the man who refuses to talk|拒绝开口的人

[英语应用文]

You can meet interesting people in every country of the world. They are interesting because they seem different than you are. For example, they may speak a different language or they may have a different religion. Or they may have ideas that are quite different from your ideas. But when you meet new people, you become a richer person. You become richer because you learn new things about each other's way of life. You learn about each other's language, culture, work, family, hobbies, ideas, feelings, and personal experiences. In this article, you will meet a very interesting young man. His name is John Francis.
  John Francis lives in the small town of Inverness, near San Francisco, California. He is 31 years old, has a beard, and wears a small ring in his left ear. He often walks through Inverness playing his banjo1. Although John wears old clothes, many people know and like him.
  Five years ago, John decided to stop talking. Instead of talking, he communicates through gestures and sign language that deaf people use. He also uses his banjo to “talk.” For example, a soft sound on banjo means “Yes” and a hard sound means “No.” When people do not understand John, he writes his answers.
  Why did John decide to stop talking? His decision was partly an experiment. He wanted to learn how to communicate without speaking. Also, he wanted to find out why sometimes people do not understand each other when they talk. Whenever anyone asks him why he refuses to speak, John points at a sign he carries with him. The sign says: When all is said and done, more is said than done.2
  A few days after John decided to stop speaking, he made another decision. He stopped riding in motor vehicles.3 Now he walks everywhere he goes. He even takes long vacation trips on foot. John spends many hours hiking4 and camping in the mountains of California and Oregon. He believes that being silent, walking, and camping bring him closer to nature. When he travels, he sketches5, paints, and photographs6 the people he meets and the places he visits. He especially likes to sketch landscapes7 and animals.
  John has many friends. Children stop him on the street to ask him to play his banjo. He brings home-made8 gifts to older friends during the Christmas holidays. And many women admire9 him, including his pretty girl friend.
  Usually, John has very little money. He earns money by writing about nature for different magazines and by selling his sketches. He sold some of his drawings to an art gallery10 for almost $200 each. Schools and colleges also pay him to “talk” to students about his unusual experiences. He communicates with them through body movements and sign language. He also shows slides of his sketches and photographs. One time, a teacher invited him to “speak” to her class for one hour. But the one-hour talk did not end for five hours because the students wanted John to continue “talking” to them. They were fascinated11 by the interesting stories he “told ” to them in his way of  “talking.”
  John is not sorry that he decided to stop talking. When a student asked him when he will talk again, John answered through gestures. “One time (he showed one with one finger and pointed to his watch to say “time”), I was talking, riding in cars, smoking, drinking, and dancing. I don't need those things. Look at me now! I'm so happy. I don't know if I will ever talk again.”
 

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1. banjo  n.班卓琴,五弦琴
2. 此句意为:人们说得多,做得少。
3. vehicle  n.交通工具,车辆
4. hiking  n.徒步旅行
5. sketch v.素描;勾画
6. photograph  v.拍照
7. landscape  n.地形,风景,山水画
8. home-made adj.自制的,本国制的
9. admire  v.钦佩,羡慕
10.gallery  n.美术陈列室,画廊
11.fascinate  v.使着迷,使神魂颠倒,入迷