A Grain of Sand
一粒沙子
William Blake/威廉.布莱克
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild fllower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
从一粒沙子看到一个世界,
从一朵野花看到一个天堂,
把握在你手心里的就是无限,
永恒也就消融于一个时辰.
The Cobbler and the banker
La Fontaine/拉.封丹
皮匠和银行家
A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night;it was wonderful to see,wonderful to hear
him;he was
more contented in shoes,than was any of the seven sages.His neighbor,on the contrary,who was rolling in
wealth,sung
but little and slept less.He was a banker;when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break,the cobbler
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awoke him with
his song.The banker complained sadly that Providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity,like
edibles or
drinkables.Having at length sent for the songster,he said to him,"How much a year do you earn,Master
Gregory?"
"How much a year,sir?"said the merry cobbler laughing,"I have reckon in that way,living as I do from one
day to
another;somehow I manage to reach the end of the year;each day brings its meal."
"Well then!How much a day do you earn,my friend?"
"Sometimes more,sometimes less;but the worst of it is,-and,without that our earnings would be very
tolerable,-a
number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work;and the curate,moreover,is
constantly adding some
new saint to the list."
The banker,laughing at his simplicity,said,"In the future I shall place you above want.Take this hundred
crowns,preserve them carefully,and make use of them in time of need."
The cobbler fancied he beheld all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use
of
mankind.Returning home,he buried his money and his happiness at the same time,No more singin;he lost
his voice,the
moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief.Sleep quitted his dwelling;and
cares,suspicions,and
false alarms took its place,All day,his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure;and at night,if some
stray cat
made a noise,the cat was robbing him.At length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor;"Give
my back."
said he,"sleep and my voice,and take your hundred crowns."
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一个皮匠从早到晚在唱歌中度过.无论见到他本人或听见他的歌声都使人觉得很愉快.他对于制鞋工作比
当上了希腊七对还要满足.
与此相反,他的邻居是个银行家,拥有万贯家财,却很少唱歌,晚上也睡得不好.他偶尔在黎明时分迷迷
糊糊刚入睡,皮匠的歌声便
于工作把他吵醒了.银行家郁郁寡欢地抱怨上帝没有睡眠也制成一种像食品或饮料那样可以买卖的商品.
后来,银行家就叫人把这位
歌手请来,问道：“格列戈里师傅,你一年赚多少钱?”
“先生,你问我一年赚多少钱吗?”快乐的皮匠笑道：“我从来不算这笔帐,我是一天一天地过日子,总而言
之坚持到年底,每天挣足
三餐.”
“啊,朋友,那么你一天赚多少钱呢?”
“有时多一点,有时少一点；不过最糟糕的是一年中总有些日子不准我们做买卖,牧师又常常在圣徒名单上
添新名字,否则我们的收
入也还算不错的.”
银行家被皮匠的直率逗笑了,他说：“我要你从今以后不愁没钱用.这一百枚钱你拿去,小心放好,需要时
拿来用吧.”
皮匠觉自己好像看到了过去几百年来大地为人类所需而制造出来的全部财富.他回到家中,埋藏好硬币,
同时也埋葬了他的快乐.他
不再唱歌了；从他得到这种痛苦的根源那一刻起,他的嗓子就哑了.睡眠与他分手；取而代之的却是担心、
怀疑、虚惊.白天,他的
目光尽朝埋藏硬币的方向望；夜间,如果有只迷途的猫弄出一点声响,他就以为是有人来抢他的钱.最后,
这个可怜的皮匠跑到他那
富有的邻居家里说：“把你的一百枚钱拿回去,还我的睡眠和歌声来.”
Genius at Work
天才在工作
Henry Ford didn’t always pay attention in school. One day ,he and a friend took a watch apart.
Angry and upset, the teacher told him both to stay after school. Their punishment was to stay until
they had fixed the watch. But the teacher did not know young Ford’s genius. In ten minutes, this
mechanical wizard had repaired the watch and was on this way home..
Ford was always interested in how things worked. He once plugged up the spout of a teapot and
placed it on the fire. Then he waited to see what would happen. The water boiled and, of course,
turned to steam. Since the steam had no way to escape, the teapot exploded. The explosion
cracked a mirror and broke a window. The young inventor was badly scalded
Ford’s year of curiosity and tinkering paid off. He dreamed of a horseless carriage. When he
built one, the world of transportation was changed forever.
亨利.福特在学校里常常心不在焉.有一天,他和一个小朋友把一块手表拆开了.老师很
生气,让他们放学后留下来,把表修好才能回家.当时这位老师并不知道小福特的天才.只
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用了十分钟,这位机械奇才就把手表修好,走在回家的路上了.
福特对各种东西的工作原理总是很感兴趣.曾有一次,他把茶壶嘴用东西堵住,然后把茶
壶放在火炉上.他便站在一边等候着会出现什么情况.当然,水开后变成了水蒸气.因为水
蒸气无处逸出,茶壶便爆炸了,因而打碎了一面镜子和一扇窗户.这个小发明家也被严重地
烫伤了.
多年后,福特的好奇心和他的动手能力使他得到了回报.他曾经梦想着去制造一辆无马行
进的车.他造成了一辆这样的车后,运输界发生了永久性的变化.
我想这都是世界上最美的短文,如果你还要别的,请告诉我.