我们这个口语班有一半的人家在乙烯，因而每天都得往龙凤跑通勤。我们没有专车，总厂的通勤车早晨都是从龙凤发往乙烯，而没有从乙烯去龙凤的。所以乘车成了我们的一个大问题。刚开始，我们听说教育处有辆通勤车，就去搭乘，但没有几天，就被乘务员给轰下来了。后来我们发现在一区101楼旁有不知是哪个单位发的通勤车，就厚着脸皮蹭车。虽然也有被撵下去的时候，但那大半年，我们基本上是每天早晨坐它来回上学的。

一坐到车上，我们就拿出书来用功。为了训练听力，班里每个人都搞了一个袖珍录音机，坐在车上将其装在衣兜里，耳朵里塞着耳机听英语录音——我们的用功劲儿就跟要高考的中学生似的。

重新开始的学生生活让我十分兴奋，学习的热情空前高涨，这种热情在上大学时都没有过。我们都觉得这次能够从工作中脱产出来学习，应当珍惜机会的来之不易，尤其是我们这个迟开俩月的二班；如果没找到老师，我们就“失学”了——重新当把学生，也有一种新鲜感啊！

我学得很努力，上课时尽全力捕捉老师所说的每一个单词；自习时也很用功地预习或复习，回到家里也在看英语书——这么说吧，我变成了一个好学生，仿佛回到了当学生的年代，甚至都感到自己年轻了。

5月23日我在Violet布置的写一篇介绍自己及家人情况的作业里由衷地写道：“I HAVE LEFT THE COLLEGE FOR 11YEARS，BUT NOW I HAVE GONE TO SCHOOL  AGAIN！（Violet用铅笔批注YES！！）THIS MAKES ME INTERESTING，AND I FEEL GROWN （Violet将GROWN划掉，改为as if I am）GETTING YOUNGER”。在这两页纸上Violet给我修改了许多用词不当和语法的错误，经常使用鼓励的词汇，如她看到我的女儿已学琴俩月，已会拉《HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU》时，批了“Bravo！Very good sentences.”在第二页的背面她写下了密密麻麻的针对我的这篇短文的感想。现录于下：

Dear Louie: What an interesting essay! Your parents have had to work very hard. They probably do not have much education yet. you have achieved so much without the benefit of a family with an education. Do you understand me? They must be very proud of you and you of them! Perhaps, your parents are not educated but I believe you received your love of music &literature from them.. If they had received an education, they probably would have love Literature & Music. Perhaps, they too would have played the violin?

My husband had a very very poor family. His father worked as a labourer. He assisted a man who put cement plaster on the inside walls of houses. He was never allowed to progress and become a plasterer! When he retired, he cleaned toilets every weekend at a race track for greyhound dogs. My husband’ mother died when he was 8 years old. My husband had to scale/(climb over)social barriers to attain a university education. As well as family hardships, my husband has another problem with him all his life. He has a severe hearing problem. Despite all these difficulties, he was very successful in school, attained a university education &he is known internationally in the field of psychology. I never met my husband’s mother; his father was one of the kindest, wisest men I have ever met. I am very proud of my father-in-law.  Thank you,  louie.

我这才知道Violet家人的一些事情，怪不得她对“同情”、“心理学”这么感兴趣呢，她深以为傲的丈夫就是这方面的专家。她有两个女儿，其中一个女婿是个日裔。她还向我们展示了她家人的照片，她的丈夫是一个乐呵呵的白胡子老头。