介绍:
想成为我们的主播，欢迎加微信 xdfbook 投稿。
一段美文，一首英文歌，或是一点生活感想，全由你做主。
《属于你的我的街角》
My Corner
The corner of 71st Street and Prospect is my corner. Most folks look at it and find there’s nothing there, just an empty lot. But they’re not looking hard enough. My corner is like a wide-open treasure box.
My name is Tia. I live on the third floor of the apartment building next-door. Some days when my sisters and brothers are chasing each other and yelling, and I feel like the walls of our apartment are about to burst, I run down to my corner. My sneakers pound ) the pavement, and then take me on a flying leap into a sea of green. I wade ) through the tall grass. Butterflies gather at my feet. I’m careful not to step on the flowers that grow here. They’re beautiful, even though they’re probably just weeds. The grass smells clean and fresh. The sun warms my skin, and I wonder why I’m the only one who’s thankful for this place.
Some folks don’t respect this corner. I’ve seen them throw trash from their car windows as they speed down 71st. There is junk here too: old chairs, a broken bicycle wheel, someone’s rusty mailbox …
One evening, Mama says, “Tia, the city wants to pave over ) that corner of yours, turn it into a parking lot.” I stop in my tracks ). “Not my corner, Mama! They can’t do that!” “They can and they will,” says Mama, “unless somebody comes up with a better idea.” “It just needs some cleaning up, that’s all. How come they can’t see that?” I run to my room and slam ) the door. Out my window I can see my corner. Mama knocks softly at the door and steps in.
“Tia, you see something in that corner that most folks don’t. You have to make them see what you see. Make some noise about ) it. No one ever got anyplace by sitting back ) and staying quiet.”
That night, I lie awake for a long time. I’m thinking about what Mama said to me. In my heart, I know she’s right. I’ve got to do something.
Early the next morning I drag a chair down to the corner. On a big scrap of cardboard I’ve painted “No Parking Lot! Save Our Nature!” in large letters. I sit down and wait. Most people pass by and don’t pay any attention to me. A few people ask me what I’m doing, and I tell them.
Across the street, Mrs. DiRisio steps out of her beauty shop. She’s angry, I can tell. She marches across 71st without even looking, sending cars screeching ) to a stop. Her eyes are fixed on me. “What is this?” Mrs. DiRisio asks, waving her hand at my sign. My heart is racing. “My customers need a place to park,” she says. “You go home, little girl.” She glares ) at me. I swallow ) hard. I feel my sign drop to the ground. I don’t stand a chance against angry Mrs. DiRisio.
Then I see Mama and my brothers and sisters coming down the street. They’re carrying chairs and they’ve painted signs. They’re here to help me! “Thank you,” I say. Six people are going to get a lot more attention than just one.
The afternoon sun is hot and as I fan myself, I look down the street and notice a woman taking pictures of my corner. She smiles and walks over to me.
“I’m Sara Bennett. Can I talk to you?” I look to Mama, but she nods her head in my direction. I’m the one who needs to make some noise. I start talking, and Ms. Bennett scribbles ) on a small notepad. “A walking path would be nice,” I say, “and maybe a vegetable garden. And a bench, so people could sit down and listen to the birds singing.” I’m surprised at myself, at how many ideas I’ve got for this corner.
When we’re done, Ms. Bennett takes a few more pictures and thanks me for my time. I can’t believe it! A real newspaper story about my corner! Mama hugs me and says, “I’m real proud of you, Tia. You’re making things happen. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going be a big day.”
Mama was right. My brothers burst ) into my room the next morning, waving a copy of the morning paper. “Fighting for Nature on the Corner of 71st and Prospect” was the title of the article, and along with it was a picture of me! We were all jumping up and down and shouting when Mama said, “Hey, don’t be throwing a party just yet. You’ve got a corner to save.”
After breakfast we drag our chairs and signs back to the corner. I’m just settling in for a long day when all of a sudden I see my friend Tanya and her family coming down the street. They’ve got chairs and they’re joining us! “That was quite an article in the paper, Tia,” says Tanya’s father. “You’ve got some good ideas for this corner.” Then Mr. and Mrs. Choi from the second floor show up. “Tia, I think you’re right. We need a little nature around here,” Mrs. Choi says.
This isn’t just my corner anymore. This is our corner.
A week later we’ve got people all up and down 71st Street and Prospect waving signs and making noise. I’m asked to speak to a group of people from the city. Mama says they’re the ones who will vote on what to do with our corner. My hands start shaking when I spot Mrs. DiRisio in the audience, but I keep my eyes on Mama and I speak in my loudest voice, just like she told me to. “If this is the last little bit of nature in our neighborhood,” I say, “doesn’t it make sense to try and save it?” At the end of my speech, everyone applauds and Sara Bennett gives me a big smile. I think secretly she’s on our side.
