双语有声阅读：装满碎玻璃的大箱子

The Chest1) of Broken Glass

John had lived all alone ever since his wife died．He had worked hard as a tailor2) all his life，but misfortune¹ had left him penniless，and now he was so old he could no longer work for himself．His hands trembled too much to thread a needle，and his vision² had blurred³ too much for him to make a straight stitch3)．He had three sons，but they were all grown and married now，and they were so busy with their own lives，they only had time to stop by and eat dinner with their father once a week．

 

Gradually the old man grew more and more feeble4)，and his sons came by to see him less and less．“They don't want to be around me at all now，” he told himself，“because they're afraid I'll become a burden．” He stayed up all night worrying what would become of him，until at last he thought of a plan．

 

The next morning he went to see his friend the carpenter，and asked him to make a large chest．Then he went to see his friend the locksmith5)，and asked him to give him an old lock．Finally he went to see his friend the glassblower6)，and asked him for all the old broken pieces of glass he had．

 

The old man took the chest home，filled it to the top with broken glass，locked up tight，and put it beneath his kitchen table． The next time his sons came for dinner，they bumped⁴ their feet against it．

 

“What's in this chest？”they asked，looking under the table．

 

“Oh，nothing，”the old man replied，“just some things I've been saving⁵．”

 

His sons nudged7) it and was surprized how heavy it was．They kicked it and heard a rattling8) inside．

 

It must be full of all the gold he's saved over the years，” they whispered to one another．

 

So they talked it over and realized they needed to guard the treasure．They decided⁶ to take turns living with the old man，and that way they could look after him，too．So the first week the youngest son moved in with his father，and cared and cooked for him．The next week the middle son took his place，and the week afterward⁷ the eldest⁸ son took a turn．This went on for some time．

 

At last the old father grew sick and died．The sons gave him a very nice funeral，for they knew there was a fortune sitting beneath the kitchen table，and they could afford to splurge9) a little on the old man now．

 

When the service was over，they hunted through the house until they found the key，and unlocked⁹ the chest．And of course they found it full of broken glass．

 

But the eldest son tipped10) the chest over to make sure there was nothing valuable hidden among the glass after all．He poured the broken glass onto the floor until it was empty．Then the three brothers stared inside，where they now read an inscription11) on the bottom：Honor12) Your Father And Mother．

 

装满碎玻璃的大箱子

 

约翰自从妻子去世之后就一直孤零零地生活着。他干了一辈子的裁缝，但时运不济，到头来他一贫如洗。现在他太老了，已经不能再自食其力。他的双手抖得太厉害，针线都穿不上，眼睛老花得连线都轧不直。他有三个儿子，但他们都已经长大成人，结婚成家，各自忙于自己的生活，每星期只能抽空来一次陪老父亲一起吃顿饭。

 

慢慢地，老人越来越衰弱，儿子们来看他的次数也越来越少。“他们现在根本不想再理我了，”他自言自语，“因为他们怕我成为他们的负担。”他一宿没合眼，不知自己将来会怎样，直到最后想出了一个方案。

 

第二天一早，他去见他一个木匠朋友，请他做个大箱子。之后他又去见他的锁匠朋友，要了一把旧锁。最后他去见他吹玻璃的朋友，向他索取所有废旧的碎玻璃。

 

1 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。

2 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

3 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bumped   

凸起的，凸状的

参考例句：

• In the dark I bumped into a chair. 我在黑暗中撞上了一把椅子。
• I bumped against an old friend in town today. 我今天在城里偶然碰见了一个老朋友。

5 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

9 unlocked   

v.开锁( unlock的过去式和过去分词 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Don't leave your desk unlocked. 请不要忘记锁好办公桌。
• On no account should you leave the door unlocked. 你无论如何也不应该不锁门。 来自《简明英汉词典》