Lesson44 A Neapolitan Fisherman
The Neapolitan fisherman asleep in the afternoon sun was approached by awell-to-do businessman from another city.
"Why are you asleep instead of doing something useful?""What should I do?" answered the fisherman.
"You could mend your nets," suggested the businessman, "and then you wouldcatch more fish. If you caught more fish you would make more money andsooner or later you could afford a bigger fishing boast which would enableyou to catch still more fish. In time you could become the owner of severalboats and employ other fishermen to work for you. Eventually you wouldbecome a wealthy man with a fleet of fishing boats bringing ashore greatquantities of fish and earning more than enough money for you and yourfamily to live in great style.
You would no longer need to work hard or worry about the future. In fact,you'd have la dolce vita. Come on! Wake up!
The day is short but there's still time to attain your ambition."The fisherman listened patiently — he had enjoyed a long lunch and feltquite drowsy in the warm afternoon sun — and when the man was finished，the fisherman looked at him puzzled: "I would do all that to have la dolcevita? Why should I do all that to achieve what I already have?"
Neapolitan 那不勒斯的
la dolce vita 奢华的生活方式
attain 获得
drowsy 昏昏欲睡的
一个那不勒斯渔民
一个从其他城市来的富商走到一个正在午后阳光下睡觉的那不勒斯渔民身旁。
“你为什么不去做些有用的事而在这里睡觉呢？”
“我应该做什么呢？”渔民回答。
“你可以补网，”商人提议说，“那样你就可以捕到更多的鱼。如果你捕到更多的鱼，你就可以赚更多的钱，迟早你将会拥有更大的渔船，它能让你捕到更多的鱼。你就可以拥有几条船，雇佣其他渔民为你工作。最终，你将成为富人，拥有更多的渔船，这些船会把大量的鱼带上岸，为你赚大量的钱，你的家人将过上幸福的生活。你再也不必努力工作或为将来担心。事实上，你将过上奢华的生活。快点，清醒清醒吧！时不我待，你还来得及实现你的抱负。”
渔民耐心地听着——午餐的时间已经够长了，在暖和的午后阳光下他感到昏昏欲睡——等商人说完，他困惑地看着商人说：“我一定要做所有这些事才能得到奢华的生活吗？
我为什么要做那么多去获得我本来已经拥有的生活呢？” |