所写的夹叙夹议的杂文。作者以一个旁观者的身份，讲述了一对黑人父子在周六的早晨以乘坐机场免费往返接送车为乐的故事。故事通过对父子的描写，展现出了一个对儿子充满着关爱，给予儿子恰当教育和适时陪伴的父亲的形象。同时，这与漠然、冰冷的环境和周围忙忙碌碌、毫无表情的乘客形成了鲜明的对比。这引发了作者对当今美国社会中存在的教育问题的思考和担忧。但作者在眼前快乐的父子身上找到了答案，即父母的关爱和陪伴，与财富、种族和社会地位都无关，这也就是Bob Greene想通过此文向读者传递的信息。全文549词，建议用时8分钟。

阅读时应达到以下三个目标：

1.通过对故事和作者观点的阅读和理解，深刻体会那对父子真正的快乐，及思考作者提出的社会问题的解决方法;

2.品读文本语言，分析作者的写作技巧，即通过对比的方式，凸显父子之间的快乐、幸福、爱和相互的陪伴;

3.批判性思维的运用。

词汇预热

1.terminal  n.（火车、公共汽车、轮船客运或货物运输的）集散站;终点站

2.sterile  adj.刻板的;无个性的;缺乏新意的

3.impersonal  adj.没有人情味的;冷漠的; 冷淡的

4.distinction  n.差别;区别;对比

5.crane  v.伸长（脖子）看;探头看

6.shuttle  n.（定期往返于两地之间的）短程穿梭航班（班车/火车）

7.mock⁃exasperated  假装恼怒或者不耐烦的

Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning， I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free， sterile and impersonal， the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun， but on this Saturday I heard laughter.

At the front of the first car—looking out the window at the track that lay ahead—were a man and his son.

We had just stopped to let off passengers， and the doors were closing again. “Here we go！ Hold on to me tight！” the father said. The boy， about five years old， made sounds of sheer delight.

I know were supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days， so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white， dressed for business trips or vacations—and that the father and the son were black， dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.

“Look out there！” the father said to his son. “See that pilot？ I bet hes walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.

As I got off， I remembered something Id wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight， so I decided to go back.

I did—and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate， I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadnt been heading for a flight， but had just been riding the shuttle.

“I want to ride some more！”

“More？” the father said， mock?exasperated but clearly pleased. “Youre not tired？”

“This is fun！” his son said.

“All right，” the father replied， and when a door opened we all got on.

There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland， and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million⁃dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools， yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor， black and white， so much goes wrong so often.

“Where are all these people going， Daddy？” the son asked.

“All over the world，” came the reply. The other people in the airport were leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and the son， though， were just riding this shuttle together， making it exciting， sharing each others company.

So many troubles in this country—crime， the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people， the lowering of educational standards， the increase in vile（可惡的） obscenities（淫秽的语言） in public， and the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

The answer is so simple： parents who care enough to spend time， and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesnt cost a cent， yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

The train picked up speed， and the father pointed something out， and the boy laughed again.