家庭？事业？

There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife

and son. He was working on his future and nothing could stop him.

　　Over the phone his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."

　　Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel.

　　"Jack, did you hear me?"

　　"Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him." Jack said.

　　"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent with him," Mom told him.

　　"He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

　　Jack kept his word and attended Mr. Belser's funeral.

　　The night before he returned home Jack and his Mom went to see Mr. Belser's old house one more time.

　 Standing in the doorway Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture...Jack stopped suddenly.

　　"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

　　"The box is gone," he said.

　　"What box?" Mom asked.

　　"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was, 'The thing I value most.' Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said.

　　It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. One day Jack discovered a parcel list in his mailbox.

　　Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

　　"Mr. Harold Belser," it read.

　　Jack tore it open. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

　　"Upon my death please forward this box to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I value most in my life." His heart raced as tears filled his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

　　He opened the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! — Harold Belser."

　　"The thing he valued most...was...my time."

　　Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days…he needed some time to spend with his wife and son.

精美译文：
　　在匆忙的生活中，杰克几乎没时间回忆过去，也经常没时间陪妻子和儿子。他正在为他的将来努力奋斗，没有什么可以阻挡他的脚步。

　　电话里妈妈对他说，“贝尔瑟先生昨晚去世了，葬礼在周三举行。”

　　往事像新闻影片一样闪过他的头脑。

　　“杰克，听见我说话了吗？”

　　“啊，对不起，妈妈。听见了。我已经好长时间没有想到过他了。”杰克说。

　　“但是，他可从没忘记你。每次我见到他，他都问起你最近的情况。他会回忆起和你一起度过的许多日子。”妈妈说道。

　　“他花了很多时间来教我学习那些他认为重要的东西…妈妈，我会回去参加他的葬礼的。”杰克说。

　　杰克履行了他的诺言，参加了贝尔瑟先生的葬礼。

　　在回去的前一天晚上，杰克和他的妈妈又一次来到了贝尔瑟先生的老房子。

　　杰克在门口站了一会儿。那种感觉就像是穿越时空、回到了从前。每一个台阶都盛满了回忆。每张照片，每件家具…突然，杰克停了下来。

　　“怎么了，杰克？”妈妈问。

　　“那个盒子不见了。”他说。

　　“什么盒子？”妈妈问。

　　“在他的桌子上面，放着一个小小的，总是上着锁的金盒子。我问过他无数次那盒子里面有什么东西。他总是告诉我说‘那是我最珍视的东西’。我现在永远也没法知道他最珍视的是什么东西了。”杰克说。

　　贝尔瑟先生去世两周后的一天，杰克在邮箱里发现了一张包裹单。

　　第二天一大早，杰克取回了包裹。包裹上的字迹很难辨认，但是寄信人地址却吸引了他的注意："哈罗德o贝尔瑟先生。"
杰克拆开了包裹，里边是那个金盒子，还有一封信。看着信的内容，杰克的手颤抖了。

　　“在我死后，请把这个盒子转交给杰克·贝内特。这是我一生中最珍视的东西。"杰克的心跳加快，眼里噙满了泪水。他小心翼翼地打开盒子，里面是一块漂亮的金怀表。

　　他打开了表盖，里面刻着下面的文字：“杰克，感谢和你在一起的时间！哈罗德·贝尔瑟”。

　　“他最珍视的东西…是…我的时间。”

　　杰克拿着表想了一会儿，然后给办公室打了电话，把接下来两天的工作预约全部取消了。他需要一点儿时间陪妻子和儿子。