英语美文：看清恐惧的真相

 　　Now, there was a very young and beautiful wife, who became sick and nearly died. She was on her death bed and told her husband, "I love you very much, and I don/'t want to leave you. Please, after I die, don/'t marry another person. You promise me! Okay?

　　有一个非常年轻貌美的太太，她快要病死了，她躺在床上奄奄一息地对她丈夫说：「我很爱你，我不想离开你。在我死后，请不要再和别人结婚。答应我，好吗?」Then she worried that her husband would not keep the promise, so she threatened him. She said, "If you marry another wife, I will become a ghost and take care of you." It/'s terrible! That/'s what she said to her husband, "I will make you suffer, always, forever, and eternally¹!" So the husband was maybe afraid of the wife. But here (Master points to the book) they say, "respected the wife." We always respect the wife, do we not? We respect the wife, but we/'re not afraid! So the husband respected the wife and didn/'t think of remarrying another person.

　　她很担心她丈夫会不守信用，所以就威胁他说：「如果你再婚的话，我一定会变成鬼来处理你!我会让你无穷无尽地受苦!」真可怕!她对她丈夫这么说。这位丈夫可能是怕她太太，但书上这里是说「尊重他太太」。一般人总是尊重太太，是尊重太太而不是怕太太。所以这位丈夫尊重他太太的遗言，没有动再婚的念头。

　　But as God always makes trouble for human beings, he met another beautiful woman, younger, charming², sweeter and more attractive, and richer even! Rich! Oh, terrible! And she even loved him very much and maybe more than the wife. Oh, too bad! That was only three months after the funeral service. Now what can we do about that?

　　不过上帝总是给人找麻烦，这位先生遇到了另一位美丽的女人，比以前的太太还年轻、迷人、甜美，更有吸引力，甚至更有钱，噢，真可怕!而她也很爱他，也许比以前的太太更爱他。哦，在他太太的葬礼后仅仅三个月就发生这种事，我们能怎么办呢?

　　So he got engaged to her. After the engagement³ (the engagement happened during the daytime), that night the husband saw the ghost of the wife coming. "Ah ha! As promised, here I come." She appeared in front of him and scolded him and nagged⁴ him, saying that he had broken his promise; that he did not love her; that he was not sincere⁵; that he was a bad husband; that he had no conscience⁶; that he was a lousy man; that he was a terrible human being.

　　他们就这样订婚了。订婚的那天晚上，丈夫看见太太的鬼魂出现，她说：「啊哈!我说过我会再来的!」她出现在他面前责备他，唠叨地念他食言、不爱她、不诚心、是个坏丈夫没良心、是个差劲糟糕的男人.

　　Then the husband got very scared! Because this ghost was so terribly intelligent; she knew exactly what had happened between the husbandand the new fiancée. She told him what time he did what with her, and what time he gave her what, and talked to her about what. She knew everything, everything! So he couldn/'t deny it. But he was very scared.

　　这位丈夫被吓呆了!因为他太太的鬼魂竟然如此无所不知，对于丈夫和那个新未婚妻之间的事了若指掌，她还告诉他什么时候他和她做什么，什么时候他给她什么、对她说了什么，她都知道得一清二楚，他无法否认，他真的被吓死了!

　　He was so scared that he could not sleep, he could not eat, and he dared not go to see his fiancée often. And their love affair nearly went on the rocks. So some people told him that he should go to a temple and talk about his suffering to a Zen master, and maybe the Zen master could help him. Oh, my God! The Zen master takes care of everything, including ghosts and marriage.

　　于是他害怕得吃不下也睡不著，甚至不敢常去看他的未婚妻，他们的爱情遇到阻碍了。于是有人建议他应该去寺庙，将他的苦恼告诉禅师，也许禅师可以帮他。天啊!禅师每件事都得管，连鬼和婚姻的事情也要费心去理会!

　　So the Zen master truly helped him. He said to the husband, "Your ex-wife has become a ghost." (This we knew) "And she is very intelligent. So she knows everything that you did with your fiancée. Actually, you should respect such a ghost. But there is a way to drive her away. Now,next time if the ghost appears, you have to make a bet⁷ with her." The Zen master said that she knew everything; she knew too much already. But probably there was something she didn/'t know. If she answered incorrectly, then she should not come back and bother him any more. Then he could marry the one he loved.

