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There was a rich couple who was throwing a big new year party at their house. So they went shopping at a market where everything was of high cost and had a fixed1 price. They wanted to maintain2 their high living standards so didn't mind paying a lot for the things they needed.
有一对富有的夫妇要在家里举办一场盛大的新年派对。于是，他们来到一家价格昂贵且不打折的市场，采购派对所需的物品。他们希望保持较高生活水平，所以并不介意为自己需要的东西多花些钱。
After purchasing everything they wanted, they called a porter3 to carry everything and drop it off at their home. The porter who came was of an old age, not very healthy looking. His clothes were torn, and he looked as if he wasn't even able to meet his daily needs.
采购完毕，他们叫来一名搬运工帮他们把买到的所有东西送回家。这名搬运工年龄很大，看起来病病殃殃的，且衣衫褴褛，似乎与乞丐没什么两样。
They asked the porter about the charge for delivering the goods at their home. The old porter quoted a mere4 $20, a price well below the market rate for delivering goods with his cart at the couple's home.
他们向这名搬运工询问了送货到家的费用。这位老搬运工仅给出了20美元的报价，这个价格远远低于将这一车货物送至这对夫妇家中的市场价格。
Yet, the couple argued and bargained with the porter, and finally, he settled for $15. The porter was struggling to make money for every single meal, so he needed anything he could earn.
然而，这对夫妇还是与这名搬运工讨价还价起来，并最终将价格确定为15美元。这名搬运工为了生存要拼命赚钱，所以不会拒绝任何能够赚到钱的机会。
The couple was very happy thinking about how well they had bargained with the poor porter, paid him $15 in advance and left after giving the porter their address for delivery5. They reached their home and an hour passed, two hours passed, but the porter still hadn't delivered their stuff6.
这对夫妇非常开心地回味着刚刚他们在与这名可怜的搬运工讨价还价时的精彩表现，预付了搬运工15美元，提供了交货地址，然后离开了。他们回到家后，一小时过去了，两个小时过去了，但还是不见搬运工的踪影。
The wife started to get angry at her husband, "I always tell you to not to trust such a person but still, you never listen to me. Such a person is not even able to earn enough money to feed himself once a day, and you gave him everything we purchased for our big party. I am sure that, instead of delivering it at our home, he must have disappeared with everything. We must immediately go back to the market to find out more about the porter and then go to the police station to file a complaint against him".
妻子开始对丈夫发起火来，“我告诉过你多少遍了不要相信这种人，你就是不听。这种人每天赚到的钱都不够吃一顿饱饭，你居然把我们为派对买的所有东西全部交给了他。我确信，他肯定带着咱们的东西跑路了，不可能送来了。我们得马上回市场弄清楚那名搬运工的底细，然后去警察局报警。”
They both left towards the market. On their way, near the market, they saw another porter. They stopped him to inquire7 about the old porter but then noticed that he was carrying their stuff in his cart! The angry wife asked him, "Where is that old thief? This is our stuff and he was supposed to deliver it. It seems you thieves are stealing our stuff and are going to sell it".
夫妇二人离开家前往市场。在途中，就在距离市场不远的地方，他们看到另一名搬运工。他们拦住他询问那名老搬运工的情况，但不久他们就注意到这名搬运工的手推车里放的正是他们买到的东西！妻子愤怒地问他：“那个老贼在哪里？这是我们的东西，他本应该把这些东西送到我家的。看来你们这些贼想要偷走我们的东西，然后转手卖掉”。
The porter replied, "Madam, please calm down. That poor old man was sick since last month. He wasn't even able to earn enough money to have one single meal a day. He was on his way to deliver your stuff, but he was hungry, sick, and couldn't gather the strength to go any further in this heat of the noon". He fell down and he handed me $15. His last words were: "I have accepted an advance payment8 for this delivery, take this money and please deliver it to this address".
搬运工回答说：“女士，请冷静一点。那个可怜的老人上个月就生病了。他每天都赚不到一顿饭钱。他本来在为你们送货的路上，但他饥饿难耐，病痛难忍，在这个炎热的中午，实在没有力气继续了。他倒下了，递给我15美元。他对我说的最后一句话是：‘我已经收了人家的送货预付款，请拿着这些钱，帮我把货送到这个地址'”。
"Madam, He was hungry, he was poor, but he was an honest man. I was just on my way to complete the old man's last delivery at your home", the porter said. Upon hearing this, the husband had tears in his eyes, but his wife felt so ashamed, she did not even have the courage to look her husband in the eye.
“女士，他饥肠辘辘，贫困潦倒，但他是一个诚实的人。我正在完成老人的最后一次送货，就是送往您家的货。”搬运工说。听到这些话，丈夫眼睛里转起了泪花，而他的妻子感到非常羞愧，甚至没有勇气去看她的丈夫一眼。
Moral9: Honesty has no class. Respect everyone regardless of their financial and social status. It's always a good deed to give something to the one who deserves10.
寓意：诚信与阶层无关。我们要尊重每一个人，不管他们是不是有钱人，不管他们具有怎样的社会地位。让每个人都能得到他们应得的，永远一件值得称道的事情。
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收听单词发音
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1
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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2
maintain
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| vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有 | |
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3
porter
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| n.搬运工人；守门人，门房 | |
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4
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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5
delivery
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| n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格 | |
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stuff
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| n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱 | |
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7
inquire
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| v.(of, about)询问，打听；调查，查问 | |
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8
payment
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| n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应 | |
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9
moral
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| adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德 | |
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10
deserves
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| v.应受，应得，值得( deserve的第三人称单数 )；应受报答；应得报酬；应得赔偿 | |
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