M y f a t h e r w a s a n a s t u t eobserver of human character. Withinseconds of meeting someone，hecould sum up their strengths andflaws. It was always a challenge tosee if any of my boyfriends couldpass Dad’s test. None did. Dad wasalways right-they didn’t pass mytest either. After Dad died，I wonderedhow I’d figure it out on my own.
That’s when Jack arrived on the scene.
He was different from any other guy I’d dated. He could sit for hours on the piano benchwith my mother，discussing obscure composers. My brother Rick loudly announced that Jackwasn’t a turkey like the other guys I’d brought home.
My sister，Denise，belly laughed with him over old Danny Kaye films. And Jack wasgreat with my brother Chuck，who has a mental disability. One time，Chuck put his greasyhands，just dislodged from a cheeseburger，on Jack’s shoulders，kissed his cheek with ketchupcoveredlips and called him by the wrong name，shouting，“Ah，Jeff，I luv ya！”Jack didn"t missa beat. “I love you too，George！” Jack passed my family’s test. But what about Dad’s？
Then came the weekend of my Mom’s birthday. Jack was comingdown from his home in Milwaukee to Chicago. The day he wassupposed to drive，I got a call，“Don’t worry，” he said，“but I’ve beenin an accident.” His car had stalled； when he pulled over，another carcareened into it. “I’m fine，but I need you to pick me up.”
Thank God he’s okay，I thought，as I drove up to Milwaukee.
When I got there，we rushed to a flower shop for something for Mom.
“How about gardenias？” Jack said，pointing out a beautiful whitecorsage.
“You never see those this time of year，” I said. The florist put thecorsage in a box.
The entire ride，Jack was unusually quiet. “Are you all right？” Iasked. We were pulling onto my mother’s street. “I"ve been doing alot of thinking，” he said. “I might be moving.”
Moving？ Then he added，“Moving in with you.”
“What？” I asked，parking the car.
“I think we should get married，” he said. He told me he’dplanned his proposal for a fancy restaurant，but after the accident，hedecided to do it right away. “Yes，” I whispered. We both sat stunned，tears running down our cheeks，unable to speak. I’d never known sucha tender moment. If only Dad were here to give his final approval.
“Oh，let’s just go inside，” Jack said，laughing. We got out of thecar and he walked up the driveway，carrying the corsage. My motheropened the door. “Happy Birthday！” we shouted. Jack thrust the boxat her. She opened it up. Suddenly，her eyes brimmed with tears. Jackand I looked at each other. “Mom，what’s wrong？ ”I asked.
“I’m sorry，” she said，wiping her eyes. “This is only the secondgardenia corsage I"ve ever received. I was given one years ago，longbefore you kids were born.”
“From who？ ” I asked.
“Your father，” Mom said. “He gave me one right before we wereengaged.” My eyes locked on Jack’s as I blinked away tears. Dad’stest？ I knew Jack had passed.
我的父亲看人很准，只需跟人接触一会儿，他就能总结出这人的优缺点。我的男朋友能否通过爸爸这一关就成为了一种挑战。他们没有一个成功过。爸爸总是对的，他们也没有通过我的考验。爸爸去世后，我不知道该如何靠自己去辨别男友。
这时，杰克出现了。他和我以前约会过的男友都不一样。他可以和我母亲一块在钢琴凳前坐上几个小时，讨论不为大众所知的作曲家。我的弟弟瑞克大声宣称，杰克不像我之前带回家的那些笨蛋。
