In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animal. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, bur sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At the moment I decided to do something I had never done in twenty fore years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns! When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we are brave when we are scared.
小题1:How do people feel when they offer their help?(No more than 2 words)
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小题2:What reaction did other drivers have when the author drove very slowly at first? (No more than 5 words)
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小题3:Why did other drivers behave differently when the author put on the car flashlights? (No more than 8 words)
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小题4: What does the author advise us to do at last? (No more than 8 words)
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