2023年新编大学英语第一册unitTextBEliasAParable.docx

Elia s : A P a r ableAt one t ime the elde r ly c oup 1 e ha d bee n th e wea 1 thie s t in the regio n , now t h ey were me r ely s e r v a n ts who had no t h i n g but each other.1 I n the P r ovine e of O u fa th e r e lived a man named Elias. His fa t her died a year a f ter he marr i ed, a nd left him a p o o r man. At th a t t i me E 1 i a sz s property c onsist e d onl y o f seven mares, tw o cows, and tw e n ty shee p , but now t h at he had become mas ter he began t o be t t er himse 1 f. H e and his w if e w o r ked hard from m o rning till n ight for thirty y ears, growing richer each ye a r.2 El i a s h ad tw o s o ns and a d aughter, a 1 1 of whom h e dul y married off. I n t he days o f his p overty his s o ns had worke d wi t h h im； b u t w h en they be c am e rich, they be g a n to ind ulg e i nf oolish p 1 easures. One ofth e m, i n p a rtic u lar,b e gan t odrinktoexce s s. E ve n t u a 1 ly the eld e r of the two was killed inafight, and the ot h er o n e, beca u se h ediso b ey edh i s father, was tu r ne d out.3 E 1 ias tur n e d h im o u t, but at the s ame t ime he g avthu se him a house a nd c attle. H i sownwealthwas dimi n i shed i n p r op o rtion.4 Soon after w a r ds his s heep be c ame i n fee t e d with dise a se, an d many o f th e m died. Nex t, the re w a s a y ear of drought, whe n n o hay grew, s o t h a t ma n y c attle star v ed tode a t h during th e followin g winter. ThentheKhirgiz e sc a me and stole the be s t o fh is horse s,and h is pr ope r ty w a s d i mini s hed ev e n more. Bythe time he hadr e ac h e d h i s seven t i e th year,allthe p rop erty lef t to him co n s i s t e d of t h e c 1 ot h es on h is body and hi s w if e 9 S h a m Shemag i , who was as old as himself. The son wh o m he h a d turned ou t had go n e to a distant land, and hi s dau g ht e r was dea d ; so that ther e was no one le f t to h e 1 p the old peopl e .5 However a f orm erne igh b o r o f theirs, n a med Muhamedshah, felt sorry f or them. He w a s neith e r rich nor p oor, but lived plainl y and was a respect a bl e man. Rem e mb e rin g the day s w h e n he had b een a g u est i n th e house of El i as,h e asked the couple to c ome and 1ive wit h him a nd d o s o me work f or him i f they liked.Elias tha n ked his go o d n e i g h bo r , an d w e nt with his o Id w i fe to li v e in t he service of Muham e dshah. At fi r st i t grieve dthemtodo so; b u t i n time they g ot us e d to it,and s e ttieddow n to live t he r e a nd t o work as much as the ir s t ren g th p e r mitted.6 It sui t edtheir ma s ter t o ha v e them in his servi c e ,sinee theo 1 dpe ople had been i n a u thori t y t hem s e 1 ve s ,and s o k new how t o do things. Moreover, they were never laz y , bu t wor k e d the bes t the yknew. YetM uhamedshah used to feel so r r y toseep eople formerly so hig h in the w o rl d n ow reduc e d tos uc h a d if fi c u It situ ation. 7 One d a y s o me o f M uh a med s h ah'sf r ie nd s came to v i sit him. W h en the guests le a r n e d that E li a s, o nee th e w ealt hiestmanin the re g i o n, was m e re 1 y a servant o f the h o st, t h ey were so sur p r ise d thatt he y a sk ed the couple a bou t t h ei r forme r 1 ife. 8nO1 d man, ns ai d o n e of the guest s ," t el 1m e w h ether itgri e v e s you now a s you look u pon us to r e member your f orm e rfor t un e s and your pr e sent lifeof misery?9 Elia ssmi 1 ed and an s w e r e d: nIf I were to s p eak to you of our h a p p ines s or m i sery y ou migh t not be 1 i ev e me. You