精美英文欣赏:木匠的房子

The carpenter's house

木匠的房子

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire.

一位年迈的木匠准备退休了。

He told his employer-contractor¹ of his plans to leave the house building business

他告诉他的老板他准备离开建筑业的打算，

and live a more leisurely² life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

他说他想和他的妻子过一种更休闲的生活，享受天伦之乐。

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

他还说他会怀念这里的薪水的，但他必须退休了，他的离职他们慢慢就会适应的。

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.

老板对他的这位优秀员工的离去感到非常遗憾，于是问他是否可以盖最后一栋房子作为私下里的帮忙。

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work.

这位木匠答应了，但显而易见他做事的时候是心不在焉的，

He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.

他的手工做得毛毛糙糙，用的材料也是次品。

It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

这样结束他的事业是不幸的，

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

当木匠最后完工，老板来看房子时，

the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter.

他把前门的钥匙交给木匠说，

This is your house, he said, my gift to you. What a shock! What a shame!

这是你的房子，是我送给你的礼物。震惊！羞愧！

If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

如果他早知道他是在盖自己的房子，他肯定会做得截然不同的，

Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

现在他不得不住在自己建的糟糕透顶的房子里面。

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way,

这个道理同样适合我们，在营造生活时，我们的精力被分散到太多的地方，

reacting rather than acting³, willing to put up less than the best.

我们只是被动地适应而不会主动行动，而我们自己也不愿意去尽心尽力地营造我们的生活。

At important points we do not give the job our best effort.

在重要的时刻我们也没能尽自己最大的努力做好工作。

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.

然后我们吃惊地看到自己所做的一切：发现自己就处在自己营建的房子里。

If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

如果我们早意识到这一点的话，我们的做法就会完全不同。

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house.

就当自己是位木匠吧，想想自己的房子。

Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect⁴ a wall.

每天钉钉子，铺板或是砌墙。

Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build.

那么建造得更明智一些吧。

Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.

即使你能建造的生活只有这一次，即使你只能再多生活一天，这一天也应活得优雅，有尊严。

The plaque⁵ on the wall says, life is a do-it-yourself project.

正如墙上的题典写着的:生活就是一项为自己打造的工程。

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

你明天的生活将取决于你今天的态度和做出的决定。

1 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。