請(qǐng)不要嘲笑別人，因?yàn)橐苍S他心中藏著難以言喻的隱痛；請(qǐng)不要嘲笑別人，因?yàn)橐苍S他身上的可貴品質(zhì)有一天會(huì)讓你無(wú)地自容。

In sixth grade I had a nerdy1)， homely teacher for first period—Mr. Pennington. He wore diapers2). Naturally， as 13-year-olds do， we made fun of him. Sadly， I participated. Most people whispered and giggled and some did so blatantly3) to ensure he could hear. He never flinched4).

One early morning the class had pushed all of the desks to the perimeter5) of the room and everyone sat on the floor drawing， cutting， coloring， and gluing decorations for one holiday or another. We all chatted and laughed loudly while Mr. Pennington stood precariously6) on a desk—one foot on the seat and the other on the table portion of the same desk—stapling7) our designs along the corkboard8) border above the chalk boards in the back of the class.

I was sitting with a group of girls very near to， but with my back to Mr. Pennington when someone whispered， \"Wouldn't it be funny if he fell?\" I turned my head and looked up at our teacher thinking， \"No， not really.\" But wanting to fit in， I just snickered9) and nodded.

As soon as I'd turned to look at the cheesy10) artwork in front of me， there was a crash and loud thud11) right behind me. I jumped to my feet and spun12) around all at once. Whether the action was out of sudden fear from the noise or from sensing what had just occurred and knowing something needed to be done， I can't really say.

As everyone stared and mumbled \"oh shit\" under their breath13)， I scanned the room to see who was sitting closest to the intercom14) button by the door. All at once the girls shrieked and I turned back to look at Mr. Pennington convulsing15) violently on the ground.

\"Cedric! Page16) the office， run next door， and get Mrs. Johnson!\" I shouted. He didn't hesitate.

I don't know why， instinct or watching too much ER17) with my grandparents， but I told everyone to scoot18) back. Mrs. Johnson came running in and that's when I realized the main office was talking over the intercom. I hadn't heard it. I was too busy staring in shock at Mr. Pennington—now lying on the floor motionless. Was he alive?

Mrs. Johnson barked19) into the air， \"Call an ambulance!\" Another teacher， Mr. Carson came into the room and ushered20) us next door.

After being stabilized， Mr. Pennington had refused to go to the hospital until he spoke with me. He thanked me. \"For what?\" I thought. He confided21) in me that he had epilepsy22). It dawned on me that this was the reason he wore diapers. I felt sorry that I'd ever poked fun at him.

I never found out how he knew the events that took place after he fell; whether he was still cognizant23) or if someone told him， but he knew and was grateful.

六年級(jí)的第一學(xué)期，我有一位老師，他是個(gè)書(shū)呆子，長(zhǎng)相也很平庸——他就是彭寧頓先生。他還用紙尿褲。我們像所有13歲的孩子那樣，自然會(huì)拿他尋開(kāi)心。遺憾的是，我也是其中一員。大多數(shù)同學(xué)竊竊私語(yǔ)，發(fā)出咯咯的笑聲，還有些同學(xué)則大聲嘲諷，故意讓他聽(tīng)見(jiàn)。但他卻從未因此畏縮過(guò)。

一天清晨，全班同學(xué)把所有課桌都推到教室的四周，然后坐在教室中間騰出的空地上為慶祝某個(gè)節(jié)日畫(huà)畫(huà)、剪紙、上色，再用膠水把裝飾品粘好。就在我們大聲談笑的時(shí)候，彭寧頓先生正顫顫巍巍地站在一張課桌上——一只腳踩在座椅上，另一只腳踩在桌面上，用訂書(shū)釘把我們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)的那些裝飾品固定在教室后面黑板上方的軟木公告板的邊框上。

我和一些女生就坐在離彭寧頓先生非常近的地方，我背對(duì)著他。這時(shí)有人低聲說(shuō)：“要是他從課桌上摔下來(lái)，那不是很有趣？”我轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)頭去，抬頭看了看老師，心想：“不，這沒(méi)什么有趣的。”不過(guò)，為了讓自己顯得合群些，我便暗笑著點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。

