As I moved through the lunch line，I heard someone ahead of mesay “What’s that？” A girl was pointing at a pan full of something thatlooked like green beans run over by a steamroller.
“Snow peas，” the lunch lady answered. “Want to try some？”
“No，thanks，” the girl replied.
“I’ll try some snow peas，” the boy behind me piped up.
Snow peas. Number 1 on the list.
After lunch，Mrs. Allison announced that it was “rhyme time.”
“You can relax and just listen. Now，who wants to go first？” Only onehand shot up. It belonged to the boy who’d asked for snow peas.
“OK，Wyatt.” Mrs. Allison said. “Come on up.”
“ ‘To be or not to be ...’ ” Wyatt began. When he finished，a girlwith curly hair raised her hand. “Mrs. Allison？” she said. “That didn’trhyme.”
“Shakespeare wrote a different kind of poetry，” Mrs. Allisonreplied.
Shakespeare？ Number 2 on the list. I started to panic，wonderingwhat would happen next.
But nothing did.
School ended，and I sat alone on the bus，still staring at the list.
It was a while before I looked up and noticed Wyatt. He was staring074 不畏将来，不念过往across the aisle at me. “What？” I snapped，still on edge.
“Nothing.” He smiled in a friendly way. “I wanted to talk to you. I almostforgot.”
“Forgot what？”
“You’re number 3 on my list.”
I inhaled. So now I’d find out what was going on. “This is yours？” I heldup the card.
He laughed. “Yeah. Where’d you find it？”
“On the floor of the classroom. What is it？”
“My mom’s idea. I’m supposed to try three new things every day.”
“Snow peas，Shakespeare，and me？” I asked.
“Yeah. I always pick something from the lunch menu. Snow peas aren’tbad，by the way. My dad suggested the Shakespeare.”
“What about me？”
“You’re new，so I thought I’d say hi.”
That night，I pulled out a sheet of paper and made my own list. 1. Try thespinach quiche. 2. Offer my dessert to the boy with glasses. 3. Say hello to thegirl with braces.
I looked at the list and smiled before adding one more entry： 4. ThankWyatt.
一张清单在一个学生心里布下一团疑云。家长用这张小纸片表现了独特的教育方式，让孩子尝试接受新鲜事物；孩子则用这张小纸片显示了他的纯真，传递了他的友善与爱心。
Fiona 译
若不是看见顶端那些大大的红字-勿忘，我就不会捡起那张纸。毕竟那张纸上满是脏脚印，并且纸条在走道处，要捡到它我必须从自己的课桌旁侧出身子。但我很好奇：别忘了做什么？
那张纸条的厚度和大小同明信片差不多。在大大的红色“备忘”下方，用铅笔写了三项备忘：1. 糖荚豌豆，2. 莎士比亚，3. 保罗·库尔曼。
我盯着那张清单，心头掠过一丝寒意。我的名字怎么会在别人的清单上？这个人想要记得我什么？毕竟，除了我出生在伊朗，在纽约长大，刚搬来芝加哥这些信息外，这里的人对我一无所知。那些是艾莉森老师昨天将我介绍给同学时透露的所有信息，打那时起没人和我说过话，除了一个戴眼镜的男生，他问我午餐时能不能吃点我的核仁巧克力饼。
我环顾四周，但没有一个人看过来，似乎每个人的注意力都集中在艾莉森老师发的试题上。我从前排的女生那里接过试卷，并将剩下的传到后排。在试卷顶端写上名字以后，我的脑中一片空白。在纽约的班上已经学过小数了，我本应知道答案的，但在所有问题中，我所想的只有第三条：保罗·库尔曼。那是什么意思？
考完试，科学课上我试着集中注意力，但是同样的字在我脑中响个不停：糖荚豌豆，莎士比亚，我的名字。
“保罗，”艾莉森老师喊我，吓了我一跳。“站队了，午餐时间到了。”
跟着进餐队伍移动时，我听到前面有人说：“那是什么？”一个女生指着一个盘子，里面装满像被压路机碾过一样的绿豆子。
“糖荚豌豆，”午餐服务女士回答说。“想尝一点吗？”
“不用，谢谢。”女孩回答说。
“我要尝尝糖荚豌豆。”我后面的男生插话说。
糖荚豌豆。清单第一条。
午餐过后，艾莉森老师宣布韵诗朗诵的时间到。“保罗你可以放松一下，只用076 不畏将来，不念过往旁听。现在，谁想第一个开始呢？”只有一只手举起来，是那个点了糖荚豌豆的男生的手。
“好的，怀亚特，站起来。”艾莉森老师说。
“活着还是死去……”怀亚特开始了。当他朗诵完之后，一个卷发女生举起了手，说：“艾莉森老师，这首诗不押韵。”
艾莉森老师回答说：“莎士比亚写了一首不同风格的诗。”
莎士比亚？清单第二条。我开始惊慌失措，想知道接下来会发生什么。
但是，风平浪静。
放学了，我独自坐在公交上，仍在盯着那张清单。不一会儿，我抬起头，发现怀亚特正穿过走道看着我。“干什么？”
我厉声说，心中仍然紧张不安。
“没什么。”他友好地笑着。“我想和你讲话，我差点忘了。”
“忘了什么？”
“你是我列的清单上的第三条。”
我深吸一口气。那么，现在我得看看真相是什么了。“这是你的吗？”我扬起那张卡片。
