After Twenty Years

We all hope our friendship lasts forever.
But does it?
Well, an American famous writer, O Henry, will tell us the answer in “After 20 years.”

………..


It was almost midnight.
A police officer was patrolling his section in the downtown New York.
 At the corner, the officer found a middle-aged guy standing alone doing nothing, thinking deeply.

Excuse me, sir, but what are you are doing here?

Oh, I am doing nothing wrong. Just waiting for one of my old friends here.

Waiting for your friend at such a late at night?

It’s a promise we made just 20 years ago.
Then, my friend Jimmy Wells and I were very young, having a big hope for the future.
Jimmy wanted to stay here in New York.  I wanted to go to the West.
Then we made a promise to meet again after 20 years at the same time at the same place, no matter what happens..

So you are waiting for your friend, Jimmy Wells here now.

Exactly, sir. I’ve come all the way from the West to meet Jimmy Wells.

Ok, I understand. I hope you could meet him.
By the way, what do you do if your friend, Jimmy does not come on time?

Well, I am going to give him at least 30 minutes. If Jimmy is still alive in this world, he is sure to come.

So, good night, and take care!

Good night, sir.
…

20 minutes passed. Another middle-aged man appeared at the other side of the corner and ran to the man from the West.

You are Bob, aren’t you?

Yes! Yes, you are Jimmy Wells!!
At last I can meet you after 20 years!

Glad to meet you!  How was the West?

The West is great!
It gave me anything I wanted!

The two men began to walk, chatting pleasantly.
When they come just under the shinny street light, they turned and saw each other’s face clearly. Suddenly the man from the West shouted!

You are not Jimmy Wells!
Who are you?!
20 years is a long time, but not long enough to change the shape of the nose!

Well, it might be long enough to change a good guy into a bad guy.
I am not Jimmy Wells. I am a detective.
I came here to arrest you. “Jack-knife” Bob. You are wanted by the Chicago police.
But before that here is a letter for you from tonight patrolman Wells.

The man from the West opened the letter. It was rather short.

Bob： I was at the appointed place at the appointed time. It was a bit dark. But when I saw you, I could recognize the face of the man who is wanted by the Police. I was going to arrest you on the spot, but I couldn't do it myself.
So I came back to the police station and asked a plain clothes man to do the job.
Anyway I was very glad to see you.
JIMMY WELLS

table topic master script

Ladies and gentlemen

Happy New Year!

How do you spend your year-end and New Year vacation? I hope all of you enjoyed and recharged your energy for the coming year.

As for me I had a special year-end study boot camp with 40 students for a full week, during which they studied for 20 hours and I taught 10 hours a day.

That camp was really exciting and thrilling exhausting, we enjoy very much.

Now the New Year has just begun. At almost every meeting of this kind, the most popular topic is “New Year Resolution”.

I am afraid all of you are surely tired of this topic.

In my case, as I seldom succeeded in achieving the New Year’s resolution, my New Year’s resolution is never to make New Year’s resolution.

Joking aside, let’s get down to business today.

1. Tell us about the New Year’s resolution you made and you could not achieve so far with the reason.

2. Suppose you are in the position of the prime minister in Japan, what kind of dream you have first to realize and why?

3. What is your “impossible dream” or “mission impossible” all through your life?

4. If you have got Aladdin's magic lamp, and you could make a wish just once, what would like to have, and why?

5. Suppose you were the table topic master tonight, what would you ask us first of all and why?