佚名/Anonymous
A man hired a taxi outside the airfield. The cab had a woolen carpet with brilliant lace edges. On the glass partition that shielded the driver's seat was a replica of a famous painting. Its windows were all, clean. The customer was very much surprised and said to the driver. "I've never seen a nicer cab." "Thank you for your praise," the driver answered smilingly.
"How did it occur to you to decorate your car?" asked the customer.
"The car isn't mine," said the driver." It belongs to the company. I used to be a cleaner of cabs. When they returned all of them were as dirty as garbage cans with cigarette butts and rubbish scattered here and there. On the seats and door-handles could be found something sticky like peanut sauce or, chewing gum. Why so? I thought if the car itself were very clean the passengers would most likely be considerate and refrain from littering."
"So when I got a license to be a taxi-driver, I began to put my idea into practice—to tidy and decorate the car. Now before a new passenger gets on my car I'd make a check and be sure it is in good order. When my car returns after a day's work it always remains spotless."
When doing a thing one makes efforts and wants to see the result. To change others one has to make twice the effort but get half the result. To change oneself is the other way round—more fruit with less effort. One had better ask oneself why one makes demands on others much more than on oneself. If you take enough care to do as best you can for other people's sake, your efforts will yield results. If you look into the inner world of your own, examine yourself and wipe out the dust and dirt, instead of fixing your eyes on other people, you will find a cheerful mood for yourself and create a pleasant environment for others.
一个人在机场叫了一辆出租车。上车后，他发现出租车的地板上铺着羊毛地毯，地毯边上还缀着鲜艳的花边；玻璃隔板上镶着一幅名画的复制品，车窗干干净净的。客人感到十分惊讶，便对司机说：“我从没见过这么漂亮的出租车。”“谢谢您的夸奖。”司机笑着回答。
“你为什么要装饰你的出租车呢？”客人问道。
“出租车不是我的，”他说，“车是公司的。我以前是出租公司的清洁工人，每当出租车回来时，都像垃圾堆一样。地板上全是烟蒂和垃圾，座位或车门把手上甚至还有花生酱、口香糖之类粘乎乎的东西。为什么会这样？我当时想，如果有一辆保持清洁的车，乘客也许会多为我们着想一点，避免弄脏。”
“所以，当我取得出租车牌照后，我便将自己的想法（打扫和装饰车）付诸行动。每位乘客下车后，我都要检查一下，一定要替下一位乘客把车准备得十分整洁。经过一天的工作，我的出租车回公司时仍然是一尘不染。”
有些人做事，付出一点努力，便想看到成果。改变别人是事半功倍，改变自己是事倍功半，只知道要求他人倒不如更多地反省自己。你竭尽全力地用心珍惜，他人自然会有所感触。我们回到自己的心灵世界，将尘埃打扫干净，而不是眼睛盯着别人，你会发现自己愉快的同时，也为别人创造了一个愉快的环境。
To live is to function. That is all there is in living.
—Holmes
活着就要发挥作用，这就是生活的全部内容。
——霍姆斯
shield[?i:ld]v.保护；遮蔽
Motorcyclists must wear helmets to shield them from injury.
摩托车手必须戴头盔保护自己免受伤害。
considerate[k?n?sid?rit]adj.考虑周到的；体谅的
He is a very good and considerate husband.
他是一个非常体贴的好丈夫。
refrain[ri?frein]v.节制；避免；制止
I carefully refrained from looking at him.
我留意着避免朝他看。
yield[ji:ld]v.生产；投降；放纵；给予；回报
He never yield to enemy.
他决不向敌人屈服。
有些人做事，付出一点努力，便想看到成果。改变别人是事半功倍，改变自己是事倍功半。
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当我们回到自己的心灵世界，将尘埃打扫干净，而不是眼睛盯着别人。
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How did it occur to you to decorate your car?
occur to：想起
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If you look into the inner world of your own, examine yourself and wipe out the dust and dirt...
wipe out：彻底摧毁；消灭
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