美妙的公车之旅

引言：Paul最享受每天等公车的时刻，可以欣赏到美丽的海景。但今天似乎有些不同，正当闲情逸致之时，一阵阵咳嗽吐痰的声音“连绵不绝”于耳边。制造声音之人的尴尬与旁人的冷漠，与美丽的海景形成了极不协调的一幕。

I’ve come to love this bus trip.Most of the journey is along a stunning coastline before I am dropped only a two-minute walk from my home.I sit peacefully, two rows behind the stairwell, in the knowledge that all I have to do is enjoy the views and before I know it I will be left at my doorstep in the country.Of course there can be minor irritations along the way.Someone sits on the seat in front of you and starts shouting into his mobile phone.Or you find yourself traveling at school closing time and a crowd of schoolchildren climb aboard and fill the bus with noise.It is Saturday evening, however, there are only a sprinkling of people on the bus, and I anticipate no interruption to my peaceful contemplation of the beauty on display all along the road.

After a couple of stops a middle-aged woman sits two seats ahead of me.We are beginning to emerge from the city into open country.To our left lie spectacular mountains with small villages nestling near their base.Looking ahead and left, the mountains drop into bays where sail boats rest in the tranquil waters.

A few stops later a young couple, fresh faced and smooth skinned, climb the stairs and make their way to a seat near the back, where they sit in the comfortable knowledge that they can see everyone else but no one else can see them.Wonderful views unfold with each twist of the road.A range of islands speckle the sea to the left and a layer of peaked mountains lie ahead in the distance.

A well-dressed man of about sixty makes his way slowly upstairs.He looks around the upper deck, unsure where to settle.He decides to walk to the seat at the back, behind the smooth-skinned couple.I forget that he is there for a minute, but it soon becomes apparent that the newcomer has a severe chest infection.He coughs with a hacking cough that can be heard all through the bus.

We pass a few blocks of luxury（舒适的） apartments, beautifully set against the mountains rising on our right.Blue skies stretch toward the sun which still hovers over the mountains in the west, and to our left, beyond the islands to where sea and sky meet on the distant horizon.For a few moments I forget everything except the sheer natural beauty all around.However, the man in the back seat coughs up some more phlegm（痰） which must taste bitter in his throat.With a “hoick”（拟声词，这里指吐痰的声音） he pushes it up into his mouth and one can hear the sound of spitting and of the phlegm landing on the floor.

He is now coughing continuously.One prolonged hacking is followed by that ‘hoick’ sound together with a gurgling（流水的声音） of liquid.I am not sure whether the liquid is from the man’s stomach or from his lungs.In any event, it issues from his mouth and splashes onto the floor.

The smooth-skinned couple glide silently past me and move to a seat near the front.I look around to see how the man in trouble is doing.He is holding an overused lump of tissue paper in his hand, and he looks acutely（剧烈地） embarrassed and apologetic. Though he is pale, he looks and sounds strong, so I conclude that he is not in immediate need of help.I try to look light hearted to avoid causing him further embarrassment, then turn around to the front again.

We pass an inlet with a fabulous view opening up to the sea and the islands.The coughing continues, followed by the sounds of liquid gurgling upwards and being discharged onto the floor.The young couple stand up again.This time they move downstairs.The bus halts at the next stop, presumably to let them alight.The man moves to the front of the bus, perhaps in the hope that the middle-aged lady and I will be less affected by his coughing from there.The middle-aged lady stands up and goes downstairs.The bus halts at the next stop.

That leaves just me and the coughing man sitting upstairs.He stands up and makes his way downstairs.As with the others, the bus halts at the next stop after his disappearance.I have the upstairs compartment to myself for the remainder of the spectacular journey.

I think the little drama is over, but it is not.Approaching my stop I press the bell and make my way down the stairwell.The first person I see sitting downstairs is the middle-aged lady who I thought had already alighted.Her face carries an unconvincing smile.The second person I see is the man with the chest infection.He is sitting beside the exit door, still coughing his rough cough and holding his overused tissue paper, looking more embarrassed than ever.Behind him, looking anything but pleased―I try not to laugh at the sight―sit the smooth-skinned young couple.They all came downstairs to escape from each other, and ended up closer to each other than before!I reckon it is time to say something to the coughing man.

“Are you OK?”

He nods and manages a weak smile.

“The best thing to do with a cough like that is drink plenty of soup and sweat it all out,” I suggest.

He nods again and coughs and holds up his wet tissue paper to try to hold the liquid in.

When the bus stops the smooth-skinned young lady pushes past me with self-important（自负的） haste, determined to be first to get off.I stand aside and allow her unhappy boyfriend to follow her.After I get off, I am followed by the coughing man, who in turn is followed by the middle-aged lady.We all get off at the same stop.

What a rum（可笑的） thing, I reflect on the short walk to my home.People are surrounded by beauty on all sides but mutual fear and embarrassment keep them from enjoying it.They try to escape from each other and only succeed in getting more painfully entangled（纠缠，复杂） than ever.