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一个年轻的旅行者在阿尔卑斯山探险。他来到一块一望无际的不毛之地。那里荒无人烟，是一种让人急欲离开的地方。 后来，年轻的旅行者突然停住了脚步。只见辽阔的荒地中央一位老人正在弯腰播种。他背着一大袋橡子，手里拿着一根4英尺长的铁管。 老人正用那根铁管在地上打洞，然后从袋子里掏出一颗橡子，放进洞里。后来，老人告诉那个旅行者说：“我已经种了10万颗橡子了。大概只有十分之一的橡子能够成长。”老人的妻儿都已经故去，而这就是他选择度过晚年的方式。“我想做一些有用的事儿，”他说。 25年后，那个已不再年轻的旅行者又故地重游。而眼前的景象却让他惊叹不已。他简直无法相信自己的眼睛。那块土地变成了5英里长、两英里宽的美丽森林。 The Old Man Who Planted the Oak Trees A young traveler was exploring the Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was desolate. It was the kind of place you hurry away from. Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorn. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe. The old man was using the iron pipe to punch' holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man told the traveler. I’ve planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only tenth of them will grow.” The old man’s wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something useful,” he said. Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the same place. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. explore 探索；探险 acorn 橡子；橡实 punch 开洞；打出孔 |
