篇一 国王密友的口头禅：很好，这很好

　　An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life, positive or negative, and remarking; "This is good!"

　　这是一个关于一位非洲国王的古老故事。这位国王有一个从小一起长大的密友。这位密友有这样一个习惯——无论生活中发生了什么事情，不管好事坏事，都会评价一句：“这很好！”

　　One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

　　一天，国王和他的这位朋友外出狩猎。朋友负责为国王装载弹药，准备猎枪。显然，朋友在准备一支猎枪时出了错，当国王从朋友手里接过猎枪时，枪走火了，打掉了国王的一根拇指。

　　Examining the situation, the friend remarked, as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded with sending his friend to jail.

　　察看情况后，朋友一如既往地评价说：“这很好！”国王回答说：“这一点儿也不好！”，并下令将他的这位朋友送进监狱坐牢。

　　About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

　　大约一年后，国王狩猎时误入了一片他本该知道应当避开的区域。食人族抓住了他，把他带回了他们的村子里。他们把国王的双手捆住，堆放了一些木头，竖起了一根木桩，把国王绑在木桩上。

　　As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was not whole. So after untying the king, they sent him on his way back home.

　　当他们靠近国王准备点燃木头时，发现国王缺了一根拇指。出于迷信，他们从不吃身体有残缺的人。于是，他们为国王松了绑，并把他送到了回家的路上。

　　As he returned home, he remembered the event at which he lost his thumb and felt remorse for the way he had treated his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said to him, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend everything that had just happened. "And therefore, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. I was wrong and feel bad for doing this to you.”

　　回到家后，国王记起了那件让他失去拇指的事，并对自己如此对待朋友感到非常懊悔。于是，他立刻前往监狱，打算与他的朋友聊聊。“你说得没错，”国王对他的朋友说，“我的拇指被打掉了很好。”然后，国王将刚刚发生的一切原原本本地讲述给了他的朋友。“所以我很抱歉让你坐这么长时间牢。我错了，这样对你令我感动很惭愧。”国王说。

　　"No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" exclaimed the king. "If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you." The friend replied.

　　“不，”他的朋友回答说：“这很好！”“你这是什么意思？‘这很好’？我让自己的朋友坐了一年牢，怎么会很好？“国王大声说道。“如果我没来坐牢，您被抓到时，我应该会和您在一起。”朋友回答说。

　　2. Weakness or Strength?

　　篇二 弱点还是强项？独臂柔道冠军一招制敌术

　　A boy who lost his left arm in a devastating car accident, decided he wanted to become a Judoka; a person who is very skilled in the martial art called: Judo. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo master. The boy was doing well, but he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

　　一个曾经在一起严重车祸中失去左臂的男孩，决定要成为一名柔道运动员。于是，他开始跟随一位年长的日本柔道师父学习柔道课程。他在训练中的表现很好，但他不明白为什么经过三个月的训练，师父只教了他一个招式。

　　"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "It's true that this is the only move you know now, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know." the sensei replied.

　　“先生”，男孩终于忍不住问道：“我不应该学习更多的招式吗？”“没错，目前为止你只学了一个招式，但它也是你唯一需要学会的招式。”师父回答说。

　　Not quite understanding, but believing his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches.

　　男孩并不太理解师父的话，但他相信师父，于是就回到了训练中。几个月过后，师父带着男孩参加了男孩的一次柔道锦标赛。令男孩自己都惊讶的是，他居然轻松地赢下了前两场比赛。

　　The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move and won the match. Still amazed by his own success, the boy was now in the finals.

　　事实证明，第三场比赛更加困难，但过了一段时间，他的对手开始变得烦躁不安；于是，男孩巧妙地使出了自己的唯一招式，赢下了比赛。男孩依旧对自己的成功感到惊讶，但他现在已经来到了决赛的赛场。

　　This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No." The sensei insisted. "Let him continue."

　　这一次，他的对手个头更大、更加强壮，也更有经验。比赛进行了一段时间，男孩显然已经处于下风。由于担心男孩可能会受伤，裁判叫了暂停。当裁判正打算终止比赛的时候，师父出面了。“他可以继续比赛”师父坚持说。

　　Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him down to the ground. The boy had won the final match and so, the tournament. He was the champion.

　　比赛很快恢复进行，男孩的对手犯了一个致命的错误——疏于防守。男孩瞬间用他的招式将对手压倒在地。男孩赢得决赛的胜利，成为了锦标赛的冠军。

　　On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned his courage to ask what was really on his mind.

　　在回家的路上，男孩与师父一同回顾了每场比赛中他使用的每个招式。然后，男孩鼓起勇气向师父提出了一个萦绕在自己脑海里的问题。

　　"Sensei, how did I win the tournament while knowing only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in Judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

　　“先生，我究竟是怎么在只会一个招式的情况下赢得比赛的？”“有两个原因。”师父回答说，“首先，你已经几乎完全掌握了柔道中最难的一种摔法；其次，已知防住这一招式的唯一方法就是你的对手要抓住你的左臂。”

　　The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

　　男孩最大的弱点已经变成了他最大的优势。