英语故事:状元与乞丐

  One day one of God’s messengers descended¹ to the world and happened to meet an eminent² monk³ who was telling fortunes for two boys. The monk pointed⁴ at one of the boys saying “Number One Scholar”, and at another one “Beggar”.

     Twenty years later, the messenger came down to the world again. When he saw the previous two boys, he was puzzled about the outcome: the original “Number One Scholar” now became a beggar while the original “Beggar” turned into a Number One Scholar instead.

     So the messenger went to ask God.

     God answered, “I endow everyone with talent, which only decides one third of his destiny while the rest lies in how he grasps it.”

     Life is just like this.

    有一天，上帝的使者来到了人间。他碰到了一位高僧正在为两个孩子占卜前程。高僧指着其中一个孩子说“状元”，然后又指着另一个孩子说“乞丐”。

    20年后，上帝的使者又来到了人间，看到了先前的那两个孩子，结果让他百思不得其解：当初的“状元”如今成了乞丐，而当初的“乞丐”反而成了状元。

    于是，使者去问上帝。

    上帝说：“我赋予每个人的天分只决定他命运的三分之一，其余的则在于他如何去把握。”

    人生就是这样。

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

3 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。