英语故事:运用智慧 适时舍得

 There once was a master who went to India. In those times, we didn't have the communications or airplanes or many kinds of transportation that we do now. So the master went to India on foot. He had never been to India before; perhaps he came from Persia. And when he got there, he saw a lot of fruit. In India they have plenty of fruit to sell, but much of it is expensive because they can't grow much due to the water situation. So he saw one basket, a big basket of some very red, long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop, not expensive at all.

从前有一位师父，他到印度去，那时候因为交通不发达，没有飞机，不像现在一样有很多交通工具，所以这位师父就步行去印度。他有可能是波斯人，以前没去过印度。他到印度时，看见许许多多的水果。在印度，有时因为缺水的缘故，水果产量不多，许多小店虽然摆满了水果，但多半都很贵。那位师父发现有个大篮子里面装着一种红色长条形的水果，这种水果的价格最便宜，一点都不贵.

So he went up and asked, "How much per kilo?" And the shopkeeper said, "Two rupees." Two rupees in India is nothing; it's like dirt. So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: Oh, my God! His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became red. As he coughed and choked and gasped¹ for breath, he jumped up and down, saying, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

他就走过去询问：“这个一公斤要多少钱？”小贩回答：“两卢比。”两卢比在印度根本不算什么，像尘土一样不值钱，于是他就整整买了一公斤，然后开始吃。 吃了几口之后，这位师父就眼泪、口水齐流，眼睛发红，嘴巴辣得像着火一样，整个头好像要烧起来，他又咳又呛，满脸通红地喘不过气来，在那里边跳边叫.

But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You're crazy, man. Those are chilies²! You can't eat so many; they're not good for you! People use them as a condiment³, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can't just eat them by the handful like that; they're not fruit!" So the stupid master said, "No, I can't stop! I paid money for them, and now I'll eat them. It's my money!"

不过他还是继续吃！有人看到他这样子后，就摇摇头说：“老兄，你是脑袋坏掉啦？这是辣椒耶！不能吃那么多，这样对你不好。辣椒是用来调味的，煮菜时每次只放一点点在食物里增加味道。这个不是水果，不能这样整把拿起来吃啊！”那位笨师父说：“不行，我已经花钱买了，就要把它吃完，这可都是钱哪！”

And you think that master was stupid, right? Similarly, we sometimes do a lot of things like that. We invest money, time or effort in a relationship, business or job. And even though it's been a long time, bitter experience tells us it won't work, and we know there's no more hope that things will change in the future - this we definitely know by intuition⁴ - we still continue just because we've invested money, time, effort and love into it. If so, we're kaput in the brain. Just like the man who ate the chilies and suffered so much but couldn't stop because he didn't want to waste the money he'd paid.

你们觉得这位师父很笨，是吗？其实我们有时候也做很多类似的傻事。有时候我们在某些感情或事业工作上，投入了金钱、时间和心力，经过长期的经营之后，我们从惨痛的经验中知道行不通，直觉也很清楚未来不会有任何转机，但我们还是舍不得放弃，因为已经投入了金钱、时间、心力和感情在里面。像这种情形，表示说我们头脑坏掉，就像那个吃辣椒的人一样，明明已经那么痛苦了，还是不肯停止，只因为不想白白浪费已经付出的钱。

So even if you've lost something, let it go and move on. That's better than continuing to lose.

就算你会有所损失，还是要放下，然后继续前进！这样总比一直损失下去来得好。

1 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 chilies   

n.红辣椒( chili的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some people like to harvest the plants, when the chilies are green. 一些人喜欢在辣椒长成绿色的时候就采摘。 来自互联网
• Sprinkle with scallions and sliced chilies and served hot. 洒上葱粒、辣椒丝，趁热上桌。 来自互联网

3 condiment   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• It has long been a precious condiment.它一直都是一种珍贵的调味料。
• Fish sauce is a traditional fermented condiment in coastal areas.鱼露是沿海地区的传统发酵调味品。

4 intuition   

n.直觉，直观，凭直觉而知的事物

参考例句：

• I had an intuition that I would find you.我有一种直觉，我能找到你们。
• He knew this thing by intuition.他凭直觉了解这件事。