书城教材教辅美国语文阅读经典(小学卷)
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第58章

BE NOT OVERCOME OF EVIL,BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD不要以恶制恶,要以善制恶1.An old man told the following story,showing how heconquered an enemy with kindness:

2.I once had a neighbor,who,though a clever man,came to me one bright hay-day,and said,“Mr.White,I want you to come and get your geese away.”

3.“Why,”said I,“what are my geese doing?”

4.“They pick my pigs when they are eating,and drive them away;and I will not have it.”

5.“What can I do?”said I.

6.“You must yoke them.”

7.“That I have not time to do,”said I.“I do not see but theymust run.”

8.“If you do not take care of them,I shall!”said the clever shoemaker,in anger.“What do you say to that,Mr.White?”

9.“I can not take care of them now,but will pay you for alldamages.”

10.“Well,”said he,“you will find that a hard thing,I guess,”

11.So off he went,and I heard a horrid squalling among the geese.The next news from the geese was that three of themwere missing.

12.My children found them terribly mangled,and dead,and thrown into the bushes.“Now,”said I,“all keep still,and let me punish him.”

13.In a few days the shoemaker’s hogs broke into my corn.I saw them,but let them remain a long time.At last I drove them all out,and picked up the corn which they had torn down,and fed them with it in the road.By this time the shoemaker came in great haste after them.

14.“Have you seen any thing of my hogs?”said he.

15.“Yes,sir;you will find them in the road yonder,eating some corn which they tore down in my field.”

16.“In your field?”

17.“Yes,sir,”said I;“hogs love corn,you know;they weremade to eat it.”

18.“How much mischief have they done?”

19.“O,not much,”said I.

20.Well,he went off to look,and estimated the damage tome to be equal to a bushel and a half of corn.

21.“O,no,”said I;“it can‘t be.”

22.“Yes,”said the shoemaker,“and I will pay you every centof damage.”

23.“No,”I replied,“you shall pay nothing.My geese have been a great deal of trouble to you,”The shoemaker blushed,and went home.

24.The next winter,when he came to settle,the shoemakerdetermined to pay me for my corn.

25.“No,”said I,“I shall take nothing.”

26.After some talk,we parted;but in a day or two I met him on the road,and fell into conversation in the most friendly manner.But when I started on,he seemed loath to move,and I paused.For a moment both of us were silent.

27.At last he said,“I have something laboring on my mind.”

28.“Well,what is it?”

29.“Those geese.I killed three of your geese;and I can not rest till you know how I feel.I am sorry;”and the tears came into his eyes.

30.“O,well,”said I,“never mind;I suppose my geese were provoking.”

31.I never took anything of him for it;but whenever my cattle broke into his field after that,he seemed glad,because he could show how patient he could be.

32.“Now,”said the old man,“conquer yourself,and you can conquer anything.You can conquer with kindness where you can conquer in no other way.”

【中文阅读】

1.一位老人讲了下面一则故事,这则故事说明了他是怎样用善良战胜敌人的:

2.我曾经有个邻居,他是个聪明人。一个晴朗的白天,他来找到我说:“怀特先生,我想请您去把您的鸭子轰走。”

3.“怎么了?”我说,“我那些鸭子怎么招惹你了?”

4.“我的猪吃食的时候它们啄我的猪,把我的猪吓跑了,弄得我找不到那些猪了。”

5.“那我该怎样做?”我问。

6.“去把那些鸭子都圈起来。”

7.“我没时间,”我说,“我找不到那些鸭子,肯定是都跑了。”

8.“如果您不管,我就要管了!”聪明的鞋匠气愤地说,“怀特先生,这事总要给个说法。”

9.“我现在是管不了,不过我会赔偿您的损失。”

10.“那么,”他说,“您就看我怎么管吧。”

11.说着他走了。紧接着,我听到那些鸭子中传出嘈杂的声音。接下来我就听说三只鸭子不见了。

12.孩子们后来发现那三只鸭子被打得很厉害,死后被扔到了灌木丛中。“现在,”我说,“别吱声,看我怎么惩罚他。”

13.几天后,鞋匠的猪闯进了我的玉米地。我看到后,没有轰走它们,过了很长时间,我才把它们赶出去,然后又捡起被猪弄坏了的玉米,在路上喂这些玉米给猪吃,一直到鞋匠慌慌张张地跑了过来。

14.“请问您看到我的猪了吗?”他问。

15.“看到了,先生。我在路上看到了您的那些猪,它们吃了我地里的玉米。”

16.“你地里?”

17.“是的,先生,”我说,“猪都喜欢吃玉米,你知道的。本来玉米就是吃的。”

18.“它们毁了多少粮食?”

19.“哦,不太多。”我说。

20.他跑到地里去看,估算了一下,算出差不多损失了三十五升半的玉米。

21.“哦,不!”我说,“不可能的。”

22.“是这么多,”鞋匠说,“我会赔您的。”

23.“不用,”我说,“不用您赔。我的鸭子也给您添了很大麻烦。”鞋匠听了,脸一下就红了,然后他就回家了。

24.第二年冬天,生意结算之后,鞋匠要赔钱。

25.“不用,”我说,“我不要。”

26.说完后,我们就分开了。过了几天,我在路上遇到了他,我们非常和气地聊起天来。但是当我要走的时候,他似乎不想走,于是我就停了下来。我们两人都沉默了一会儿。

27.最后,他说:“有一件事一直憋在我心里想说出来。”

28.“什么事?”

29.“那些鸭子。是我弄死了你的三只鸭子;不告诉你这件事,我心里就不会平静下来,我感到非常抱歉。”说着他泪光盈盈。

30.“好了,”我说,“不要介意这件事情了,我想是我的鸭子太讨厌了。”

31.从此,我再也没有提起此事。但是后来,我的牛曾经闯进他的地里,他似乎也没有不高兴,因为这样可以说明他很有耐心。32.“现在,”老人说,“战胜你自己,这样你才能战胜一切。你可以用善良战胜那些你不能用其他办法战胜的事情。”