就在我扭回頭來(lái)想要看看自己面前的那件糟糕的手工藝品時(shí)，突然傳來(lái)“砰”的一聲巨響，有什么東西正好倒在了我身后。我一下子跳了起來(lái)，立刻轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身去。我也說(shuō)不清楚自己的反應(yīng)究竟是因?yàn)楸煌蝗缙鋪?lái)的聲音嚇到了，還是因?yàn)椴煊X(jué)到出事兒了，心里覺(jué)得必須做點(diǎn)兒什么。

在大家睜大眼睛盯著彭寧頓先生，低聲咕噥著“額，該死”的時(shí)候，我向教室里掃視了一圈，看看誰(shuí)離教室門(mén)口的內(nèi)部通話(huà)系統(tǒng)的按鈕最近。這時(shí)，女生們突然尖叫起來(lái)，我轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)頭去，看到彭寧頓先生躺在地上劇烈地抽搐著。

“錫德里克！呼叫辦公室，然后到隔壁叫約翰遜夫人過(guò)來(lái)！”我大聲喊道。他立刻照做了。

我不知道我為什么會(huì)這么做，是出于本能還是和祖父母一起看了太多《急診室的故事》，但我讓大家都迅速退開(kāi)。直到約翰遜夫人跑進(jìn)教室的時(shí)候，我才意識(shí)到主辦公室正在通過(guò)內(nèi)部通話(huà)系統(tǒng)喊話(huà)，而我剛剛卻沒(méi)聽(tīng)見(jiàn)，只是一直驚恐地盯著彭寧頓先生——他此刻躺在地上，一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。他還活著嗎？

約翰遜夫人厲聲叫道：“快叫救護(hù)車(chē)！”另一位老師卡森先生走進(jìn)教室，把我們領(lǐng)到了隔壁的教室。

彭寧頓先生身體狀況穩(wěn)定些后，堅(jiān)持要和我說(shuō)上幾句話(huà)才肯去醫(yī)院。他向我表達(dá)了謝意?！盀槭裁匆x我呢？”我心想。他還向我透露了一個(gè)秘密：他患有癲癇癥(編注：癲癇癥患者發(fā)病時(shí)易大小便失禁)。我這才突然明白，原來(lái)這就是他穿紙尿褲的原因。我為自己曾經(jīng)取笑他的行為感到很羞愧。

我一直都沒(méi)想明白他是如何得知自己摔倒后所發(fā)生的一切的，不管是因?yàn)樗?dāng)時(shí)尚有意識(shí)還是有人告訴了他，但他知道了，而且心懷感激。

1.nerdy [n??di] adj. 書(shū)呆子式的

2.diaper [?da??p?(r)] n. 紙尿褲

3.blatantly [?ble?t?ntli] adv. 吵嚷地；喧鬧地

4.flinch [fl?nt?] vi. 退縮；畏縮

5.perimeter [p??r?m?t?(r)] n. 周邊，邊緣

6.precariously [pr??ke?ri?sli] adv. 不穩(wěn)地；危險(xiǎn)地

7.staple [?ste?pl] vt. 用訂書(shū)釘訂

8.corkboard [?k??k?b??d] n. 軟木公告板

9.snicker [?sn?k?(r)] vi. 竊笑，暗笑

10.cheesy [?t?i?zi] adj. <口>質(zhì)次的；粗陋的

11.thud [θ?d] n. 砰的一聲

12.spin [sp?n] vi. 旋轉(zhuǎn)，轉(zhuǎn)身

13.under one's breath: 壓著嗓子，低聲地

14.intercom [??nt?k?m] n. 【電信】?jī)?nèi)部通話(huà)系統(tǒng)

15.convulse [k?n?v?ls] vi. <口>抖動(dòng)

16.page [pe?d?] vt. (通過(guò)尋呼機(jī))呼叫

17.ER:《急診室的故事》，美國(guó)全國(guó)廣播公司(NBC)自1994年起播出的一部電視連續(xù)劇，于2009年播完。該劇共獲得21項(xiàng)艾美獎(jiǎng)及115項(xiàng)提名。

18.scoot [sku?t] vi. 急速移動(dòng)

19.bark [bɑ?k] vt. 喊叫著命令

20.usher [????(r)] vt. 引，領(lǐng)

21.confide [k?n?fa?d] vi. 吐露秘密

22.epilepsy [?ep?lepsi] n. 【醫(yī)】癲癇

23.cognizant [?k?gn?z?nt] adj. 察知的