原版英文小故事 32. The Ant and the Elephant

Let’s say that you could combine, into one super brain, 100 of the best minds in the history of mankind. Would that super-intelligent brain be able to fully¹ appreciate all the wonders of the universe? Probably not. The universe is simply too big, too wondrous², too fantastic for humans. Imagine an ant crawling all over an elephant. That ant has little or no idea of what that elephant is all about. Nor do we humans grasp the magnitude of the wonders of our universe.

For example, many of us merely take the sun for granted; sometimes we even complain about it! How many of us marvel³ at it, wondering about its seemingly infinite power and energy? Yet the sun is but one of uncountable billions of stars in the universe. It isn’t even a remarkable⁴ star; there are billions just like it. And billions more that are unlike it, in thousands of different, fascinating ways!

How many stars are out there? Think of your favorite beach. How many grains of sand are on that beach? Now think of all the grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. Yes, the sky has more stars than the Earth has these grains of sand.

But many of us are too busy with our “ant” lives to notice or appreciate the elephant.

 

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。