骑

下

马

，

乘

下

车

qi

xia

ma

cheng

xia

che

骑坐

下来

乘坐

下来

车辆

to ride an animal

to get down

horse

riding

to get down

carriage

遇见长辈时，我们若骑着马，要赶快下马；若坐着车，要立刻下车。
When we riding on a horse or in a carriage and meet an elder walking on the road, we should get down from the horse or carriage to greet him.

过

犹

待

，

百

步

余

guo

you

dai

bai

bu

yu

过去

还

等待

脚步(的距离)

多

to pass by

still

to wait

one hundred

(the distant of)

steps overplus

等到长辈过去百步之远了，我们才可以上马或上车。
Having waited until the elder has passed us more than a hundred steps, we can then go on.

七O年代中期，戴芬妮刚到美国加州长堤。那时，她上午由家里到大学上课，下午由大学去餐厅打工，晚上再自餐厅回家，统统要搭乘公共汽车，而且还得转两趟车。因为她每天车程的时间几乎是固定的，因此她往往搭的是同一位司机开的车；久了，她和司机们也很熟，有时转车没接好，他们都会稍稍等她一下。

Stephanie moved to Long Beach, California, in the mid-seventies. At that time, she went to classes at a college in the morning, went from the college to her job at a restaurant in the afternoon, and went from there back home in the evening. She got to all of these places by bus, and she had to change buses twice. Since her schedule was pretty regular, she usually ended up seeing the same bus drivers. After some time she became quite acquainted with them. If Stephanie happened to be a little late, the bus drivers would wait for her. 

大部分的司机年纪都不小，但仍很康健，而且也都很和蔼；年轻些的，就比较没有耐性些，开车也较猛，但人也都还好。如果老人家来不及走到巴士站牌，很多司机往往会停下来等；又或者老人家要下车的地方，离站牌有点儿距离，他们往往就在那儿停下来，省了老人家再走一段路。

Most of the drivers were middle-aged, but they were all very healthy and very kind. The younger ones were a little more impatient and drove a bit fast, but on the whole they were nice people. Sometimes if there were elderly people who couldn't make it to the bus stop on time, the driver would wait for them. Or if some elders needed to get off a little ways before the bus stop, the driver would often stop right there so they wouldn't have to walk so far.

有位中年的黑人司机，总是对老人家特别尊敬，让她印象很深刻。老人家行动不便的，他甚至起身去搀扶他们上来，引他们就近坐在前头的位置，上、下车时，又搀扶他们下去。戴芬妮第二次搭他车时，他就很愉快地和她招呼，夸奖她是个仁慈的好孩子，原来是前一天，她在公共汽车上，让座位给老人家之故。以后有时乘客少，戴芬妮得以坐在前边的位置时，他便会有一搭没一搭地和她聊聊天。那时她英语会话还很差，总是听的多，说的少；所以从他的言谈，也就知道不少他的为人处事。可惜戴芬妮却没能记住他长长的姓名，只知道人家叫他艾尔。

 There was one middle-aged black bus driver who was particularly respectful to the elderly, and who made a deep impression on Stephanie. When some of the elders had trouble getting on the bus, he would give them a hand and have them sit in the front rows. When they reached their stop, he would help them off the bus. The second time Stephanie saw this bus driver, he happily greeted her and praised her for being a good and kind little girl. The reason was that one day when she was on the bus, he had seen her yield her seat to an elderly person. Sometimes when there were few passengers, she would sit in the front rows, and the bus driver would talk to her. At that time her English was very poor , and she could listen more than she could speak. From talking with him she found out a lot about his conduct. It's too bad she can't remember his long name. She only knows that others called him Al. 

艾尔出生在乔治亚州的乡下，有姐妹兄弟十人，是个虔诚的天主教徒。他说他父母从小就教他们要仁慈、恭敬和忍耐；戴芬妮告诉他，这也正是中国人传统的教育，他非常开心。几年后，戴芬妮有个自己的连锁企业，在长堤附近的分店，很需要一位忠诚负责的经理，她就想到艾尔，却无从找到他了。不知他是否还在当公车司机？还是已改行或退休了？

Al was born in the countryside in Georgia. There were ten children in his family, and he was a devout Catholic. He said that when he was young, his parents taught him compassion, respect, and patience. When Stephanie told him that was similar to the traditional Chinese education, he was very happy. After a few years Stephanie started her own chain of stores, and she needed a good and honest manager near Long Beach. She immediately thought of Al, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She didn't know if he was still a bus driver, or if he had retired or changed his job.

一个仁慈善良的人，往往也对人恭敬有礼，能守住进退的分寸；这样的人，谁都喜欢亲近。有一首小诗叫做（可爱的孩子），其中有几句虽然说的是女孩子，亦可做男孩们的参考；希望每个人自小就能做一个谦恭有礼的好孩子。

A kind and compassionate person is always respectful towards others and knows how to carry himself. Other people like to be around him. There is a little poem called "Lovely Child." Although this poem talks about girls, boys can also learn something from it. Let's hope everyone can be a good and respectful child.

娴静有礼，一如紫罗兰，
又如玫瑰花蕾般甜蜜。
这样的小女孩，人人爱见。

Modest as a violet, As a rosebud sweet-
That's the kind of little girl People like to meet.