should r a ther as k my wi f e . She has both a w o man 7s h e a rt a n d a woman's tongu e , and will tell you the whole t r ut h a b out that mat t er.I 0 The n the g u e s t c a lied t o the old woman wh o w a s se a ted be h i nd the cu r t a i n : nT e 11 me, o Id worn an, wh a t y ou think co n c e r ning your f ormer happ i n e s s a n d y o ur pr e s e nt mise r y.nAnd Sh a m Shem a g i answered f rombehind the curtain： ”This i s what I th i nk con c erning them. I lived with my hu s ba n d for fifty y e ar s seeking h ap p in e s s, and never find i ng it; butnow, althoughweliveass e rvants, and t his is only thes eco n d yearsi nee we wer e left poor, we ha v e fo u nd t rue ha p pin e ss, and de s ire no o t her.n 1 2 Bot h the gue s ts and the i r hos t were s urpris e d a tthis the 1 a tte r ,i ndee d , s omuc h sot ha t he r oseto h i s fe e t tod raw as i de thecurtai nan d 1 ook at the o Id woman. There she s t o od h er hand s folde d infrontof her, a n d a s mi 1 e upo n her f a ce, a s she ga z e d at her o 1 d husb and and he smile d ba c k a t her i n r etu rn. Then she went on： n I a m tel 1 i n g you th e trut h , I am not j ok i n g . F or h a 1 f a ce n t u ry we s ough t h ap p ine s s and nev e r f o und it s o long a s we we r e rich; y et now that we ha v e noth i ng now that we h ave c ome to live among hum b 1 e f ol k w e have f o u n d such happ i ness a s could never b e exce e de d J13 "W h ere, the n , d oes your happiness lie?” aske d t he gues t .1 4 nWhe n we we r e rich m y husband and I ha d s o ma n y cares that we had no t i me to t a Ik to oneano t her,or t h ink o f o ur s o u 1 s, or pr a y to God. I f guest s were with us we w e re f u 1 ly o ccupied i n t hi n k i n g h o w to en t e r tain th em.Mo r eover, when g u ests had arriv e d we ha d th e ir ser v a n ts to lo o k a f t e r. I n a d dition, we c onsta n tly worried lest a wolf k i 1 1 o ne o f our fowl s o rc alv e s, o r th i eves driv e of f th e ho r se s . W e 1 a y aw a ke at night wor r y ing, lest the ewes sho uld lie on their1 a mbs, and we g ot up again and a ga i n to see tha t a 11 wa s well. When we ret i red t o res t , w e would fin d our s elves f ill e d w i th f res h anxietie s as to how t o get fod d e r for the win t er, and so o n. Moreover, my hu s band an dI could neve r ag r e e. He wou 1 d say th a t a t h ing mus t b e done in this w ay, and 11 h at it m u st b e d o nein thatan d so we wouldb egi n t o quarrel. Thelife1 e du s o nly f rom worry t o worry, bu tnever t o happiness."1 5n B uth ow is it now? ” a s kedth egues t .1 6"Now,"r e pl i e d th e old worn an, w he n my husbanda ndI r i se in th emorning, w e al w a y s greet each o th er inlove andharm o ny.W e live pe a ceful 1 y, h avingn o thing to w o r ry a bout. Ou r only care is how best to se r ve t he mast er.We w or k according t o our stre n gth,a n d wit h a go odwil 1 ,so that the master profits from o urwork. Then, wh e nwe come in, w e find dinn e randsupp e rrea d y for u s .W h enev e r i t is cold w e h ave fuelt owarmu s a nd s h eepsk i n co a ts to wear. Mor e over, w e ha v e t i me to t a Ik to one ano t her, to t h ink ab o u t our s o u 1 s, andtopr a y to God. For fift y yearswesought happinessb u ton 1 y now have w e foun d it.”17 Th e g ue s t s b u rs t o ut la u ghing, but Elias cr i e d ： nDo not laugh, g ood s i rs. This i s no joke, but the t ruth. W e have reveal e d it to younotfor ou r o wn div e r s i o n, but for your good.” 18 The n the g u e s t s c e ased t o laugh, an d b ecame thoughtf u 1