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阅读与探究
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There are times in our lives when we are confronted by challenging situations. These are moments which may have implications for our principles and value systems. Read the following account of the predicament faced by Morton, as observed through the eyes of his wife.
有时，生活中我们会遇到一些具有挑战性的情况。这时，我们的原则和价值观可能会受到挑战。阅读下面的故事，在妻子眼中，莫顿所面临的困境。
Sunday in the Park
星期天在公园
Bel Kaufman
贝尔·考夫曼
It was still warm in the late afternoon sun, and the city noises came muffled through the trees in the park. She put her book down on the bench, removed her sunglasses, and sighed contentedly. Morton was reading the Times Magazine section, one arm flung around her shoulder, their three-year-old son, Larry, was playing in the sandbox: a faint breeze fanned her hair softly against her cheek. It was five-thirty of a Sunday afternoon, and the small playground, tucked away in a corner of the park, was all but deserted. The swings and seesaws stood motionless and abandoned, the slides were empty, and only in the sandbox two little boys squatted diligently side by side. How good this is, she thought, and almost smiled at her sense of well-being. They must go out in the sun more often; Morton was so city-pale, cooped up all week in the little cube of the company. She squeezed his arm affectionately and glanced at Larry, delighting in the pointed little face frowning in concentration over the tunnel he was digging. The other boy suddenly stood up and with a quick, deliberate swing of his chubby arm threw a spadeful of sand at Larry. It just missed his head. Larry continued digging; the boy remained standing, shovel raised, stolid and impassive.
傍晚，夕阳余温犹存，城市的喧嚣消弭于公园树林。她把书放在长椅上，摘下太阳镜，心满意足地轻叹一声。莫顿正在读《时报》周日专栏，一只胳膊环绕在她的肩上。他们三岁的儿子拉里正在沙箱里玩耍。一缕清风迎面拂过，温柔地掠过她的发丝。现在是星期天下午五点半。这个小游乐场隐在公园的一角，几乎废弃。秋千和跷跷板静静地伫立着，无人问津，滑梯上也空无一人，只见沙箱里蹲着两个小男孩，挨在一起玩得正起劲。她心中想：一切是多么美好啊，脸上几乎展现出了幸福的笑容。他们得多晒太阳，莫顿整个星期都窝在公司狭小的办公隔间里，这样的城市生活把他折磨得苍白无力。她深情地握着莫顿的胳膊，高兴地看着拉里聚精会神地挖隧道，他那尖俏的小脸此刻正眉头紧锁。另一个孩子突然站起来，飞快地抬起胖乎乎的胳膊，故意把满满一铲沙子朝拉里扬过来。幸好没有扬到他头上。拉里继续挖。那个男孩仍旧站在那里，举着铲子，面无表情，无动于衷。
