I Made a 41
佚名 / Anonymous
Perhaps the only test score that I remember is the 41 when I was in high school. The class was taught by one of the two teachers that impacted me most, Mr. Bales. The other teacher was Mrs. Drew from the seventh grade. It’s amazing how I can remember from over 30 years ago my two most impacting teachers.
The eighth grade. It was a time when I, like most, didn’t know what I was to be in life. The drama of that time of youth was simply get through school and make the long walk home.
There are some things that will still be like the eighth grade when you get to be eighty.
The test was the final for the class. I remember anxiously waiting as Mr. Bales passed out test after test. It was a rather difficult test. I didn’t know how well I had done but I knew there were things on it that I didn’t know.
The air whooshed around the pages as it made a gentle sound plopping down. It was a rhythm as each student received their test—plop, plop, plop.
I heard groan after groan that accompanied the plops. I could tell by the groans that the grades weren’t looking good.
Mr. Bales dropped the stapled pages on my desk.
There in big red numbers, circled to draw attention, was my grade.
41!
Groan !!!
I moved my paper where it wasn’t in plain view, a 41 was not something that you wanted your classmates to see.
After the final plop, Mr. Bales stood behind the worn desk that had stood guard over countless students before me. He addressed the none too jubilant class.
“The grades were not very good, none of you passed, so I will have to consider grading on a scale,” Mr. Bales announced.
“The highest grade in the class was a 41, so all of you flunked,” were the final words that I remember.
A 41. That’s me.
Suddenly my dismal looking final didn’t look quite so bad. There were at least 30 students in the class. I had the highest grade. I felt a whole lot better.
I walked home that day with the low but high grade safely tucked away in my book satchel. My mother knew that I had a big test that day and asked me as soon as I got home, “how did you do on your test?”
“I made a 41,” I said.
My mother’s expression changed. A frown now stood where a smile was a few seconds earlier. I knew that I had to explain and explain fast.
“But mother, I had the highest grade in the class!” I proudly stated.
I knew that statement would change things. I had the highest grade in the class, that made a difference.
My mother said, “You flunked.”
“But I had the highest grade in the class!” I replied.
“I don’t care what everyone else had, you flunked. It doesn’t matter if everyone else flunked too, what matters is what you do,” my mother firmly answered.
For years, I thought that was a harsh judgment. My mother was always that way. It didn’t matter what the other kids did, it only mattered what I did and that I did it excellently.
We often don’t understand the wisdom of good parents until we ourselves stand in the parenting shoes. My mother’s philosophy has carried me throughout life. Don’t worry about what the crowd does. The crowd often goes the wrong way. If you follow the crowd, you will go to the same destination as the crowd. The path of the crowd is wide and it is crowded. The path to pass the tests of life is narrow and there are very few people on it.
我记得的唯一一次考试分数，也许就是上高中时的那个41分。当时教那门课的老师是贝尔斯先生——他是两位对我影响最深的老师之一。另一位是七年级的德鲁女士。令我惊讶不已的是，30多年后，我仍然记得这两位老师。
像大多数孩子一样，八年级时，我不知道自己以后要成为什么样的人。年少时最激动的事就是，上完课后，走很长的路回家。
有些事情直到你80岁时仍会想起，如八年级时发生的那件事。
那是班里的最后一次考试。我记得当时正焦急地等贝尔斯先生分发试卷。这次的考题相当难，我不知道自己考得好不好，但我知道那上面有很多东西我不懂。
试卷啪地被轻轻放下时，在空中发出呼呼的声音。当每一个学生拿到试卷时——啪、啪、啪地很有节奏。
伴随着啪啪的声音，我听到一声又一声的叹息，从叹息声中，我能感觉到大家的分数都不是很理想。
贝尔斯先生把订好了的卷子放到我的桌子上。
一个大大的红色数字，被圈起来了，格外引人注目，这是我的分数。
41！
唉！！！
我移开自己的卷子，不让它暴露在平敞的视野中，你不会想让同学们看到那个41分。
最后的一声啪后，贝尔斯先生站在那张曾守望过无数学长们的破旧讲台后——他向郁郁寡欢的全班同学讲话了。
“成绩不是很好，班上没有一个人及格，所以，我只能考虑按一定比例提高分数。”贝尔斯先生宣布。
“全班最高分是41分，所有的人都没有及格。”这是我记得的最后一句话。
一个41分，是我。
我凄惨的期末成绩，突然看起来不那么糟糕了。班上至少有30多个学生，而我取得了最高分。我的感觉好了很多。
我走回家，那张分数既低又高的试卷被我折好后，安心地放进了书包里。妈妈知道我那天有一个重要考试，所以，我刚到家，她就问道：“你考得怎么样？”
“我得了41分。”我说。
妈妈的表情变了，几秒钟前她还在微笑，现在却皱着眉头站在那里。我知道我得尽快解释。
“可是，妈妈，我考了全班最高分。”我自豪地说道。
我知道这种解释一定会让事情有所改变，我得了全班最高分会有所不同的。
妈妈说：“你没有及格。”
我答道：“可我得了全班最高分！”
“别人怎么样，我不在乎。你没有及格，这跟别人是否及格没关系，关键是你做了什么。”妈妈坚定地说道。
多年以来，我一直认为这是一个苛刻的评判。妈妈一直都是这样，其他的孩子怎么做无关紧要，唯一重要的是，我做了什么，是否做得很出色。
通常，只有等我们也成为了父母，才会理解优秀父母的智慧。妈妈的价值观伴随着我度过整个人生。不要在乎大多数人做了什么，他们常常会走上错误的道路。如果你随波逐流，得到的结果就会和众人一样。众人的道路很宽，却很拥挤。接受人生考验的道路很狭窄，却少有人在。
记忆填空
1. The eighth grade. It was a when I, like most, didn’t what I was to be in life. The drama of that time of was simply get through school and the long walk home.
2. The was the final for the class. I remember anxiously as Mr. Bales passed out test after test. It was a difficult test. I didn’t know how well I had done but I knew there were on it that I didn’t know.
3. We don’t understand the wisdom of good until we ourselves stand in the parenting shoes. My mother’s philosophy has me throughout life.
佳句翻译
1. 有些事情直到你80岁时仍会想起，如八年级时发生的那件事。
2. 我移开自己的卷子，不让它暴露在平敞的视野中，你不会想让同学们看到那个41分。
3. 妈妈一直都是这样，其他的孩子怎么做无关紧要，唯一重要的是，我做了什么，是否做得很出色。
短语应用
1. The drama of that time of youth was simply get through school and make the long walk home.
get through：通过；到达；做完；接通电话
2. My mother knew that I had a big test that day and asked me as soon as I got home...
as soon as：一……就……