"Mommy, can we get some cupcakes for my birthday? Please!" 4-year-old Norah said.
I hesitated about going to the grocery store on a Tuesday, Senior Citizen Discount Day. We had already celebrated Norah's big day. Her two elder sisters were also born in September, so we had one big celebration for all of them. But today was Norah's actual birthday. How could I say no?
"Okay," I said, thinking of the seniors who would crowd the aisles (过道) in the store. "But we have to be quick."
At the store I put Norah in one of the carts shaped like a car and did my best to move it to the bakery quickly. I picked up a package of cupcakes, swung to the other part of the store for birthday balloons and then got distracted by salad dressings.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Norah standing up in the cart waving excitedly. "Hi, old person! It's my birthday today," she said cheerfully.
An elderly man in his 80s stared at us stone-faced. Before I could explain that "old person" isn't exactly the best way to address someone, the man had already opened his mouth to reply to her. "Well, hello, little lady," he said. "How old are you today?"
"I'm four," Norah said, holding up her fingers. Then we chatted briefly, long enough for him to tell me that he was Dan and that he usually tried to avoid the grocery store on Senior Citizen Discount Day as well.
We went our separate ways. Several minutes later, Norah asked, "Can I take a photo with the old man for my birthday?" I felt kind of strange about asking a complete stranger to take a photo with this kid who had just called him "old person".
"Let's see if we can," I said. We went back and spotted Mr. Dan by the dairy section.
"There he is!" Norah pointed. His hair was uncombed (乱的), and he was dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and sneakers.
"Ask him, Mommy!" Norah said.
"Okay, okay, I'll ask, honey," I told Norah, and then approached the old man.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
| "Excuse me, Mr. Dan," I said. …… "My wife passed away months ago," Dan explained. |