…
I’m almost asleep that night when the phone rings. When Mama hangs up the phone, she lets out a whoop ) that probably wakes the entire building! “You did it, Tia! The city voted against the parking lot! You got your nature preserve )!” Mama hugs me so hard that she lifts me off the ground. It’s a night I’ll never forget as long as I live.
A year later, the sign on the corner makes it official. Now we’ve got a walking path that curves and winds its way through the 71st Street Nature Preserve. We’ve got a stone bench and plans for a vegetable garden. School groups come here to collect leaves and study the insects and birds. Folks come here to walk, run, or just sit. My corner isn’t just mine anymore, but I’m more than happy to share it.
71号大街和展望大街的街角是我的街角。大多数人看看它，发现那里什么都没有，只是一块空地而已，但他们看得不够仔细。我的街角就像一个敞开的百宝箱。
我叫蒂娅，住在街角旁边公寓大楼的三楼。有时候，我的兄弟姐妹们在互相追逐打闹、大喊大叫，而我觉得我们公寓的墙壁都快要震开了，每当这时，我就会跑下楼去我的街角。我穿着帆布鞋踩在人行道上咚咚作响，接着凌空一跃来到一片绿色的海洋。我跋涉于高高的草丛中，蝴蝶飞拢到我的脚边。我小心翼翼地走着，生怕踩到这里长的那些花儿。尽管它们大概只是些野草，但它们依旧很美。青草闻起来十分清新，阳光温暖地照在我的身上——我想知道为什么我是唯一对这个地方心怀感恩的人。
一些人轻视这个街角，我曾看到他们急速驶过71号大街时从车窗里丢出垃圾。这里也堆积了一些废旧杂物：几把旧椅子、一个坏了的自行车轱辘、不知是谁的生了锈的邮箱……
有一天晚上，妈妈说：“蒂娅，市政府想把你那个街角铺砌一下，把它改造成一个停车场。”我怔住了：“不能动我的街角，妈妈！他们不能这么做！”“他们能这么做，而且也将这么做，”妈妈回答，“除非有人想出一个更好的主意。”“我们只需要把它打扫干净，就这么简单。他们怎么就不明白呢？”我跑回自己的房间，摔上了门。窗外，我可以看到我的街角。妈妈轻轻地敲了敲我房间的门，走了进来。
“蒂娅，你看到了大多数人在那个街角看不到的东西，你必须让他们也看到你所看到的一切。你要对这件事发出自己的声音。如果袖手旁观、保持沉默，谁都不会取得任何成功的。
那天晚上，我迟迟无法入睡，一直在想妈妈跟我说的那些话。在我心里，我知道妈妈是对的，我必须要做点什么。
第二天一大早，我拖着一把椅子来到了那个街角。在一大块硬纸板上，我用颜料写下了“拒绝停车场！拯救大自然！”几个大字。我坐下来等着。大多数人路过这里时都没有注意到我，有那么几个人问我在干什么，我告诉了他们。
在街对面，迪里西奥夫人从她的美容院里走了出来。我可以看得出来她很生气。她迈着大步横穿过71号街，甚至看都不看一眼路，这让过往的车辆都嘎的一声停了下来。她一直盯着我。“这是什么？”迪里西奥夫人挥手指着我的牌子问道。我心跳加速。“我的顾客需要一个地方停车”，她说，“回家待着去吧，小女孩。”她瞪着我。我使劲咽了一下口水，感觉手中的牌子也掉在了地上。在愤怒的迪里西奥夫人面前，我没有任何反击之力。
就在这时，我看到妈妈和兄弟姐妹们沿着这条街走过来了。他们拿着椅子，还带着写好的牌子。他们是来这儿帮我的！“谢谢你们。”我说。跟只有一个人相比，六个人将获得多得多的关注。
午后的太阳火辣辣的，正给自己扇凉的我望着这条街，注意到一个女人正在为我的街角拍照。她微笑着向我走了过来。
“我叫莎拉•本内特。我能跟你聊聊吗？”我看了妈妈一眼，但她却朝我点了点头。我才是那个需要站出来说点什么的人。我开始讲述，本内特夫人则在一个小记事本上草草地记录着。“如果这里有一条步行道的话会很棒，”我说道，“或许还可以建一个菜园。再来一条长椅，这样人们就可以坐下来，听鸟儿歌唱。”我为自己感到惊讶，为自己对这个街角竟有那么多的想法感到惊讶。
本内特夫人采访完又多拍了几张照片，并感谢我能抽出时间与她交流。真是不可思议呀！有报纸要对我的街角进行报道了，真正的新闻报道！妈妈抱抱我说：“我真为你感到骄傲，蒂娅。你做出了改变。我觉得明天将是重要的一天。”
妈妈说得对。第二天早上，哥哥弟弟们冲进我的房间，手中挥舞着一份晨报。文章的标题是《守护街角，呵护自然》，上面还有一张我的照片！我们都又蹦又跳，欢呼雀跃，这时妈妈说：“嘿，现在先别急着开派对啊。你们还要守护街角呢。”
…………
文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年10月号
