An Angle to Mr.Gillespie
安傑拉·斯特吉爾/Angela Sturgill
When I was in seventh grade, I was a candy striper at a local hospital in my town.I volunteered about thirty to forty hours a week during the summer.Most of the time I spent there was with Mr.Gillespie.He never had any visitors, and nobody seemed to care about his condition.I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him, helping with anything that needed to be done.He became a close friend of mine, even though he responded with only an occasional squeeze of my hand.Mr.Gillespie was in a coma.
I left for a week to vacation with my parents, and when I came back, Mr.Gillespie was gone.I didn’t have the nerve to ask any of the nurses where he was, for fear they might tell me he had died.So with many questions unanswered, I continued to volunteer there through my eighth-grade year.
Several years later, When I was a junior in high school, I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face.When I realized who it was, my eyes filled with tears.He was alive! I got up the nerve to ask him if his name was Mr.Gillespie, and if he had been in a coma about five years ago.With an uncertain look on his face, he replied yes.I explained how I knew him, and that I had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital.His eyes welled up with tears, and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever received.
He began to tell me how, as he lay there comatose, he could hear me talking to him and could feel me holding his hand the whole time.He thought it was an angel, not a person, who was there with him.Mr.Gillespie firmly believed that it was my voice and touch that had kept him alive.
Then he told me about his life and what happened to him to put him in the coma.We both cried for a while and exchanged a hug, said our good-byes and went our separate ways.
Although I haven’t seen him since, he fills my heart with joy every day.I know that I made a difference between his life and his death.More importantly, he has made a tremendous difference in my life.I will never forget him and what he did for me: he made me an angel.
我上七年級的時候，在鎮上的一家當地醫院做義工。夏天，我自願每周工作30到40個小時。通常，我都跟吉萊斯皮先生在一起。從來都沒人探望過他，也沒人關心過他的情況。大多時候，我總是握著他的手，跟他說話，幫他做一切需要做的事。他成了我一個親近的朋友，即使他的反應也僅僅是偶爾捏一下我的手。他一直處於昏迷。
我和父母去度假，離開了一個星期，我回來時，吉萊斯皮先生不見了。我沒有勇氣去問護士他的去向，我害怕他們也許會告訴我，他已經去世了，所以許多問題都沒問。我繼續利用八年級的時間自願待在這裏。
多年以後，我上高三時，在一個加油站注意到了一張似曾相識的麵容。當我認出他時，眼中充滿了淚水。他還活著！我鼓起勇氣問他是不是叫吉萊斯皮先生，是否昏迷過五年。他的臉上流露出不確定的表情，回答了是。我解釋我是怎麽認識他，在醫院裏我花很多時間跟他說話。他的眼中頓時充盈著淚水，他給了我一個我所得到的最溫暖的擁抱。他開始告訴我，他昏迷時，能聽到我說的話，能感覺到我一直握著他的手。他覺得陪在他身邊的人完全是一個天使，而非人類。吉萊斯皮先生堅信是我的聲音和撫愛使他活了下來。
之後，他告訴我他身上發生的事，以及他昏迷的原因。我們都哭了，相互擁抱著說了再見，又踏上了各自的路。
雖然自此以後，我再沒見過他，但他使我的心每天都充滿快樂。我知道，在他徘徊在生死邊緣時，我起了特別的作用。更重要的是，他使我的生命有了巨大改變。我永遠無法忘記他，以及他為我所做的事：他使我成了一個天使。
volunteer, present, propose
這些動詞均含“提出、提供”之意。
volunteer側重出於自願，而不是奉命做某事。
例：He volunteered to water our plants.
他自告奮勇給我們的樹木澆水。
present既可指提出意見、建議等，又可指拿出某物供人欣賞或贈送。
例：We presented him a basketball on his birthday.
他生日那天我們送給他一個籃球。
propose一般指直接而主動地提出問題或建議。
例：I propose resting for an hour.
我建議休息一小時。
1.I spent many days there________his hand and________to him, helping with anything that needed to be done.He became a close________of mine, even though he responded with only an occasional squeeze of________.Mr.Gillespie was in a coma.
2.Then he told me about________and what happened to him to put him in the coma.We both cried for a while and exchanged a________, said our good-byes and went our ways.