My neighbour Orlando is a paramedic (护理人员). He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met. A few years back we started this sort of “favor war”, where one of us would do something for the other, such as shoveling (铲) his driveway or helping him build a shed, and next time the other would try to top it with another favor.
Yesterday morning there was maybe 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall. So I took out my shovel and took care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back. It took a while but I finished and got into my car for work. What I did not realize was that Orlando had to work that day too.
Fast forward to this morning I got a knock on my door. It was him. He immediately shook my hand and informed me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk for him, he was able to get to work earlier. As soon as he started his shift, a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency. Luckily he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away, but the next closest ambulance was in 10 minutes. This kid didn’t have 10 minutes. He barely had 2 minutes. Because my neighbour got to work sooner, the young boy got to live his life.
This isn’t a brag (吹嘘). This is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impacts. It wasn’t too much of trouble to shovel his driveway for him, but because I did, the young kid got to see his family again, go back to school again, talk to his friends again and live his life.
【小题1】What can we know about the writer and Orlando?| A．They once had a conflict. | B．They signed a favorable agreement. |
| C．They favor shoveling snow together. | D．They are always ready to help each other. |
| A．The writer. | B．The boy’s parents. |
| C．Orlando and his partner. | D．Orlando and his wife. |
| A．To tell him to clear up the snow. | B．To tell him to do a favour back. |
| C．To express his thanks to him. | D．To say he started his shift. |
| A．Never ask for trouble. | B．No favor is too small. |
| C．One cannot always be lucky. | D．Don’t lose heart in an emergency. |
