On August 26,1999,New York City experienced a torrential downpour.The rain caused the streets to1and the subway system almost came to a stop.

    Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour.Many people who were going to work were2to go home.Some battled to3a taxi or to get on a bus.Still others faced the4bravely,walking miles to get to work.

    I 5 to be one of the people on the way to work that morning.I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most6had stopped.After making my way7crowds of people,I finally found a subway line that was 8.Unfortunately,there were so many people waiting to9the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the10.So I took the train going in the opposite direction,and then switch back to the downtown train.Finally,after what seemed like an forever,the train11my stop.Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I finally got to my office,I was12through,exhausted and13.

    My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off.When it was 5:00 pm,I was ready to go home.I was about to turn off my computer14I received an email from Garth,my Director:

    I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and15reported to work.It is always reassuring（今人欣慰）,at times like these,when employees so clearly show their16to their jobs.Thank you.

    Garth's email was short, but I learned more from that17message than I ever did from a textbook.The email taught me that a few words of18can make a big difference.The rainstorm and the traffic19had made me tired and upset.But Garth's words immediately20me and put a smile back on my face.

丑猫

       ①每次瞥见院子里有猫跑过，我就会想起以前我们这个院子里生活过的一只小猫。邻居们对这只猫都很熟悉，叫它丑猫。固然，谁也说不清楚它是从哪儿来的，不过有一点可以肯定，这是一只被抛弃的猫，因为它一直对人心存依恋。

       ②这只被叫做丑猫的猫真的很丑，只有一只左眼，右眼处是一个黑乎乎的令人惊骇的深洞。右耳也残缺不全了。一条又宽又长的伤疤从头顶一直延伸到肩上。右后腿不知何时折断又接上了，但已经严重弯曲。尾巴早就没了，只剩下短短的一截，总是翘着。全身暗灰色的毛脏兮兮的，黑色的条纹已经很难分辨出来。凡见过这只猫的人产生的第一反应就是：这只猫真丑！

       ③因为这只猫相貌丑陋，所以邻居们都不喜欢它。孩子们看见它远远地就绕开了，更别提摸摸它抱抱它了；大人们一看见它就吓唬它驱逐它，甚至还用石头砸它。丑猫有时候想进到楼道里去，但人们只要一发现它想进来，就用浇花的水管子冲它，或用楼门夹它的瓜子。但不管人们怎样对待它，丑猫从不对抗。如果人们用水管子冲它，它不跑也不躲，只是呆呆地站在那儿，任凭冷水淋到身上；如果人们扔东西砸它，它也只是轻轻地抬抬爪子，好像在请求人们的谅解。

       ④与人亲近一直是丑猫的一个幻想。如果有哪个胆大的孩子瞥见它没有躲开，它就赶忙跑过去，用头蹭人家的手，一边蹭，还一边喵喵地高声叫着，希望能得到一点点温柔的抚摩；如果有谁愿意破天荒地抱抱它，它就急忙舔舔人家的衣角或者它能够得着的东西，渴望能留住这一刻难得的温情。但更多的时候，丑猫得到的都是厌弃和驱赶。

       ⑤有一天，一个更大的不幸降临到了丑猫的头上：孤独的丑猫朝附近的几只狗走了过去，它大概是太寂寞了，想和那几只狗交个朋友吧，但没想到那几只狗却毫不留情地咬伤了它。我在屋子里听到丑猫凄惨的叫声，急忙跑了出去。等我跑到丑猫跟前时，丑猫正躺在地上，身子蜷缩成了一团，全身血肉模糊，脸上挂满了泪痕，已经岌岌可危了。丑猫不幸的一生就要走到尽头了。我把它从地上抱了起来，它声音嘶哑，艰难地喘着气。我双手抱着它，一动也不敢动，唯恐再弄痛了它，但它却挣扎着要舔一舔我的手。我把它搂到了胸前，它的头紧紧地贴到我的手掌上，用那只黄黄的小眼睛注视着我。突然，我听到它用微弱的声音“喵”地叫了一声。显然，这只猫在遭受了如此巨大的痛苦后，仍然渴望着一丝怜爱，或是一丝同情！当时，我觉得我怀里的这只猫是我一生中见过的最可爱最英俊的动物。它从没想过要咬我，要挠我，或者摆脱开我的怀抱，它只是默默地看着我，完全相信我能够减轻它的痛苦。丑猫就这样在我的怀中慢慢地死去了，没能等我把它抱回家。

       ⑥丑猫只是身体残疾，而我们人类是心灵残疾。我们对那些形象优美的生物关爱有加，而对那些卑微弱小的生灵却漠不关心。世间的大爱，应该是对一切生命的尊重，不因其美丽而关怀庇护，不因其丑陋而鄙视厌弃。