The Universal Language

It is love that makes the world go round. And it is also love that has such power to overcome all difficulties. So we say: "Love will find a way." As smile is a facial expression showing pleasure, affection喜爱，感情, and friendliness, it is the commonest way to show our good will perfectly without saying anything. A Chinese saying runs: "Never hit a person who is smiling at you." It is a time-proven fact that the smile is a language all its own -- a universal language -- understood by the people of every nation in the world. We may not speak the same tongue as our foreign neighbors, but we smile in the same tongue. We need no interpreter口译者，解释者 for thus expressing love, happiness, or good will.

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality clashed with mine. He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store. My antagonism对抗，敌意 toward that clerk and the entire establishment mounted with each step.

On the outside, standing at the curb抑制，路边, was a dark-complexioned肤色，脸色 young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, dazzling耀眼的 smile covered his face. I succumbed屈服，压垮 immediately. The magnetic power of that radiant容光焕发的 smile dissolved all bitterness within me, and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" I remarked, in passing. Then, obeying an impulse, I turned back. "I really owe you a debt of gratitude感谢的心情," I said softly.

His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer. A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby. The woman stepped forward and eyed me inquiringly探询地，好奇地. "Carlos, he no speak English," she volunteered. "You want I should tell him something?"

In that moment I felt transformed. Carlos' smile had made a big person of me. My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall.

"Yes," my reply was enthusiastic热心的，热情的 and sincere, "tell him I said, 'Thank you!'"

"Thank you?" The woman seemed slightly bewildered困惑.

I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave. "Just tell him that," I insisted. "He'll understand, I am sure!"

Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning. From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art diligently勤奋地，勤勉地, anywhere and everywhere, with everybody.

When I pulled a boner闹大笑话，犯大错误 in traffic, taking the right-of-way from the other car with my blundering浮躁的，粗笨的, I'd smile and hunch耸肩 my shoulders apologetically. This action on my part would invariably不变地，一定地 draw a good-natured smile in return. If the other fellow was at fault -- and if I could remember my resolution in time! -- he'd get a broad smile of understanding. This took a bit of doing at first. I'll admit it wasn't always easy, but it was fun. The results were sometimes amazing. Many times, a broad, friendly smile would completely ward off ill-feeling and tension. I'm wondering now how many tragic accidents could be avoided on our overcrowded highways, if every person behind a steering wheel方向盘 remembered to smile! Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "All our other features were made for us, but a man makes his own mouth." Keep smiling, and you'll not only be glad that you're alive but the other fellow will be glad, too!