Please Focus on Me
请把焦点对准我
I had never noticed her. She was not the kind of girl who could draw attention. She was not tall and just plain. In class, she liked sitting at the back, reading or taking notes. It was once I asked her to read aloud the text that I looked at her with new eyes when I heard her standard American pronunciation. Later on, the National College English Speech Contest would be held. Our school had a quota of one student allowed to attend. I thought it over and filled in her name with a smile. I red-penciled her manuscript of speech, corrected her pronunciation, and even adjust her body language. At that time, we busied ourselves with such work till night.
However, I was always kind of worried because she was too introvert and too quiet. Could sheseize this rare opportunity?
On the night of the contest, I sat in the front row of the auditorium very early. I told her, take it easy. Blushed, she looked at me and said nothing.
My heart sank. It seemed that she did tense up. I patted her and let her go to draw lots. As a result, what she drew was No. 9 while No. 8 was a recognized English master-hand.
Sure enough, the English master-hand was fairly successful in the speech with his humor, jocosity and highly personal style. The whole audience would make a warm applause almost every 30 seconds until she appeared on the stage, still talking over his speech with excitement.
My palms began to sweat. I sat there, with no courage to look at her. It was the first time that she went up the stage, so I couldn’t blame her for any slips. But at that moment, I found I was soscared of her failure.
The strong spotlight and empty auditorium made her so small and so insignificant that nobody seemed to notice she had been on the stage. I said to myself, no hope.
But the moment that shocked me occurred. She did say good evening to the audience as we hadarranged. I clearly heard a voice, a very loud voice, “Now, please focus on me.”
Three time in all. Louder and louder. Earsplitting.
The whole audience fell silent.
I could hardly believe that resonant voice came from the girl who was usually soft-voiced and didn’t draw attention at all. Then I heard her sweet voice lingering in the air, more attractive than a nightingale.
After her speech ended for a long while, a thunderous applause sounded in the whole audience and I unwittingly clapped my hands until my tears welled up. Yes, I think I will never forget that it was my student after years who taught me the most touching lesson in life, namely, never underestimatethe power of the silent, for sometimes a tremendous energy originates from the silent accumulation.
译文
我从来都没注意过她。她也不是那种能引人注目的女孩。她个子不高，长相仅仅一般。上课时，她喜欢一个人坐在后排，看书或者记笔记。有一次叫她读课文时，听到她标准的美式发音，我才对她刮目相看。后来，全国高校英语演讲比赛，我们学校有一个名额，我想了想，微笑着填上了她的名字。改稿，纠正发音，甚至到肢体语言的处理，那段时间，我们每天都忙到很晚。
可是，我总是隐隐有些担心，因为她太内向、太安静，她能抓住这个难得的机会吗？
比赛那天晚上，我很早就坐在了大礼堂的前排。我对她说，别紧张。她看着我，脸红红的，什么也没说。
我的心一沉，看来她确实紧张了。我拍拍她，让她去抽签。结果，她抽到的是第9号，而前面一位选手，是公认的英语高手。
果然，英语高手的演讲相当成功，幽默诙谐，充满个人风格。全场几乎每隔半分钟就会响起一次热烈的掌声，直到她上台，大家还在兴奋地讨论着他的演讲。
我的手心沁出函授，我在台下，不敢望向她。她是第一次上台，出现任何差错我都不能怪她。可是，在那一刻我才发现，我是那么害怕她失败。
强烈的镁光灯，空旷的大礼堂，她显得那么小，那么微不足道。似乎没有人注意到她已经走上了台。我在心里说，没希望了。
但让我震惊的一刻发生了。她并没有像我们安排好的那样问大家晚上好。我清清楚楚地听到了一个声音，很响亮的声音：“现在，请把焦点对准我。”
一共三遍。一遍比一遍响亮，震人耳膜。
全场鸦雀无声。
我不敢相信，那么洪亮的声音是那个平时说话细声细气、毫不起眼的小姑娘发出来的。接下来我听到她婉转的声音在空中盘旋，比夜莺更动听。
她的演讲结束良久，全场才响起雷鸣般的掌声，我不知不觉拍手拍到热泪盈眶。是的，我想我永远不会忘记，是我的学生若干年后教会了我生命里最动人的一课，那就是，永远不要低估沉默着的力量，有时巨大的能量源自无声无息的蓄积。
拓展训练
I had never noticed her. She was not the kind of girl who could draw attention. She was not tall and just looked . In class, she liked sitting at the back, reading or taking notes. One day I asked her to read aloud the text. When I heard her standard American pronunciation, I looked at her with new eyes. And I her name—Kelly. Later on, the National College Speech Competition would be held. One student in our school was allowed to attend. I thought it over and filled in name.
Kelly practiced hard for the competition. However, I was a little worried because she was always too . Could she do well in the competition?
On the night of the competition, I sat in the front row of the hall very early. I told her to take it easy. Her face turned red and she said nothing. It seemed she was really . I felt upset, but I just patted her on the shoulder and let her go to draw lots（抽签）. As a result, she drew No. 9 while No. 8 was a boy who was very good at giving speeches.
Sure enough, No. 8 was very . The whole audience made a warm applause （鼓掌）almost every 30 seconds and was still talking about his speech with until Kelly appeared on the stage. I sat there with no to look at her. It was her first time to go up the stage, so I couldn’t be angry with her for any small mistakes. But at that moment, I found I was so afraid of her .
The strong spotlight and large hall made her so small that nobody seemed to notice she had been on the stage. I felt hopeless.
But the moment that me came. I clearly heard a voice, a very loud voice, “Now, please focus on（聚焦于）me.”
Three times in all, louder and louder.
The whole audience fell silent.
I could believe that loud voice came from the girl, who was usually soft-voiced and didn’t attention at all. She gave a perfect speech.
I think I will never forget this touching lesson that my student taught me — never underestimate（低估）the power of the silent people.
1. A beautiful B ordinary C popular D strange
2. A mentioned B called C remembered D wrote
3. A her B his C my D your
4. A different B lazy C slow D quiet
5. A strict B nervous C angry D bored
6. A careful B thankful C successful D cheerful
7. A patience B confidence C pride D excitement
8. A courage B interest C excuse D effort
9. A decision B expression C appearance D failure
10. A upset B saved C surprised D changed
11. A simply B hardly C surely D deeply
12. A catch B need C pay D show
答案 BCADB CDADC BA