I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who had acted as a pall-bearer came up to me. “Were you Mark’s math teacher?” he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. “Mark talked about you a lot,” he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates headed to Chuck’s farmhouse for lunch. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. “We want to show you something,” his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him. “Thank you so much for doing that,” Mark’s mother said, “As you can see, Mark treasured it.”
Mark’s classmates started to gather around us. Chuck smiled rather sheepishly and said, “I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.” John’s wife said, “John asked me to put his in our wedding album.” “I have mine, too,” Marilyn said, “It’s in my diary.” Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. “I carry this me at all times,” Vicki said without batting an eyelash, “I think we all saved our lists.”
That’s when I finally sat down cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
我曾在明尼苏达州莫里斯市的圣玛丽中学任教，我带一个三年级班，班上有34名学生，我都很喜欢，而马克·埃克隆是最特别的一个。他衣冠整洁，有点玩世不恭，偶尔的淘气行为很招人喜欢。
马克上课时经常说话。我一次次地提醒他，未经允许不能随便讲话。然而，我印象最深的是，每次我纠正他的不礼貌行为时，他总会真挚地回答，“修女，谢谢您的指教！”最初听到这话时，我简直不知所措，听得多了，久而久之也就习惯了。
一天早上，马克又不停地说话，我忍无可忍，犯了一个新老师常犯的错误，盯着马克说，“如果你再多说一个字，我就把你的嘴巴用胶带封上！”
十秒还不到，查克就大叫，“马克又说话了！”我并没让其他同学帮我监督马克，但既然当着全班的面说出了要惩罚他的话，那就一定要执行。
我还清楚地记得当时的情景，仿佛就在今天早上：我走上讲台，从容地打开抽屉，拿出胶带，一言不发地走到马克桌前，撕下两片胶带交叉地贴在他的嘴巴上，然后回到讲台。
我瞥了他一眼，想看他有何反应，他却冲我眨眨眼。我忍不住笑了。只好走到马克桌前，撕下胶带，无奈地耸耸肩，学生们都笑了。没想到他的第一句话还是，“修女，谢谢您的指教。”
那年年底，我被安排去教初中数学。时光荏苒，一晃几年过去了，马克又成我班级的学生。他比以前更帅气了，还像以往一样彬彬有礼。因为要细心听我教的“新数学”，九年级的马克不像以前那样说话了。
有个星期五，事情很不顺心。整整一星期，我们都在努力学习一个新概念，我感到学生们都有些气馁了，而且急躁易怒。在情况变得更糟前，我必须控制这种焦躁。于是我让学生们在两张纸上列出班上同学的名字，在名字之间留出空白，并想想每位同学的优点，然后写在纸上。
这花去了那节课的剩余时间，当学生们离开教室时，每个人都交上了他们写好的东西。查克面带微笑地看着我。马克对我说：“修女，谢谢您的指教。周末愉快！”
那个周六，我在纸上分别写下了每个学生的名字，并记下他们的优点。星期一的时候，我把这些纸发给每个人，有些人的优点长达两页。不一会儿，全班学生都开心极了。“真的吗？”我听到他们小声议论着，“我从没想过，那对别人如此有意义！”“我从不知道别人这么喜欢我！”
之后，没人再提纸条的事了。我不知道课后他们是否与父母谈过此事，但那并不重要。这次活动已经达到了目的，学生们之间又相亲相爱，愉快相处了。
这届学生继续升到高年级。几年后，我度假回来，父母到机场接我，开车回家的路上，母亲问了我旅途中诸如天气、经历之类的一些琐事。突然停下了，她侧脸看了父亲一眼，说：“她爸？”父亲清了下嗓子说道：“埃克隆家昨晚打电话来了。”
“真的吗？”我问，“我好几年都没有他们的消息了，不知道马克现在过得怎样。”
父亲很平静。“马克在越南牺牲了，”他说，“葬礼明天举行，他的父母很希望你能参加。”直到现在，我仍清晰记得是在Ι-494公路上，父亲告诉了我这一噩耗。
我以前从未见过士兵躺在灵柩里的样子。马克看上去很英俊，成熟。那一刻，我想到的是：马克，只要你能和我说说话，我愿将世上所有的胶带丢弃。
教堂里都是马克的朋友。查克的姐姐唱着《合众国战歌》。为什么非得在葬礼那天下雨？沉重的心已经够难受了。牧师按常规做了祷告，号手吹起了军号。深爱着马克的人们一个接一个地围着棺木走了一圈，并向它洒圣水。
我最后一个向马克灵柩祝福。我站在那里时，一个刚才抬灵柩的士兵走了过来。“您是马克的数学老师吗？”他问我。我点点头，继续盯着灵柩。“马克以前经常提到您，”他说道。
葬礼后，马克以前的许多同学都去查克的农场吃午饭。马克的父母也在那边，显然在等着我。“我们想给您看些东西，”马克的父亲边说边从口袋里拿出一只皮夹，“马克牺牲时，他的战友在他身上发现的，我们认为您可能认得。”
他打开皮夹，小心翼翼地取出两张破损的笔记本纸，两张纸很明显被经常打开，折起，也用胶带粘过好多次了。不用看，我就知道是当初我所列的马克的同学写下他优点的那两张纸。“很感谢您这么做，”马克的母亲说道，“您看，马克很珍视它。”
马克的同学开始围过来。查克笑着，腼腆地说，“我也保存着那张纸条，放在家里书桌的最上层抽屉里。”约翰的妻子说：“约翰让我把纸条放在我们的结婚相册里。”“我的也还在，”玛丽琳说，“我夹在日记本里。”接着，维姬从她的手提包里拿出皮夹，把她那张旧的，磨损的纸条给大家看。“我一直随身带着，”维姬认真地说道，“我想我们每个人都保存着它。”
那一刻，我坐了下来，哭了。我为马克哭泣，也为再也见不到马克的朋友们而哭泣。
记忆填空
1. What impressed me so , though, was the sincere response every I had to correct him for misbehaving.“Thank you correcting me, Sister!”I didn’t know what to make of it at first, but before long I accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
2. I had never a serviceman in a military coffin . Mark looked so handsome, so mature. I could think at that moment was, Mark, I would give all the masking in the world if only you could to me.
佳句翻译
1. 我瞥了他一眼，想看他有何反应，他却冲我眨眨眼。
2. 这花去了那节课的剩余时间，当学生们离开教室时，每个人都交上了他们写好的东西。
3. 那一刻，我想到的是：马克，只要你能和我说说话，我愿将世上所有的胶带丢弃。
短语应用
1. All 34 of my students were clear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million.
one in a million：百里挑一；极稀有的人或事
2. I didn’t know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
accustomed to：习惯于……
