Passage One
An old man died and left his son a lot of money. But the son was a foolish
young man, and he quickly spent all the money, so that soon he had nothing left. Of course, when that happened, all his friends left him. When he was quite poor and alone, he went to see Nasreddin, who was a kind, clever old man and often helped people when they had troubles.
My money has finished and my friends have gone, said the young man.
What will happen to me now?
Don't worry, young man, answered Nasreddin. Everything will soon be all right again. Wait and you will soon feel much happier.
The young man was very glad. Am I going to get rich again then? He asked Nasreddin.
No, I didn't mean that, said the old man. I meant that you would soon get used to being poor and to having no friends.
A man was traveling abroad in a small red car. One day he left the car and went shopping. When he came back, its roof was badly damaged.
Some boys told him that an elephant had damaged it. The man did not believe them, but they took him to a circus which was near there. The owner of the elephant said, I am very sorry! My elephant has a big, round, red chair. He thought that your car was his chair, and he sat on it!
Then he gave the man a letter, in which he said that he was sorry and that he would pay for all the damage.
When the man got back to his own country, the customs officers would not believe his story. They said, you sold your new car while you were abroad and bought this old one!
It was only when the man showed them the letter from the circus man that believed him.
Pearl Carlson was shaken awake at 3:30 a.m. by a forceful pull. King, the family dog, was trying to pull her out of the bed. Then she smelled smoke and heard the sound of fire from her parent's room. Pearl's screams awaked her mother, Fern, and father, Howard, who had recently been in hospital for lung disease. Helping Howard to a first-floor window, Fern told him to climb out, then ran to herdaughter.
Still inside, King appeared at Pearl's window, making squeaking (短促尖叫)
sounds. When running toward Pearl's bedroom, Fern realized her husband hadn't yet escaped. She made her way back through the smoke and flames, following King's sound to where Howard lay semiconscious ( 半昏迷) on the floor. Fern helped him get outside. King came out only after both were safe.
At daybreak, the Carlsons saw that King's paws were badly burnt, and his entire body was burnt, too. His chain collar had gotten so hot that it burnt his throat, making it impossible for him to bark ( 叫) normally. Only after the seven-year-old dog refused food did they find pieces of wood in his mouth and realize that King, who slept outside, had bitten through a wood door to warn his family.
Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 and died in 1790. The philosopher ( 哲學(xué)家) and writer was one of the most important men in the early days of the United States. He believed strongly in the importance of hard work, and he himself worked hard all his life, from the time he left school at the age of ten.
“Poor Richard,” a character Franklin created, summarized Franklin's ideas in short sayings. Many of Poor Richard's sayings are still remembered today. One of the most famous is “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthyandwise,” fromtheessay (散文) “The WayofWealth”.
In the same essay , Franklin talks about the danger of laziness and thevalue
ofambitiousness (抱負(fù)). Heaskswhatisaccomplishedby “wishingandhoping forbettertimes”. Hesaysthatwecanmakethesetimesbetterifwetryhard
enough. People who spend all their time just hoping will die without food. They shouldn't expect everything to be easy, or as Poor Richard says, “There are no gains without pains.” Franklin also says that we should work today, not wait until tomorrow. “One today is worth two tomorrow,” says Poor Richard. “Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can dotoday.”
1.我們打電話時，她碰巧出去了。（happentobe/do）