佚名/Anonymous
I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and there are some homeless people in the downtown, especially the University area.I used to give a lot of money to the homeless, feeling sorry for their misfortune.But as time passed, I fell into a victim to many of the circumstances of a homeless person.After I was divorced from my husband, I became a single mom with no home, a huge debt, and hardly any income.As a result, I became very mean and stopped giving to the people on the side of the road.
Through my working hard, things started to change for me.I became responsible enough to have a home with a backyard for my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to pull myself out of debt.One day we saw a homeless person with the sign“Will work for food.”I passed by.My daughter commented,“Mommy, you used to always give to those people in need.But now ...”I replied,“Honey, they just use that money for alcohol or other bad things.”She didn’t respond.But when I said that, I didn’t feel right.
Three days later, I was driving to pick up my daughter from school.A man was standing on the corner with the appearance of worries, and suddenly something deep inside me said,“Just help the guy.”So I rolled down my window, and he ran over with enthusiasm.He said,“Kind lady, I only need 77 cents.”I reached into my pocket and found that I didn’t take my purse.And then I embarrassedly spread out my hands to show that I was in no position to help him.But when he turned away, I called to him,“Wait moment!”I found in my ashtray there sat three quarters and two pennies.Oddly enough, it was the very 77 cents.
My skin was prickling as I saw this.I scooped it up and gave it to him.He burst out with joy and tears in his eyes,“Wow, you just made it possible for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much! I haven’t visited my mother for three years.The bus is leaving in 20 minutes!I have to go now.”
It was the moment that I’ll never forget.I think that man won’t forget it either, but I was the one who got the best gift in life—GIVING.It also strikes me that nothing is a coincidence, and every giving has meaning, although it is the humble 77 cents.
我在新墨西哥州的愛伯克奇城居住，許多無家可歸的人都聚集在市區，特別是在高校區。出於對他們不幸的同情，我過去常會給他們很多錢。然而，隨著時間的流逝，我也淪為他們中的一員。離婚後，身為單身母親的我無家可歸，沒有收入，還要還一大筆債。我變得很吝嗇，不再給街頭的流浪者們一分錢。
在我的努力下，生活有所好轉。我已經能為女兒買帶後院的房子，為她提供豐盛的飯菜，而且債務也漸漸還清。一天，我們看到一個流浪漢，胸前掛著這樣的牌子：“請給我點吃的吧。”我漠然地走過。女兒感歎道：“媽媽，您以前總會幫助他們，可是現在怎麽……”我回答說：“親愛的，他們隻會用那些錢去喝酒或幹壞事。”女兒默不作聲。但我覺得自己不應該那麽說。
三天後，我開車去學校接女兒。看到一個人滿臉焦慮地站在角落，頓時我心中有個聲音說：“去幫助他吧。”於是我搖下車窗，隻見他喜出望外地跑了過來，說：“好心的女士，我隻需要77美分。”我去摸錢包，卻發現沒有帶。我隻好尷尬地攤開手，以示我無能為力。但當他轉身要離開時，我叫住了他：“稍等一下！”我在煙灰缸裏找到了三張25美分和兩個便士。實在太巧了，剛好77美分。
看到這些，我感到皮膚一陣刺痛。我將零錢拿出來，給了他。他頓時開心地熱淚盈眶，說：“噢，您讓我能夠在聖誕節回家看望母親了！太感謝您了！我已經三年沒看過母親了。汽車還有20分鍾就開了！我得走了。”
我永遠忘不了那一刻。我想他也不會忘記，但生活卻帶給了我最珍貴的禮物——給予。它也讓我瞬間明白：一切並非偶然，任何給予都意義非凡，就算隻有這極少的77美分。
circumstance
circumstance的意思是“情況，環境”，一般用複數形式表示“境況”。
短語in/under the circumstances表示“在這種情況下，考慮到這種情況”。
例：I wanted to leave quickly but under the circumstances I decided to stay another night.
我想很快就走，但在這種情況下，我決定再呆一個晚上。
搭配under no circumstances...的意思是“無論如何都不”，後麵接的句子要用倒裝。
例：Under no circumstances shall I leave you.
任何情況下我都不會離開你。
1.After I was divorced from________, I became a single mom with no home, a debt, and hardly any income.As a result, I became very mean and stopped giving to the people on the side of the________.
2.I reached into my________and found that I didn’t take my purse.And then I embarrassedly spread out my________to show that I was in no position to help him.