1、Unit 1 Never Say GoodbyeWhen I was ten I was suddenly confronted with the anguish of moving from the only home I had ever known. My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that big old house, gracefully touched with the laughter and tears of four generations.When the final day came, I ran to

2、the haven of the small back porch and sat alone, shuddering, as tears welled up from my heart. Suddenly I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to see my grandfather. It isnt easy, is it, Billy? he said softly, sitting down on the steps beside me.Grandpa, I replied through my tears, how can I

3、 ever say goodbye to you and all my friends?For a moment he just stared off into the apple trees. Goodbye is such a sad word, he said. It seems too final, too cold, for friends to use. We seem to have so many ways of saying goodbye and they all have one thing in common: sadness.I continued to look i

4、nto his face. He gently took my hand in his. Come with me, my friend,he whispered.We walked, hand in hand, to his favorite place in the front yard, where a huge red rosebush sat conspicuously alone.What do you see here, Billy? He asked.I looked at the flower, not knowing what to say, and then answer

5、ed, I see something soft and beautiful, Grandpa.Kneeling, he pulled me close. It isnt just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. Its that special place in your heart that makes them so.His eyes met mine again. Billy, I planted these roses a long, long time agobefore your mother was even a dream. I pu

6、t them into the soil the day my first son was born. It was my way ofsaying thank-you to God. That boys name was Billy, just like yours. I used to watch him pick roses for his mother.I saw my grandfathers tears. I had never seen him cry before. His voice became hoarse.One day a terrible war came, and

7、 my son, like so many sons, went away to fight a great evil. He and I walked to the train station together . Three months later a telegram came. My son had died in some tiny village in Italy. All I could think of was that the last thing I said to him in thislife was goodbye.Grandpa slowly stood up.

8、Dont ever say goodbye, Billy. Dont ever give in to the sadness and the loneliness of that word. I want you to remember instead the joy and the happiness of those times when you first said hello to a friend. Take that special hello and lock it away within you in that place in your heart where summer

9、is an always time. When you and your friends must part, I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello.A year and half later, my grandfather became gravely ill. When he returned from several weeks in the hospital, he wanted his bed next to the window, where he could see his belo

10、ved rosebush.Then the family was summoned and I returned to the old house. It was decided that the oldest grandchildren would be allowed to say their goodbyes.When it came to my turn, I noted how tired he looked. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and hard.I took his hand as gently as h

11、e had once taken mine.Hello, Grandpa, I whispered. His eyes slowly opened,Hello, my friend, he said, with a brief smile. His eyes closed again and I moved on.I was standing by his rosebush when an uncle came to tell me that my grandfather had died. Remembering Grandpas words, I reached deep within m

12、e for those special feelings that had made up our friendship. Suddenly, and truly, I knew what he had meant about never saying goodbye about refusing to give in to the sadness.永遠不要說“再見”十歲時，我突然面臨著搬家的痛苦， 要搬離我自小認識的、 唯一的家。 到那個時候為止，我簡短的人生都是在那個古老的大房子里度過的。在那里，我們四世同堂，有過歡聲笑語，也有過悲傷的印記。那天終于到來的時侯，我跑到屋子后面的小門廊下這里

13、是我的避難所獨自一人坐在那里顫抖著， 淚水從內心深處涌出。 突然間， 我感到有一只手放到我的肩上。 我抬起頭，看見了祖父。 “不是那么容易啊，是不是，比利？”他柔聲說道，坐在了我旁邊的臺階上。“爺爺，”我流著淚答道， “可是，我怎么能夠跟你，還有我所有的朋友說再見啊？”他一直注視著遠處的蘋果樹，“再見是多么令人悲傷的字眼，”他說，“對朋友們用這個詞似乎太絕對、 太冰冷了。好像我們有很多不同的道別方式， 但他們有一個共同點，那就是悲傷。”我繼續看著他的臉， 似乎想要從他的臉上讀出些什么。 他輕輕地把我的手放到他的手心里。“我的朋友，跟我來。 ”他輕聲說。我們手牽手走進前院里他最喜歡的地方，在那兒

14、獨自種著的一大叢紅色的玫瑰十分顯眼。“在這兒你看到了什么，比利？”他問道。我看著那些花兒，不知道該說些什么。然后答道， “我看見了柔和美麗的東西，爺爺。 ” 他跪了下來，把我拉得更近，說道， “不僅僅是因為這些玫瑰本身的美麗，比利，是你內心的某個特別的地方，使得他們如此美麗。”他的目光再次接觸到我的。“比利，我很久很久以前就種下了這些玫瑰那個時候甚至還沒有你媽媽呢。在我的第一個兒子出生的那天，我把它們種到了土里。這是我在用自己的方式對上帝表達我的感激。那個男孩的名字叫做比利，和你一樣。 過去我常常看著他給他媽媽摘玫瑰花。 ”我看見了祖父的眼淚。以前我從未見過他流淚。他的聲音開始變得有些沙啞。“

15、有一天， 可怕的戰爭爆發了。我的兒子， 象許多其他人的兒子們一樣，去與邪惡作戰。他和我一起走到火車站。三個月后，來了一封電報說，我的兒子戰死在意大利的一個小村莊里。我所能想起的只有在他的生命中我跟他講的最后一句話再見。”祖父緩緩的站起來說， “永遠不要說再見，比利。永遠不要屈服于那個詞所帶來的悲傷和孤獨。相反，我要你記住那些你第一次跟朋友們說“你好”的時侯心里的那種歡樂。記住那個特別的問候，把他們保存在心里，這樣你的內心就會永遠充滿夏天般的快樂和幸福。當你不得不和朋友們分離時，我想讓你在內心深處重新找回第一次的問候。”一年半以后，祖父病得很嚴重。幾個星期以后，他從醫院回來，想把床挪到窗邊，因為在那兒他可以看見他心愛的玫瑰叢。然后， 整個家族被召集到一起，我回到了那個老房子。