第149期:你路上的绊脚石

 　　路上有障碍，你会怎么做？看看这个故事给我们的启发吧。

　　The Obstacle¹ in our Path

　　There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge boulder² placed in the middle of a road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic³ rock from the road.

　　The first people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining⁴ the roads. Not one of them tried to move the boulder.

　　Finally, a peasant⁵ came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the boulder, rather than simply walking around it as the others had, the peasant put down his load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.

　　The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he saw a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The peasant opened the purse. The purse was stuffed⁶, full of gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said the purse’s gold was a reward⁷ for moving the boulder from the road.

　　The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

　　我们路上的障碍

　　从前有一个非常富有，好奇的国王。这国王把一块巨石放置在路中间。然后他躲在附近看看是否有人会试图把石头从路上挪开。

　　第一批经过的人是国王最有钱的商人和朝臣。他们绕开石头走而没有把它移开。有几个人大声指责国王没有维护好路。他们当中没有一个人试图把石头挪开。

　　最后，一个农民走了过来。他的手上满是蔬菜。当他靠近巨石时，不是像其他人那样绕开它走，农夫放下担子，试图把石头挪到路边。他费了很大力气，终于成功了。

　　农夫收拾起行李，准备上路了，这时他看见原来巨石底下原来有一个钱包。农民打开钱包。钱包里装满了金币，还有国王的一个字条。国王的字条上说，钱袋的黄金是把巨石从路上挪走的奖赏。

　　国王向农民展示了我们许多人所不理解的倒立：每一个困难与障碍都是改善我们的状况的机会。

　　"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

　　– Neale Donald Walsch, Author

　　「人生开始于舒适圈的尽头。」——尼尔·唐纳·沃许

1 obstacle   

n.障碍，障碍物，妨害

参考例句：

• She felt that her family was an obstacle to her work.她感到她的家庭妨碍她的工作。
• He is in the full flush of success;nothing was an obstacle.他的成就如日中天，锐不可当。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 gigantic   

adj.巨大的，巨人似的

参考例句：

• He has a gigantic appetite and eats gigantic meals.他有很大的食量，能吃很多的食物。
• The earth may be thought of as a gigantic magnet.整个地球可以想像为一块硕大无朋的磁石。

4 maintaining   

保持( maintain的现在分词 )； 保养； 坚持； 保卫

参考例句：

• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. 维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
• It's endless work maintaining the house in good repair. 要让房屋保持得很好是件干不完的活。

5 peasant   

n.农夫，佃农

参考例句：

• His father is a peasant.他父亲是一位农民。
• He was born of a peasant family.他出生于一个农民家庭。

6 stuffed   

adj.充满的；饱的v.塞住( stuff的过去式和过去分词 )；把…装进；把…装满；（使）吃撑

参考例句：

• stuffed animals in glass cases 玻璃柜里的动物标本
• I was stuffed to the gills with chocolate cake. 我嘴里塞满了巧克力蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。