Unit 7B - If Only
If Only
Having worked at a 7-Eleven store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager calls "customer relations." I firmly believed that a friendly smile and an automatic "sir," "ma'am" and "thank you" would see me through any situation that might arise from soothing impatient or unpleasant people to apologizing for giving out the wrong change. But the other night an old woman shattered my belief that a glib response could smooth over the rough spots of dealing with other human beings.
The moment she entered, the woman presented a sharp contrast to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were painful, she slowly pushed open the glass door and hobbled down the nearest aisle. She coughed dryly, wheezing with each breath. On a forty-degree night, she was wearing only a faded print dress, a thin sweater too small to button, and black slippers with the backs cut out to expose calloused heels. There were no stockings or socks on her blue-veined legs.
After strolling around the store for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. She picked up a can of com and stared with a strange intensity at the label. At that point, I decided to be a good, polite employee and asked her if she needed help. As I stood close to her, my smile became harder to maintain; her red-rimmed eyes were partially closed by yellowish crusts; her hands were covered with layer upon layer of grime, and the stale smell of sweat rose in a thick vaporous cloud from clothes.
"I need some food," she muttered in reply to my bright "Can I help you?"
"Are you looking for corn, ma'am?"
"I need some food," she repeated. "Any kind."
"Well, the com is ninety-five cents," I said in my most helpful voice. "Or, if you like, we have a special on bread today."
"I can't pay," she said.
For a second, I was tempted to say, "Take the com." But the employee rules flooded into my mind: Remain polite, but do not let customers get the best of you. Let them know that you are in control. For a moment, I even entertained the idea that this was some sort of test, and that this woman was someone from the head office, testing my loyalty. I responded dutifully, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't give away anything for free."
The old woman's face collapsed a bit more, if that were possible, and her hands trembled as she put the can back on the shelf. She shuffled past me toward the door, her tom and dirty clothing barely covering her bent back.
Moments after she left, I rushed out the door with the can of com, but she was nowhere in sight. For the rest of my shift, the image of the woman haunted me. I had been young, healthy, and smug. She had been old, sick, and desperate. Wishing with all my heart that I had acted like a human being rather than a robot, I was saddened to realize how fragile a hold we have on our better instincts.
参考译文——一念之差
一念之差
我在一家“7时-11时”便民连锁店工作，已有两年。我想，在我们经理所说的搞好“顾客关系”方面，我的表现也算得上是相当成功的了。我坚信，一个友好的微笑和一声脱口而出的“先生”、“女士”和“谢谢您”，就足以让我应付任何可能出现的情况，从安慰缺乏耐心或难缠的顾客到为找错零钱而道歉。我原本相信，凭着和颜悦色的巧言应对就能捋平处理人际关系时的各种矛盾疙瘩，但是我的这一信念，被前几天晚上所遇到的一位老妇人，砸得个粉碎。
老妇人一进店门，立即和灯光明亮、货架排列齐整的亮丽店堂形成了鲜明的对比。她举足维艰，每跨一步似乎都很痛苦；她慢悠悠地推开玻璃门，沿着最靠近店门的过道，一瘸一拐地往前走。她干咳着，每次呼吸都气喘吁吁。在一个气温只有华氏40度的夜晚，她只穿着一件褪了色的印花连衣裙，一件薄薄的、小得连扣都扣不起来的羊毛衫和一双黑色的塑料拖鞋，拖鞋的后帮已经剪掉，露出了长满老茧的脚后跟。青筋暴突的腿上，既没穿长袜，也未套短袜。
老妇人在店堂里转悠了好几分钟，然后在搁放蔬菜罐装食品的一排排架前收住脚步。她拣起一罐玉米，用一种紧张得出奇的目光，盯着那上面的标签左看右看。在这一刻，我决定以一名彬彬有礼、训练有素的雇员出场了，问她有什么需要效劳的。当我站到她身边时，我觉得要保持微笑就很难了：她眼眶发红的双眼部分地被略带黄兮兮的眼屎遮住了；她的两手积满了一层层的污垢；衣服上散发出的一阵阵汗臭味，像一层厚厚的云雾扑鼻而来。
“我需要点食物，”她小声嘟哝，算是在回应我那句响亮的“能为您效劳吗?”
“太太，您是在找玉米食品吧?”
“我需要点食物，”她重复了一句。“随便什么。”
“嗯，这罐玉米九角五分，”我用一种最乐意效力的语气说。“要不，如果您喜欢的话，来一份我们今天的特价面包。”
“我没钱支付，”她说。
有那么一刹那，我真想说，“把玉米拿去吧。”但雇员守则却涌入了我的脑海：保持礼貌，但不要让顾客占你的便宜。要让他们知道，店是在你经管之下的。片刻间，我甚至心存这样的念头：这是对我的某种考验吧；这个老太婆嘛，没准是公司总部派了测试我的忠诚的。我恪尽职守地回应道：“很抱歉，太太，这儿的任何物品我都不能免费赠送的。”
老妇人的脸似乎更往内萎陷了些（如果还有往内萎缩余地的话），她把罐装玉米放回货架时，双手在不住哆嗦。她拖着脚，经过我身边，一路朝店门那儿走去，那一身破烂、肮脏的衣衫，勉强将她那弯曲的背部遮盖住。
她刚离开一会儿功夫，我赶紧拿起那罐玉米冲出店门，但是已不见其人踪影。在余下的那段上班时间里，老妇人的形象始终萦绕在我心头。我年轻，身强力壮，沾沾自喜。她年迈，体弱多病，心情绝望。我真心希望我当时能表现得像个活人而不是“机器人”，但意识到我们保持自身良好本性的力量是多么的脆弱，又令我感到悲哀。
Key Words:
smooth [smu:ð]
adj. 平稳的，流畅的，安祥的，圆滑的，搅拌均匀的，可
vaporous ['veipərəs]
adj. 空想的；多蒸气的；雾状的
employee [.emplɔi'i:]
n. 雇员
glib [glib]
adj. 能说善道的，(说话)不假思索的，轻易随口的
response [ri'spɔns]
n. 回答，响应，反应，答复
unpleasant [ʌn'pleznt]
adj. 使人不愉快的，讨厌的
minutes ['minits]
n. 会议记录，(复数)分钟
partially ['pɑ:ʃəli]
adv. 部份地，一部份地，不公平地
expose [ik'spəuz]
vt. 揭露，使暴露，使曝光，使面临
aisle [ail]
n. (席位间的)通道，侧廊
control [kən'trəul]
n. 克制，控制，管制，操作装置
vt. 控制
smug [smʌg]
adj. 自以为是的，整洁的
corn [kɔ:n]
n. 谷物，小麦，玉米
v. 形成(颗粒状)，
employee [.emplɔi'i:]
n. 雇员
desperate ['despərit]
adj. 绝望的，不顾一切的
fragile ['frædʒail]
adj. 易碎的，脆的，精细的
covering ['kʌvəriŋ]
n. 覆盖物，遮避物 adj. 掩护的，掩盖的
bent [bent]
bend的过去式和过去分词 adj. 下定决心的，弯曲的
loyalty ['lɔiəlti]
n. 忠诚，忠心
shelf [ʃelf]
n. 架子，搁板
参考资料：
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