Pre-reading
1. Are your parents busy with their work? Do you have enough communication with them?
2. What would you do if you had no chance to communicate with your father/mother over a long period of time?
While-reading
1. What was the father’s reaction when hearing his son asking for money?
2. What do you think “crumbled-up bills” may indicate?
3. What might be the father’s feeling when he found out why the boy had asked for money?
4. Think of 2-3 words each to describe the characters of the son and the father.
a) Son: ____________
b) Father: __________
The Value of an Hour
一个小时的价值
A man came home from work late, tired and upset. Then he found his five-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
一个男人下班很晚回家，又累又烦。然后，他发现他5谁的儿子在恩变等他。
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?” The little boy said.
“爸爸，我能问你个问题吗？”，小男孩问。
“Sure. What is it?”
“当然可以，是什么问题？”
“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
“爸爸，你一个小时赚多少呢？”
“That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
男人生气地回答说“这不关你的事，你为什么要问这个问题？”
“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
“我就是想知道，拜托告诉我吧，你一个小时赚多少钱啊？”
“If you must know, I make $50 an hour.”
“如果你一定要知道的话，那我就告诉你，我一个小时赚50美元。”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. “Daddy, may I please borrow $25?”
“啊”，小男孩低下头说，“爸爸，那我能借25美元吗？”
The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is to borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you should go straight to your room.”
这个父亲很生气，“如果你借这些钱的原因只是要买一个愚蠢的玩具或其他什么没有意义的东西的话，那你可以走了，回你的房间去。”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
小男孩静静的走进房间，关上了门。
A moment later, the man calmed down and started to think. “Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25. He really didn’t ask for money very often,” the man thought to himself. Then he went to the door of the little boy’s room and knocked it. “Are you asleep, son?” he asked.
一会儿后，男人冷静下来并且开始思考，“或许真的有什么东西需要我用25美元去买。他不是那么经常要钱的”，男人对自己说。然后，他走到小男孩的房间敲门说，“儿子，你睡了吗？”
“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“没有爸爸，我醒着”，男孩回答说。
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “Here’s the $25 you asked for.” He gave the boy some money.
“我在想我刚才可能对你太严厉了”，男人说，“这是你要的25美元。”他给了男孩一些钱。
The little boy sat straight up, looking so happy. “Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled-up (压皱的) bills. Seeing that the boy already had money, the man started to feel angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
男孩一屁股坐下，看起来很高兴。“啊，谢谢爸爸！”他喊着。然后到他的枕头底下拿出一些压皱的纸币。男人看到男孩已经有钱了，便又开始生气起来。男孩慢慢地数着他拥有的钱，然后抬头看着他的父亲。
“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father
grumbled (抱怨).
父亲抱怨说，“你已经有一些钱了，为什么又跟我要呢？”
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
“因为我的钱不够，但是现在我有了，”小男孩回答说，“爸爸，现在我有50美元，我能买你的一个小时吗？明天请早点回家吧，我想跟你一起吃晚饭。”
The father could not say a word. He put his arms around his little boy, and promised him that he would surely do it.
这个父亲说不出一句话。他环抱着他的儿子，并答应他一定做到。
Questions for further thinking
1. When you are busy with your school work or dealing with exam pressure, do you ignore your friends, parents, etc?
2. If you are asked to list three things that you think are the most important in life, what are they?
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