【710】Man Leaves $11 Million Surprise Gift to Children’s Groups
1): 邀你加入->【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】
【每日一歌】
55 奔放的旋律 Unchained Melody
歌曲选自《最适合学习英语的英文歌曲80首》
提示：关注漂泊者乐园微信公众号公众号后， 回复 d2 可收听查看所有《As It Is 》文章。
《As It Is 》栏目在本号自2018年4月初开始全马力运行，已经推文 708 篇，每日仍在不断增加中。
亲爱的朋友，如果您能能坚持跟着本号听读，相信不用多久，您的英语听力一定会有极大的提高！
漂泊者乐园微信公众号在线英语学习资料
美国之音特别英语节目：慢速英语听力
学英语的朋友，想提高听力的话，请听下面的音频。
有问题可在【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】里一起交流，谢谢！
*【710】
AS IT IS
Man Leaves $11 Million Surprise Gift to Children’s Groups
January 01, 2019
In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, photo, Chris Meyer, left, and Maddi Heim, fold and sort donated clothes at Treehouse, a nonprofit organization in Seattle that serves the needs of children in the foster-care system.
Alan Naiman was known for being very careful about how he spent his money. But even those closest to him had no knowledge of the fortune he quietly gathered and the last act he had planned.
Naiman died of cancer at age 63 last January. The man from the American state of Washington gave most of his money to groups that help the poor, sick, disabled and abandoned children.
He gave them $11 million.
The large amount of his fortune shocked the groups that received his gifts and even his best friends.
That is because Naiman had been known to repair his own shoes with duct tape. He had sought deals to buy food from grocery stores at closing time and taken friends out to lunch at low cost restaurants.
Naiman died unmarried and childless. He loved children but also was intensely private, his friends say. He saved, invested and worked extra jobs to gather money. He rarely spent the money on himself after seeing how unfair life could be for children who suffer the most.
His friends believe a lifelong desire to help his older brother who had a developmental disability influenced Naiman. Yet he rarely spoke of it. His brother died in 2013.
His close friend Susan Madsen told the Associated Press, “Growing up as a kid with an older, disabled brother kind of colored the way he looked at things.”
A former banker, Naiman worked for the past 20 years at the state Department of Social and Health Services. He earned $67,234 a year and also took on side jobs. Sometimes, he worked as many as three at a time.
He saved and invested enough to make several millions of dollars. He also received millions more from his parents after they died, said Shashi Karan, a friend from his banking days.
Naiman was pleased when he was able to make use of the reduced prices many companies and organization offer older people. He bought his clothes from large self-service stores. He loved cars, but for most of his life, drove worn-out vehicles.
After Naiman’s death, Karan recognized how little he knew of his longtime friend. “I don’t know if he was lonely. I think he was a loner,” Karan said.
Many of the organizations that received Naiman’s gifts said they did not know him, although they had crossed paths.
He left $2.5 million to the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Washington. The center is a private organization that cares for babies born to mothers who abused drugs and children with drug dependency.
Naiman had called the center about a newborn baby while working for the state more than 10 years ago. Barbara Drennen, who established the center, said, “We would never dream that something like this would happen to us. I wish very much that I could have met him. I would have loved to have had him see the babies he’s protecting.”
The center used the money to pay off its mortgage and buy a new vehicle to transport the children.
Naiman gave $900,000 to the Treehouse, a foster care organization. He had brought children in his care to the group’s house, where children without parents can choose toys and necessities for free.
Treehouse is using Naiman’s money to expand its college and career support services statewide. Jessica Ross, who works with Treehouse, commented that Naiman’s savings and cost cutting were for this purpose.
She called it a “pure demonstration of philanthropy and love.”
Sally Ho reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
We want to hear from you. What kinds of groups would you donate to if you had millions of dollars? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
fortune – n. a very large amount of money
abandoned – adj. left without needed protection or care
duct tape – n. a wide, sticky, and usually silver tape that is made of cloth and that is used especially to repair things
grocery store(s) – n.a store that sells food and household supplies
color(ed) – v. to change someone's ideas, opinion, or attitude in some way
loner – n. a person who is often alone or who likes to be alone
mortgage – n. legal agreement in which a person borrows money to buy property, such as a house, and pays back the money over a period of years
foster care – n. a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not the child's parents
transport - v. to carry (someone or something) from one place to another
philanthropy – n. the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people
您好！既然漂到这里，就顺便把本文转到朋友圈吧！