15. Changes Happened to Hal Manwaring

There is no 1) doubt about it. Hal Manwaring has definitely changed. And changed for the better. He still 2) limps, of course, still has trouble getting in and out of his car and 3) climbing stairs. He still needs his stick to get about. Everyone feels sorry for him, naturally. They always have, ever since he first started 4) suffering from his disease all those years ago. But, to be 5) honest, in recent years people started to avoid him, he had become so 6) bitter he hadn’t a good word to say about anyone or anything. Understandable, you might say, but that didn’t make him any better company.

Then, all of a sudden, ever since that big storm we had last month, he 7) picked himself up and now has a 8) cheerful word and a smile for everyone. Where once you would see him sitting hunched up on his porch for hours on end, now you see him 9) hopping about all over town. He has even taken up helping to teach on the adult 10) literacy programme. Just what happened he won’t say, but whatever it was it certainly did him a power of good.

Notes:

Hunched up: leaning forwards with shoulders raised and head down （弓背）

Porch: a sheltered area at the entrance to a building （门廊）