◎管淑平
When Rob Taylor rolled down his car window on Christmas Eve and handed money to an apparently down on his luck man, the Iowa state representative from West Des Moines had no idea it was he who was about to receive a wondrous gift.
勞柏．泰勒在耶誕節前夕那天搖下車窗，遞錢給一名看來落魄的男子時，這名來自西狄蒙市的愛荷華州議員不知道，即將收到美好禮物的人，正是他自己。
The man was dressed in shabby clothes and holding a sign indicating he was homeless. He stood on a bitterly cold street corner in the Des Moines suburb of Johnston handing sealed envelopes to people who gave him money.
這名男子穿著破舊衣服，舉著牌子指他無家可歸。他在酷寒中站在狄蒙市郊區強斯頓的街角，把一個個密封的信封送給給他錢的人。
The envelopes were stuffed with a letter and either a $10 or $100 bill. He handed out roughly $1,000 dollars in the 50 envelopes he gave away.
這些信封裡裝了一封信和一張面額10或100美元的鈔票。他在送出的50個信封中總共發出約1000美元。
The letter inside the envelopes surprised Taylor when he opened it. It said that the ‘bum’ he just handed money wasn’t homeless, and was a successful business man giving back to people who do good.
當泰勒打開信封，裡面那封信讓他大為驚訝。信中說，他剛才慷慨解囊的那名「流浪漢」並非無家可歸，而是事業成功的商人在回饋行善之人。
Jonnie Wright was the man portraying the homeless panhandler. He told KCCI he did the giveaway because it was on his bucket list.
裝扮成這名無家可歸乞丐的人是強尼．萊特。他告訴KCCI電視台，他送錢是因為這是他死前想做的事情。
‘I thought this was also a way to acknowledge those who give, who do so anonymously,’ Mr Wright told the station.
「我想這也是一種感謝那些默默付出之人的方式。」萊特說。
Mr Taylor said it reminded him about the meaning of Christmas, that ‘it wasn’t about gifts, it’s about giving back.’
泰勒說，這件事提醒他，耶誕節的意義「不在於禮物，在於回饋。」
新聞辭典
be down on （one’s） luck：形容詞片語，倒楣的，落魄的（多指窮困）。
bum, panhandler：名詞，bum：流浪漢，遊手好閒的人，panhandler：乞丐。
例句：He was down on his luck and went on the bum for the past 10 years.（他過去10年很落魄，過著遊民生活。）
bucket list：俚語，一個人死前想體驗或完成的事情清單。例句：Visiting Antarctica is one of the many things on my bucket list.（造訪南極大陸是我死前想做的許多事之一。）
本文引用自 自由時報電子報 http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/
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