英语名篇诵读 生活是一项自己打造的工程

Life Is a Do-it-yourself Project

生活是一项自己打造的工程

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house

building business and live a more leisurely¹ life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck , but he needed to retire. They could get by .

The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more

house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was

not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an

unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house and handed the

front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would

have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting², willing

to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a

shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we

have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail,

place a board, or erect³ a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live

it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque⁴

on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Who could say it more clearly? Your life

tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

一位老木匠打算退休了。他告诉雇主说，他计划离开建筑业，同妻子一起享受子孙满

堂的家庭之乐，过一种更加悠闲的生活。他会失去酬金，但他需要退休。他们过得去。

雇主看到自己的优秀工人要走，深感遗憾，问他能否看在个人的情谊上再造一栋房

子。木匠说行，可是很快就发现他的心已不在工作上。他的工艺粗糙，用的材料质量拙

劣。这样结束他的生涯很是不幸。

当木匠完了工，雇主来查看房子，并把前门的钥匙交给了木匠。“这是你的房子，”他

说，“我送你的礼物。”

多么震惊！多么羞愧！要是他知道在为自己建造房子，他会以完全不同的方式做的。

现在他不得不住在自己造的低劣的房子里。

我们自己也是一样。我们心浮气躁地打发生活，不是主动工作而被动应付，能省事就

省事。在工作的重要关头，我们没有全力以赴。直到有一天蓦然回首，才瞠目结舌地发现

我们正住在自己建造的那所房子里。如果我们先意识到这一点，我们就会以不同的态度做

了。

把自己想象成那个木匠，想想自己的房子。每一天，你敲进一颗钉子，放上一块木

板，或砌上一面墙，都要用智慧去建造。你所营造的正是你的生活。即使你只能再住一

天，那一天也值得活得安逸，活得有尊严。墙上的牌匾这样写道：“生活是一项自己打造的

工程。”谁还能说得更清楚呢？你明日的生活之果，孕育于你今天的态度和抉择中。

1 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

4 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。