他笑了。“是的。你在哪儿找到的？”
“在教室的地上。这是什么呀？”
“这是我妈的主意。她建议我每天尝试三个新鲜事物。”
“糖荚豌豆、莎士比亚和我？”我问他。
“是呀。我总是从午餐菜单上挑些新东西。顺便说下，糖荚豌豆还不赖哦。莎士比亚是我爸推荐的。”
“那我呢？”
“你是新来的，所以我想我应当打个招呼。”
那晚，我拿出一张纸，制作了我自己的清单：1.尝尝菠菜蛋饼，2.和那个戴眼镜的男生分享甜点，3.向戴牙套的女孩问好。
我看着清单，加上了一条：4. 感谢怀亚特，然后会心地笑了。
轻英语
趣味动物短语
every dog has its day 凡人也有得意时
a little bird told me that 我听说
dog days 三伏天
let the cat out of the bag 泄密
black sheep 害群之马
rain cats and dogs 倾盆大雨
when pigs fly 不可能发生的事
eat like a horse 吃得多
put the cart before the horse 本末倒置
sweating like a pig 汗如雨下
like a bird 运转良好
monkey business 骗人的把戏，恶作剧
a bear-hug 紧紧地搂住
Feather in the Wind
覆水难收
A certain good woman one daysaid something that hurt her bestfriend of many years. She regrettedimmediately and would have doneanything to have taken the wordsback. What she said hurt the friendso much that this good womanwas herself hurt for the pain shecaused. In an effort to undo whatshe had done，she went to an older，wise woman in the village，explained hersituation，and asked for advice.
Listening to her，the older woman sensed the younger woman’s distress and knew shemust help her. She also knew she could never alleviate the pain，but she could teach. Sheknew the outcome would depend solely on the character of the younger woman. She said，“Tonight，take your best feather pillows and put single feather on the doorstep of each housein the town before the sun rises.”
The young woman hurried home to prepare for her chore，even though the feather pillowswere very dear to her. All night long，she labored alone in the cold. Finally the sky was gettinglight，she placed the last feather on the stepsof the last house. Just as the sun rose，shereturned to the older woman.
“Now，” said the wise woman，“go backand refill your pillows with the feather youhave put on the steps. Then everything willbe as it was before.”
“You know that’s impossible！ The windblew away each feather as fast as I placedthem on the doorsteps！” the young womanwas surprised.
“That’s true，” said the older woman.
“Never forget. Each of your words is like afeather in the wind. Once spoken，no amountof effort，regardless how heartfelt or sincere，can never return them to your mouth.
Choose your words well and guard them forthose you love.”
一天，一位善良的女人说了一些话伤害了她最好的、有多年交情的朋友；话一说出口她立刻就后悔了，她愿意做任何事来挽回她的话。她的话伤害朋友如此之深，以至于这个善良的女人为给朋友造成痛苦而伤心不已。为了努力消除自己所造成的伤害，她拜访村里一位睿智的老妇人，介绍她的现状，请教解决办法。
听着年轻女子的述说，老妇人感受到她的忧伤，并且意识到自己必须得帮助她。老妇人知道她不可能减轻年轻女子的伤痛，但她可以让年轻女子从中吸取教训。她明白事情的结果只能取决于年轻女子的性格。她说：“今晚，带上你最好的羽毛枕头，在太阳升起之前，在本镇每家的门阶上放一根羽毛。”
年轻女子匆匆回家准备这事，尽管这些枕头是她非常心爱的。一整夜，她独自在严寒中奔波。最后，天放亮时，她终于将最后一根羽毛放在最后一家的台阶上。太阳升起时，她回到老妇人的家。
“现在，”睿智的老妇人说道，“回去再用你放在每家台阶上的羽毛把枕头填满，然后，一切事情就像是没有发生过，一如往昔。”
“你知道这是不可能的！我把羽毛一放在台阶上，风就把它们吹跑了！”年轻女子非常惊讶于老妇人的这个建议。
“没错。”老妇人说道，“你要永远记住，你的每句话就像是风中的羽毛，覆水难收。一旦话已说出，不论你多么努力，不论你的愿望是如何真心、如何诚意，这些话就都不可收回。为了你所爱的人，适当选择并当心你的话。”
轻英语
常吃的蔬菜
lettuce 莴苣
carrot 胡萝卜
spinach 菠菜
eggplant 茄子
bean sprout 豆芽
green pepper 青椒
celery 芹菜
radish 萝卜
pumpkin 西葫芦
garlic 蒜
asparagus 芦笋
cauliflower 菜花
cabbage 甘蓝（洋白菜、卷心菜）
needle mushroom 金针菇
soybean sprout 黄豆芽
pumpkin 南瓜
The Gardenia Corsage
栀子花饰
By Edith Patterson Hill