英語小達(dá)人每天10分鐘 291 Silence Is Good
沉默是金
At an Indian fair there was a merchant who had anelephant for sale. He saw an American who wasexamining it with very great care--walking round andround it, putting his head on one side, and taking ineverything.
在印度集市上，有個(gè)商人要賣大象。他看到一個(gè)美國(guó)人仔細(xì)地觀察，圍著大象走來走去，還歪著頭看，一切都記在心上。
The merchant went up to the American, and said, "Don't say anything about the elephant till I havesold it, and I will make you a present."
商人走過去對(duì)美國(guó)人說：“在我賣掉大象之前一個(gè)字都不準(zhǔn)說，我會(huì)給你一份禮物的。”
"All right," said the American.
“好啊!”美國(guó)人說。
After the elephant was sold, the merchant gave him one-tenth of the price he had got for it,and said, "Now tell me how you found out that blemish on the left foreleg of the elephant. Ithought it was quite concealed."
賣了大象之后，商人把賣大象錢的十分之一給了美國(guó)人，并且說道：“現(xiàn)在告訴我你是怎么發(fā)現(xiàn)大象左前腿的毛病吧。我以為很隱蔽呢!”
"Blemish!" said the American. "I never found any blemish."
“毛病?!”美國(guó)人說道，“我從沒發(fā)現(xiàn)什么毛病啊!”
"Then, why did you examine the elephant so closely?" asked the merchant.
“那么，你為什么那么細(xì)心地檢查大象呢?”商人問道。
"Because I had never seen an elephant before, and wanted to see what it was like," said theAmerican.
“因?yàn)槲乙郧皬臎]看到過大象，想看看到底是什么樣子。”美國(guó)人說。
