The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller

 　　The Charcoal¹-Burner and the FullerA CHARCOAL-BURNER carried on his trade in his own house. One day he met a friend, a Fuller, and entreated² him to come and live with him, saying that they should be far better neighbors and that their housekeeping expenses would be lessened³. The Fuller replied, "The arrangement is impossible as far as I am concerned, for whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken again with your charcoal."Like will draw like.

　　烧炭人在一所房子里干活,看见有一个漂布人搬迁到他的旁边来住时,满怀高兴地走上 去劝他与自己同住,并解释说这样彼此更亲密,更方便,还更省钱。漂布人却回答说:“也 许你说的是真话,但完全不可能办到,因为凡我所漂白的,都将被你弄黑。”

1 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

2 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。