穷与富

当看待事物的角度发生改变时，得出的结论竟然会如此不同：父亲带着孩子去体验穷人的生活，但他们衡量穷与富的标准会是一样的吗？

By Kate Quinn

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One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his daughter on a trip to the country with the firm[1] purpose of showing her how poor people live. They spent a couple of[2] days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his daughter, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the girl.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The girl answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek[3] that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night.[4] Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon.[5] We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields[6] that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property[7] to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

The girl’s father was speechless[8].

Then his daughter added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

Vocabulary

1. firm: （信念等）坚定的，断然的。

2. a couple of: 〈口〉几（个），一些。

3. creek: 溪流，小河。

4. import: 引进；lantern: 灯笼。

5. patio: （连接房屋并铺有地面的）露台，平台，可用作户外活动或户外用餐的场地；front yard: 〈美〉前院。

6. fields: 原野，旷野。

7. property: 财产，资产。

8. speechless: 哑口无言的。

（来源：英语学习杂志 编辑：丹妮）