Lesson 22 Killing with Kindness 以柔克刚

　　Words:

　　bead n. 珠子；（液体）小滴

　　beak n. 鸟嘴

　　beam n. 大梁；（光线的）束，柱

　　bear vt. 负担，支撑；生产，生育；n. 熊

　　beard n. 胡须

　　beat v. 打击，敲击；打败；adj. 疲倦的，拍子

　　becoming adj. 合适的，相称的；好看的，有吸引力的

　　bedrock n. 基础，基石

　　beforehand adv. 事先地

　　befuddle vt. 使酒醉昏迷；使迷惑，使迷糊

　　befuddled adj. 酒醉的，迷路的，困惑的

　　beget vt. 引起，产生

　　begrudge vt. 嫉妒；吝啬，舍不得给，勉强给

　　behalf n. on behalf of…..代表，作为。。。的代表

　　behave vi. 举止，表现

　　behavior n. 举止，行为

　　behold v. 目睹，看见

　　belie vt. 给人错觉，掩饰

　　belittle vt. 轻视，贬低

　　belligerent adj. 交战的，好斗的，好战的

　　Sometimes, it’s difficult t behave like a gentleman. It’s especially hard when the person talking to you is belligerent and trying to belittle you in front of others. You might feel like beating him and burying him as deep as bedrock, but don’t. Remember, violence begets more violence. Of course, it’s easier said than done.

　　My cousin Tom comes drunk to our family reunions every year and always manages to insult my family members. “Your nose is looking more and more like the beak of a bird,” he would tell my daughter. “Those red beads don’t look becoming on you,” he would say to my wife. “Is that your beard or a bird’s nest,” he would ask me.

　　I think, deep in his heart, Tom has always begrudged me. His occasional smile belies his true feelings of envy. I wish that someone would shine a beam of light in his eyes and ask him why he feels this way.

　　In any event, because I must act as the host of the reunion on behalf of my parents, I have to be on my best behavior. As my mother keeps reminding me, I must bear the responsibility of keeping things friendly. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have agreed to be the host if I had known it was going to be like this beforehand.

　　Well, this year, I decided to change my strategy with Tom. Instead of reacting to his insults with anger, I tried to befuddle him with kind words. Strangely enough, when he becomes befuddled, he can’t speak and he just walks away. The kindness just kills him. It’s truly a sight to behold.