The Teacher Who Waited
Mrs Chen taught me physics when I was sixteen.
我十六岁的时候，陈老师教我物理。
She had a habit that annoyed the whole class.
她有一个让全班都不耐烦的习惯。
When we asked a question, she never answered it.
我们问问题的时候，她从来不直接回答。
She would look at us and say, "What do you think?"
她会看着我们说：“你觉得呢？”
Then she would wait, sometimes for a full minute.
然后她会等，有时候整整一分钟。
A minute of silence in a classroom feels much longer than a minute.
教室里的一分钟安静，感觉比一分钟长得多。
Most of us hated it. We wanted the answer so we could write it down.
我们大多数人很讨厌这样。我们想要答案，好抄下来。
One boy told her directly that she was wasting our time.
有一个男生直接跟她说，她在浪费我们的时间。
She said, "If I give you the answer, you will have my answer, not yours."
她说：“如果我给你答案，你得到的是我的答案，不是你的。”
At the time I thought this was just something teachers say.
当时我觉得这只是老师会说的话。
I did not become a scientist. I work in an office and I manage a small team.
我没有成为科学家。我在一家公司上班，管着一个小团队。
Last month a new colleague asked me how to solve a problem.
上个月一个新同事问我一个问题怎么解决。
I opened my mouth to tell him, and then I stopped.
我张开嘴要告诉他，然后我停住了。
I heard myself say, "What do you think?" — and I understood.
我听见自己说：“你觉得呢？”——那一刻我明白了。