英国语文第三册 第38期:不要过于肯定(上)

 　　LESSON 36 Don't be too sure 第三十六课 不要过于肯定

　　"Father, don't you want me to be clever and great?" said Willie to his father one day. “爸爸，难道你不想让我变聪明和伟大吗？”一天，威利对他的爸爸说道。

　　I want you, my boy, to do your duty in the station, whatever it may be, to which it will please God to call you; 孩子，我想让你尽到你在车站的职责，不管工作是什么，那都是上帝交给你的；

　　and not to set your heart on any mere¹ earthly success, or make too sure of anything. 不要让你的心被世俗的成功束缚，也不要对任何事情过于肯定。

　　When I see folk, as the saying goes, counting their chickens before they are hatched, 常言道，人们总会在小鸡孵出来之前数鸡的数量，

　　it brings into my mind what I read lately about the famous Napoleon Bonaparte. 这让我想起了最近读的书，那是关于著名的拿破仑·波拿巴的书。

　　Oh, let me hear about him, father. 噢，爸爸，说给我听听。

　　You can talk quite well at your work, and I like to hear what you get out of those learned books that you read. 你总能很好的讲解你看过的书，我也喜欢听你讲你从那些内容丰富的书里学到的东西。

　　“This was taken out of a large book, written by an Earl—the Life of the great William Pitt," said the father; “这是我从一位伯爵的大作——《伟大的威廉皮特的一生》这本书中学到的，”他的爸爸说道；

　　and it is all true—I have not a doubt of it. 书中所写都很有道理——我对此深信不疑。

　　When Bonaparte was ruling over France, he wished to rule over Old England too; 拿破仑统治法国时，也想要将古英国纳入统治范围；

　　and so, being sure of conquest, he fixed² on the very time when he would come over and invade us. 所以，他挑好时机，跨国海峡来侵略我们，自信满满地以为一定能将古英国征服。

　　He got a number of his soldiers together, and had ships ready to carry them across. 他集结了大批军队，准备好船只打算度过海峡。

　　He looked over the blue waves of the Channel,and, thought he, I'll soon land in England, march up to London, and take it. 放眼蓝色的英吉利海峡，他想，不久我就要在英格兰登陆，进军伦敦，然后统治这个国家。

　　"He made so sure," said the father, "that—would you believe it, my boy?—he had actually a medal made to celebrate his invasion of England!" “他太自负了，”他父亲说，“以致于——你相信吗，孩子？——他已经铸好了勋章来庆祝攻占英格兰！”

　　"But he never invaded it!" interrupted Willie. “但他没有成功！”威利打断了他的父亲。

　　"And on the medal was stamped in French, 'Struck at London,'" continued the father. “勋章上用法文刻着‘进攻伦敦’字样，”他爸爸继续说道。

　　"But he never entered London!" cried Willie. “但他未能踏进伦敦半步！”威利喊道。

　　"He made so sure of success," said the father, “他对成功太过自信，”他的爸爸说，

　　that he prepared a medal in honour of the conquest of a city, that he was never so much as to set his foot in! 所以他铸造了勋章来庆祝对一座城市的占领，这种自信也让他未能踏入伦敦半步！

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。