Father was a hardworking man who delivered1 bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes， hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays， Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best conditions. Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them， he often reasoned that he was doing all this for them.
　　父亲是一个勤奋的人，他靠送面包为生，维持妻子和三个孩子的生活。每天下班后的晚上，他都要去上课。他希望提高自己，有朝一日能找到一份收入更多的工作。除了星期天，父亲很少和家人一起吃饭。他学习和工作都非常努力，因为他想给家人创造最好的条件。每当家人抱怨他没有花足够的时间陪他们时，父亲经常说出这样的理由：他这么做都是为了他们。
　　The day came when the examination results came out. To his joy， Father passed， and with good marks too！Soon after， he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor2 which paid handsomely3. Father could now afford to provide his family with nice clothing， fine food and vacation abroad. However， the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard， hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact， to make himself a candidate4 for the promotion， he took another course in the open university. Again， whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them， he often reasoned that he was doing all this for them.
　　考试结果出来那天，父亲很高兴，他通过了，而且成绩优秀。很快，父亲得到了一份高级主管的工作，薪酬丰厚。现在父亲可以给家人买漂亮的衣服和美味的食物，让他们去外国度假。然而，一星期中大部分时间，家人仍然见不到父亲。他继续努力工作，希望晋升为经理。事实上，为了使自己成为这个职位的候选人，父亲又在开放大学报了一门课程。同样，当家人抱怨父亲没有花足够的时间陪他们时，父亲经常说出这样的理由：他这么做都是为了他们。
　　Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. He decided to hire a woman to relieve his wife from her housework. He felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough， it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities5 and comfort of a condominium6. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before， father determined to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact， Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again， whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them， he often reasoned that he was doing all this for them. As expected， father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home， father declared7 to his family that he decided not to take any courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family and it was a promise. Father did not wake up the next day.
　　父亲的辛勤付出有了回报，他升职了。他决定雇人来减轻妻子的家务负担。他感到：三室公寓已经不够宽敞。能享受公寓楼的便利和舒适对全家人来说是一件好事儿。之前拿过很多次辛勤工作的奖金，让父亲决定为升职而进一步学习。大部分时间，家人还是见不到他。实际上，父亲不得不在星期天招待客户。当家人抱怨父亲没有花足够的时间陪他们时，父亲经常说出这样的理由：他这么做都是为了他们。如预期的那样，父亲的辛勤付出再次得到了回报，他买了一幢漂亮的公寓楼，能够眺望新加坡海岸。在乔迁新家的第一个星期天的晚上，父亲向家人宣布：他决定不再报任何课程，也不再谋求升职。从那时起，他将花更多时间陪家人，这是他的一个承诺。第二天父亲再也没有醒来。