英语智慧背囊12-拯救大卫

[00:01.48]David
[00:03.45]Years ago, when I was working as a psychologist at a children's institution in England,
[00:10.88]an adolescent boy showed up in the waiting room. It was David.
[00:15.69]David wore a black raincoat that was buttoned all the way up to his neck.
[00:19.95]His face was pale, and he stared at his feet while wringing his hands nervously.
[00:25.53]He had lost his father as an infant,
[00:28.06]and had lived together with his mother and grandfather since.
[00:31.66]But when David turned 13,
[00:33.20]his grandfather died and his mother was killed in a car accident.
[00:37.79]He was very depressed, refusing to talk to others.
[00:41.39]The first two times we met, David didn't say a word.
[00:44.89]He sat in the chair and only looked up at the children’s drawings on the wall.
[00:49.36]As he was about to leave after the second visit, I put my hand on his shoulder.
[00:54.53]He didn't shrink back, but he didn’t look at me either.
[00:58.24]“Come back next week,” I hesitated a bit.
[01:02.50]Then I said, “I know it hurts.”
[01:04.92]He came, and I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded.
[01:09.71]After that we played chess every Wednesday afternoon
[01:12.90]—in complete silence and without making any eye contact.
[01:16.72]It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit that I made sure David won once or twice.
[01:23.17]It seemed as if he enjoyed my company.
[01:25.90]But why did he never look at me?
[01:28.54]“Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with,” I thought.
[01:32.36]“Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.”
[01:35.10]I kept wondering and playing with him, until some months later, suddenly, he looked up at me.
[01:41.03]“It’s your turn,” he said.
[01:43.43]After that day, David started talking.
[01:45.93]He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club.
[01:49.62]He wrote to me a few times; letters about how he would try to get into university.
[01:54.57]After some time, the letters stopped. Now he had really started to live his own life.
[01:59.93]Maybe I gave David something. At least I learned a lot from him.
[02:04.05]I learned how time makes it possible to overcome what seems to be an insuperable pain.
[02:09.64]I learned to be there for people who need me.
[02:12.58]And David showed me how one
[02:14.21]—without any words—can reach out to another person.
[02:17.94]All it takes is a hug,
[02:20.11]a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, a sympathetic nature
[02:24.15]—and an ear that listens.