【英文原文2】

The day of his funeral was overcast and raining. Fitting weather for a funeral I think. Although I wasn’t asked to speak by Frank’s family at first, I was asked by his pastor4) to speak on behalf of his friends and peers. Only one thought kept crossing my mind the whole time. I was at the church：Liquid Reality, Tears are only drops of liquid reality. And as I continued to look at that cedar box, surrounded by all the flowers and all the people in the church, I continued to think about Frank’s most memorable words to me. I stepped up to the microphone and looked out over the mass of teary-eyed people who were either friends of Frank or relatives of the family. The first thing that crossed my mind when I opened my mouth came out. Not even meaning to say it, I said：“My most vibrant5) memory of Frank is one that I think anyone would remember for many years. "
“It all started when I was feeling down after a rough day of school. Frank came over to my room to console me because he could sense that I was feeling upset. His words that night have left a deep impression on me：‘Don’t ever think of crying as being a sign of weakness, Sam. Think of the tears as being droplets of Liquid Reality. ’
“Frank was always like that, though. He always talked in words and phrases that maybe you didn’t understand. But, like a well told sermon, the meaning hit you much later afterwards. The meaning of Liquid Reality finally hit me today. And I think that if Frank had planned for the meaning of Liquid Reality to hit me on any day, I think he would have picked the day I was to speak at his funeral. I know that Frank’s in a better place now, and I can just about bet that if he’s listening to this, he’s probably as touched by this as I was by his speech that night. Goodbye Frank, we all love you. ”
When I finished my speech to Frank, those in attendance who weren’t crying before I started my speech were crying after I finished. And by the time I had reached my seat, more than half of the people there had started clapping. I thought it rather odd that someone giving a speech at a funeral would get such an ovation, and I was a little bit embarrassed that my impromptu speech about my best friend had gotten that much ovation at his funeral.
Although Frank and I had been best friends, I just couldn’t stand to watch his casket be lowered into the ground. I drove myself back home and tried to start putting Frank’s death behind me.