生活往往会在不经意间教会我们一些东西，比如珍爱健康，珍惜家人和朋友，懂得陪伴，和小编一起来欣赏一则温馨小故事吧!

　　In his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and little time to spend with his wife and son. 由于一天到晚忙个不停，杰克很少有时间回忆过去，也很少有时间和妻儿在一起。

　　One day, his mother phoned him and told him that his old neighbor, Mr. Belser, had died. She asked if Jack would attend the funeral. Jack remembered spending some of his childhood days with his old neighbor. It had been so long since Jack thought of him. He honestly thought Mr. Belser had died years ago. 一天，他的妈妈打来电话，告诉他老邻居贝尔瑟先生去世了，并问杰克是否愿意参加他的葬礼。杰克记得小时候曾跟这位老邻居在一起度过一些时光。杰克已经好长时间没想起过他了，说实在的，他以为他几年前就死了。

　　Jack’s mother said, “He didn’t forget you. When I saw him, he’d ask how you were doing. He’d remember the many days you spent at his home. After your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life.” 杰克的妈妈说：“他没有忘记你，我每次见到他，他都会问起你的情况。他总记得你老上他家玩。你父亲去世后，贝尔瑟先生时不时过来，他要保证你生活中有男人的影响。”

　　“He taught me carpentry, ” Jack said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me important things. I’ll be there for the funeral.” “他教我木匠活来着，”杰克说，“没有他我就不会干这一行。他花了很多时间教我重要的东西，我会参加他的葬礼的。”

　　Mr. Belser’s funeral was small. He had no children and most of his relatives had died. 贝尔瑟先生的葬礼规模不大。他没有孩子，大部分亲戚也都去世了。

　　The night after he returned home, Jack and his Mom visited the old house next door. The house was exactly as Jack remembered. 回家之后的那个晚上，杰克和他的妈妈一起去看了隔壁的老房子，那里还跟杰克记忆当中一模一样。

　　Jack told his Mom that there was a small gold box that Mr. Belser kept locked on top of his desk. He had asked a thousand times what was inside, but Mr. Belser only said “The thing I valuemost.” It was gone. The house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. 杰克告诉他的妈妈，贝尔瑟先生有一个小金盒子，他总是把它锁着放在桌子上。他曾经问过一千次里面是什么，可是贝尔瑟先生只说“那是我最珍爱的东西”。现在盒子不见了。房子跟杰克记忆当中的完全一样，唯独不见了这个盒子。他估计是某个贝尔瑟家族的人拿走了。

　　“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him, ” Jack said. “这下我永远没法知道他如此珍爱的东西是什么了。”杰克说。

　　Two weeks after Mr. Belser died, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. Please stop by the main post office.” 贝尔瑟先生去世两个星期之后，杰克在他的信箱里发现了一个纸条：“签名领包裹，请去一下中心邮局。”

　　Next day Jack collected the package. The return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser”. 第二天，杰克把包裹拿了回来，寄件人地址引起了他的注意：“哈罗德 · 贝尔瑟先生”。

　　Jack opened the package. Inside was the gold box and an envelope. 杰克打开包裹，里面是那个金盒和一个信封。

　　“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” Jack carefully opened the box. “在我死的时候，请将此盒及盒内之物转交给杰克 · 本内特，这是我一生中最重要的东西。”杰克小心翼翼地将盒子打开。

　　Inside he found a simple pocket watch. 他发现里面装的是一只普通的怀表。

　　Vocabulary

　　attend v. 出席

　　funeral n. 葬礼

　　step in 介入

　　carpentry n. 木工手艺

　　business n. 职业

　　relative n. 亲戚on top of 在…上面

　　value v. 珍视

　　except for 除了…外

　　figure v. 认为

　　mailbox n. 信箱

　　signature n. 签名

　　package n. 包裹

　　stop by 过访

　　post office 邮局

　　return address 寄件人地址

　　catch sb.’s attention 引起某人注意

　　envelope n. 信封

　　forward v. 转交

　　content n. 所含之物

　　pocket watch 怀表

　　以上是雅思美文赏析，更多雅思信息可以关注新航道意思频道。