Lastweek,MrsBlackwenttoLondon.Shedidn’tknowLondonverywell,andshelostherway.Suddenlyshesawamannearabusstop.Shewentuptothemanandsaid,“Excuseme!Canyoutellmethewaytothehospital,please?”Themansmiled.Hedidn’tknowEnglish!HecamefromGermany.Butthenheputhishandintohispocket,andtookoutanEnglishdictionary.Helookedupsomewords.Thenhesaidslowly,“I’msorryIcan’tunderstandyou.”
上周,布莱克夫人去了一趟伦敦.她不太熟悉伦敦,结果她迷路了.突然她在一个公共汽车站附近看见一位男子.她急忙向这位男子走去,说道:“劳驾您一下!请您告诉我去医院的路,好吗?”这位男子笑了.他听不懂英语.他来自德国.但是他将手伸进了自己的衣袋里,从里面掏出了一本英语词典.他查找到了一些单词.然后他一字一句地说:“我很抱歉我听不懂你说的话.”
Thefatherwasfurious,“Iftheonlyreasonyouaskedthatissoyoucanborrowsomemoneytobuyasillytoyorsomeothernonsense,thenyoumarchyourselfstraighttoyourroomandgotobed.Thinkaboutwhyyouarebeingsoselfish.Iworkhardeverydayforsuchchildishbehavior.”
Thelittleboyquietlywenttohisroomandshutthedoor.Themansatdownandstartedtogetevenangrieraboutthelittleboy’squestions.Howdareheasksuchquestionsonlytogetsomemoney?Afteraboutanhourorso,themanhadcalmeddown,andstartedtothink:Maybetherewassomethinghereallyneededtobuywiththat$10andhereallydidn’taskformoneyveryoften.
Themanwenttothedoorofthelittleboy’sroomandopenedthedoor.
“Areyouasleep,son?”Heasked.
“Nodaddy,I’mawake,”repliedtheboy.
“I’vebeenthinking,maybeIwastoohardonyouearlier,”saidtheman,“It’sbeenalongdayandItookoutmyaggravationonyou.Here’sthe$10youaskedfor.”
Thelittleboysatstraightup,smiling.“Oh,thankyoudaddy!”Heyelled.Then,reachingunderhispillowhepulledoutsomecrumpledupbills.Theman,seeingthattheboyalreadyhadmoney,startedtogetangryagain.Thelittleboyslowlycountedouthismoney,thenlookedupathisfather.
“Whydoyouwantmoremoneyifyoualreadyhavesome?”thefathergrumbled.
“BecauseIdidn’thaveenough,butnowIdo,”thelittleboyreplied.“Daddy,Ihave$20now.CanIbuyanhourofyourtime?Pleasecomehomeearlytomorrow.Iwouldliketohavedinnerwithyou.”
一个人工作到很晚,带着疲惫与愤怒回到家里,却发现5岁大的儿子正在门口等他.
“爸爸,我可以问你一个问题吗?”
“当然,什么问题?”
“爸爸,你一个小时赚多少钱?”
“这不关你的事.怎么问这样一个问题?”父亲生气地说道.
“我只是想知道.请告诉我吧,你一个小时赚多少钱?”小男孩乞求地说.
“真想知道就告诉你吧,我一小时赚20美元.”
“噢,”男孩说着,低下了头.接着,他抬起头来问:“爸爸,我可以借你10美元钱吗?”
父亲生气了:“如果你问这个问题,只是为了借钱买无聊的玩具或其他没用的东西,那就赶紧回你的房间睡觉去.想想你怎么会这么自私.我每天工作这么辛苦,得到的竟是这样幼稚愚蠢的举动.”
小男孩静静地走进自己的房间,关上了门.这个人坐下后,更加为这个男孩的问题生气了.这孩子怎么敢问这样的问题,就为了借些钱呢?大约过了一个小时,他才平静下来了,开始想:也许他真的需要这10美元买什么东西呢,他并不是经常要钱花.
于是这个人走到小男孩的门口,打开了门.
“你睡了吗,孩子?”他问.
“没有呢,爸爸.我醒着,”男孩回答.
“我在想,可能刚才我对你太严厉了,”父亲说,“经过漫长的一天,我把怒气都发到你身上了.这是你要的10美元.”
小男孩坐直了身子,笑了:“噢,”他忍不住呼喊起来.接着,他伸手到枕头底下,拿出一把皱巴巴的钞票.看到男孩已经有钱了,父亲又忍不住要发火.小男孩慢慢地数着钱,然后抬头看着父亲.
“既然你已经有钱了,为什么还要更多钱?”父亲粗鲁地抱怨说.
“因为我的钱不够,不过现在够了,”小男孩回答,“爸爸,我现在有20美元了,我可以买你一小时的时间吗?请你明天早点下班,我想和你一起吃晚饭.”
Oneday,ateachertookhispupilstoachickenfarmtopayavisit.Whentheycameneartheincubator,chickjustgotoutofitseggshell.
一天,老师带学生到养鸡场参观,当他们走近孵化器时,刚好一只小鸡破壳而出.
"It'swonderfultoseealittlethingcomeoutfromtheeggshell,isn'tit?"theteachersai