智慧背囊 浮华背后-05-得不偿失

[00:03.81]Too Dear for the Whistle得不偿失
[00:06.88]When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my pocket with coppers¹.
[00:14.34]I went at once to a shop where they sold toys for children.
[00:18.69] Being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I had seen by the way,
[00:22.87]in the hands of another boy,
[00:24.93]I handed over all my money for one.
[00:27.55] I then came home, and went whistling all over the house,
[00:31.92] much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing all the family.
[00:36.19] My brothers and sisters and cousins,
[00:39.00] when I told of the bargain I had made,
[00:41.66]said I had given four times as much as the whistle was worth.
[00:46.00] They put me in mind of what good things I might have bought with the rest of the money,
[00:51.28]and laughed at me so much for my folly² that I cried with vexation.
[00:55.88]Thinking about the matter gave me more chagrin³ than the whistle gave me pleasure.
[01:01.34]This, however, was afterwards of use to me,
[01:04.86]for the impression continued on my mind,
[01:07.80]so that often, when I was tempted⁴ to buy something I did not need,
[01:12.07]I said to myself, “Don’t give too much for the whistle,” and I saved my money.
[01:17.86] As I grew up, came into the world,
[01:20.70]and observed the actions of men,
[01:22.78]I thought I met with many, very many, who “gave too much for the whistle”.
[01:28.25]If I knew a miser⁵ who gave up every kind of comfortable living,
[01:33.00]all the pleasure of doing good to others,
[01:35.91]all the esteem⁶ of his fellow citizens and the joys of friendship,
[01:40.50]for the sake of gathering⁷ and keeping wealth—“Poor man,” said I,
[01:45.30]“you pay too dear for your whistle.”
[01:48.16] When I met a man of pleasure,
[01:50.13]who did not try to improve his mind or his fortune but merely devoted⁸ himself to having a good time,
[01:56.58] perhaps neglecting his health,
[01:58.47]“Mistaken man,” said I,
[02:00.52]“you are providing pain for yourself,
[02:02.92]instead of pleasure;
[02:04.35]you are paying too dear for your whistle.”
[02:06.86]If I saw someone fond of appearance
[02:09.81]who had fine clothes, fine houses, fine furniture, fine earrings⁹, all above his fortune,
[02:16.82]and for which he had run into debt,
[02:19.44]“Alas,” said I, “he has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle.”
[02:24.25] In short the miseries¹⁰ of mankind are largely due to their putting a false value on things
[02:31.61]—to giving “too much for their whistles”.

1 coppers   

铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币

参考例句：

• I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。
• He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。

2 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

3 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

4 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

5 miser   

n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly)

参考例句：

• The miser doesn't like to part with his money.守财奴舍不得花他的钱。
• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。

6 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》