We were a very motley crowd of people who took the bus every day that summer 3 years ago. During the early morning ride from the suburb, we sat drowsily with our collars up to our ears, a cheerless and taciturn bunch.
One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the centre for senior citizens every morning. He walked with a stoop and a sad look on his face when he, with some difficulty, boarded the bus and sat down alone behind the driver. No one ever paid very much attention to him.
Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled short-sightedly down through the bus before he sat down. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically, smiled and said in a loud voice: “And a very good morning to you all!” Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “Good morning,” in reply.
The following weeks we were more alert. Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. They were already dangling a little because of the heat. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name really was “Charlie”, but he nodded shyly and said yes.
The other passengers whistled and clapped at him. Charlie bowed and waved the flowers before he sat down on his seat.
Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower. Some of the regular passengers began bringing him flowers for his bouquet, gently nudged him and said shyly: “Here.” Everyone smiled. The men started to jest
The summer went by, and autumn was closing in, when one morning Charlie wasn’t waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or — hopefully — on holiday somewhere.
When we came nearer to the centre for senior citizens, one of the passengers asked the driver to wait. We all held our breaths when she went to the door.
Yes, the staff said, they knew who we were talking
The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, stooping a bit more, a little bit more grey, and without a tie. He seemed to have shrinked again. Inside the bus was a silence akin to that in a church. Even though no one had talked
三年前的那个夏天，我们还是一群素不相识的人，每天都乘坐巴士。在从郊区开往市区的早班车里，我们都昏昏欲睡地坐着，衣领直竖到耳朵。整个车厢里鸦雀无声。
其中一位乘客是一位头发灰白的小个子老头，每天早上，他都乘车去老年活动中心。微微有些驼背，每次艰难地上车后，他都独自坐到司机后面，并且脸上总带着一副悲伤的表情。没人过多地注意过他。
然而，在七月的一个早晨，他先对司机说了声“早上好”，并对车厢里的人报之以微笑，然后才坐下。司机随意地点点头。而我们仍保持沉默。
第二天，这位老人精力充沛地上了车，微笑地大声说：“诸位，早上好啊！”有些人吃惊地抬起头来，低声答道：“早上好。”
接下来的几个星期，我们对他更加留意了。我们这位朋友现在穿着一件好看的旧西装，打着一条宽松的过时领带。稀疏的头发也精心梳理过了。他每天都对我们说早上好，而我们也逐渐开始点头致意并互相交谈。
一天早上，他手里拿着一束野花，由于天气炎热，有些已经凋零。司机微笑着转过头去问：“查理，是不是有女朋友了啊？”我们都不知道他是否真叫查理，但他羞涩地点头承认了。
其他乘客都吹着口哨为他鼓掌，查理鞠了个躬，晃了晃手中的鲜花，然后坐下了。
从那以后，每天早上，查理都会带一支鲜花，有些老乘客也开始为他带些花，轻轻地碰他一下，羞涩地说：“给你的。”每个人都面带微笑。人们开始开玩笑，互相聊天，分享报纸。
夏天过去了，秋天快要到了。那天早上，查理没在他通常等车的那一站等车，并且接连几天都没有出现，我们猜测他是否生病了，但更希望他是去某个地方度假了。
当我们的车逐渐行驶到老年活动中心时，其中一位乘客让司机停车等一下，她走到车门时我们都屏住了呼吸。
是的，工作人员说，他们知道我们说的那个人。那位老先生身体很健康，但那个星期他没有来活动中心。上周末他的一位十分要好的朋友过世了。他们估计下周一他能回来。接下来的路上，我们一直沉默不语。
下个周一，查理在车站等车。他看上去腰弯得更厉害，头发愈加苍白，也没有系领带。他仿佛又恢复了原样。车厢像教堂一般肃静。尽管没人说话，但我们所有人，他曾经在那个夏天留下美好回忆的这群人，每人手里都拿着一束鲜花，眼里噙满了泪水。
相关单词：suburb
suburb解释：n.郊区，郊外，近郊
suburb例句：
Toward the suburb the houses begin to thin out.靠近市郊的地方房屋渐渐稀少。
Disneyland is in Los Angeles suburb.迪斯尼游乐场在洛杉矶的近郊。
相关单词：drowsily
drowsily解释：adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地
drowsily例句：
She turned drowsily on her side, a slow creeping blackness enveloping her mind. 她半睡半醒地翻了个身，一片缓缓蠕动的黑暗渐渐将她的心包围起来。 来自飘（部分）
I felt asleep drowsily before I knew it. 不知过了多久，我曚扙地睡着了。 来自互联网
相关单词：stoop
stoop解释：n.佝偻，屈服；v.弯下，弯下上身，屈服
stoop例句：
It pains me to stoop down.痛得我蹲下来。
He has to stoop to get through the tunnel.他得弯下腰走过地道。
相关单词：amazed
amazed解释：adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )
amazed例句：
Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。
相关单词：alert
alert解释：adj.机警的，活泼的，机灵的；vt.使...警觉
alert例句：
Drivers must be on the alert for traffic signals.驾驶员必须密切注意交通信号。
The rabbIt'seems to be very alert all its life.兔子似乎一生都小心翼翼，十分警觉。
相关单词：dangling
dangling解释：悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口
dangling例句：
The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。
相关单词：bouquet
bouquet解释：n.花束，酒香
bouquet例句：
This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
相关单词：stooping
stooping解释：adj.（尤指肩和背部）弯曲的v.弯腰( stoop的现在分词 )；屈身；俯首；屈尊
stooping例句：
Stooping, he stared at him in breathless and frozen ferocity. 他弯下身躯，盯着他，满脸凶相，令人失魂落魄，毛骨悚然。 来自辞典例句
The rest were all somewhat stooping, as though watching the manoeuvres of this last. 其余几个微微俯身向前，像是在看他做什么。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
相关单词：akin
akin解释：adj.同族的，类似的
akin例句：
She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。
