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Once when I was hitchhiking unsuccessfully in the rain, a trucker pulled over, locking his brakes so hard that he skidded on the grass shoulder. The driver told me he was once robbed at knifepoint by a hitchhiker. "But I hate to see a man stand out in the rain," he added. "People don't have no heart anymore."
有一次我在雨中没能搭上便车。一名长途卡车司机停了车，他把刹车踩得那么重，车子都在草地路肩上滑行了一段。司机告诉我他有一次被搭便车的人持刀抢劫了。“但我不愿意看到有人在雨里站着。”他补充说，“现在大家都没有良心了。”
I found, however, that people were generally compassionate. A middle-aged Iowa couple shepherded me around for an hour, trying to help me find a campground. In South Dakota a woman whose family had given me a night's lodging handed me two stamped post cards: one to let her know how my trip turned out; the other to send the next day, telling her where I was so she wouldn't worry about me.
然而，我发现，总体而言，人们还是挺有同情心的。艾奥瓦州一对中年夫妇为了帮我找宿营地领着我走了一个小时。在南达科他州，一个女人让我在她家住了一晚之后递给我两张贴了邮票的明信片：一张是让她知道我这趟旅行结果如何；另一张是要第二天寄出的，告诉她我在哪里，免得她为我担心。
Hearing I had no money and would take none, people in every state bought me food or shared whatever they happened to have with them. A park ranger in Ukiah, Calif., gave me some carrots. A college student handed me sacks filled with organic tomatoes and melons. A woman in Iowa gave me two bundles of graham crackers, two cans of soda, two cans of tuna, two apples and two pieces of chicken.
听说我没钱，又不愿意接受钱，每个州的人们都会给我买食物或者和我分享他们手头上有的东西。在加州的尤凯亚，一位国家公园管理员给了我一些胡萝卜，一名大学生给了我几大袋有机西红柿和瓜类。艾奥瓦州的一名妇女给了我两大包全麦饼干、两罐果汁汽水、两个金枪鱼罐头、两个苹果和两块鸡肉。
The people who had the least to give often gave the most. In Oregon a home painter named Mike noted the chilly weather and asked if I had a coat. When I replied, "a light one," he drove me to his house, rummaged through his garage and handed me a bulky green Army-style jacket.
拥有最少的人往往给予的最多。在俄勒冈一个叫迈克的房屋油漆工注意到天气十分寒冷，就问我有没有外套。我回答说“有件薄的”，他开车带我去他家，翻遍了车库，递给我一件肥大的绿色军大衣。
