My Most Unforgettable Character

我 最 难 忘 的 人 （6）

She challenged us to succeed--and then showed us the way.

她激励我们要有所建树：并一直为我们指点迷津。

[26] My mother suggested games everyone could play and often joined in. I remember laughing as she marched us around the dining-room table one evening, while John Philip Sousa boomed from the record player. "Keep in step now," she called out to her parading children. "If you're gonna march or do anything else, you always want to do it the best you can."

[27] Time for Everyone. Success wasn't just making money, Mama always said. Success was doing something positive for others.

[28] In 1977, when Leo received his Ph. D. in physics from the University of California at Irvine, my mother wrote him a long, warm letter. She praised his years of hard work and, typically, reminded him to use his education to help others. "To think, you have the knowledge to work for the betterment of mankind!" she stressed. "There is much good for you to accomplish."

[29] Mama took time for everyone. One cold day, she saw the neighbors' three young children playing in our yard. They were shivering in thin, worn sweaters. Mama called the youngsters to our door, where they stared greedily at a pot of steaming homemade soup she was making for supper. She hustled them in, fed them and rummaged through our closets for extra coats.

[30] From that day, until the family moved a year later, Mama often brought stew, soup and pasta to their home. She telephoned the children in the morning to make sure they got up for school. Often, she walked them down the lane and waited with them for the bus. At Christinas, she even bought the children gifts.

[26]母亲提议玩一些大家都能玩的游戏，经常自己也参加。我记得，有天晚上，她让我们列队站好，并绕着餐桌齐步走，我哈哈大笑，而录音机里响着约翰·菲力昔·苏沙的进行曲。"跟上节奏，步伐要整齐，"她对行进中的我们喊道。"如果你们要齐步走，或者做其它任何事，你们一定要尽力于好。"

[27]分忧解愁 母亲总是说，成功并不就是赚钱。成功是做有益于他人的事。

[28]1977年，利欧在加州大学欧文分校获得物理学博士学位，妈妈给他写了一封充满温情的长信。她赞扬了他多年的刻苦努力，还特别提醒他要把所学的知识用来帮助他人。"要记住，你有知识，可以为改善人类的生活做出贡献!"她强调道。"有很多好事等着你去做。"

[29]妈妈总替别人分忧解愁。一个冷天，她看到邻居三个小孩在我们院子里玩。他们穿着很薄的破毛衣，冻得发抖。她把他们叫到门前，桌上有妈妈为晚饭做的一锅热气腾腾的肉汤，他们眼馋地盯着。妈妈让他们都进屋，给他们吃饱饭，还在衣柜里到处翻寻我们不穿的外衣让他们穿上。

[30]从那天起直到一年后那家人家搬走，妈妈经常给他们送些炖肉、汤和点心。早晨她用电话叫那些孩子起床去上学。她常常送他们出小路，陪他们等车。到了圣诞节，她还给他们买礼物。