Your Action Mean More than You Know -- By Arthur

    One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a boy from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all of his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd(愚蠢的人/落伍的人). I had quite a weekend planned(parties and a football game with my friends on Saturday afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books  out of his arms and tripping(绊倒) him, so he landed in the dirt.
    His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw the terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. I jogged(慢跑) over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Thos guys are jerks(笨蛋/傻瓜). They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!"
    There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said had gone to private school before now. I had never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him.
    Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Damn boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books every day!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
    Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, and the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
    Kyle was the valedictorian(毕业典礼上致告别辞的最优生) of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day came, and I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! As a boy, sometimes I was jealous.
    Today I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked(用巴掌打) him on the back and said, "Hey, big buy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks(the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began, "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make through those tough years, your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach ... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give him (or her). I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
    Never underestimate the power of your action. With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse.