塞翁失馬(We Will See)

1、塞翁失馬(We Will See)Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the central region of China. He didn't have a lot of money and, instead of a tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field. One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a

2、 horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll see." He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift. Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the farmer said

3、, "We'll see." A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, "What a poor fellow! The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see." Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, "W

4、hat a fortunate man." The farmer said, "We'll see." Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy." The farmer said, "We'll see." Two days

5、later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him. Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man." The farmer smiled again and said, "We'll see." Moral of the story: There's

6、no use in overreacting to the events and circumstances of our everyday lives. Many times what looks like a setback, may actually be a gift in disguise. And when our hearts are in the right place, all events and circumstances are gifts that we can learn valuable lessons from.The Most Beautiful HeartO

7、ne day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered, and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a flaw in it. 一天，一位年輕人站在城鎮(zhèn)的中央，宣布他的心是整個山谷中最美麗的心。圍觀的人很多，他們都稱贊年輕人的心的確是完美無缺，并沒有一點傷痕瑕疵。

8、Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, "Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." 突然，一位老人出現(xiàn)在人群中，說：“你的心不如我的美麗?！?The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn

9、't fit quite right, and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. 圍觀者和年輕人都朝老人的心看去：它布滿了傷疤，有的地方被挖去又重新填補上，但修補得不甚完整，留下一些參差不齊的疤痕。實際上，有的地方缺失了整塊，甚至露出很深的豁口。 The young man laughed. "Comparing your heart with mine, mine is perfect

10、 and yours is a mess of scars." 年輕人笑了起來：“我們兩人的心相比，我的是那么完美，而你的卻是一堆傷疤?！?"Yes," said the old man, "Yours looks perfect but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and ofte

11、n they give me a piece of their heart that fits into the empty place in my heart. But because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. “是的，”老人說，“你的心從表面來看很完美，但我絕不會跟你交換。你看，每個傷疤都代表我為別人獻出的一份愛我掏出一塊心給他們，他們常常會掏出自己的一塊回贈給我，以填補我的空缺。但由

12、于這兩塊不完全一樣，傷口的邊緣就留下了疤痕，不過我十分珍惜這些疤痕，因為它們使我想起我們共同擁有的愛心?！?"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, remi

13、nding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?" “有時我送出了一瓣心，其他人并沒有回贈給我，因此就出現(xiàn)了這些豁口獻出愛也是需要冒風(fēng)險的。盡管這些豁口很疼，我還是讓它們敞開著，因為它們能使我想起我付出的愛。我希望有一天，得到愛的人們能夠回來填補上我心里的空間。你現(xiàn)在明白什么是真正的美麗了吧？” The young ma

14、n walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man. 年輕人默默走近老人，把手伸進自己完美的心中，撕下一塊來，把它獻給這位老人。 The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, bu

15、t not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. 老人接過饋贈，把它放進自己的心里。然后他從自己疤痕累累的心里掏出一塊，放在年輕人心里的那個傷口上。正好放進去，但不是特別吻合，也出現(xiàn)了一些疤痕。 The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. 年輕人看著自己的心，看起來不再完美但比以前更美麗了，因為老人心中的愛也

16、流淌到了他的心里。 They embraced and walked away side by side. 他們擁抱著，肩并肩離開了。Weakness or StrengthSometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one girl who decided to study judo柔道 despite the fact that she had lost her left arm in a car accident.有的時候，你的軟弱之處反

17、而擁有強大的力量。比如我們下面要講的這個故事：一位在車禍中喪失了左臂的小女孩，決定去學(xué)習(xí)柔道。The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. So she couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move. 小女孩向一位年長的日本老師學(xué)校柔道。小女孩學(xué)習(xí)進展不錯，而三個月過去了，老師卻只是重復(fù)的教授她一個動作，這使

18、得她很迷惑不解。"Instructor," the girl finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" “老師，”女孩終于忍不住問，“能不能再多教我一些動作？”"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the instructor replied. 老師回答說：“你只要把這個動作學(xué)好就可以了。”Not quite understa

19、nding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training. 盡管女孩并不明白老師的用意，不過她相信老師的話，繼續(xù)努力練習(xí)Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament比賽. Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, he

20、r opponent became impatient and charged. The girl deftly巧妙的 used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals. 幾個月過去了，老師決定帶她去參加一次競賽。令女孩驚訝的是，她輕松地擊敗了頭兩個對手。第三個對手雖然比較強悍，但一番苦戰(zhàn)后，對手就開始心浮氣躁。女孩巧妙的使用她唯一的一招贏得了比賽。女孩自己雖感到不可思議，但她卻一步步進入的決賽。This time, her opponent was b

21、igger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee裁判 called a time-out. She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened.這一次，她的對手更高大強壯，而且經(jīng)驗豐富。女孩在一些時候甚至顯露出敗相，由于害怕女孩受傷，裁判宣布暫停比賽。正當她準備下場時，教練卻制止了她。"

22、;No," the instructor insisted, "Let her continue." “讓她繼續(xù)比賽?！苯叹殘猿值?。Soon after the match resumed, her opponent made a critical mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion.比賽恢復(fù)后

23、，她的對手犯了一個嚴重的錯誤：她放松了自己的防衛(wèi)。女孩立即用她那一招釘死了對手。女孩終于贏得了這場比賽，也成為了這次競賽的冠軍。On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl summoned the courage to ask what was really on her mind. 回家的路上，女孩和老師回顧了比賽的每個環(huán)節(jié)，女孩鼓起勇氣問老師一個困惑已久的問題。"Instructor, how did I win the t

24、ournament with only one move?" “教練，為什么我用一個招式就贏得了這場比賽？”"You won for two reasons," the teacher answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

25、; 老師回答她說：“有兩個原因：一、我教你的招式是柔道中最難的一個動作，而你把它掌握的很精通；二、對手想要破解這個招式只有一個動作，就是抓住你的左手?！盩he girl's biggest weakness had become her biggest strength.這個女孩最軟弱的地方，竟然成了她致勝的關(guān)鍵所在。我們每個人都有軟弱的地方，但上天總在我們的軟弱上，給我們以意想不到的力量。只要善于利用命運給我們的一切，我們也能像這個女孩一般，在自己的軟弱上，得到上天的另一種祝福。佛陀勾月(Buddha's moon)當月光皎潔明亮?xí)r，人們可以通過肉眼清晰的看到月亮上的陰影。各

26、個文化的初民們，都發(fā)揮自己的想象，將月亮上的陰影擬為人世間的事物。因此，嫦娥、桂樹、玉兔就應(yīng)運而生了。然而關(guān)注著月亮的，并非只有中國人。梵語中，印度就是月亮的意思；在印度，月亮更是一切美好事物的象征。佛教興盛的古印度，對于月亮上的圖形當然也有自己的解釋；月亮上形似兔子的陰影，也就成了佛教舍己救人精神的象征。Once upon a time three friends, the monkey, the fox, and the hare（野兔）lived together in the forest. One day Buddha began to wonder about the animal

27、s' true nature. Was the monkey truly generous? Was the fox always kind? Was the hare as peaceful as he seemed? Buddha decided he would test the animals, and so he disguised（偽裝） himself as a poor priest. He dressed in rags, and hobbling upon a cane he limped into the forest where the creatures li

28、ved. Before long the priest came upon（遇到）the monkey. When the monkey spotted the priest, he called out cheerfully, "Hello, sir. Lovely day, don't you think?" The priest bowed his head and said sorrowfully, "Ah, it would be a lovely day indeed if I weren't so terribly hungry.&q

29、uot; "Hungry?" the monkey said, "I can help you there. I can offer you plenty of fruit," and he began to pick mangoes（芒果）. While the monkey was gathering fruit, the fox trotted past, and seeing the priest, he stopped to say, "Good day to you, holy man. How fine the sunshine

30、is, don't you think?" "The sunshine?" the priest said, looking up. "Ah, yes. It's a pity it does not offer nourishment（養(yǎng)育滋養(yǎng)；營養(yǎng)） to a starving（饑餓的）man." "I can fix that," said the fox, and he raced off to collect some fish he had just passed on the shore of

31、the lake. When the fox was out of sight, the priest sat down beneath a tree and waited for the hare, who soon hopped by. "Sir, welcome to the forest. My friends tell me you're very hungry." The priest smiled. "I am," he said, and just then the monkey returned with the mangoes

32、. "How very kind," the priest said. "You are truly a generous soul." The monkey smiled. "My pleasure," he said, bowing. Now the fox returned carrying many fish. "Here you are. You will soon be full. " The hare thought for a few minutes about what he could give

33、 the priest. He asked the monkey and the fox to help him. The three friends turned to the priest and said, "We shall return soon." After several minutes, the monkey, the fox and the hare returned with some wood. The hare built a fire, and then he turned to the priest. "I am going to j

34、ump into this fire," he said, "and when I am cooked, you may eat me." The hare leaped into the fire, but as he did, the priest transformed（改變）back into Buddha, reached into the fire, and pulled the hare out. "Who are you?" the monkey asked. "What kind of trick was that?

35、" the fox added. Buddha smiled at the two of them. "Clearly you see I am not a beggar priest, and I see you clearly as well. You are truly devoted（奉獻）, generous（寬宏大量；慷慨）, kind and peaceful souls." Then he turned his gaze on the hare. "Your generosity is without compare, good frie

36、nd. In thanks, I am placing you on the moon. There everyone will see you and remember your goodness（善良；仁慈） and generosity." To this day, if you look up at the full moon, you will see that the hare is there still.狗和影子(The Dog and the Shadow)It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was

37、carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now, on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that a

38、lso. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more. 一只狗嘴里銜著一塊肉，走過一條河上面的橋，看見他自己在水里的影子，以為是另一只狗，那時狗銜著的肉，比他自己的還要大一倍。因此他仍掉自己的那一塊，狠狠地撲向那只狗，想奪到那一塊較大的肉。結(jié)果兩頭都落了空，因為他想要抓取在水中的那一塊，只不過是一個影子，而原來的那一塊，也被水沖走了。 Bewar

39、e lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow. 謹記，切莫因追逐幻影而丟失已有的東西。生命的波紋(The Splashes of Life)A Sioux Indian story . 這是蘇語系印第安人部落中流傳的一個古老的故事 My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the cir

40、cles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. 在我七歲那年，我的祖父來到田邊的一個池塘。他讓我丟一顆石子到水中，并囑咐我仔細觀察石子所激起的水波紋。然后他叫我把自己想象成那顆石子。 "You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures,"

41、 he said. 他說：“在生命的水面上，你也許能激起許多波紋，而你所激起的波紋也會打破別人的平靜，” "Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles." “要謹記，對你所激起的波紋中所包含的東西負責，因為這些東西會接觸、影響到別人的波紋?！?"You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from

42、 your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both." “你應(yīng)當努力使自己波紋中的平和寧靜傳播給他人。當然，如果你的波紋中攜帶有憤怒、嫉妒，別人也會受到你的影響，因此，你要對它們負責?！?That was the first time I realized that each person

43、 creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. 這是我第一次了解到，每個人心中的平和抑或不和，都會傳播給整個世界。如果我們自己內(nèi)心都被沖突、仇恨、疑慮或者憤怒所糾纏，自然就不能給世界帶來平和寧靜。 We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether

44、 we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life. 無論我們是否說出心中的感覺和思緒，我們都在向外界傳播它們。無論我們內(nèi)心激起的是何種波紋，它們都會被傳向他人，與別人的生命波紋共同激起美麗，抑或是不和諧。動物法庭的舞蹈(The Dance of the Animal Court)Once upon a time there was a m

45、onkey who had a magical fiddle and bow and arrow. He could hit anything with his arrow, and with his fiddle, he could make anyone dance. One day Monkey met Cheetah. "I've been stalking Springbok all day," Cheetah complained, "and I'm exhausted, and still I am starving." &

46、quot;Let me try," Monkey suggested, and he pulled out his bow and arrow, aimed, and shot Springbok through the heart. Cheetah was amazed. He wanted the bow and arrow for himself, so he growled, and jumped on Monkey. As the two fought, Jackal passed by. Jackal suggested that they go to animal co

47、urt to decide the matter.When they arrived at court, Monkey began to shake. He was so young, and these were the elders of the jungle. When Elephant asked him what was wrong, Monkey replied, his voice quavering, "My uncle gave me this bow and arrow.""Can't you see he's lying?&q

48、uot; growled Cheetah. "Listen to his voice. Look at him shake. I spent all day stalking Springbok, and when Monkey came along, he tried to steal my bow and arrow." Within moments the court announced their verdict. "Monkey, we find you guilty," announced Zebra. "For your crim

49、e, you will hang." Monkey began to weep, but suddenly he remembered his fiddle. "Before I die, may I please play one last tune?" Monkey begged.Giraffe said yes, and so Monkey picked up his fiddle and began to play. Within a few moments, all of the animals started to dance. Monkey play

50、ed faster, and the dancers began to dance more quickly. They couldn't stop. Before long, Elephant was wheezing, Cheetah and Jackal were gasping for breath, and even Lion was weeping with exhaustion. Giraffe's long, wobbly legs collapsed, and he fainted, but Monkey kept playing."Monkey,

51、please," Lion cried at last, "if you stop, we will give you the kingdom." "I don't want the kingdom," Monkey laughed. "I only want Cheetah to tell the truth." "The bow and arrow are not mine!" Cheetah cried.Monkey stopped playing, and the animals stop

52、ped dancing. Monkey laughed as the others slunk away.人生的大石頭(Big Rocks)One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. 一天，時間管理專家為一群學(xué)生講課。他現(xiàn)場做了演示，給學(xué)生們留下了一生都難以磨滅的印象。As he stood in front of the gr

53、oup of overachievers he said, "OK, time for a quiz." He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more ro

54、cks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" 站在那些高智商高學(xué)歷的學(xué)生前面，他說：“我們來做個小測驗”，拿出一個一加侖的廣口瓶放在他面前的桌上。隨后，他取出一堆拳頭大小的石塊，仔細地一塊放進玻璃瓶。直到石塊高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他問道：“瓶子滿了？”Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes." The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and

55、pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is this jar full?" 所有學(xué)生應(yīng)道：“滿了！”。時間管理專家反問：“真的？”他伸手從桌下拿出一桶礫石，倒了一些進去，并敲擊玻璃瓶壁使礫石填滿下面石塊的間隙?！艾F(xiàn)在瓶子

56、滿了嗎？”他第二次問道。By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel

57、. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"但這一次學(xué)生有些明白了，“可能還沒有”，一位學(xué)生應(yīng)道。“很好！”專家說。他伸手從桌下拿出一桶沙子，開始慢慢倒進玻璃瓶。沙子填滿了石塊和礫石的所有間隙。他又一次問學(xué)生：“瓶子滿了嗎？”"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar

58、 was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager student raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!" “沒滿！”學(xué)生們大聲說

59、。他再一次說：“很好！”然后他拿過一壺水倒進玻璃瓶直到水面與瓶口平。抬頭看著學(xué)生，問道：“這個例子說明什么？”一個心急的學(xué)生舉手發(fā)言：“無論你的時間多少，如果你確實努力，你可以做更多的事情！”"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are th

60、e 'big rocks' in your life? Time with your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all."“不！”時間管理專家說，“那不是它真正的意思，這個例子告訴我們：如果你不是先放大石塊，那你就再也不能把它放進瓶子了。那么，什么是你生命中的大石頭呢？也許

61、是你的道德感、你的夢想？還有你的-切切記得先去處理這些大石塊，否則，一輩子你都不能做！”我們可曾問過自己這個問題：人一生的“大石頭”是什么？找出自己人生的“大石頭”，然后把它們先放進我們?nèi)松钠孔又?！老?The Teacher)教育家陶行知先生曾說過：“在教師手里操著幼年人的命運，便操著民族和人類的命運?！痹诤芏鄷r候，老師的一點點鼓勵、一點點嘉許，就能對孩子的心理產(chǎn)生不可磨滅的影響?？梢哉f，老師所決定的，絕對不僅僅是學(xué)生們少年時期的幾個無關(guān)緊要的分數(shù)，而是孩子們的心理、未來和命運。關(guān)注我愛英語網(wǎng)的讀者中，有為數(shù)不少的教師網(wǎng)友。也許日復(fù)一日單調(diào)的教學(xué)生活已經(jīng)磨滅了你的激情，但是請記住，在你的肩上還有一份責任：珍愛每一位學(xué)生。Mrs. Thompson stood in front of her fi