常春藤生活英语【27】Following Fate船到桥头自然直

Once upon a time, an old man lived by himself up in the mountains above a village. His wife had died of a terrible illness years before and everyone thought he was very lonely. All of the townspeople liked the old man. He was very friendly with everyone whenever he came down and fetched supplies to care for his garden. Sometimes people from the town would come up to visit the old man. They also expressed their sympathy for him because his son went so far away to study. They were even concerned about whether his son would ever return to their humble¹ village.

The old man, a firm believer in fate², would give them a simple answer, "Everything always works³ out in the end." The old man would thank the people for worrying about him. Then he would explain to them that everything in the universe affects everything else. If something was meant to be, then it was meant to be.

很久以前，有位老先生独居在某个村庄上的山中。他的妻子多年前因重病过世，大家都觉得他很寂寞。所有的村民都很喜欢他。每回他下山买整理花园的补给品时，对每个人都非常友善。有时候城里的人会上山拜访他。他们也会因老先生的儿子到远地求学而表示同情。他们甚至会担心老先生的儿子是否会回到这个卑微的村庄。

深信命运的老先生会给他们一个简单的答案：『船到桥头自然直。』老先生会谢谢大家对他的关心。接着他会向他们解释宇宙的万物都会互相影响。如果某事应该发生，那么它就会发生。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.fetch　vt. 取得；拿来
Can you go upstairs and fetch me my scarf?
你能上楼帮我拿我的围巾吗？

2.humble　a. 简陋的；卑微的
The Lins live in a humble house.
林家人住在简陋的房子里。

3.affect　vt. 影响
Marco was deeply affected⁴ by the tragedy.
马可深受这件悲剧的影响。

Phrases for Learning⁵

1.care for...　　照顾∕照料……
Nurse Betty is caring for my grandfather.
护士贝蒂正在照顾我爷爷。

2.work out　　逐渐解决∕化解
The problems between us will never work out.
我们之间的问题永远无法解决。

3.be meant to + 原形动词　　应该∕必须……
We are meant to finish our paper on time.
我们应该按时完成报告。

参考字词

1.sympathy　n. 同情

2.firm　a. 坚定的，不变的

Tips In Use

His wife had died of a terrible illness years before...
（他的妻子多年前因重病过世……）

"die of..."与"die from..."皆可表『死于……』。表示死于某种疾病、或因衰老过世时，要使用"die of..."；若表死于外在原因（如工作过度、缺乏食物、外伤等）时，则要用"die from..."。

Erin's husband died of cancer last year.
（艾琳的丈夫去年因癌症过世。）

The man and his son both died from a car crash.
（那对父子皆于车祸中丧生。）

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 fate   

n.命运；结局，结果；将来，前景

参考例句：

• The Titanic met her fate by crashing into a huge iceberg.泰坦尼克号客轮因撞上一个大冰山而沉没。
• Your future is bound up with the fate of your motherland.你的前途同祖国的命运紧密相联。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。