Father was a hardworking man who delivered 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 money could buy.

爸爸是一个在工作中兢兢业业的人，他靠送面包来维持一家五口(老婆和三个孩子)的生计。为了得到一份收入更多的工作，他利用所有晚上的空余时间，去夜课充电。除了星期天以外，爸爸几乎没有时间和一家人在一起吃一顿饭。他之所以这么努力工作，这么努力学习，是为了给一家提供最好的物质享受。

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

每次家人抱怨爸爸陪他们的时间太少的时候，他总是解释到，他所做的一切都是为了这个家，而他总是渴望多花点时间来陪他们。

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and withdistinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.

公布考试成绩的那天，爸爸可高兴啦，他通过啦而且成绩还很不错。不久他就得到了一份高级主管的工作，收入颇丰。

Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation abroad.

就像梦想成真一样，爸爸现在能给家人提供有点小奢侈的生活：购置略贵的衣物，买高级食品，还能够海外旅游。

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 worthily candidate for thepromotion, he enrolled for another course in the open university.

然而，爸爸大部分时间还是不见踪影，他一如既往地努力工作，希望能够做到经理的位置，事实上，为了够格，他又开始在一所开放性大学进修另一门课程。

Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

与之前的场景如出一辙，每次家人抱怨爸爸陪他们的时间太少的时候，他总是解释到，他所做的一切都是为了这个家，而他也渴望多花点时间来陪他们。

Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

爸爸如愿以偿，升了职加了薪。高兴之余，他雇了一个女佣来减轻妻子做家务的负担。他觉得三房的公寓有点挤，如果一家人能够住上设施齐全，安逸舒适的一个大公寓就好了。鉴于之前由于努力工作和努力学习带来的升职加薪的甜头以后，坚定了爸爸要更加努力学习和工作的决心。爸爸依然神龙见首不见尾，比之前有过之而无不及， 因为周末还要花陪客户娱乐。还是和之前一样，每次家人抱怨爸爸陪他们的时间太少的时候，他总是解释到，他所做的一切都是为了这个家，而他依旧渴望能多花点时间来陪他们。

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 declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.

所有的回报如期而至，爸爸的努力工作换来漂亮的公寓，在里面新加坡海岸一览无余。在入住新家的第一个星期天的晚上，爸爸宣布以后他再也不会上任何课程，也不会再追求任何晋升。从此以后他会花更多的时间来陪伴他的家人。

But father did not wake up the next day.

但是，第二天，爸爸再也没有醒来。