英语名篇诵读 生活是一瓶石头

Life Is a Bottle of Rocks

生活是一瓶石头

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the desk in front of him. When the final student was seated, he picked up a large and empty glass bottle and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter . He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

He then picked up a box of pebbles¹ and added them to the jar, shaking it lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. “Is the jar filled now?” “Yes,” the students said. 

But then he picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the bottle. The sand filled in everything else. Once more he asked if it was full and after some thinking they said that it was.

The professor then took two cans of beer from a bag at the side of the desk and opening them both, poured their entire contents into the jar. The students roared at this demonstration² .

After the laughter subsided³ the professor spoke⁴ again: “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things in your life; your family, your partner, your health, your children...things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.”

“The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, or rewire the lamp. Take care of the rocks first...the things that really matter. Set your priorities . The else is just sand.”

After the impact of what he had said settled, one of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

“I'm glad you asked.” he replied. “It just goes to prove that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers.”

一位哲学教授站在全班学生面前，他前面的桌子上放着些东西。最后一个学生就座后，他捡起一只大的空玻璃瓶，开始往里面装直径大约两英寸的石头。他接着问学生瓶子满了没有，他们一致回答满了。

接着他捡起一盒鹅卵石，一边轻轻摇晃着瓶子，一边往里面添卵石。当然卵石滚动着钻进了石头的空隙中间。“现在瓶子装满了没有？”“装满了。”学生们说。

但是，接着他又捡起一袋沙子，把沙子倒进瓶里。沙子填充了一切别的空隙。他再次问瓶子满了没有，学生们想了一阵，回答说满了。

然后教授从桌子旁边的袋子里取出两听啤酒，揭了盖子，把啤酒罐里的酒全部倒进瓶子里。这个演示激起了学生们的哄堂大笑。

笑声止息后，教授又讲话了：“我想让你们认识到，这只瓶子代表你们的人生。大石头是你们生活中重要的东西：你们的家庭，你们的伴侣，你们的健康，你们的孩子……如果你们一切别的东西都丢了，只要这些还存在，你们的生活仍然会是充实的。鹅卵石是另一类要紧的东西，像你们的工作，你们的住房，你们的车子。沙子是所有其他的东西，小东西。如果你们先把沙子放入瓶中，就没有空间放鹅卵石和石头了。”

“你们的人生跟这种情况差不多。如果你把所有的时间和精力用在小事情上，你就没有余地做重要的事情。要注意对你的幸福至关重要的事情。和你的孩子玩耍。抽时间做体检。带着你的伴侣去外面跳舞。总会有时间去工作，去清扫房屋，为电灯换线。首先要照应好石头……那些真正重要的事情。确定自己优先要考虑的事情，别的只是沙子而已。”

在他讲话引起的震撼平静下来之后，有个学生举起了手，问啤酒代表什么。

“你提这个问题，我很高兴。”他答复说。“它只是为了证明，不管你的生活似乎多么充实，总有一两杯啤酒的余地。”

1 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。