100个儿童英语小故事: The Worthwhile Job 有价值的工作

 

037 The Worthwhile Job 

There were five brothers who wanted to do something important. They had their own certain jobs that they wanted to do. Each thought his job was the best. "I will be a great man. I want to make bricks."

The oldest brother wanted to be a brick burner and make bricks. But the second laughed at him. "Making bricks is a laborer's worthless job."

The second oldest brother wanted to be a bricklayer, and he thought the bricklayer was much more important than a brick burner. He wanted to have a much more valuable job than his older brother did. Then, the third brother laughed at his two brothers after he listened to their dream jobs. "Hum! They are all unimportant¹ jobs. I will be a great architect and wear a rimless² hat."

His dream was to be an architect and to leave his name in posterity³. The third oldest brother said he would build great buildings. He wanted to leave great buildings for the next generation after he died. After listening to his brothers, the forth⁴ said that he wanted to design better buildings than his third brother. "I will design more advanced buildings than you will build."

He did not like normal materials. He wanted to have buildings made of rare materials so that he could have better buildings than his third brother did. "I will be a critic and will criticize my brothers' work. Isn't it the most valuable job?"

The last promised to himself that he would never follow his brothers' paths. He wanted to correct his brothers' mistakes. As time went by, the oldest brother became a brick burner. The second brother became a bricklayer. The third one became an architect, and the forth became an architectural designer. They all passed away after they did what they really wanted to do. "The only one left is me."

The last one lived longer than any of his brothers, and he became a critic. "I did the most important job."

The last still insisted that he had the most worthwhile job among his brothers. After he died, even though he could go to Heaven only with his brothers' help, he murmured to himself continuously in front of the Gate of Heaven. "I am the best." Whatever your job is, they are all of the same importance.

1 unimportant   

adj.不重要的，无意义的

参考例句：

• Let's not quarrel about such unimportant matters.我们不要为这些小事争吵了。
• Money seems unimportant when sets beside the joys of family life.与天伦之乐相比，金钱显得微不足道。

2 rimless   

adj.无边的

参考例句：

• Among the guests was a quiet, agreeable man with rimless glasses locking like a college professor. 宾客中有一个沉静和蔼的人戴着无边眼镜，看起来象大学教授。 来自辞典例句
• Heyward's aquiline, austere face showed concentration; behind rimless glasses his grey eyes were cool. 海沃德那长着鹰钩鼻子的严峻的脸上露出十分专注的神情，无框眼镜的后面，一双褐色的眼睛闪着寒光。 来自辞典例句

3 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。