陳佳

“Do you want to come riding with us in the park this Saturday？” Eric asked. He and Dave were great at riding bikes.

“Of course！” Pete replied. Pete smiled at his friends Eric and Dave， but inside his stomach twisted1 into a knot2. He didnt even know how to ride， but how could he tell his friends that？ It was embarrassing.

When he went home that night， he got out his bike. Even though he couldnt ride， he had a bike. His parents had bought it for his birthday a few months back. When hed first gotten it， hed been excited and had tried to learn. After a day or two and a scraped3 knee， hed given up. His mother smiled now to see him trying again， but he just gave her an angry look. It was embarrassing to not be able to ride a bike！

So Pete walked his bike across the street to the parking lot and tried to ride again. It was hard to keep from falling when he first started. He liked to keep both feet on the ground and just push himself along， because whenever he tried to push the pedals4， he fell over. After half an hour of trying， he still couldnt ride， and his legs hurt. Hed scraped his elbow5， too！He didnt know what he was going to do.

“Itll be alright， dear. Youll get it. Just keep trying，” his mother said. She was trying to be understanding， but it just made Pete angrier. He felt helpless. Even babies could ride bikes， right？

The next day at school， Eric and Dave sat with him at lunch. “Are you ready for the big bike trip on Saturday？” Dave asked.

“Oh， that，” Pete said sadly. He chewed6 his lunch and didnt want to say anything. It was hard to swallow7 his food， let alone his pride. How could he admit8 to his best friends that he couldnt ride a bike？

“Whats wrong？” Eric asked. He looked concerned9. “Are you busy this Saturday？”

“No. Its just...” Here it goes， Pete thought. Theyre going to laugh at me if I tell them.

“You cant ride a bike.” Dave said.

Pete opened his mouth. He almost lied and said he could， but he didnt like to lie to his friends. “No. I cant.”

“We know already，” Eric said. “Why do you think we invited you？”

“Really？” Pete looked puzzled. “Why would you invite me if I cant ride a bike？”

Eric was surprised that Pete would even ask. “Youve got the coolest bike in school， and were friends. We want to see you ride it. Were going to help you learn！”

Pete couldnt believe what he was hearing. “Wow！ Thats great. I thought you were going to make fun of me.”

Dave shook his head. “Were your friends. Why would we do that？”

“I dont know，” Pete shrugged10. “I guess I was just too proud to ask for help.”

That Saturday， Pete finally learned to ride his bike. He also learned a little something about humility11 and asking for help.

“這個(gè)星期六你想和我們一起去公園騎自行車(chē)嗎？”埃里克問(wèn)道。他和戴夫很擅長(zhǎng)騎自行車(chē)。

“當(dāng)然！”皮特回答。皮特對(duì)著他的朋友埃里克和戴夫笑了笑，但他的胃里卻揪成一團(tuán)。他甚至都不會(huì)騎自行車(chē)，但他怎么能告訴他的朋友呢？那太令人尷尬了。

那天晚上回家時(shí)，他把自行車(chē)拿出來(lái)了。盡管他不會(huì)騎車(chē)，但他有一輛自行車(chē)，那是幾個(gè)月前父母給他買(mǎi)的生日禮物。剛得到它的時(shí)候，他一直很興奮并且學(xué)著騎。過(guò)了一兩天，擦傷了膝蓋后，他就放棄了?，F(xiàn)在他媽媽笑著看他又開(kāi)始嘗試，但他只是生氣地看了她一眼。不會(huì)騎自行車(chē)很令人尷尬！

于是皮特推著自行車(chē)穿過(guò)街道來(lái)到停車(chē)場(chǎng)，試著再騎一次。剛開(kāi)始時(shí)，很難不摔倒。他喜歡雙腳著地，把自己往前推，因?yàn)槊慨?dāng)試著踩踏板時(shí)，他都會(huì)摔倒。試了半個(gè)小時(shí)，他還是騎不會(huì)，腿也受傷了。他還擦傷了胳膊肘！他不知道他接下來(lái)該怎么辦。

“沒(méi)事的，親愛(ài)的。你會(huì)學(xué)會(huì)的，只要繼續(xù)努力?！彼麐寢屨f(shuō)。她試著表示體諒，但這讓皮特更生氣，他感到很無(wú)助。連嬰兒都會(huì)騎自行車(chē)，對(duì)吧？

第二天在學(xué)校，埃里克和戴夫同他坐在一起吃午飯?！澳銣?zhǔn)備好星期六的自行車(chē)之旅了嗎？”戴夫問(wèn)道。

“哦，那個(gè)?！逼ぬ仉y過(guò)地說(shuō)。他嚼了嚼午飯，什么也不想說(shuō)。他食不下咽，更難以放下虛榮心。他怎么能向他最好的朋友承認(rèn)自己不會(huì)騎自行車(chē)呢？

“怎么了？”埃里克問(wèn)道，他看上去很擔(dān)心。“你這個(gè)星期六忙嗎？”

“不，只是……”就是這樣，皮特想。如果告訴他們，他們會(huì)嘲笑我。

“你不會(huì)騎自行車(chē)?！贝鞣蛘f(shuō)。

皮特張大了嘴。他差點(diǎn)撒謊說(shuō)他會(huì)，但他不喜歡對(duì)朋友撒謊?！笆堑?，我不會(huì)?！?/p>

“我們已經(jīng)知道了?！卑＠锟苏f(shuō)，“你以為我們?yōu)槭裁囱?qǐng)你？”

“真的嗎？”皮特看起來(lái)很困惑?！叭绻也粫?huì)騎自行車(chē)，你為什么要邀請(qǐng)我？”

埃里克很驚訝皮特竟然會(huì)問(wèn)出來(lái)?！澳阌袑W(xué)校里最酷的自行車(chē)，而且我們是朋友，我們想看你騎那輛車(chē)。我們會(huì)幫你學(xué)會(huì)騎的！”

皮特不敢相信他聽(tīng)到的話(huà)。“哇！太好了。我以為你們會(huì)取笑我?！?/p>

戴夫搖搖頭說(shuō)：“我們是你的朋友。我們?yōu)槭裁匆菢幼?？?/p>

“我不知道?！逼ぬ芈柭柤缯f(shuō)，“我想我是太高傲了，不肯尋求幫助?！?/p>

那個(gè)星期六，皮特終于學(xué)會(huì)了騎自行車(chē)。他也學(xué)會(huì)了謙遜和向他人求助。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：HaveFunTeaching.com）

【Notes】

1. twist [■] v. 使彎曲;擰 2. knot [■] n. （繩等的）結(jié)

3. scrape [■] v. 擦傷 4. pedal [■] n. （車(chē)輛，樂(lè)器的）踏板

5. elbow [■] n. 肘部 6. chew [■] v. 咀嚼

7. swallow [■] v. 吞下;咽下 8. admit [■] v. 承認(rèn)

9. concerned [■] adj. 有關(guān)的;關(guān)心的 10. shrug [■] v. 聳肩，聳肩表示

11. humility [■] n. 謙卑，謙遜