研究生英语阅读教程(基础级2版)课本03.doc

READING SELECTION A Whupping Fat Albert By Rudolph Giuliani [1] My father was an excellent boxer. His poor eyesight prevented him from becoming the prizefighter he wanted to be, but at 6 feet and a lean 150 pounds, he was fast and tough. He understood the sport and would describe fights to me in great detail, explaining the strategies and techniques of the great fighters, men like Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Willie Pep, Rocky Marciano, and Jersey Joe Walcott. [2] In boxing, he said, the most important skill was to stay calm. This was the best lesson my father ever taught me—stay calm, especially when those around you are uneasy or troubled. The one who stays unruffled has a great advantage in being able to help others, to control the situation, to fix it. The fighter who loses his cool the first time hes hit will end up flat on his back on the canvas. If he remains calm, even while hes being hit, he can look for opportunities to hit back. [3] The lesson came in handy. My Uncle Willie was a New York City police officer. Long after he retired, he always wore a jacket and, usually, a tie. He was a shy man who kept to himself, and hed spend his off hours reading the paper under the tree in front of our house. Next door lived another family, and the father was also a cop. For some reason, my uncle disliked him—perhaps hed been nasty or unfair to Uncle Willie. Anyway, this guy had a son named Albert, a big fat kid, two years older than me—I was about 5 and he was 7. Albert took advantage of his size to intimidate the other kids. Hed knock them down and roll on them. [4] My uncle used to read Spring 3100, the in-house police magazine. I loved looking at it—still do, in fact. I would pore over Uncle Willies copy, but only for so long—my uncle would always take the magazine back. One day he was sitting alone under the tree and my mother was nowhere in sight. He called me over. A copy of Spring 3100 was by his side. [5] You want this magazine, right? [6] Yes, I replied. [7