39、英语小故事（英汉对照）“垃圾车法则”

Sixteen years ago I learned an important life lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab.

十六年前，我在纽约市的一辆出租车后座上，学到了人生的重要一课。

I hopped（跳跃） in a taxi, and took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

我跳上出租车，出发前往纽约中央车站。我们行驶在右侧车道，这时，一辆黑色的小汽车突然从我们前方的停车位里开了出来。

My taxi driver slammed（猛烈抨击） on his brakes, skidded（打滑）, and missed the other car by mere inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and started yelling bad words at us.

出租车司机猛踩刹车，车一打滑，差几英寸就要撞上别人的车了。那个险些酿成大事故的家伙把头一甩，开始冲我们说脏话。

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was actually friendly! So I asked him, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and could have sent us to the hospital!”

出租车司机只是笑笑，朝那家伙摆了摆手。我想说，他可真友善！ 我问他：“你刚才为什么那么做？那家伙差点儿毁了你的车，咱俩险些进了医院！”

And this is when my taxi driver told me about what I now call, “The Law of Garbage Trucks”（垃圾车法则）. “Many people are like Garbage Trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

这时，出租车司机给我讲了下面这番话，我现在把它叫作“垃圾车法则”。 “许多人就跟垃圾车没什么两样，他们走到哪儿都装满垃圾、挫折、愤怒和失望。

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, and if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. Instead, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.”

他们的垃圾越堆越多，需要有地方倾倒。你若是允许，他们就会倒在你身上。如果有人往你身上倒垃圾，别往心里去。不如笑一笑，挥挥手，祝他们好运，然后继续上路。”