　　这位禅师还真的帮了他，他告诉这位丈夫：「你的前任太太已经变成鬼了。而且她变得聪明异常，所以知道你和未婚妻所做的一切。事实上像这样的鬼，你还真得尊重才对。不过还是有法子可以赶她走。下次鬼出现时，你要和她打个赌。」禅师说这个鬼无所不知，知道许多事情，不过也许有些事情她不知道，如果她答错了的话，那就得答应不再回来打扰他，让他和心爱的人结婚。

　　Because she was dead! She could not serve him in any way. She could not cook for him. She could not take care of anything. So the husband asked the Zen master, "What can I do? What should I ask her?"因为她已经往生了，无法再服侍他、替他煮好吃的饭，也不能照顾任何事情了。于是这位丈夫就问禅师：「我要怎么做?我该问她什么?」And the Zen master said to him, "Next time when she comes, take a handful⁸ of mung beans in your hand and ask her how many beans are inside. She surely cannot answer that. And then she will disappear. Because, if she cannot answer that question, you will know this is only an illusion⁹ of your own mind, your own conscience or your own imaginationbecause you/'re already too scared, afraid of the wife and imagining, an illusion of your mind. If she doesn/'t answer, if she cannot answer, then you know it/'s an illusion and she will vanish¹⁰."禅师告诉他：「下次当她来时，你就抓一把绿豆，问她有多少豆子在里面，她一定无法回答，然后她就会自己消失了。因为如果她答不出来的话，你就会明白这只是你自己头脑的幻觉而已，由于良心不安而造成，因为你太害怕，太惧怕死去的太太，所以自己头脑就造出这样的幻象。如果她答不出来，你就知道这不过是幻想而已，这样她就会消失不见了。」So, the next night, truly, the ghost appeared. And the husband told her, "Oh, yes, you know everything. You are very intelligent; I cannot do anything about it." And then the ghost said, "Yes, I know. And I also know that today you went to see a Zen master and you talked about us."到了第二天晚上，那鬼真的又出现了，丈夫告诉她：「噢，没错，你真的是无所不知又很聪明，我实在拿你没有办法。」鬼说：「是，我知道，而且我也知道你今天去找禅师谈我们的事。」So the man said, "Okay, since you know everything, now, can you tell me how many beans are in my hand?" As soon as he asked this question, the ghost disappeared.

　　So you know, was there a real ghost? No! Then you shouldn't be afraid tonight.

　　所以那个男人就说：「好吧!既然你无所不知，现在你可以告诉我，我手中有多少豆子吗?」当他一问这个问题时，鬼就消失了。所以你们知道了，真的有鬼吗?没有!所以今夜你不必害怕.

1 eternally   

adv. 不朽地, 永久地

参考例句：

• I'm eternally grateful that we managed to go there before the war. 我们设法在战争爆发前到了那里，我对此永生感恩。
• Only Janet, eternally hopeful, thought it was worth trying again. 只有永远满怀希望的珍妮特认为值得再试一次。

2 charming   

adj.迷人的，可爱的

参考例句：

• She looked small and gentle and altogether charming.她看起来小巧文雅,十分迷人。
• She has charming manners.她具有媚人的风姿。

3 engagement   

n.订婚，婚约，约定，约会

参考例句：

• I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你，因为我有约在先。
• It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。

4 nagged   

adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The old woman nagged (at) her daughter-in-law all day long. 那老太婆一天到晚地挑剔儿媳妇的不是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She nagged him all day long. 她一天到晚地说他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sincere   

adj.真诚的，诚挚的，诚恳的

参考例句：

• He is sincere and easy to get along with.他为人诚恳，很好相处。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 conscience   

n.良心，道德心

参考例句：

• Guilt had been eating into his conscience for some months. 几个月来内疚一直折磨着他的良心。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

7 bet   

v.打赌，以(与)...打赌；n.赌注，赌金；打赌

参考例句：

• I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说，你解决不了这个难题。
• I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。

8 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。

9 illusion   

n.幻想，错误的观念，错觉，幻觉，假象

参考例句：

• The sun appears to go round the Earth,but it's an illusion.太阳看起来好像绕着地球转，但这只是个错觉。
• They were under the illusion that the company was doing well.他们误以为该公司生意很好。

10 vanish   

vi.突然不见，消失；不复存在，绝迹

参考例句：

• With a wave of his hand,the magician made the rabbit vanish.魔术师手一挥兔子便不见了。
• All your troubles will vanish away when he returns safely. 他平安回来后，你就无忧无虑了。