我的妹妹丹尼斯会与杰克一起看丹尼·凯伊的老电影，两个人乐得捧腹大笑。此外，杰克与我患有智障的弟弟查克也相处得很好。一次，查克将刚抓过奶酪汉堡的油腻双手放在杰克的肩膀上，用沾满了番茄酱的嘴巴亲吻着杰克，还叫错了他的名字，大喊道：“噢，杰夫，我爱你！”杰克并没有躲开，而是回应道：“乔治，我也爱你！”他通过了我的家人这一关。但爸爸也满意吗？
妈妈生日的那个周末，杰克从他住的密尔沃基赶到芝加哥来。那天他本是开车来的，我接到他的电话。“别担心，”他说，“我出了点事故。”他的车熄火了；当他靠边停车时，另一辆车冲过来侧翻了。“我没事，不过需要你来接我。”
我驱车前往密尔沃基，心想，谢天谢地，他安然无恙。我到后，我们急忙赶往花店，为妈妈买礼物。
“栀子花怎么样？”杰克指着一个漂亮的白色花饰说道。
“这个时节从未见过这种花儿。”我说道。花店老板将花饰装在盒中。
一路上，杰克出奇地安静。“你还好吗？”我问道。我们正开到妈妈住的那条街。“我一直在想，”他说，“可能我要搬家。”
搬家？然后他接着说道：“搬过来跟你一起住。”
“什么？”我一边停车一边问道。
“我觉得我们该结婚了。”他说。他告诉我，他本来计划在一家昂贵的餐厅跟我求婚，但经历了这次事故后，他决定马上向我求婚。“好的。”我低声地回答道。我们不知所措地坐着，泪水滑落脸颊，无以言说。我从不知道会有如此温情的时刻，要是爸爸能在这儿给出他最后的认可就好了。
“哦，我们进去吧。”杰克笑着说。
我们下了车，他拿着花饰走上车道。妈妈开了门。“生日快乐！”我们喊道。杰克将盒子塞到妈妈手中。妈妈打开盒子，突然，她热泪盈眶，我和杰克看了看彼此。
“妈，你怎么了？”我问道。
“不好意思，”她一边擦着泪水一边说。“这是我目前为止收到的第二个栀子花饰。我在很久之前收到过，那时你们还没出生。”
“谁送的？”我问道。
“你父亲，”妈妈说道。“他就在我们订婚前送给我的。”我看着杰克，眨着眼睛忍住泪水。爸爸这一关，我知道杰克通过了。
轻英语
潮流英语
the microphone hog 麦霸
micro blog / Tweets 微博
naked wedding 裸婚
sub-health 亚健康
boxers 平角裤
young cynic 愤青
soul mate 灵魂伴侣
chick flick 文艺爱情片
slasher flick 惊悚电影
zone out 上课开小差
know-it-all 万事通
break a record 打破纪录
create a new record 创造新纪录
lifelong learning 终生学习
plays reshooting 影视翻拍
the four masterpieces of literature 四大文Drawn to the Warmth
温暖
By Marion Smith
Factoring in the wind chill，Iknew the temperature was belowzero. The bitter cold cut throughmy Californian sensibilities，as wellas my enthusiasm as a tourist，soI ducked through the nearest doorfor warmth and found myself inWashington，D.C.’s Union Station.
I settled onto one of the publicbenches with a steaming cup of coffee -waiting for feeling to return to my fingers andtoes - and relaxed to engage in some serious people-watching.
Several tables of diners spilled out into the great hall from the upscale AmericanRestaurant，and heavenly aromas tempted me to consider an early dinner. I observed a manseated nearby and，from the longing in his eyes，realized that he，too，noticed the tantalizingfood. His gaunt body，wind-chapped hands and tattered clothes nearly shouted，“Homeless，homeless！”
I wondered how long it had been since he had eaten.
Half expecting him to approach me for a handout，I almost welcomed such a plea. Henever did. The longer I took in the scene，the crueler his plight seemed. My head andheart waged a silent war，the one telling meto mind my own business，the other urging atrip to the food court on his behalf.
While my internal debate raged on，a well-dressed young couple approachedhim. “Excuse me，sir，” the husband began.
“My wife and I just finished eating，and ourappetites weren’t as big as we thought. Wehate to waste good food. Can you help usout and put this to use？” He extended a largeStyrofoam container.
“God bless you both. Merry Christmas，”
came the grateful reply.
Pleased，yet dismayed by my own lackof action，I continued to watch. The manscrutinized his newfound bounty，rearrangedthe crackers，inspected the club sandwichand stirred the salad dressing - obviouslyprolonging this miracle meal. Then，with aslow deliberateness，he lifted the soup lidand，cupping his hands around the steamingwarm bowl，inhaled. At last，he unwrappedthe plastic spoon，filled it to overflowing，lifted it toward his mouth and - with asuddenness that stunned me - stopped short.